Chapter One: Madness Prologue | Sagas of Sundry: Madness

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And I apologize profusely for everything that is going to happen from now until the end of this story is in place. As you can see, we are still playing with the dreadful Dread Tower that will determine the fate of one or all of you as the story progresses. And, as we said before, Dread is based off of every time you want to do an action or do something that involves risk, you will make a pull from the tower. And if you're successful, well, great, you are successful. If the tower should fall, that character will be removed from the game. Now, in Dread, everyone needs to make a pre-pull. But I thought instead of taking this opportunity to learn about your characters while you make a pull, that we take an individual session with every single one of you and play a regular tower and have a one-on-one game of Dread. Depending on how well you do during your prologue adventure, you will either make the pre-designated single pre-pull, but if it falls, you will make three pulls. So, before we take you off, let me tell you a little bit about where we are. This is your building. You all live here, and our story starts with you. The five tenants living in a historical building in the middle of an industrial complex inside of a major city. This building, it's old. It's very old. Maybe 70 to 80 years old. Old enough that it's been classified as a historical landmark by the city. Now, this building was once maybe a workshop, or a warehouse, maybe a hotel, maybe it was a granary. Nobody remembers. But whatever it was, it's now a set of loft apartments that take up about four stories of the crappiest part of town that any of you have ever imagined. So let's all discover who you are and what you're bringing to the tower. Hey, buddy. Hey, how's it going? Okay. Bentley, your story begins here, in your apartment. You've just moved in. Yeah. All right, this is a new place. You've recently come from a troubled background. Things have been difficult, and really, this is about all you own. Really, what's important is what you're able to make. Your most recent work is sitting right there, standing in front of you. So, how are you feeling right now? How are you feeling about that? Yeah. Well, I mean, it's a reflection of what I have to deal with. I'm a barista, too. I mean, I'm an artist. I'm a painter, but we all have to have day jobs. So a lot of the times they don't even know that I'm taking the coffee grounds from the shop. And working with them. And working with them. But I feel like I'm on the verge of something, you know? Like this is a new movement in art, and I'm just waiting to get discovered. Well, I have to say, that's looking really good. And more importantly, but at the same time, I feel like there's something missing. This is representing a new experience, like moving into this place and starting out on my own. And so I'm looking for inspiration. I'm looking for the next thing on my path. And whatever that is, it'll be represented in here. How about we find some inspiration? Yeah. Make a pull. Let's pull for some inspiration. All right, all right, all right. Okay. Now remember, if this falls during our little prologue story, you will have to make three pre-pulls. Oh my goodness. During the beginning of our story. I really want to use two hands. I know you do, but that's inspiration doesn't come easy. Yeah. Inspiration doesn't come without sacrifice. So. So much pressure already. With this kind of gleaming burst of inspirational wonder that comes into it, you look in this house and you realize this place is magical. Yeah. All right. It was built in the thirties. All right. And it has so many things that are around it that are so interesting. First of all, it's a four story building. It has a rooftop patio. It also has elements that are like, it's this old elevator that hasn't been ever in use, but it's so interesting and grungy. Yeah. And you know, there's just something that speaks to it like this piece. And for example, it's just so the, kind of this hair choice of being able to make this interesting white fractal movement. It was so simple to kind of just take that simple movement and then just have it starburst across everything. That, I think, is what this needs. It just needs something a little more... Representative. Geometrical. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, because that kind of came from the head, but this comes from the soul. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yeah. So why don't you take it? Why don't you start working with it a little bit? Yeah. Okay. All right. Hold on. Why don't you grab it? Why don't you feel it a little bit? Like, take that. Just be very careful around the town. Yeah. You know? And how is this place, like, how are you feeling settling into this kind of unique area? Yeah. This is the struggling artist. This is what I need. Right. This is my muse. The crappy walls. Yeah. The, like, old buildings. You know, I see it in the movies. Like, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Right. I like that you're also painting it on your bed. Yeah. Like, if you want to, feel free, like, if you want to put it on your lap. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know? And with this kind of new place that you've been, and how are you feeling about, like, coming into a new social group? I mean, I'm excited for the prospect because of the situation that I'm coming from. Right. I didn't have a lot of friends because I, like, wasn't allowed to. My ex-boyfriend was very controlling. Right. And, you know. It was all about his friends. and was never about your friends. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he didn't support me in my art, and he thought it was too gay, and that's not what he was about. Right. And so I'm here to discover myself and make my own community. Yeah. Well, I'm already liking what's going on here. Yeah. This is the pulse. It's the pulse of it. Yeah. And I like the contrast of, as soon as I saw that blue, of like, you know, boop. Yeah. It's my heartbeat. Yeah. And so I hear it ticking. Yeah, no, there's something definitely in this room. Now, you've been in here for a while, and this building is old, and the beams creak and grow in a little bit. But this is a new sound, for sure. It's funny. The person that lived here before me was a DJ. Oh, okay. And she was sharing with me that she would record kind of the sounds that would happen with the building, and she would make music out of the sounds. That's interesting. Actually, do you still have that tape? Yeah, yeah, because she had left something. I think you remember it's still inside of the cassette player, if I remember correctly, right? Why don't you play it? Yeah, go ahead. I think. Cool. Yeah, it's delightful. Yeah. It's not. But it wouldn't be delightful to everyone. No, I see that. It's inspirational, and it's. But it does something for you, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's almost like something or someone composed this and the DJ just took that information and made it into a medium that other people could hear. It's the same thing as what I do with a painting. I'm taking minerals, I'm taking the earth and the different shades and molding it into something else. But if that's the case, then you don't own this. This isn't yours. This is something that you stole. You stole it. I think you need to make a pull to kind of come to terms with this weird sense and feeling like you're stealing something from this house. Yeah. And you are turning it into your own selfish devices. Yeah. You're grieving because you're pulling something from this house that you don't deserve. And that's tough. That's tough because you're finally starting to have your own world. You're finally starting to have your own life. and for something like this house to tell you that you're being selfish and that you're being an egotistical prick by holding on to your own space. And that ticking. It just keeps bursting inside of your head. It's like you can't get it out of there, but you manage to at least push it out for the moment because that's fine. You're not selfish. No. You're not. This is yours. I created it. This is your place. This is your creator, right? And even if it's taken from parts of this world, that's okay because every artist is allowed their right for expression. Yeah. Okay? So, there's a big thing happening tonight. You're hosting this party. Yeah. Right? Yeah, yeah. And why did you do that? Because I'm here and I haven't had a chance to meet anybody in the building. I'm feeling a little secluded and that's not healthy for me right now. Okay. You need to get out. I need to get out. I need to meet people. I need to... Because this is a recent breakup. This is something that you have to do. And it was a very sheltered relationship, too. Like I said, I was cut off from the world, and that was under his control. And now I'm taking control. You want to host a party. I want to host a party. Yeah. And, like, maybe sell a painting. Right. Let everybody know it's marketing, you know? Yeah. And then I'll have friends in the building, too. You know, the best way to make friends is to have a party. It's got to be somewhere here. There's something. Yeah. That's at least that's this. And it kind of sounds like, you know, when a light bulb's about to go out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it kind of kicks a little bit and it flicks. Yeah. It just feels like there's some bad electrical work going on or something. Right, right. And it feels like as you're looking around with it, that maybe it's a little more to the right of you. That's kind of over here. Over here-ish somewhere. It's some of my other paintings are in the maybe in the walls. Yeah, no, that sounds close. In here? Yeah, somewhere here. Yeah. But it's lower. Okay. Uh-huh. Is it coming from in here? Oh yeah, it's definitely coming from inside of there. All right. Oh no, it's so big. I'm sorry, wall. Okay. So there's some sort of device in here. It's a little warm to the touch. It was just on. What the hell is it, Fenley? It's some sort of light bulb or lamp? Yeah, when you touch it, when you feel it, Fenley, it feels very much like it's cold metal, but it's also glass warm to the touch. And it was mounted in there. It definitely was affixed into the wall somewhere. But as you hold it, as you look at it, it's so old, Finley. It's like a circuit or something. It looks like it plugs into something. And you pulled it out of the wall. What is the one thing the landlord told you not to do to this building? I'm not supposed to mess up the walls. You're not supposed to touch the walls. You're not supposed to hang anything on the walls. You're not supposed to be thinking, you just cut into the wall, Finley. But to be fair, someone else cut into this wall before me. How do you know that? Because this is here. This doesn't go in a wall. Who put that there, then? Who's going to believe you that some random tube was stuck into the wall? Is the landlord going to say, oh, yeah, there was a tube inside of the wall there? I can fix it. I can fix this. Okay, fix it, then. Yeah. Fix it, because your security deposit, you've got paint. Can you get it back in there? Yeah. Can you touch it up to make it look like it never happened? Because at least it's not popping. But who would put something so archaic and odd as a fuse inside the bulb there? Oh, no. Is that really going to work? Yeah. She doesn't know. Make a pull. Make a pull for that detestable amount of covering up. I put it back in. And, Stanley, as you touched that thing, as you looked into it. I'm a master of deception. This is into it. But more importantly, you feel your consciousness just out of your head. You watch as your brain suddenly goes somewhere, somewhere else, somewhere with a purple sky, somewhere with a barren wasteland, something that is just filled with voidless nothing. And you sit and you hold that in your head and it feels safe and it feels powerful. But suddenly there's an eye looking at you and it's staring at you with a single slit. And it goes, child, child, thank you. Give it. You are my salvation. I thank you. And it pops out of your head just as quickly as it's there. And it's gone. You're sitting looking at this tube. And you're staring at it. And it's quiet. Okay. All right. That's the alarm. It's time for the party. Okay. You have to go. I mean, everyone's waiting for you now. I mean, what are you going to take with you to this thing? I'm bringing paintings. I got it. Okay. Okay, so get some paint, you have to go, everyone's upstairs right now. So wait. Okay, go. But tangled webs will be weak. Hi, I'm so sorry I'm late. I apologize I was just fixing a few things around Thank you so much for coming Why do you live here Oh you know I was walking through this neighborhood and I just saw this building and it kind of like just kind of jumped out at me you know it just kind of has this this vibe to it And then lo and behold, I saw the sign in the window and the place has an interesting energy to it, doesn't it? It has a little bit of a, well, it's a special place. Why do you think it's so special? I like interesting things, and I'd like to think I'm an interesting thing. You certainly present yourself in an interesting way. Do you have a criminal background? No. No? No, of course not. Okay. You've never had any difficulties with the law? No. Okay. I mean, you know, aside from some rowdy teenage shit, but, you know, who hasn't, right? Right. Do you have a lot of contact with law enforcement in this area? Considering I just moved here, I don't know a damn person. When did you move here? Two weeks ago. Why did you move here? You know, I just thought a change of scenery would really do me good. Where I come from, people, you know, didn't take kindly to someone, maybe exploring new options. So you're coming to discover who you are, like so many others to this great city. Oh, no. The problem is I've always known who I am. Make a poll. You didn't always know who you were. Make a goddamn poll. I want to see who this person is. Oh, I'm so sorry. I should probably be calling you by your name. And I didn't even get a chance to hear your name. What is your name? Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. Oh, pleasure to meet you, Abigail. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Just call me the landlord. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. The Landlord. And I should probably go back in a little bit and describe who this man is. Now, this man is of clear Middle Eastern descent. He seems to be in his 40s to mid-50s, and he has a commanding presence to him that seems to show authority, even though he is not a man who normally you would expect to have authority. I'll make a poll real quick. Let me see if you can reach deeper into his psyche and understand the kind of man that this human is, since you are so good at reading people. Excellent. You can see he's nervous. A man like this shouldn't be nervous interviewing it. Now, maybe it's your proposed image and charm and this appeal that you bring into it. But you can actually see there's some fear, some real fear in his eyes as he's talking to you. As if this interview is actually just as important to him as it is to you. Now, I need you to be honest with me. And I don't feel like you've been honest with me, Abigail. Gail. All right, lay it on me. Jeez. What are you hiding? Look, I'm broke. I don't know anybody, and I've been living under a goddamn overpass since I've gotten here. Which has been a week, you said? Two weeks. Two weeks. This place is affordable, and this place is, but I need you to know, I need to know from you that you aren't going to do anything to screw up. I don't have anything to screw up right now, man. I'm just... This place was affordable. I don't have any credit. I've got what I have in my pocket right now, and I promise you, you won't hear a damn word from me. I'm not worried about your credit. What I'm worried is that you pay rent on time, that you don't go snooping around, that you don't hang anything in the walls, and that you don't mess with the building. Okay, when you say, like, don't hang things on walls, do you mean, like, some tack? Nothing in the walls. Okay. I think I need to make that abundantly clear. If you put a tack, if I put a wall, if I see anything in there, I will kick your ass to the curb so fast it will make your head spin. Make a poll. See if you can keep your composure amongst this guy who has went from being a kindly, gentle Middle Eastern man who was just trying to get to know you, but he's clearly not buying what you're selling. And why is that? Why is he getting like this? He clearly has a chip on his shoulder that needs to be explored. And I don't know, Abigail, you tell me what's this guy's problem. Look, mister, if you have asbestos in the walls or something like that, it's fine. I am not going to blow your cover under the shithole. All right. It's fine. You have a shitty place. I'm a shitty person. I just need a shitty place to sleep. All right. That, that's fine. But there's still one thing you're not telling me. Let's put it this way. This building has a lot of secrets and I don't need any more of them inside of it. And if there's one thing I should know is that Abigail, why are you coming to me with another name? Yeah. I'm not going to tell anybody. I won't throw you under the bus the same way that you don't mind, but that's only under the circumstances that we are clear. Look, you've always dreamt about being another person too, right? No one likes who they're born as. Me changing my name has nothing to do other than the fact that I fucking hate the name Kathy. Make a pull. Convince him, Abigail, that you are not a threat. Look, mister. Do you ever hear someone else's voice when you hear your original name? It's just a memory that you don't want to remember anymore. I'm just trying to get away from bad memories. That's all Abigail means. I do. I do know what it means to have someone else's voice say your name and hate it. But that's... That's what I'm afraid of. Great. As you're watching him, Abigail, he starts to talk to you, but have you ever had a dream in which you felt like lasted forever? There's a moment right now in which you're watching this man, and you can see his head move millimeters at a time as he's trying to get out one single word. but it seems to take forever and it's organizing watching him talk and seeing the look on his face as his eyes this single eyebrow just seems to just last it won't move it can't move and part of you just wants to take his face and just rip it right out make a pull hold on to your sanity as you're seeing this man's face slowly turn and all you want to do is just slap it to get it back right to the place. Thank you so much for your time. It just really meant a lot to me. And You're welcome to the building. Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah. Don't screw this up. I'll have the keys later this afternoon, but you can head up on to 403. Okay. Trash is on Tuesdays. Thank you. she'll do you and marley oh please not that music that music gives me nightmares from my childhood could we get something a little bit lighter some lighter music here are you a fan of true crime tv shows and what about unsolved mysteries the show that jump started all of our love of true crime i'm ellen marsh and i'm joey taranto and we host i think not a true crime comedy podcast covering some of the wildest stories from your favorite true crime campy TV shows all the way to Unsolved Mysteries. Baby, you will laugh. You will cry. You'll think about true crime in a whole new way. And you'll also ask yourself, who gave these people mics? New episodes of I Think Not are released every Wednesday with bonus episodes out every Thursday on Patreon. And every Monday, you can listen to our true crime rundown where we go over the top True Crime Headlines of the Week. So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcasts. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not-so-dark, not-so-stormy, hard-boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming. Follow Sonic and the Intrepid Chaotix Detective Agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high-flying, action-packed adventure will take them across the world, fighting for every clue they can find. It's one heck of a tale, which is good, because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives. Well, if that's all, I can just dispose of you. Wait, what? All will be revealed in Sonic the Hedgehog presents The Chaotic's Case Files. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. The chaotics are on the case. This is old school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time, and when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules-light nightmare with a story that emerges organically based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s, and man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the shadow dark every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on youtube.com slash the glass cannon with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark. Your story starts with you coming home. Yeah. After a very long day working. Yeah. You know, very long. Reminds me, what do you do? Director of operations, hotel fig. Okay, great. Yeah. So you work with people all day. Yeah. Yeah. Annoying people. Annoying people. Is that how you feel about them? Are customers just pretty much just, are they just a means to end? We don't call them customers, we call them guests. Guests. Yeah, I see. Yeah, they annoy the shit out of me. Great. Well, at least home is familiar, right? Yeah. So, these are the familiar steps of the landing that lead you up to the first floor. And, you know, I have to say, you've always really wondered about the first floor, right? The first set of apartments were actually on the second floor. So, really the first floor is just a bunch of mail rooms and then a stairway leading up. Pretty much, yeah. You know, have you ever thought about that? I mean, you've been here for five years. And every once in a while, you may hear a gunshot. Because that is part of living in urban living. But you've also heard screams. And sometimes, they're outside. But you swear that every once in a while, they've been inside of the building. And maybe those screams are coming to mind. So why don't you make a poll? Your first poll of the game. Oh! Is a... Is a... All right. Why do you smoke, Jude? I get anxiety. I get it pretty bad. Ever since I was about 15, actually. Some crazy stuff happened in my life. Anything you want to talk about? Does this house make that better? Does this place make that feel better? It makes me feel like it's what I deserve. Like it's what you deserve. Okay. You deserve a run-down apartment building filled with 1930s decor, unkept up electricians, running water that barely works often, and when it does, it's zero pressure at all, and a rickety old twin bed. That's what you deserve? Yeah. Okay. Make a poll. I mean, there's a lot to think about while you're here, Jude. I mean, the fact that you're now looking at this place, and at first it was beautiful and exciting and interesting. Now it's something that you deserve. That's a lot to carry on your shoulders for one man. One man who is perfectly in his right to handle and have a nice smoke when he's coming home after a long day. Yeah. All right? Why don't you just head upstairs because this place is still your home. This is what you've done. You've made it your own place. And you've had some good memories here, too. I've had a lot of good memories, actually. See? That's what's important as well. So the old bones of the stairs creak as you make your way up to the first floor. Now, the elevator's been out since, what, five years? As long as you've been here. Yeah. I don't even remember it ever working. Exactly. And you've been putting in a lot of hours lately. You know, a lot of people have gone home sick. And you know what they're really doing. You know what, they're actually out. They're all doing the music festival right now. Yeah, they're all having a fucking blast. Right, and you're... You know, listening to these people bitching me about the dumbest shit every fucking day. And how does that make you feel? It's like, hey, is this... I mean, I guess that's what I signed up for, you know? But you could be out. You could be out doing something. If you had not taken that responsibility, you could be out the one calling in sick right now, going out and having a good time. So why did you take a job like this, where you actually had the responsibility of all of these guests upon you? I get paid a lot, man. Right. You get paid a lot? Yeah. That's important. I get paid a lot. Then why live here? I own another home. Okay. This is my primary residence for me. I see. But I have a... You have someone else. I have a mother. Got it. Who is maybe living in your house right now. I bought a house, you know, thinking that, hey, you know what? It's time for me to grow up. It's time for me to have a family. do all these things that normal guys do right right right respectable suit wearing gentleman hey i'm that guy right so she got sick she can't afford to pay for you know the place she was in so place gets foreclosed on i said i have this house why don't you take it not shit going for me you know i don't have a fucking lady you know right well i do but at the time right abigail abigail abigail abigail well she's pretty girl yeah she's a real pretty girl you know we met one time you know living in the building i came in you know she was down at the mailbox and i was like okay I could see myself there you know and you know she was she was she's dramatic she fun she sexy you know she an actress so she got that like energy about her right you know and I like that well let go home man this is a long time we been talking about this for too long this is just it nice to come home after a long day and feel like there's a place that you can call your own except for something just went across the window a shadow and you know what it wasn't small in fact there is there's something out there and it wasn't even really a full shape someone's in the building but you didn't hear the door but this door has a very distinct sound when it opens and has a buzzer for when the magnetic lock goes off and it goes but that didn't happen and there's something moving around in the main part of the common uh this house has a lot of odd things but you never really seen someone just wandering around the building before and certainly not running because that was a that was someone That was a run. That was definitely a run. Why don't you check your keys? Because you don't have your keys, man. The door, the front door, the key to your front door, it's not with you right now. What the fuck, dude? Yeah. I mean, obviously you opened the door to get in here right now, but you don't have your keys. And someone's out there. What do you want to do? I mean, I need to find out who the fuck that was. Okay. Well, then. I obviously got my keys. Do they? How am I supposed to get into my place? I don't know. I mean, they either have your keys or someone's just wandering around. Let's have you go down to the first floor. Now, you run down to the first floor and you take the steps. The loud thumping of your foot comes down as you're just double checking, triple checking, making sure that you really, really, really don't have your keys right now. And you go to the mail room. It's right there. It's sitting just in the middle of the floor. I didn't put that there. No. No, of course not. Who would just leave a single key floating right down there on the floor, standing up? And your mind whacks as your head just goes out and black comes across your entire vision as you suddenly see a giant purple sky in front of you. And suddenly the whole feeling of the building is cold and your body begins to shiver as sweat starts to pour down your head and you see something. It is staring right at you, but it's not. It's looking at you, but it's not. It's staring at you. Make the pulse, Jude. There's something in your mind, and it's trying to find its way in. Get it out of your head. Get it out, and you can hear it. Come to me. Come to me. Let it be open. Jude, the brain just comes across you. The visions of this mindless thing comes about you, and you hold on to the key, and you look up, and you're holding it in your hand. There's nothing there, Jude. There's nothing there. There's nothing there. You're just holding your key. It's just fine. There's nothing there. Go home. Go home, man. Go home. Go home. It's okay. Okay. As you walk, you look down to the left, a passageway you've never noticed before here on the first floor. You look down, and there's an endless hallway. And as you look up, holding your house key and staring ahead of you, you see a black door. You've never seen this door before, Jude. It's onyx black. It has the chains on it. Chains and locks. More locks than you've ever seen. And as you look down at this key in your hand, all you see is black. I'm going in. You walk up. You take the key. And you look at it. And you hold it. And one key isn't going to open this door, Jude. There's 12 locks on it. There's 12 locks on this thing. And they seem to be an erratic combination. alphanumeric combination, directional. Every type of lock that you could possibly imagine is on this door. What the fuck? That's your house key. The person's out at you. Boom! Are you staying here? Are you going to go to that door? I mean, something's drawing me to it. I don't know why. I just feel this energy drawing me to it, and I don't know why. It's thick. It's thick. It's heavy. It's in with you for sure. Go to it. Walk it. Touch it. Feel it. You purse, and you look at the locks, and you stare at them. You hold them, and there it's in the middle. It's cold. The middle is cold, but the door is warm. The door is warm. What is this? It feels alive. and as if someone dropped nitroglycerin onto it, the entire door goes cold, ice cold, and you can feel the wet sweat from your hands slightly stick as icicles purse across the top of your hand. There's a spot in my apartment that's cold like that. If you're welcome, think about it. Yeah, if you think about where you are in the position, your room is right above. Holy shit. Your room is right above this door. That's what that is. But just as easily as it's there, it's gone. You need to get ready, Jude. I mean, come on. This is your night, your home. Go freshen up. Get up to the party. Unfortunately, this black door will be with you now. And it will come when we get to the tower. See you later, Jude. Now, there's a reason that you are out here in the lobby tonight versus in your room, which you would normally do when you're going to be doing a, well, a big infiltration like you're going to be doing tonight. Why is that? Things are getting weird in the room. Things are getting weird in the room? Things are getting weird in the room. They've been getting weird for the past two weeks. Okay. and I just can't be in there right now. It feels like the walls are breathing. Maybe you're hearing some voices that are unfamiliar to you. Yeah. You've been planning this for a while, this infiltration that you're going to do tonight. It's a big one tonight. Probably the biggest one that I've done. Oh, really not? There's a former tenant, Macmillan, actually, and he has been stealing from his company for quite some time. Okay. It's not a good company necessarily, but he's not a good person either. All right. And what are you going to do to it tonight? I mean, whose money is that really? Is it the people's money? Is it Selena's money? Yeah. All right. But more importantly, there's a rush to it as well too. This is for me. It's for you. Yeah. I feel like when I'm dancing in the code, I'm really alive. And oh, what a delicate dancer you are. But it looks like there's a little bit of an issue here. The screen's flickering a bit, which is odd. It's an old computer, but at the same time, you knew that this connection was secure. So would you make a poll for me real quick? Let's make sure that your tools are in perfect order here. There it is. It's hard. You definitely have to get whatever you can get. And there's something about making sure that you're buying the right kind of hardware that isn't traceable, it isn't manageable, and you do your best to cover your tracks, but it's fine. It's top of the line, and it's certainly not going to fail you now. I know my equipment and I know myself. Good. Well, then let's get into it. This is a time. Oh, it looks like you've got some mail at the moment here, too. It actually seems to be an email. Oh, look, your boyfriend's emailing you. Yeah. That's nice. Isn't that great? What's he saying? He says he misses me. Yeah. And how are you going to reply to him? We talk in command prompts, and there's a way to open up a direct line of chat to each other. Right, because what's important is that you have a direct line of communication. Why is that? Is it to make sure that no one else is watching? Would you want somebody listening in on your private conversations with your soulmate? It's not about what I want, Selena. It's about what you are okay with. And it sounds like you're not okay with people listening in on your private conversations. No. Which is a little ironic because you seem to know a lot about everyone else in this building. I do. I think it's about time. You need to get into this thing before it gets too late. Yeah. It's cracking. Now, this building creaks and it groans and it moves and it looks into it. But at the same time, this building has character. And this character is something that has been a safe haven for your activities. It's very off the grid. The rent was incredibly frugal. Yeah. And more importantly, you're not nervous at all that at any time someone could find you or the things that you do. No, no one can find me. I'm extremely good at covering my tracks. Help, help, help, help, help. These words seem to be appearing on your screen over and over again. Help, help. It's actually from a second window. That's the one that you use the secure line with your boyfriend. Help, help, help. He's typing it over and over again, and it seems to every single line open up a new one. Help. Help. Selena. They have me. Selena. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Help. Make a pull. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. No, he's not. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's not. Who's there? Who could be doing? Why is there? Is there something possible? The voices stop. They clean out. Everything is fine. Your moment of pressing, you tell them. You tell them. Selena, you tell them something when you want them to be right. He's fine! Okay, he's fine. Go back to your computer and notice briefly for a moment that your hand is on the keyboard and it has been placed in the H-E-L-P tags. What are you feeling right now? I'm scared. Is he okay? He watches it, pops up the same secure connection comes up. I'm fine, sweetie. He's with me. And the connection ends. And you've seen him recently, right? I mean, you know he's okay. Yeah. And there's no problems. No. But this happened. Why would he say help, Selina? Why would he do that to you? Why would he hurt you like that? Was he testing you? Maybe. He knows that I'm running an infiltration tonight. He's just... Was he maybe trying to troll you a little bit? Just to kind of see, keep you on your toes to see if you could go and trace him as quick as you can when you're going out to things tonight? That's probably what it is, right? That's fine. It's fine. It's okay. It's fine. So. Well, you said it yourself. You have an infiltration tonight. So, get into it. Okay. Okay. Miss? Miss? Miss? Miss, please, can you help me? Miss, they've taken my baby. Miss, please, someone's out here and they've taken my child. My baby is gone. Why aren't you doing anything? Who is it? Help me. I have no soul. Make a pull, Selena. Make a pull right now. Something's outside and you've never heard anything like this before. It doesn't sound like something that normally comes inside of your head, but there is something pursing in through this. And in fact, out of nowhere, this seems to be this pulsing, this indulating, this moving energy that makes you feel nauseous. It's giving you a bit of a breath. It's as if your body is moving at a thousand miles per hour. And yet you stop suddenly and you can feel sweat dripping down your body as suddenly out of nowhere, you start to just feel this tense coming up. And you're watching your prompt sit there and wait. And you can watch the time passing by. but all you can hear is... What is it? What is it? Is it there? Is there something there? I can hear it. There's something under me. Why is she crying? Is she weak? Selena, there's something under the couch. No, it's not. Don't go. Don't go. It's not there. It's not there. You're not real. Stop crying. You've never been real. No! You look under the couch, or do you not? Tell me, Selina, are you going to resist coming out from underneath the couch right now? Do you not want to look under there? Do you not want to see what is under there? Every moment I know what's coming, I can try to fight it all I want but it's gonna come. I know it. I know it. If you're not going to fight it, then no. It's there. It's there. Don't worry. Don't you worry. No, you don't do it. Don't do it. Don't you dare do it. There will only be a problem. There will only be pain if you look under there. But no, it's fine. Everything's good. Everything should be fine. You don't scare me! Make a poll. Stop the voices, Selena. Stop them from encroaching into your mind. Is that the good? Is that the easy one? She's always going to take the easy one. She always wants the easy one. You always get it with the poll. Shut up! Shut up! The voices stop just as quickly as you tell them to bat out of your mind. And you feel safe. You feel comforted. and everything is okay. Tell yourself, what mantra do you use, Selina, to get the voices out of your head? The walls are real. He is real. Make it real, Selina. Place it on there. Look under the couch. It is real. It is real, Selina. As you pull from underneath the couch, you realize that you've grabbed a fistful of sand, white bleached sand, something straight from the bone desert, and it's fluid, it's safe, it's free. And you look down and just as quickly as you thought the sand was there, you find that you've been holding nothing, Selina. You find that the sand, not a grain of it, is in your gloves, in the wrinkles of your folds, or even in your fingers. Can I tell you something? Of course. I've only ever told him that I know it's coming for me. I know that I'm going to forget. Or at least it's what happens in my family. Who are you going to forget, Selena? Everything Me Him Are you going to forget who you are And in the last two weeks before this I thought I was safe. I could always explain things away. But in the past two weeks I think it might be happening and I'm scared Sweet, I'm not here to tell you whether it's going to be okay or not but the tower will provide a sense of security even if just for a moment if you would only make a pull That long, warm feeling of recognition that you hope for. Maybe it's the reason you do code, because it abides by laws that cannot be broken. And there is a mnemonic element to it that ensures that you're constantly challenging your brain. And Selena, for the moment, you do not forget. You know who you are. You know who your boyfriend is. You know the person you hope to become. So, what do you want to do? I'm going to finish the infiltration. Maybe I'll do it while there are some people. Okay. Well, let's take your laptop up and see if you can finish what you started where there's a little more security around. I'm real. Emmett Markham, you've had a long day. I mean, you've been living here for about a year. And one of the things that's been interesting about being in this space is that it's had a certain weird emotional impact on you. Because you chose to be here. Why did you choose to live here? My work and writing has gotten me sort of into a nightlife that I've never really been accustomed to. And I feel like it kind of clouds my judgment with writing. So in L.A., I've picked a place which won't be distracting and won't cloud who I am for what I do. Would you make a pull for me? Okay. Your first pull. Wow. I have zero experience. This is just a lot to process. This is a lot of self-reflection that you're thinking about coming back to this reason that you came to this building in general. There are a lot of interesting voices in this city, and in the building in particular. I go for long walks, but I don't often have to leave the building to hear something unique. There are definitely whispers. It definitely feels like this place has a voice, would you mind putting it on the top for me there? Yes. Well, you feel like you can quell the pain a little bit. Like that's, I mean, headaches are not uncommon. Yeah. And, you know, you've definitely gone through the process a little bit to be able to clear out the headache. So you said you, I mean, you told me that you do a lot of walks. Why do you walk around this building? I like talking to people and I like listening even more than talking. And I like the people that I meet on the street more than I like the ones that I meet at parties. It sounds like you are a fan of people. What kind of people are you a fan of? I like regular people. Regular people. The starlet at a party who is coming out in order to make a conversation to find out who the next most important person they need to talk to is. When you look at that person, what do you see? I see someone who's trying to be something else for someone else. Something else for someone else. that's really potent and it's also interesting because i mean you came out here to la for someone right that's that's true you came out here in order to find and help someone who you put stock into? Were you trying to be someone else other than who you were? I made a mistake, yeah. Being here is a mistake. Is that what you're telling me? Probably coming in the first place was a mistake. Make a poll. You came here? You drove all the way up from your home state of New York just so that you could follow somebody else's dream? What are you trying to find? This is all very painful. That headache that you thought that you had quashed and had put away, it's starting to come back, but it's even more painful than it was before. It's starting to paint. It's starting to dig at your head as you manage to breathe and take it out and hold that space and be able to say, no, no, you had other reasons to be here other than just her. You said it. You said it yourself. There were other things here that were not a mistake. What were those things? I'm writing again And I'm finding where I started again And how is it? It's good, it's I mean, I'm kind of alone Are you alone? I am now Emmett, this is not something you were hoping to deal with today You wanted to get some writing done And out of nowhere, maybe it's just how you're doing right now, but it feels like someone just turned on a switch inside of your body and a wave of nausea. Just not crippling, but definitely bending over difficult clutch knot in your stomach just kind of comes into you. I don't know, maybe you should wash your face or do something like try to get a little bit of water in there just because it's so much right now. and it's in there, it's kind of in your stomach, as if someone just took you and you just went 1,000 miles and you just popped out of a speed rail. And you look up into the mirror and something in the mirror looking at you backwards is a dark purple sky leaving out and you see a giant tall tower looming out in the middle of nothing. pink purple skyline comes about you as clouds wander and wave and you can feel vision start to distort and bend and move around you make a pull em and make a pull there is something happening in here right now and it is not safe and it is certainly not conducive it hurts it hurts and things are moving so incredibly fast this pull are you able to hold it is this Is this still in your brain? Are you really seeing this tower right now? Or are you seeing something from beyond this world? That is fine. The tower did not fall. A single blink fell. Go back to that mirror, look into that tower, and tell yourself that what is there isn't real. You did this. You know that, right? You made this happen. Was it satisfying? Were you happy? Did it feel good to kill me? I trusted you. I can't believe what I did, but I trusted. You made me feel so safe. Like I had some other choice in my life. I'll never forget it. I was sitting on the concrete wall at the Denny's. And I was enjoying a cigarette. and you stumbled by. Do you remember what we talked about? Right? Sure, sure. Sure, sure. You're dead. We were walking and we chatted and I made you my offer and then you offered something else. breakfast. If it had been any other night, I would have just told you to fuck off. But I was so tired and hungry. And I was okay. I could play therapist for a little while just for a free meal. But we didn't do that. We talked about everything else. We talked about music and theater. See, I came out here just to find my place among the stars like everyone else. Emmett. Make a poll. I don't know. Remember, it's not for you. That night was the first night of a lot of late night breakfasts. You didn't talk about yourself too much, but that was okay. That was okay. Because for the first time I felt like someone was listening to me. And then you abandoned me. You stopped coming around as much. I thought maybe you were bored of me. But then you just stopped. Completely. Why? You're dead, Sam. I saw you. You know what I did? I had a regular John. He was hooking me up. But I wasn't looking for sex, I was looking for you! I wanted breakfast! One night, he got a bad batch, and we both OD'd. As I was fading out of consciousness, I thought to call you. And then I realized, I don't have your number. I gave you my number and you never called me! Now I'm here with him! And he showed me. He showed me what you're doing. Absolutely nothing! I died and you were doing nothing! I trusted you and you did nothing! Make a pull, Emmett. You're not real. Then who is he? I'm watching you Emmett. In this wakeful nightmare where all dreams come true. I'll see you on the other side. Was that real? Was it something you hallucinated? I don't know. But there is cold peace in the floor that you're on now. And maybe a party doesn't sound like such a bad idea right now. Thank you. interesting every time. If you're tired of searching and you just want something good to listen to, try one episode of Something You Should Know right here on the platform you're listening on right now. Welcome and enter if you dare. Hi, I'm Hallie Keeper. And I'm Allison Leiby. And together we're the hosts of Ruined, a scary movie podcast where Hallie tells me the grisly details of a haunting new horror film each week. Whether you're a terror hound like me or a scaredy cat like Allison. We've got so many thrills, chills, and obviously kills to share with you in every episode. It's the podcast that'll have you saying, that was so funny. I should not have listened to it at night with all the lights off. From the greats like The Exorcist and Poltergeist to modern classics such as Hereditary and Get Out to the freakiest new releases like A Quiet Place and Terrifier, we ruin them all and we'll leave you howling, mostly from laughter, sometimes because you're turning into a werewolf. Listen along as I try and guess the movie's twist, predict who will survive, and answer the hardest question of all, what would you do? So please listen to new episodes of Ruined every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And whatever you do, we're begging you, please keep it spooky. Look, we all know there are a lot of celebrity interview podcasts out there, But there's only one Happy, Sad, Confused. I'm Josh Horowitz. And yeah, I'm the host of the show, so I'm a little biased. But truly, Happy, Sad, Confused is the place for nerdy and intimate conversations with all your favorite actors and filmmakers. From Andrew Garfield and Scarlett Johansson to Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino. For over 10 years and over 700 episodes, Happy, Sad, Confused has broken movie and TV news every single week. That's because I ask all the questions I want to know, and more importantly, you want to know. Casting what-ifs, backstage stories, acting pet peeves, and much more. So whether you're into superheroes, prestige TV, or just the coolest actors and directors alive, you're going to learn something in every episode. Listen to Happy Sad Confused on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.