Episode 75: Logistics and Provisions

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What's happening people is Marvin Taser from our podcast Free Shots of the Kila and we're currently sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. Life's busy and admin gets forgotten but if you're claiming benefits, listen up. If something changes you need to tell DWP otherwise you could face a penalty. That could be a partner moving in even if they keep their own place. If your car doubles up as a taxi or family car you should only report expenses for work trips or forgotten savings like premium bonds. To find out if you need to report a change search tell DWP. Your life's already digital from banking and shopping to streaming and learning. So why does sorting government stuff still feel like such hard work? The government is introducing a new digital ID to make access to services quicker and more secure for everyone but we need to hear from you. Your voice matters. Search digital ID consultation to have your say. Digital ID making public services work for you. Starting making tax digital is seamless with Zeros HMRC recognized software. If you're a sole trader or landlord whose income tax is going digital not only is zero MTD ready it also gives you better control of your finances like capturing your receipts with a snap so all your records are accurate sorted and ready for tax time which changes the way you see MTD. Search MTD ready with Zeros. Construction shapes our communities. The buildings roads and bridges we rely on every day. It's why the industry's most innovative companies trust Procore as the leading technology partner for every stage of construction. Procore connects teams from the site to the office on one global platform. Over 20 years of serving construction we know that anything is possible when we build together. Learn more at Procore.com. Old Gods of Appalachia is a horror anthology podcast and therefore may contain material not suitable for all audiences so listener discretion is advised. Braker, breaker this is Kodiak. Hey good shipper, you got your ears on buddy. Over. Kodi Blevins and Cowboy Abcher sat in the work van that had been stashed a short way from the Walker property. They'd spent the previous hour ringing all the information they could on a Brice Adams and his now conscious Paramore crystal blankenship. The latter of that dynamic duo had remained mum. Glaren Daggers and what cowboy assumed was her soon to be ex-boyfriend as he gave up everything he knew about her uncle Scotty and his merry band of followers. Once they were convinced the boy had told them everything he knew they'd zip tied the two love birds and left them under the watchful shotgun wielding eye of Archie Stallard. It had been a short walk to the old brown Chevy that Cody had discovered earlier that evening and when they tried the doors they found the pair had left it unlocked. Cody Blevins had wedged his considerable form behind the wheel and held the CB's microphone in his massive paw. Cowboy sat shotgun trying to ignore the stomach swirling bouquet of stale weed and mildewed camping equipment that permeated the van as the two men waited for a response. I said breaker breaker this is Kodiak come on good shepherd come on back now I know you're out there Scotty a little more Pete doesn't clue to see it on your handle. There was another long silence and then a bored almost lazy voice crawled out of the river of static. I like copy Kodiak that's you bear it's been a long time since what playoffs in 72 over something like that good shepherd so uh we got your brother's kid out here towards our house with her little filler seems like they might have partied a little too hard maybe trespassed on somebody's property they shouldn't have either way they ain't no shape to drive home you want to come get them or should I just call the law over not sure what you're talking about Kodiak you been getting into your papaw shine again over oh don't be bashful good shepherd seems like a bunch of your kin folk was out here this evening having a big old time might have took something that wasn't theirs probably by mistake right now they bring it back we'll be happy to give both people her little lost sheep right home I believe I can find my way up to Peter's branch easy enough over there was a pregnant pause a scotty blankenship processed the revelation that Kodi Blevins knew exactly where he'd been doing business if the leader of that grim congregation was concerned however his voice did not betray it oh there ain't no need to come all the way up the branch Kodiak no reason to come along neither I'm betting if you're looking for something that God took you might have an out of town friend helping you look for it I think he knows where y'all could meet us and if you don't well he could ask his big brother oh wait I guess he came now can he we'll be out here till first light Kodiak y'all come see us over when the walls close in and the light gets swallowed and there ain't no place that feels like home the ones you love concerning the strangers and you cast your eyes through the winding road keep your foot on the gas your eyes straightforward clear your heart and mind best leave them goals behind when the heart grows cold home is nowhere then your mind is well when darkness calls run like hell oh Scotty Blankenship returned the CB radio's handset to its clip on the dashboard inside the air in the cab of the pickup was ranked with too many cigarettes smoked and too many days gone without a proper share and he was over it it was a rare treat to find himself alone out here on this old access road without a single member of his flock nearby Scotty loved those that followed him as best he could but damn it they were a needy bunch sometimes he was almost done though the end game was afoot and all of his hard work and sacrifice was about to pay off they were so close he just wished he felt energized and on fire with the spirit of the good mother truth was oh he was tired Scotty had never wanted to be a leader or prophet or the person people look to for answers if you'd asked him when he was little what he wanted to be when he grew up he he would have said an astronaut at least if he was being honest he would not have let his memo hear him say it ester blankenship had been ester Campbell when she found the truth of the good mother ministries back in 1927 she had moved to baker's gap from the dying town of Ernie Tennessee in search of a new community and a fresh starting buddy did she ever find one ester had been brought to the faith by blessed sister triplet who had served as the right hand of mother Darla herself both of those august saints had helped assure the rise of speaker timothy and grown a small clutch of followers into a bona fide congregation a congregation that had ultimately lost their faith that abandoned their ministry while sister triplet had given her life to serve the good mother miss darla and scottie's memo kept the faith alive in baker's gap even after the closing of the way as true believers referred to that dark time the first age of reckoning was a time of just retribution that had come to an abrupt end when a wicked coven of grannies harlots and other abominations came together to prevent the ascension of their matriarch the exact details of what had happened that year were lost to fading oral tradition and the ravages of time on memory scottie's memo however was adamant that they had been on the cusp of deliverance the good mother had walked the world performing miracles to dispense injustice and mother darla had prophesied that she would soon come to dwell in their midst and accept them as her faithful children the world would be theirs then because with the good mother at their side who could stand against them scottie dreamed of that world often a place where those victimized by the wife beaters landlords and cold hearts would be vindicated a place where those who had starved bled and died at the hands of them with money and pyre would be resurrected returned to the living by their mother's loving hand it was a well-known and documented fact that the dead leapt from the earth to answer her call and that version of the world scottie's mommy and daddy might not have traveled to jacob county kentucky on what ester cambell called missionary work according to his memo scottie's parents had gone up the mountain to the kentucky border to meet with a supposedly like-minded congregation other folks looking for answers and maybe a little bit of vengeance if they were honest it hadn't gone well norman blankenship had called from a pay phone in jankins kentucky to let his mama know that this congregation did not follow the good mother but instead put their faith in an old black stag rumored to wander the hills up that way doling out blessings and favors of its own scottie's daddy said these folks were crazier than dog shit he and scottie's mama were heading right back down the mountain and should be home late that night it was three days before state troopers knocked on ester cambell's door asking her to come identify the smashed pickup truck and the two bodies inside it norman and brenda blankenship had never made it out of kentucky the accident report said that the skid marks indicated that norman had swerved most likely to avoid an animal though that was pure speculation and lost control of the truck over the guardrail and off the side of the mountain they went this left three-year-old scottie and his older brother gregory in the tender care of his mama on pepaw who had channeled their grief and rage into the boy's upbringing now the blankenships attended church at rising creek baptist but the real sermons were saved for the sweltering afternoons in the old barn on peter's branch where scottie learned the gospel passed down from his mama on the other women who had been part of that age arecannan mother darla and her furious hand sign would tell stories of the good mother's great deeds and the bad folks she had put in the dirt there were accounts of the good mother's angels rising from the earth all bones and dark earth fused into one holy body to rain down judgment upon evildoers these tales were riveting and scottie could recount most of them by heart though if he had to pick a favorite scottie had most loved the story of the good son according to miss darla an unknown family their name a mystery even to the most faithful had willingly offered up their own flesh and blood as a sacrifice to free the good mother from her bonds so that she might walk the earth once more among their number ma'am iwestor would begin her eyes fixed on mother darla's flashing fingers translating so scottie might understand was a young boy no older than 10 years and it was this child that the good mother spared as thanks for his family's offering of blood and bone she hid within him a piece of her power so that her angels would watch over him and he might never know harm nor death but lo this child was feared and ungrateful he understood not the mercy of our mother he fled into the wilderness and was lost to us mother darla would go on and on and on about this boy according to her if the good mother could not come back to them then he would the prodigal would see the error of his ways and returned to the flock flanked by her angels to become the good son he was always meant to be if he did not return willingly it would be up to scottie's generation to find him to take from him what was given and place that power in a more worthy vessel ma'am iwestor would smile at this and take scottie's hand if he worked hard and did what he was told and kept the mother's words in his heart she told him he could be that vessel his older brother wasn't strong enough in his faith had too much of his mama's people in him as her sniffed his dainfully but scottie could be the good son his people needed he knew he could not disappoint his mama or the rest of those who clung to their shared faith so he worked hard did what he was told he learned the unwritten scriptures word for word burning them into his heart so that he might pass them on to others where his mama and other elders of the faith came off as reclusive backwoods holler dwellers often living apart from the rest of the world scottie was determined to be different he grew into a bright charismatic young man an athlete a good student handsome and popular with his classmates no one would have guessed that after winning the state football championship in 72 scottie blankenship spent the evening naked in a circle of animal bones and burned roots giving thanks to the dark goddess he believed had guided him to victory they definitely didn't understand why he turned down a full ride to play football for east tennessee stayed over in tippedon according to his coach and his teacher scottie had thrown away a bright future after graduation he kept his profile low just another jock who peaked in high school and settled down to do manual labor in his hometown like so many others ain't nothing wrong with that still popular and affable a good old boy among good old boys folks around the gap would never dream of the things he asked of his friends as he drew them deeper into his world of revenge and righteous fury the bodies they'd buried the terror they'd inflicted in secret upon the violent and dangerous among them and later upon the innocent yet undesirable folks who existed at the fringes of johnson county society they'd cycled their kills pacing them out over the years and throughout the region scottie had felt such righteous purpose when they'd committed to the bloodshed but after they'd done what they had to do to the dog lady and old possum things had begun to feel pointless that observed the rites and rituals for so long yet they'd had no sign of the good mother's return not so much as a shadow under a hawthorn tree then his niece crystal had taken a work study job at the college for she was assigned to a local history project about the founding of baker's gap genealogy and family trees were all she would talk about for weeks and it was within those twists and charts census reports and ultimately johnson county's school records that the roadmap to finding the good son began to take shape that their mother wasn't gonna answer them maybe it was time to seek out her chosen son wheels had been set in motion and now here they were scottie pulled his truck into a rutted parking space meant for county maintenance vehicles and got out the air was heavy and sweet this close to the water the scent of ancient pines picking up as he walked to their base of operations for the evening despite the darkness he was confident in his footing as he navigated the winding trails and climbed over the very rocks that floyd abture had died trying to traverse it was strange for all of his memos teachings in his own lifetime of worship and sacrifice to the good mother scottie had never experienced so much as a tingle within himself that couldn't be explained away as religious fervor or high motion but here on this little outcropping of land at the lake's edge a place where generation of kids and baker's gap had gathered to play and party and new things they didn't want the world to see he felt what he could only describe his power there was a hum under the earth something ancient and alive that made the air of the place feel like the breath of some great beast when he stepped onto the island proper he could feel that sense of presence intensify five of his most loyal followers were already there preparing the graves for the right he hoped would finally secure his place at the mother's side if all went according to plan then his years of prayers and rituals would finally pay off he would become her new son her good son the key to his ascension sat slumped and bound on the ground in the midst of hard men doing dark work scottie hunkered down in front of her and offered his most charming half apologetic smile i am truly sorry for this miss callaway i don't think you're gonna like what's coming seeing as how you and your kind have spent most of your life standing in our way but if it's of any comfort at all this shouldn't take long young man i don't know what i don't know what in the world you're talking about but you're already on the hook for several serious charges once the sheriff catches up to you breaking an entering assault kidnapping why don't you just cut your losses and let an old woman go scottie blankenship's contrite expression melted into a snarl you think my people hadn't been watching you and them two old whores that live out the end of big gap road since before i was even born you don't think we know that every seven years y'all go out in the woods and consort with spirits and hates and rituals meant to keep power from the rest of us you think we don't know what happens in the secret graveyard don't look at me like that we all know about the secret graveyard i don't know how y'all keep it hidden but i know it's real and i know it's where you keep our blessed mother locked away but that don't matter no more what's coming tonight is going to balance the scales oh yeah you will witness the glory of her power whether she can reach us or not you might want to close your eyes bell callaway this power might be too much for you to see bell callaway bark to laugh secret graveyard boy you're dumbing you look if you think anything good is going to come of the things you've done here you're messing with things you don't understand don't tell me what i can and can't understand you ain't nobody's teacher anymore what would you know about but bell callaway had heard enough reaching deep inside for her teacher's voice she snapped mr blankenship your pretty boy smile and football heroics might have fooled everybody else when you were younger but i know what you and your people are i try not to judge somebody by their kin but you are living breathing proof that the apple don't even have to fall from the tree to be rotten as for what i know you ain't seen a fraction of the things i have little boy so shut your mouth and untie me before you get us all killed scottie blankenship shook his head sadly and took a deep calming breath you just sit tight miss callaway your friends will be here soon and then we'll get this party started if you'll excuse me with that scottie blankenship turned and walked toward the water leaving the gaps most beloved retired school teacher to contemplate her fate and wait for her former pupils to find her on the other side of town kody blevens had taken charge of strategizing those students next move transporting crystal blankenship and brice adams would be a simple matter it seemed borrowing from the would be kidnappers own stash of equipment they threw pillet cases over each of their prisoners heads and zip tides their hands and ankles when brice complained about having his head covered kody kindly informed the boy that he could make this trip conscious or unconscious is all same to him brice considered this for a moment then nodded his cowboy threw the pillowcase over his head and secured it so it would stay in place but pose no danger of suffocation then kody threw crystal over one shoulder brice over the other and load them into the bed of his hulking 1986 forward f 350 crew cab whose camper top would both conceal and protect them from the elements you don't keep your mouth shut and don't try nothing stupid we'll have you back with your people in no time at all try something stupid and well you'll see what they get you out here after dark just leave still this will be over shortly kody closed the tailgate and locked the camper top then motion for cowboy and archie to get into the cab the two old friends climbed in and kody got behind the wheel it was a short drive to the glowing outpost of the road runner market that laid just off big gap road right before the on ramp onto the four lane kody pulled to a stop and got out of the truck leaving cowboy and archie to wait in the cab and crystal and brice to keep their silence in the back the flickering lights above the gas pumps through the monday and island of concrete and commerce that lay between the countryside of the town proper into stark relief these way stations between the old places and the new are all the same places to fill up one tank and empty another with a friendly face behind the counter to take your money and provide you with whatever provisions you needed for your journey gas stations like this often functioned as a combination social hub diner and supermarket for outlined communities where folks didn't always want to make that long drive into town it was getting late and there wasn't another vehicle inside in the darkness of the cab the silence grew heavy until cowboy could stand it no longer arch yeah for what it's worth i am sorry that i didn't come back or curd or dallas i mean i had to stay away because there were things in my life that i just couldn't bring back here but i'm sorry i miss being with y'all when they passed it's not like any of us had your phone number or address kid to be fair curtain had a heart attack and went within a couple of days so it was quick dallas was even quicker stroke just didn't get up one morning probably never knew probably never knew what hit him lucky bastard if there'd been any way for me to have gotten here and it not causing more harm than good i would have been arch i i missed y'all more than i could ever put into words but it just wasn't safe the things i've seen the stuff i've been running from my whole life after what we went through as kids i couldn't put y'all through anything like that again archie did not offer a cowboy his forgiveness he didn't say that he was there now and that was what mattered or dole out any other well intention but ultimately insincere platitudes truth was he didn't know how to feel about seeing the kid again small part of him had already let cowboy go along with the others archie huffed out a small bitter laugh and stared out the window of the truck he didn't want to talk right now but it seemed like cowboy was determined to keep at it you talked about being with curtain the hospital in barry and dallas but what happened to shane you acted like the way he died was somehow worse than the others you said the island left him haunted that the way he died was somehow different than everybody else what does that mean arch did shane take his own life archie squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose we think so kid i'm sorry to be the one to tell you but hell who else is left like i said we went back to the island the year after you left and saw some wild stuff faced down something that had to do with that thing that said it was curt's daddy but we handled it her well dallas's old dog did it and for a while shane got better for a time then his memo and pepo died within two years of each other and shane went dark again didn't leave the house didn't talk to nobody not even dallas you'd see him if you went down to the lake just standing on the south shore staring over at the island hair all growed out and beard like a caveman void went and talked to him at one time but said he wouldn't make no sense just rambling on and on about things not being done and how he couldn't look away and your brother tried to get him some help but then he just disappeared we found him living over toward model city and he seemed to be doing better had him an apartment and a girlfriend and then curt died and next thing we know shane's girlfriend is calling floyd asking if he'd seen shame because he hadn't been home in three days police picked him up walking down the middle of the highway nothing but sweatpants and a sock feet and they took him to the hospital doctors thought he had some form of dementia happens with folks our age you know but i don't think it was that at all it was the island that place did something to him i mean hell it did something to all of us right with shame though it was personal for some reason anyway a couple years ago shane took off from the assisted living facility he was in during a big old thunderstorm they managed to track him down to the lake over around work hopper heads din used to be and they they found a grocery bag with his wallet medicines clothes shoes his glasses even but no shame they searched all around the island and never found him he sent divers into the water they never come up with nothing that was over two years ago and nobody's seen or heard from him since it was a mess of a storm it would have been easy for an old man to slip and fall and the island took him kid hell maybe he gave himself to the damn place same difference i suppose but to answer your question yes for all intents and purposes i believe he chose to leave us as if to punctuate the end of the conversation the driver's side door swung open and kody blevin slid back into the driver's seat sorry about that y'all uh nature called i had to answer you and ready ready when you are mr blevin's archie stallard took a long slow breath and then blew it out through his nose let's go boys expedition hoe so well hey there family the stage is set the players are all in place and that leaves one more episode in our first story arc of season five of old gods of appalachia run like hell remember this season is a true anthology with multiple standalone stories that will unfold as the season progresses what's gonna happen when the boy who could not die comes face to face with the man who wants nothing more than to be the good son i guess you'll have to come back and find out won't you i think you will family if you're all caught up on our current seasons and are starving for more old gods goodness and you haven't already we'd love for you to join us over in the holler our very own subscription service where for a reasonable sum you can access hours and hours of exclusive stories set in the world of old gods of appalachia build mama a coffin door under the floor blackmouth dog familiar and beloved strangers and all kinds of other goodness produced exclusively for the folks who help us keep the lights on head on over to old gods of appalachia dot com slash the holler today you'll find that link down in the show notes this is your who in the world thinks they've seen more messed up stuff than bell callaway reminder that old gods of appalachia is a production of deep nerd media and distributed by rusty quill our theme song is by brother land and blood and our outro music is by those poor bastards today's story was written by steve shell and cam collins and the voice of cowboy absher is brandon bentley talk to you soon family talk to you real soon redeem your lab books on free bet spins or even cash in for real money that's satisfaction from lab books and for extra satisfaction here's the teas and seas let's rock 18 plus participates in selective promotions to get lab books springs blooming at starbucks a new season calls for new discoveries like our iced uber vanilla matcha latte smooth creamy and nutty balanced with notes of vanilla it's a treat for the eyes too with vibrant lilac hues to brighten your spring mood hot or iced there are so many ways to love this stunning sav uber vanilla pouring now at starbucks 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