This show features original and real vocal performances. No synthetic or AI technology was used in this production. This episode contains language which may not be suitable for younger listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Cryptic Radio presents Close Your Eyes Written and produced by John Rolfe Thank you. Callie! Callie, open up! Open this door right now! Callie, are you listening? Don't you dare say a word. Let me talk to him. Not a chance. I'm calling the police. I can get him to leave. Why the hell would I trust you? I don't think you have a choice. I hear you in there, love. Open up. We have a goddamn problem. He'll beat down the door before anyone gets here. You know I'm right. Damn it, hold still. I swear, I'll kick this thing right down. Go. You can hide back there, my room. Stay out of sight. Three, two, one. Hey, sorry about that. Jesus, about time, love. I was on the phone. On the phone? Yeah? I thought I heard someone else. No, I was just talking loudly. To who? My mom. Your mum? Yeah. That okay? What's going on? What do you want? Your girlfriend's laptop is fucking worthless. It doesn't have the files. No, that can't be right. She keeps all of her work on there. Well, maybe you don't know her as well as you thought. So what do we do? Oh, well, we don't do anything. You go and find out where those damn recordings are. No, well, I don't know if I can. She's pretty mad at me right now. Oh yeah? What, did you get into a little tiff? Well, you go and shake your cute little arse and you get back on her good side. What the hell did you even argue about anyway? Some kind of dyke problem? Okay, piss off. Easy now. Just having some fun. Look, you ask me, the problem with your lot is that you can't take a joke. Here. Why's the floor all wet? Shit. What? I just spilled some tea earlier. Yeah, I can see that. I nearly stepped on the glass. Here, hold on. There's two glasses here. There's someone else here, isn't there? No. Oh, we'll see about that. All right. Fucking game's up. Come on out, wherever you're hiding. Do it now, or I'll shoot this one right in the fucking face. Ricky, please! Shut up, you lying bitch! I mean it. I'll shoot, and I'm not gonna give a count. Don't. Oh, well, hello? Don't hurt anyone. I just want to leave. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't think so. Here, Callie. Why don't you be a dear and go put the kettle back on? Come now, keep up. Yes, yes, ma'am. I thought you said you could settle the child. Well, she's hungry. Is there nothing that will soothe her? She needs to feed. All right, then. Come with me. Where? Come. Through here. Shh. It's all right, Eleanor. Shh. Where are we? No more questions. This way. It's darker in these halls That's how they prefer it They? They who? Through here Wait here, please Good evening. Oh. Oh, hello. Hello. You were... You were one of them. Gosh, no, sorry. I mean, I didn't expect... Are you... I'm Magdalena. You're one of the circle, aren't you? I am What's your name? Uh, Sedona? Guide me to the chair? Oh, yes, of course Here Thank you Oh, um Hand me the child. Yes. Here she is. What? You've never seen a mother breastfeed? I have, but I'm just surprised. She was really hungry. Hmm. Oh, I'll leave you alone. No. No. Stay. Please. Tell me about my baby, Sedona. What's her name? Her name? Her name's Eleanor. Oh. Eleanor. Eleanor. Eleanor. Is she beautiful? She's the most beautiful baby in the world. That him? That's him. Looks harmless enough. They said he was a docile little lamb when they picked him up. Anyone with him? Just him. But the building had provisions for other people. He had food, bunks. Oh, so they were expecting a slumber party. How long has he been in there? Two hours. Wouldn't mind letting him ferment a little longer. And he didn ask for a lawyer No I love it when they don Ready All set Hello there, Eli. My name is Special Agent Conroy. This is my partner, Special Agent Ash. We're with the FBI. We have a lot of questions for you. Do you? That's right. About your parents. And about your friends at Ignota. I see. How are you holding up? Can we get you anything? Water? Coffee? Jacket? It's pretty cold in here. I'm fine. Oh, we got a tough guy. Great. All right, then. Where should we start? I'd like to cut right to the chase, but I'm sure you have some cultist diatribe you've been dying to tell us. I think what my partner is trying to say is that we'd like to start with your side of the story. My side? Yes. You killed your parents, Eli. You poisoned their dinner. I'm guessing it wasn't because you were bored. It wasn't easy to do. Is that supposed to be remorse? Well, you have time to work on that before you see the judge. I didn't want them dead. It was necessary. So you confess it was you who killed them. Of course. It was the only way. But it doesn't mean I didn't love them. You both don't understand. That's the understatement of the year, kid. Eli, help us understand. You're agents of unreality. You work to see this false timeline perpetuated, but your actions will be in vain. Is that the Old Testament? Today's horoscope? What? You think you are in control, But no matter what you do, what jokes you make, it will fall apart. It has already begun. This timeline is ending. How do you know that? The Prophet told me. Hmm. Oh, that's not a bad cuppa, is it? I mean, it's not my favourite, but has a certain exotic appeal. What is this? Ginseng? Jasmine? It's green tea. Oh, it's a little tangy. It's just not the same over here, is it? And what about you? You haven't even touched yours. I think I'm good. Ah, well, suit yourself. Now, where were we? Oh, yes! You were going to give me your phone, right? Nope, not a chance. Now, now, I'm only being polite. I could put a bullet through your face. The phone. And the passcode. Are you going to get that after you shoot me? Well, I could start shooting everyone else first. How about your girlfriend, then? Don't. See what I care. She's a traitor. That's nice, isn't it? I guess she didn't tell you, did she? She told me quite a bit before you got here. Oh, yeah? She'd tell you she loves you, then? Wait, stop. Oh, yeah, she didn't. Oh, you'll want to hear this. Do you want to tell her, or should I? Kelly, what is he talking about? Oh, it's a nice story. See, when I found out you'd been recording the show, I told this one you had to be disposed of. I even gave her the cyanide to do it. Told her just a few drops, then we take the recordings and get rid of a nosy fucking journalist. Easy. But this one's a romantic. She wanted to try another way. She insisted she could win you over, convince you to give us the recordings. Well, she was stalling, really. I guess she lied to us both. Turns out, she saved your life. I really think it would be a shame not to return the favour, don't you? Alright, stop. The passcode is one, two, three, four. Wow. And here I thought you were in danger of being clever. Let's talk about Avi Bernthal. You know him? I don't know that name. Does this ring a bell? The Prophet. I guess he didn't foresee his own death, though, huh? What happened to him? Heart attack. Very sad. He came and saw you at your parents' place, didn't he? Yes. Did he tell you to kill them? His message was not about murder. It was about commitment. about faith. He wanted you to destroy your life? To destroy what tethered me to this unreality, yes. It wasn't a command. It was choice. Why? What does it matter? The Prophet offered an opportunity to return to the origin, and to be a part of the realignment. He was sent to speak to all who were scattered, and to draw us back to his fold. The price to return was a show of faith. Your testimony. I didn't kill my parents because I hated them. I killed because I loved them. Oh my god. Their death was evidence I believed this reality to be nothing more than a shadow. All right, Eli. Think very carefully. Did Bernthal tell you how to return to the Origin? Yes. He told you where the Origin is? No. He wouldn't dare. Then how were you going to return? We were given an address here in the city. After our testimonies were made, we were told to go there and wait. Wait for what? We were told transport would be arranged. Arranged by who? Come on, Eli. Arranged by who? I don't wish to say any more. No? Why not, Eli? This is only unreality, right? What does it matter? The world is ending. Let's have another testimony right now, right here. Come on. Humor me. Who's funding all this? Mont Hughes. She's so quiet now. She's asleep. She looks really happy. Don't you want to take your blindfold off and see her yourself? I can't do that. Shh! Well, well, huh? hmm. La da da Historic alley Or Helsinki Schulz Sedona will you take good care of her I will Thank you We've delayed long enough. Yes. Yes, you're right. You're right. Sedona, please take her. All right. Goodbye, Eleanor. Come with me. This way. Mrs. Midnight? Mrs. Midnight? Yes? Where are we going? I mean, where is she going? doings of this floor are to be kept secret I believe that direction has always been clear right but are the babies safe? down this way the blue door is that where we're going? it is Sedona I'll take the child now What's behind that door? The child, Miss Wallace. Please, there is no reason to be upset. No. No. No. No, I... I can't... Sedona? Where are you going? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I can't... Come back here. Come back here now. Don't! It's Wallace! Do you see the door? I do. Open it. It's open. I'm walking through. Where are you now? I'm in the kitchen. My mom's kitchen. In our old house. Is she there? She's at the sink. Her back is turned. She's crying. Do you know why? This is the day I left for New York. She just cried. You made her cry? Yes. Mom? Hey, Mom. It's okay. Mom, I'm sorry. Was Caleb there? Yes. Yes. Upstairs. I was such a jerk. I left without saying anything to him. I... I didn't think it mattered. And I was stubborn and... selfish. Go see him. Go see him now. I'm going. Dylan, listen. Remember what I said. The longer you linger, the more unstable the memory will become. the more dangerous. I know. Please be careful. I have the stimulant ready, but it will take time to bring you out. I understand. If there is any indication something is wrong, don't press. Let me know. I will. This is it. This is his door. He's here. Caleb? Hey, man. What? You're not talking to me now? You'll have the next few months to not talk to me. I won't be able to bug you when I'm in New York, so... Why not let me bug you now? You have to use your missiles. That one has armor. Yeah. No, he's still up. I know. No, no. Yeah, see, you gotta use the missiles. Thanks, I got it. Doesn't seem like it. You're such a dick. Sorry. Hey, I know you're mad and all, but I wanted to say goodbye to you before I left. Yeah? Cool. See ya. No, I mean it. I think it's important we have a real goodbye. You know, Dad gave us a real goodbye. He gave us a really good goodbye. Not many hellos after that, though, huh? What? Are you going to blame me for that? I'm not Dad, man. No, but you're leaving. I need to do this. Why? I just want a change. You're sick of us, huh? I didn't say that. How are classes? Fine. Fine. It's straight A's again, isn't it? Almost. Mr. Carver gave me a B in Spanish. He's a fascist. Okay. You don't even know what that means. Well, maybe you do. I don't. Still, here you are playing video games. Have you even cracked one of these books? But I bet you'll still ace. Dad always said education was the most important thing. What are these? What? What are these pills? Who is Eduardo Lopez? Give me those. These aren't yours. Where did you get these? Hey, fuck you. Give them to me. Hey, how long have you been taking these? I haven't taken any yet. Matt said they would help me focus, that's all. I don't even know if I'm going to. No, you're not going to. Caleb, these are dangerous. A lot of kids do it, man. Hey, hey! Where are you going? What are you doing? Those are mine! What the hell, man? It's for your own good, Caleb. Look, I know you don't get it, but this is going to save you. It's going to save all of us from so much hurt. You don't have to understand right now, but trust me. Caleb? Caleb? Dylan, what's happened? I don't know. I think… I think I did it. Oh, whoa. Olivia. What's wrong? He's gone. The house is gone. Where are you? I'm on a beach. The island. You see, this is still a rescue, Morgan, but it's not just Caleb who needs saving. There he is. There's the little sneak. Okay, so you have the recordings. What now? Now? Oh, now it's damage control. What does killing me accomplish? The FBI already has copies of everything. Ricky no one has to die We can talk this out I mean why do you even care about this It doesn make any sense No? Why you? Why would they send you? Unless they didn't. You think this'll make Ignota happy. Is that it? Are you trying to score points? I'm plugging leaks. Ignota doesn't know about Dylan, do they? Do they, Ricky? What's that? You haven't even told them yet. You think I'd keep that to myself? I think you don't have a choice. I think they wouldn't believe you. Especially not after what you did. What you did? Wait, what's going on? He's exiled. Isn't that right? Okay, what are you talking about? Exiled? You see, Ricky, I've heard the recordings. I know what you are. And what you did. Shut it, you- You suspected Dylan back when you were on the Lost Horizon, but Olivia didn't listen, and then Ignoda kicked you out. That's what this is about, isn't it? You can't come back empty-handed. Ricky, is she right? It doesn't matter. She'll be right and dead. You know where he is, don't you? You and Olivia were the only two people who knew the destination of the Oasis. You know where they are. They... They trust me with their secrets. Are you alright? I'm fine. I'm... I'm... What's wrong with him? What's... Callie, call an ambulance. Callie! I bet you like that, huh? You bigot asshole. You like your fucking tea now? Ricky, look at me. Ricky. Ricky, look at me and focus. Focus on me. I'm dialing 911 now, but look at me. Ricky, where's the origin? Tell me where he is. Where did Dylan go? You know. Just tell me. Ricky! He's... Ricky? Ricky? Callie? Callie, what did you do? He was going to kill you, Morgan. You hurt him. That's been his plan all along. I couldn't let him. What did you do? The cyanide. Listen, I know you hate me. I know you do. I don't care if you can forgive me, but I couldn't let him. You killed him. You called 911? Yeah. Okay, well, the police. We need to go. What? Just let me go, Morgan. Anything but the police. Just let me go, okay? Please. It's beautiful here, Olivia. I wish you could see it. You wouldn't believe how big the moon is. Dylan, tell me you're alone. Yes, I think so. There's not a single footprint on the sand. It's smooth, unspoiled. Whatever you do, I want you to stay where you are. Where would I go? I don't know. Just don't wander. We need to get you back. Take your time. What's that? What? What is it? Dylan? There's something on the water. A dark shape. It's humongous. Olivia, it's an old wreck of a boat. Is it a cruise ship? I think so. How did you know that? Never mind. Who was that? You hear something? What did you hear? Olivia, I think someone's in trouble. Dylan, no. Stay on the beach. It sounds like they need help. Don't. Someone's hurt. Dylan, please go back. It's all right. There's a clearing. Dylan, stay out of sight, please. All right. What is this? What do you see? It's Adeline. Who? She's burning. She's tied to a pole and they're burning her alive. Who is? Shadows. She sees me. They all do. Dylan! Run! Dylan, get out of there! They're after me. What are they? Get back to the beach. Olivia, get me out of here. I'm trying. Run, Dylan. Close Your Eyes is a cryptic radio production written and produced by John Rolfe. Dylan is voiced by Elliot Brotherhood. Morgan by Samantha Cooper. Olivia by Devin Chandler Ricky by Alex Eller Callie by Chloe May Lee Bunt Sedona by Chelsea Krause Mrs. Midnight by Maeve DeBruyne Magdalena was Rennie Amoros Agent Conway by Baron B. Bass Agent Ash by Molly Rock Eli by Griffin Puatu Caleb by Marlon Dance Hui Sound design and engineering by Katherine Stanley. The theme music is Sacrifice the Pawn by Emmett Cook. Shows like this aren't possible without the support from fans. If you've enjoyed listening, please take a moment to rate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Good Pods, or whichever pod platform you prefer. A rating only takes a moment and goes a long way to helping us reach other listeners. You can also follow us on Instagram or at crypticradiopod to get news and updates about the show. We'd love to hear from you, so please reach out. Thank you for listening.
