Boy on the Bike: A Haunted Horror Story for the Spooky Season

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A boy rides past the same stop sign every night,
then vanishes. Emmett is trying to stay sober, be a
good dad, and ignore the shadows in his own house.
But the truth about the bad lady you can never unsee.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
There's a hill in the air, must befall. Join me
for a tale of Halloween. You will experience tales of
over ghosts. It is not recommended for the week at heart.

(00:56):
Join me for a tale of foul Weekly Spooky.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Hello, my spookies, It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.
It's time for a little spooky in your weekly. Of course,
in October, every day you get a little something spooky,
and tonight is no exception. We are bringing you a

(01:36):
very very creepy novella to do our part to keep
you in the Halloween spirit. I'm your host and narrator,
Enrique Kuto, and thank you so much for joining me,
and I hope i'll earn your subscription if you haven't
already on your favorite podcasting app, And if you're looking

(01:56):
for a spooky place to hang out and share me
scary stories and just get a little of that scary camaraderie,
you can head over to Facebook and type in Weekly
Spooky's Tomb of Terror. It's a little spot on the
Internet for Spooky's authors and myself to hang out and
enjoy ourselves, so make sure to check that out at

(02:18):
Weekly Spooky's Tomb of Terror on Facebook. We would love
to hear from you, and you can also send us
an email at Weekly Spooky at gmail dot com. Whether
it's a story, suggestion, a comment, a question, anything on
your mind, send it to Weekly Spooky at gmail dot com.

(02:39):
And if you want to support us in a very
direct way, you can head to Weekly Spooky dot com
slash join and for as little as one dollar a month,
get bonus episodes and so much more at Weeklyspooky dot
com slash join. But now, as for tonight, the street
is quiet. A single bike tire squeaks through the fog,

(03:05):
circling the same stop sign every night. Neighbors say it's
just tricks of the mind. The tracks on the pavement
tell another story, because some ghosts don't fade away, They
just keep riding and riding. Boy on the Bike by

(03:35):
Travis van House. Now that Emmitt Perry was a father,
he was delighted with the neighborhood. He elected to call home.
He had purchased his first house six years ago, and
in the first year he hadn't had a child to

(03:55):
call his own. That all changed after a one night
stand and resulted in the creation of his perfect son, Nathan.
Though Emmett and the child's mother were unable to establish
a healthy romantic relationship, they had a fantastic friendship and

(04:16):
excelled at co parenting, so much so that most of
Emmett's drinking buddies were both impressed and openly jealous. I
don't get it, man, You don't even fucking pay child support.
Can you still get to see your kid? Bobby Franks
was two shades to the wind downing his fifth jack

(04:38):
and coke of the night. He was one of Emmett's
most jealous friends. He had four children with four different women,
and jumped at every opportunity to complain about how much
he paid in child support. When you don't treat every
woman you date like shit, there are all types of benefits,

(05:01):
Emmett shot back at his friend. It was true. Emmett
didn't pay child support. When he and his son's mother, Renea,
decided to give co parenting a shot, they had agreed
to split all expenses surrounding Nathan. Renea was a strong

(05:21):
willed and independent woman. She already had an eight year
old child when she got pregnant with Emmett's son. She
refused to go after the child's father for support. She
believed that too many women took advantage of the system
and knew that claiming assistance would result in having to
interact with her other child's father, whom she despised. From

(05:48):
the moment Nathan was born, the child was showered with
love from his parents, and he was all the better
for it. Nathan was such a loving and caring child.
When around either of his parents, the look in his
eyes showed you exactly how happy he was. Emmett got
an excellent deal when he purchased his house in Enigma Springs, Ohio.

(06:14):
He had been living in a crummy apartment, which was
all he could afford working as a bar tender, but
a hundred thousand dollar inheritance allowed him to acquire a
house and to start working on his drinking problem, which
he knew was getting the best of him. Randomly, driving

(06:34):
around the general area he had hoped to find a
house in, he saw a little old man hammering a
home maid for sale by owner sign into the lawn
of a decent looking brick home. The man had to
have been in his seventies. He wore a button up,

(06:54):
long sleeved shirt covered in old jeans and overalls. Country
to the core, em It thought to himself as he
pulled up before the house and started a conversation with
the man. Emme it learned that the house at two
seventeen Callie Place had been empty for over a year.

(07:16):
The old man's daughter, who owned the house, had unexpectedly
passed away from a rare blood disease. She had died
sitting in her favorite chair in the living room with
a fresh glass of sun tea still in her hand
when she was found. After his daughter's death, a lengthy

(07:37):
legal process began to claim the deed to the home.
During that time, the old man, who introduced himself as Jerry,
had spent nearly every waking day working on remodeling the house.
He and his wife planned to sell their home and
their daughters and moved to Florida. They were longing for

(08:00):
a quiet life after retirement. Too many strange things happen
in this damned town. Jerry whispered to Emmett. It's time
for us to part ways and seek out greener pastures.
Emmett laughed, but he knew the man's words to be true.

(08:21):
Enigma Springs was unlike other towns. It was a special
place with a dark history, riddled with bloodshed and horrifying legends. Still,
he called it home. Jerry gave Emmett a tour of
the house, and he was immediately impressed with all the

(08:41):
hard work the old man had done on the interior.
All the wood floors had been refurbished, the walls were
freshly painted, and the kitchen cabinets had recently been replaced.
New tiling and appliances had also been added to the kitchen.
There were three small bedrooms on the first floor, a bathroom,

(09:03):
and a living room that opened into the kitchen with
the small makings of a dining room. The basement was
unfinished but clean, and Emmett saw no sign of water
damage or mold. Jerry was asking ninety eight thousand dollars
for the house, but Emmett could tell the old man

(09:24):
would most likely come down on the price if he
pushed hard enough. Jerry told him they had just sold
their own house and had to be out in a month,
so Emmett knew he had some wiggle room. He also
had an offer in mind. He didn't think the old
man would refuse. Think we can come down on the

(09:45):
price if I can hand you a cashier's check in
the morning. Emmett watched Jerry's eyes light up. In the end,
Emmett offered Jerry eighty eight thousand dollars in cash. They
could bypass legal fees with lawyers and realtors, execute a
quick deed and call it a day. There would be

(10:05):
no closing costs, and both men would walk away all
the better for it. Jerry said he'd have to talk
to his wife about it, but Emmett knew the answer
would be yes. He had been right, as Jerry had
phoned him a little over an hour later to say
he'd accept the offer. A week later, Emmett moved into

(10:29):
the house along with one of his drinking buddies, Gareth Long.
Garrett worked as a bouncer at Bert's Brewery, the same
bar Emmett bartended at. Like Emmett, he was just shy
of forty, but their looks couldn't have been any different.
Garrett was six inches taller than Emmett and had broad

(10:52):
shoulders with muscular arms covered in tattoos. His legs were huge,
and he had the beginnings of a beer gut. Even
though he worked out six days a week. He was
a fighter at heart, which served him well as a bouncer.
Even when a fight wasn't brewing, he would stir one

(11:13):
up so he could lay hands on someone. It annoyed
Emmett to no end, but he had a soft spot
for the guy who had lost both his parents and
his fiancee within a week of one another. All three
had been in separate car accidents when they met their end.

(11:35):
Another thing Emmett liked about Gareth is that he wasn't needy.
Even though they lived under the same roof, they didn't
spend much time together. They had lives outside the house
and were content to chill in their rooms and didn't
need to speak daily. They were both loners, so the

(11:55):
living situation was perfect. They were great friends, but didn't
constantly need to remind one another of that fact. A
month after moving into two one seven Callie Place, the

(12:18):
distance between the two men grew, though neither acknowledged it.
Emmett had decided to quit the bar business. He needed
to get away from the bar scene. He knew it
would be a struggle, but he was committed to it
for the sake of his son. Drinking and blow were

(12:38):
the two main things Emmett and Gareth had in common,
and now that Emmett had removed himself from the central
place they partied, they didn't see one another that much.
Emmett's idea was to quit hard liquor, cold turkey and
avoid all drugs apart from a bit of marijuana here

(12:59):
and there. Hard liquor and cocaine were his central vices,
and he knew if he didn't cut them out immediately,
he would end up being a sad bar fly for
the rest of his life. He also knew he could
save a shit ton of money by drinking a few
beers at home as opposed to at the bar, where

(13:21):
they were double priced and required to tip. He had
a slight gambling addiction and would play pull taps or
make bets in pool or darts, which he rarely won.
Once he quit his job, he and Gareth didn't see
much of one another, except for passing in the house

(13:42):
or the rare occasion where Gareth decided to spend a
night at home rather than chasing tail at the bar.
The first Friday em that was alone in the house
was his most challenging. He craved social interaction and had
to fight every impulse. He had to start his transformation

(14:03):
the following day instead of right then. By six in
the evening, he was squirming on the couch, unable to
focus on the TV show he was watching. He needed
to get up and move around. He decided to walk
to a gas station down the street to grab a

(14:23):
case of beer. He chose not to drive, thinking that
the walk would help rid himself of some of his
nervous energy. I'm going stir crazy and it's only been
one fucking night, and it shook his head in disgust.
He couldn't believe he had allowed his addiction and lifestyle

(14:45):
to get him to this point. He repeatedly reminded himself
that he was doing it for little Nathan. He wanted
to be a good father, that his son would be
proud of. Walking through the neighborhood, Emmett smiled ear to ear.
Many of his neighbors sat on their porches, having drinks

(15:07):
or spending time with one another. They each raised a
hand and waved as Emmett passed by. Others played with
their kids on their lawns, trying to wear them out
before bedtime. A group of teenage boys rode their skateboards
up and down a concrete slope at the end of

(15:29):
the street and tried to act older than they were. God,
I feel old, Emmett laughed as he watched the boys
dicking around. He missed those carefree times from his youth,
when he felt invincible and had his whole life ahead
of him. It was a nice night out, not too hot,

(15:52):
with a light breeze. When Emmett returned to his house
with a fresh case of cold ones, he decided to
sit on his porch and enjoy the fresh air. The
walls inside the house seemed to be closing in on him,
and he thought the fresh air would help him relax.

(16:13):
He placed the case in the refrigerator, pulled out two beers,
and went to the front porch, where two chairs and
a small glass table waited. He put the beers on
the table, pulled his cigarettes and lighter from his pocket
and set them aside the bottles. He then pulled out

(16:33):
his cell phone, opened his favorite music app, and pulled
up a nineties alternative playlist. He pushed play, set the
phone aside, lit a cigarette, and cracked open a beer.
He downed half the bottle in a single gulp, looked
out over his porch railing and surveyed the neighborhood. You're

(16:57):
going to be happy here, and thought, everything will fall
into place and you'll finally be at peace. It was
nearly ten at night and Emmett had a good buzz.
He wasn't as shitfaced as usual at that hour, but

(17:21):
he had only been drinking beer and not liquor. He
decided that in order to get a good night's sleep,
he'd need to increase his buzz. He had some weed
in his room, which he retrieved and brought to the
porch along with his orange glass bowl. He packed the bowl,

(17:42):
sparked the weed, and took a couple of deep hits.
He chased the smoke back with another chug of beer.
Something caught his attention from his line of vision to
the right. He exhaled another cloud of smoke and looked
to the corner, where he saw a young kid riding

(18:05):
a bike. The kid stopped at the stop sign on
the corner, turned the bike around and sped back in
the opposite direction. A coldness ran through Emmittt's bones. It
was Emmett's first sighting of the boy on the bike,

(18:26):
but it wouldn't be the last. The boy on the
bike was about to impact Emmett's life significantly, an impact
that would stick with him for the rest of his days.

(18:50):
Emmett had been out of work for three days and
struggled to keep busy. The days were the easiest. His
child's mother worked the day shift and would drop their son,
Nathan off at eight in the morning. Emmett would get
to spend the next nine hours with his son. Nathan
was five and full of life. Emmett would spend the

(19:14):
day playing with his son, inside and outside if the
weather permitted. Just being around Nathan filled Emmett with strength.
He knew he could get his sobriety under control. Every
time he heard Nathan laugh or saw a smile cross
his face. Renea would usually pick Nathan up a little

(19:37):
after five, unless Emmett needed to run errands, in which
case he would meet Renea in the parking lot of
her place of employment to hand Nathan off. This was
always the worst part of the day, the part where
he had to say goodbye to his son. Some days,
Nathan would cry and throw a fit, breaking Emmett's On

(20:01):
those days, he wished he and Renea could have worked
things out. Emmett's problem was how to occupy his time
once Nathan was gone for the day. Most of Emmett's
friends were people he had met at the bar. He
wasn't strong enough to go out and hang with his
friends in that type of setting, at least not yet.

(20:26):
He still longed for that burning sensation he got when
he sipped whiskey or tequila. He also longed for the
social aspect of sitting around and bullshitting with other bar patrons,
but he knew he had to stay strong. The longer
he did it, the easier it would be. He truly

(20:48):
believed that acquiring a job in the evening was something
Emmett was also working on. He knew he couldn't rely
on his inheritance long term to figure out what he
wanted to do now that he wasn't bartending. His only
passion was writing, but he didn't think he could honestly

(21:10):
make a career out of that. He planned to get
a mind numbing night job to occupy his time when
he didn't have Nathan. He believed that would allow him
to genuinely lay off the bottle. Everyone handles addiction in

(21:32):
their own way and at their own pace. This is
something Emmett believed with his whole heart. Most of his
old drinking buddies didn't understand why he thought he had
a problem. They didn't understand because he was still drinking
beer at home. They'd ask why he couldn't at least

(21:55):
come out and have a beer with them, even if
he wasn't going to indulge in shots. Emmett would try
to explain that that was the problem. He would not
stop taking shots if he went to the bar and
got a good beer buzz em It was sure that
if he spoke to a specialist, they would tell him

(22:16):
he would never be able to obtain sobriety unless he
completely cut out drinking altogether. He understood this method of thinking,
but he truly believed with his whole heart that it
wouldn't work for him. He felt that after drinking beer
in the evenings after five, he would slowly curve and

(22:39):
control his addiction. He'd give it a month or two,
and if he still deemed it to be a problem,
he would consider joining AA or an outpatient rehab. If
Emmett had gotten a night job the moment he began
his self treatment, he would never have seen the boy

(22:59):
on the bike. He would have never experienced all the
terrifying things that were about to unravel his life. Each day,
after Nathan returned home with his mother, Emmett would grab

(23:22):
a case of beer and sit on his front porch,
listen to music, browse the Internet, and engage in friendly
chatter with his neighbors, with whom he was slowly making connections.
He also began to work on his lawn like an
obsessive anything to keep his mind busy without thinking about drinking,

(23:45):
drugs or gambling. It was a struggle, but he was
managing himself well. Directly across the street lived a nice man, Levi,
who had custody of his two tear teen age sons.
They were both well behaved and spent most of their
time indoors playing video games. Levi was in his mid

(24:09):
forties and was recently engaged to a sweet woman who
had moved in with him. Levi had introduced himself. On
the third day, he saw Emmett smoking a cigarette and
drinking a beer on his porch. I see you're a
miller guy. Levi came walking across the street with a
beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

(24:32):
I'm Levi. Emmett stood and shook the man's hand when
he arrived at his porch. Nice to meet you, Levi.
I'm Emmett. How are you liking the neighborhood so far?
It's not too bad. Lots of kids around seem safe. Yeah,
we never have any problems around here. Nothing like Lake

(24:55):
Shore Drive, Levi laughed. Lake Shore Drive was a very
troubled street in Enigma Springs, Ohio. There were rumors of murder,
rampant domestic violence, and cannibalism. A few months before moving
into his home on Cawley Place, the street had been

(25:17):
blown to pieces. It was now nothing more than a
giant hole in the ground that the town was trying
to figure out what to do with. Levi and Emmett
hid it off. Levi liked to drink, but he didn't
like the bar scene. Nearly every night he would join
Levi on his porch and put down drink. After drink,

(25:41):
Levi would call it a night around nine or ten.
As he worked the early shift at a factory, but
Emmett would keep going until well past midnight, even knowing
he would have Nathan to deal with in the morning.
Spending time with Levi allowed Emma to acquire the socialization

(26:02):
he craved without going to the bar. The third night
that Levi and Emmett hung out and put back some
drinks was a Friday. Levi could stay up well past
his bedtime as he was off on Saturdays. He had
also brought his fiance Surely over to join in on

(26:22):
the fun. Emmett and Levi were shooting the shit and
Shirley was scrolling through her phone when the boy on
the bike appeared. Emmett's porch was one house away from
the corner of Cawley Place and Gratis Drive. The boy

(26:47):
on the bike appeared on Gratis, approaching the stop sign.
No street light was on the corner, so Emmett could
only see the child from the few porch lights his
neighbors had left on after dark. Look Levi. Shirley was
the first to notice the boy. It's that weird kid

(27:08):
on a bike again. Emmett and Levi stopped mid conversation
and looked toward the corner. Where the boy on the
bike had just turned around, heading back up gratis. What's
the story, Emmett asked as he lit a cigarette. That
kid rode his bike up and down the street till

(27:29):
midnight the other night. Beats the hell out of us.
LEVI took a chug of his beer. We used to
see him do this every night when he moved in
three years ago. He rides back and forth for hours
on end. I never see the kid out during the day,
only at night. It makes no sense to us. Do

(27:51):
you know where the kid lives? Emmett's curiosity had peaked.
If the kid only came out at night, maybe his
parents homeschooled him and didn't want him around the other
kids on the street. He had read books and watched
movies with over protective parents who would do things just
like that. Maybe they sat on their porch, watched the

(28:15):
kid ride his bike, and then ushered them back into
their house. Thinking about it, he pictured them dressed in
traditional Amish attire and had to stifle a laugh. We'll
see him for like a week, then it'll be months later,
maybe a year, and he'll reappear. Shirley said she was

(28:38):
already bored with the conversation and returned to scrolling on
her phone. He could be visiting his grandparents for the summer.
Emmett thought, maybe that's why they only see him one
week out of the year. That still didn't explain why
the kid only rode his bike late at night. Emmett

(29:01):
didn't know why he thought about the boy on the
bike so much. He had no clue why it had
become such a mystery to him, a mystery he wanted
to solve. Because you're going nuts from not drinking, really drinking,
Emmett's mind pondered. One beer later, the boy on the

(29:25):
bike had stopped traveling back and forth on gratis. Two
beers later, Levi and Shirley decided to call it a night.
If I don't fuck this one once or twice before bed,
I won't hear the end of it, Levi remarked with
a wink as he took Shirley by the hand. She

(29:46):
punched him on the shoulder playfully, but Emmett believed Levi
was telling the truth. The couple talked about sex NonStop
and weren't shy to share the secrets of what went
on behind closed doors. Emmett also considered retiring for the night,
but he still had another three beers in the fridge

(30:09):
that he planned to put back. He didn't have Nathan
in the morning. It was Shirley's day off and she
was taking him to visit her mother an hour away.
With no responsibility, Emmett decided to get as drunk and
stoned as he could from the skunk weed he had left.

(30:31):
He quickly reminded himself to go to the dispensary to
get more potent stuff. I've got to get a job,
Emmett told himself as he sparked a bowl and took
a few deep pits. I have way too much fucking
time on my hands. The boy on the bike appeared again.

(30:53):
He rode to the stop sign, turned around, and rode
back into the shadows of Gratis. Looks like an old huffy.
Emmett focused his full stoned attention on the corner, like
the one I had as a kid. I bet it
has one of those banana boat seats. It was a

(31:17):
red bike, that much Emmett was sure of. From what
he could make out of the boy, he knew he
was Caucasian and probably around seven years old. That was
why Emmett thought it was so strange that the boy
on the bike was out riding in the dark. He

(31:37):
couldn't imagine letting Nathan out alone at night at that age.
He didn't plan on being an over protective father, but
he also didn't plan on being a stupid one either.
Emmett knew you always had to keep your eye on
your children no matter where you lived, but he also

(31:58):
knew you had to be extra careful. In a place
like Enigma Springs. People went missing all too often for
his liking, which was startling for a town with just
over two thousand residents. There were only two thousand and
seventeen registered residents the last time he heard. He would

(32:21):
be damned to hell if his kid became one of
the missing. Maybe it's a good thing you sit out
here at night. If that kid's parents or caregivers aren't
watching out for him, you can. He knew the kid
was not his responsibility, but ever since Nathan came into

(32:41):
his life, he noticed that he started paying attention more
to other kids around him. He saw other people in
his neighborhood doing the same thing. They were all watching
out for one another's children, which is one reason why
Emmett was happy, he chose to move to Callie Place.

(33:03):
Emmett's thoughts were broken when he heard a thud metal
and flesh hitting the pavement, followed by a child's cries.
He turned and looked to the corner of Gratis and
Callie Place, where he saw the boy on the bike
lying in the middle of the street, curled in a

(33:25):
ball with his bicycle on top of him. Emmett jumped
to his feet and immediately ran toward the boy on
the bike. He could see him hunched over on the ground.
It looked like he was holding his knee. Emmet hoped

(33:45):
the kid hadn't broken a bone or crushed his skull.
Emmett had noticed the boy wasn't wearing a helmet, not
that many of the kids in the neighborhood did. Just
as he was about to cross from Cawley Place to Grottis,
a red car came speeding down the road with blinding headlights.

(34:09):
There was no stop sign in the car's direction, and
it was going too fast to stop before crushing the
little boy beneath its tires. Emm It's face went ashen
white and his eyes widened. Jesus Christ, stop, he screamed,

(34:29):
lifting one hand to his eyes to shield himself from
watching the unthinkable. The car slammed on its brakes, but
it was too late. The vehicle ran over the crumpled
form of the boy in the middle of the road.
Em It didn't hear a thud, but he knew it

(34:50):
had happened. He was momentarily frozen in fear and sure
he could feel a splash of hot urine running down
his li left leg. What the fuck is the matter
with you, asshole? A large man came bounding out of
the red car. You nearly gave me a heart attack

(35:11):
running up on me like that. The boy, Emmett began
running toward the man and the red car. You hit
a kid, the fuck I did. The large man had
a look of concern on his face and lifted a
hand to his chest. He was on guard, not knowing Emmett,

(35:33):
the crazy man who had yelled so loud that he
could hear him from inside his car while speeding down
the road. He noticed that Emmett's eyes were wide and crazy.
Emmett ran to the front of the man's car, panting
with tears. He looked down, but there was no sign

(35:54):
of the little boy or his bike. He fell on
his stomach, lowering his face to the road and looking
under the car, Still no sign of the boy. His
heart was beating so hard he could feel it pounding
in his neck, and a nervous sweat covered him. Where

(36:17):
the hell is he? He was here? I saw him
on the road. Everett's mind was in overdrive. What the
hell is the matter with you? The owner of the
car moved forward, staring down at Emmett. He maintained a
reasonable distance, unsure if Emmett was crazy or on drugs.

(36:39):
I I Emmett slowly stood, His legs were shaking. He
looked from one side of the street to the other.
I'm sorry, I I thought I saw a kid in
the street. I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry. He began to
back away from the car and head toward his house.

(37:03):
You're fucking crazy, man. The driver of the car returned
to his vehicle, got in, slammed the door, and sped off.
Once back on his porch, Emmett nervously lit a cigarette
and stood staring at the corner of the street where
he was sure he had witnessed the boy on the

(37:25):
bike being hit by the red car. The street was
quiet and empty, and there was no sign that the
boy had been there at all. Sleep did not come

(37:46):
easy for Emmett that night. He knew with certainty that
he had seen the boy on the bike, crumpled in
the middle of the street. He had heard his cries.
He had listened to the fleshy, metallic thud when the
incident occurred. He had seen the kid hunched over, holding

(38:07):
on to his knee, crying out in pain. People can
hallucinate when they are having withdrawals, em It thought to himself.
But he was still drinking beer every day. He would
get the shakes now and then, and night sweats, signs

(38:27):
that his body was adapting to not having the hard
liquor and cocaine it desired. He would have considered hallucinations
a possibility if he hadn't been drinking beer nightly. But
the boy had been there, even the neighbors had seen him,
so he knew he was real. Maybe it's stress, emme

(38:52):
it considered, you've been worried about getting a job. Maybe
you fell asleep and dreamed the boy fell in the street.
You know it's dark in that direction without street lights.
No matter how many theories and excuses crossed, his mind.
He didn't believe a single one of them. The boy

(39:13):
had been there, he had fallen to the street, crying
out in pain. Then he had vanished, vanished into the night.
Emm It woke far too early the next day. He

(39:34):
figured he had slept an hour to an hour and
a half. Every time he shut his eyes, the boy
being hit by the red car would cross his mind,
and he'd open them back up in a panic. He
also kept getting up and peeking through the bay window

(39:54):
curtains in his living room to see if the child
was still there on the ground. When he did sleep,
it was restless. He dreamed he was on a busy street,
perhaps in New York, and had taken Nathan for a walk.
He had been distracted by two guys arguing, and Nathan

(40:16):
was nowhere to be seen. When he turned around, he
had been taken. Emmett scrambled in the crowd, screaming his
son's name. He had an empty and terrible feeling in
the pit of his stomach and his heart that he
would never that he would never see him again. Emmet

(40:38):
woke covered in a blanket of sweat. The dream was
still thick in his mind, and he ran straight to
the bathroom and vomited. By one that afternoon, Emmett was
craving a drink, a strong one. He knew beer wouldn't

(40:58):
satisfy his needs. He was mentally and emotionally battling himself
for a good hour. At one point, he grabbed his
car keys, headed outside, got into his car, revved up
the engine, and prepared to head to the bar. He
knew what he was about to do was wrong and

(41:20):
would most likely spiral out of control, but he needed
a drink in a bad way. Wrapped around his rear
view mirror were the first pair of Chuck Taylor's emm
It had bought Nathan. When he turned too, the shoes
immediately reminded him of why he was trying to embrace sobriety.

(41:42):
He shut off the engine and headed back inside. Get
a fucking grip, man, he told himself. You can't lose
yourself now, or or you'll lose Nathan. Emmitt went to
his room and packed a bowl. He took a few hits,
holding the smoke in to obtain a quicker high. Within minutes,

(42:07):
he was good and stoned. He thought about taking a nap,
but was afraid he'd have terrible nightmares about Nathan going
missing again. Stepping outside, he decided to take a walk
to clear his mind. He rarely exercised and thought the
fresh air and physical activity might do him some good.

(42:31):
The moment he stepped foot outside the door, his feet
started walking toward the corner where he was sure he
had spotted the boy on the bike the night before.
He couldn't help himself as he walked over to where
he was confident the little boy had fallen. His eyes

(42:51):
dropped to the ground, looking for any sign that he
had been there, Scrapes from the bike hitting the ground,
blood from a scraped knee, anything you trying to get
yourself killed. A man in a Ford pickup truck had
stopped his vehicle in the middle of the street. Luckily,

(43:13):
it was early afternoon and he had seen Emmett standing
there and had been able to slow down. Emme It
spun around and stared blankly at the truck. His mind
had been consumed with the boy, and he hadn't even
heard it pull up. He lifted a hand in acknowledgment

(43:34):
and felt his face grow red with embarrassment. Sorry about that,
Emmett tried to fake a smile. Must have been day dreaming,
no harm, but you might want to reconsider daydreaming if
you plan on walking in the middle of the street.
The man laughed as Emmett stepped out of the way,

(43:57):
allowing the truck to pass. Stick to the sidewalks. Dumbass,
Emmett told himself as he stepped up and over the
curb and on to the sidewalk. He then started walking
up Gratis, still lost in his thoughts. Thirty minutes later,

(44:22):
emme it was pleased to discover that his mind was
growing clearer, his nerves had calmed, and his thoughts weren't
consumed by the bottle or the boy on the bike.
With each step he took, the worries of the previous
night began to fade. He smiled when he found himself

(44:42):
humming under his breath. You've been under a lot of stress.
It would be best if you got away for a
few days. Maybe rent a cabin by a lake and
go fishing. Take Nathan with you, he considered. His California
sobriety was not working out as he intended. He knew

(45:05):
he should really stop drinking altogether, but it was such
a large part of his life that. He wasn't sure
how he would adjust. He'd already lost most of his
friends and couldn't imagine how lonely he would become without
a bottle in his hand. Apart from Nathan and his roommate,

(45:26):
Emmtt's only friend was a cold drink. He smiled as
a group of kids came speeding by on their bikes.
They were around ten years old, and he could see
the joy in their faces as they rode up and
down the road. Two of the boys were even attempting

(45:47):
to pop wheelies. One of them, wearing a red baseball cap,
gave him a wave. It was nearing five and Emmett
suddenly realized how hungry he was. He hadn't been hungry
all day, but now he was ravenous. He turned around
and started heading back down Gratis toward his own house.

(46:11):
He was considering firing up the grill and putting on
a few burghers. He had some hamburger meet in the
refrigerator and needed to use it before it spoiled. As
Emmett continued walking up the street with great determination, he
saw an old lady sitting in a chair on her porch.

(46:33):
The porch was covered with hundreds of colorful flowers. She stood,
walked to the edge of her porch and waved at him.
Emmett raised a hand and waved in return. You look
like a man with many things on his mind, she remarked.
It shows huh very much, so she stepped off the porch.

(46:58):
My name is Milly. He stopped walking and focused all
his attention on the lady. Emmett. I'm pretty new to
the neighborhood. Yes, you live on Cawley Place. Milly smiled,
looking down the street in the direction. Emmett resided, I
see you as sitting on your porch enjoying drinks at night. Yeah,

(47:21):
that's me. You tried to save my grandson last night.
Great seriousness rose in Milly's eyes. He rides his bike
up and down the street late at night. Emmett felt
a lump rise in his throat. He didn't know if

(47:42):
he was about to vomit or scream. He felt sweat
break out beneath his arms and on his forehead. He
could feel himself trembling and was afraid he would pass out.
Is is and It. Tried to speak, but could only stutter.

(48:03):
He stepped forward on wobbly legs, and walked toward Milly.
He needed answers. Is is the boy okay? I was
sure he got hit by a car last night. I've
never been so scared in my life. Please tell me
is he okay? Milly frowned and motioned for him to

(48:26):
approach her. He did so quickly until he was standing
less than a foot from her. That is when she
said the words that would haunt Emmt for days. I'm
afraid to say my grandson is not okay, Emmett. He
died two years ago. Milly was sure Emmett was about

(48:50):
to pass out. She placed a comforting hand on his
left arm and directed him to follow her into the
shelter of her porch. She made him sit in a
chair and rushed into her house to grab him a
glass of water. If nothing else. Milly was a caretaker,

(49:10):
and she could tell he needed a little motherly love.
Emmittt's mind clattered, Milly's words kept ringing between his ears.
He died two years ago. He knew the lady was
not pulling his leg. She didn't seem like the type

(49:33):
to indulge in pranks. Suddenly, the mysterious accident from the
night before made sense. The boy hadn't been hit by
the car on the road because he hadn't really been there,
just the fragments of his prior existence had been on
the road. Ghosts are real, Emmittt's mind questioned. He had

(49:58):
never frowned upon those who believed that they existed. He
didn't fully understand the logistics of the afterlife, and he
did believe in the possibility of life after death. Did
I really see a ghost? What the fuck is going on?
Emmett's heart continued to beat high up in his neck. Oh, Emmett.

(50:23):
Milly's face was filled with great sympathy. Steady your hands
and take this glass what He turned to Milly. For
a moment, his eyes blurred and he was unsure where
he was water, it will do you good. Try to
take a few small SIPs. Milly leaned over, passing the

(50:47):
glass of ice water to Emmett. Careful now, you don't
want to spill it all over yourself. Emmett's hands were
still shaking, but not as bad as before. He managed
to get a good grip on the glass and moved
it to his mouth, taking a small sip. The water

(51:08):
was satisfying. He could feel every cell of his body
jumping for joy when the first sip entered his mouth.
He sat the glass on a small table beside him
and looked about the porch. It was riddled with hundreds
of colorful flowers. He saw a few bees and butterflies

(51:29):
dancing among the blossoms. Milly moved a chair beside him
and sat down nervously. Smiling, She reached out one hand
and reassuringly padded Emmett on the knee. I want you
to know if I heard you right. Emmett struggled to speak.

(51:50):
He was careful to whisper so as not to be
heard by any passing neighbors. Your grandson, the boy on
the bike. He's not real, oh dear, Milly leaned back
in her chair. He's very real, just not flesh and

(52:11):
blood no more. He's not passed from this world to
the next. He's trapped here for reasons I'm unsure of.
But he revealed himself to you, which means the world
to me. The neighbors across the street from me have
seen him too, but they've never interacted with him. He

(52:35):
allowed you to see his fall. He's never done that before.
Others have seen him pass up and down, the street.
But something about you made him feel vulnerable enough to
show you his fall, even in the afterlife. I don't understand,
Emmett's eyes begged for answers. He had never needed a

(52:58):
drink more in his intent higher life. Let me start
from the beginning, Emmet. I'll tell you what I know
the best way I know how to say it. You
have to understand that this is tough for me to

(53:18):
speak about, as he was my only grandchild and he
died under my care. Would you allow me to tell it?
Emmet shook his head yes, as he sipped the ice
cold water. This time he nearly chugged it and felt
a cold tinge of shock in his temples. Still, it

(53:42):
was refreshing. He hadn't realized how much his body needed it.
Danny was the sweetest child. Milly's eyes were wet, but
no tears had yet to grace her cheeks. His mother,
my daughter, was an addict, not only with the bottle,

(54:03):
but also with pills. I understand the struggle with the bottle,
emm It thought to himself. It was a long hard
road to convince her to seek help, but she knew
if she didn't she would lose Danny. She loved Danny,
but she loved her vices even more. She was a

(54:27):
single mother, and it was a long, rough road. Danny's
father was never in the picture. I'm not even sure
my daughter knew who his birth father was. I hate
to say it, but she was easy in those days.
If you get what I'm saying, she would do anything

(54:51):
to obtain drugs. I hate to be so crude, I understand.
Emmet nodded. He knew many women from the bars that
would give you a handy or even a blowjob, for
another round of drinks or a couple of lines of cocaine.
Danny was six when his mother entered rehab. My husband,

(55:15):
Martin was still alive. Then he and I volunteered to
take Danny into our care while she attended to her health.
It was a great joy having a child in our
home again. It had been several years since the walls
of our home had that type of youthful joy. Each

(55:36):
day was a blessing. I'm sorry to hear about the
passing of your husband, Emmitt said, with complete sincerity. Emmett
didn't want to interrupt Milly, as he wanted to hear
the rest of the story. But he also wanted to
show Milly he was listening intently. Thank you, looked over

(56:00):
her lawn and continued her tale. It was Martin who
bought Danny the bike. Danny never had a male role model,
and Martin went out of his way to spend every
waking moment with the child, playing catch in the backyard,
taking him fishing, showing him how to throw a football,

(56:21):
and of course, how to ride a bike. Something Martin
had done with Danny was exactly what Emmett hoped to
do with his own son. He smiled, imagining how much
fun Danny had had with his grandfather. He was also
considering how much joy Martin must have obtained from teaching

(56:45):
his grandson these things. Martin spent two days teaching Danny
how to ride the bike and of course bike safety.
He always wore a helmet. Martin was very strict when
it came to protecting Danny's head, his sweet little head.

(57:06):
He had the most beautiful green eyes and jet black
hair that made them really stand out. He had the
sweetest dimples and a smile that could melt your heart.
I shit you not, Millie began to laugh. Danny was
a very independent kid. He had to be with a

(57:28):
mother like my daughter. We didn't know it at the time,
but she had left him home alone constantly. Danny knew
how to cook and provide for himself. He knew when
it was time to take a bath and when it
was time to brush his teeth, and he knew how
to clean up after himself. He had an old soul.

(57:50):
You could see sadness and tiredness in his eyes. Who
knows what else that child saw when he was in
the care of his How is your daughter now? Emmett
told himself to stop asking questions. We'll get to that.
Emmett saw a flicker of sadness in Millie's eyes when

(58:13):
she responded, perhaps the same type of sadness that had
been in Danny's eyes. Once Danny learned how to ride
the bike, demanding his training wheels be removed after only
a few hours, his independence again came into play. Within days,
he was riding up and down the sidewalk without assistance.

(58:37):
Martin was so proud as I was. He would go
up and down the street beeping the horn on his bike.
I didn't see a horn on his bike, Emmett thought
to himself. He also kept wanting to go further and
further on his own, but we would only let him

(58:58):
go as far as the stop sign where Coullie Place
meets Gradis. Where you saw him fall in the middle
of the street. Milly turned her face toward Emmett and
looked at him thoughtfully. I didn't want Danny to ride
in the street, but Martin convinced me that Danny was responsible,

(59:20):
which he was. He never crossed the street without looking
both ways and was always aware of his surroundings. As
I said, Danny was wise beyond his years and very responsible.
We allowed him to ride in the street only when
we were sitting here on the porch, and each time

(59:42):
he left the house we would remind him of the
importance of bike safety and being aware of drivers on
the road. Emmett was thinking about how protective he was
when it came to his own son, and knew it
would be a hard decision to let him ride up
and down the street without his supervision, let alone venturing

(01:00:06):
into the road. He had already witnessed several older kids
in his neighborhood who would often pull out in front
of a car during their playful excitement. Luckily, he had
not seen an accident yet. The first time Danny fell
in the street and hurt his knee, I was terrified,

(01:00:28):
just like you saw the other night. I didn't want
Danny to ride that blasted bike any more, but Martin
insisted that boys would be boys and he would learn
from each fall he had. I gave in. Danny continued
riding his bike, and soon he wanted to venture further.

(01:00:51):
He had made a friend in the house next to yours,
a little boy named Billy. After meeting his mother and father,
he agreed that Danny could ride his bike to the
house to play with the boy, But the moment the
street lights came on, he had to return home. Milly

(01:01:11):
stopped talking and looked at Emmett again, Sorry, I'm rambling.
You want to get to the nitty gritty of it all.
Milly nervously smiled, then looked down at her hands resting
in her lap. She nervously rubbed them together. One evening,

(01:01:37):
I came outside to wait for Danny to return home.
The street lights had just come on. I sat outside
on the porch waiting for him to arrive, and that's
when I heard the most terrible sound I've ever heard.
It was the sound of crashing metal. I heard tires squeal.

(01:01:59):
I heard a terrible thud. Milly started crying. Emmett placed
his hand on Milly's leg, letting her know he was sympathetic.
I still hear those sounds in my dreams. I'm afraid
they'll haunt me until the day I die, a reminder

(01:02:21):
of those last minutes with my sweet little Danny. If
it's too hard to continue, I understand. Emmett tried to
be comforting, but he hoped she would continue. He had
to know what happened to Danny, and he needed to
understand why he was seeing him ride his bike up

(01:02:44):
and down the street at night. Why was Danny haunting him?
This question he needed answers to above all else. No,
it's just I miss him so much. Milly now had
tears flowing down her cheeks. I heard Danny scream. I

(01:03:07):
heard him cry. I got to my feet and I
ran until it hurt. I have knee and back problems,
you see. When I got to the street, I saw
Danny crumpled in a ball, covered in blood. He had
been crushed beneath the tires of a car. I ran
to his tiny body and pulled him into my arms.

(01:03:31):
I got there just in time to see the confusion
in his eyes, and a.

Speaker 3 (01:03:37):
Moment later I watched as all the light vanished from him.
My Danny's gone. That's horrible. Emmett had tears in his
own eyes. His mind kept thinking about Nathan and how
he didn't know if he'd survive if he had seen

(01:03:59):
something like that happened to him. If Nathan died, em
it was sure he would as well. Milly wiped the
tears from her eyes and smiled. She still had more
to tell him. Martin died a week later. I believe

(01:04:20):
it was from a broken heart. He destroyed what remained
of Danny's bike and blamed himself for teaching him how
to ride.

Speaker 1 (01:04:29):
His mother. My daughter cut her wrists in the rehab
facility after she heard what happened. She blamed me and Martin,
but I think she blamed herself even more. Danny wouldn't
have been with us if she hadn't been in rehab,
and he would have still been alive. Grief, Emmett replied, yes.

(01:04:57):
Milly wiped tears from her eyes and again focussed them.
A week later, was the first time I saw Danny
riding his bike up and down the sidewalk again. Danny
was dead and buried, but there he was, riding his bike,
smiling and waving. He was dead, but his spirit was

(01:05:22):
still here on this street where it remains. You are
not going crazy, Emmett. You are seeing my dear Danny.
You are seeing him, and I believe he is trying
to reach out and tell you something, something he's unable
to say to me. Emmett was speechless. His hand had

(01:05:48):
started shaking again. He didn't notice it until he reached
to grab the glass of water Milly had given him.
She also took notice of his shaking head had she
fully understood why he was shaking. She couldn't imagine what
was going through his mind, but she knew he believed her.

(01:06:12):
It's a lot to take in, Milly said, Believe me,
I thought I was going crazy the first time I
saw Danny riding up and down the sidewalk. You and
me both Emmett laughed and it came out in a stutter.
He took a small sip of the water and placed

(01:06:35):
the glass back on the table. It was the first
time I was alone here in the house that I
saw Danny. Milly revealed I was having trouble sleeping. I
hadn't slept alone since I was eighteen and married Martin.
Trying to lay there in the bedroom without my Martin

(01:06:56):
was impossible. I tried drinking warm milk, reading a book,
anything to make myself tired, but nothing worked. So I
came outside to sit on the porch. I thought the
night's fresh air would help me fall asleep. Instead, I

(01:07:18):
heard the sounds of a bike pedaling, and the next
thing I knew, Danny was riding right in front of
the house. He had a smile on his face, and
he waved one hand at me and laughed. Emmett couldn't
imagine what had to be going through Milly's mind when

(01:07:39):
she saw him. He imagined how terrified she must have been.
When I saw Danny on the bike, I was initially scared.
A deep kind of terror crept up on me. I
thought I was going mad. I thought I was sleeping
and it had been ad But when I stood to

(01:08:02):
run off the porch and chase after him, I felt
pain in my knees and hip and knew I wasn't dreaming.
When I stepped off the porch, I saw him hit
the corner of Cawley Place and Gratis, and then Danny
and his bike vanished into thin air. One moment he

(01:08:26):
was there and the next he wasn't. Has he ever
spoken to you? Emmett's voice was shaking just as much
as his hands were. Only once, Milly shot Emmett a
warm smile. I don't believe Danny is here to speak

(01:08:48):
to me. I believe he's here to comfort me, to
let me see him at his happiest, riding his bike
and having the time of his life. At first, seeing
him did nothing but sadden me. I missed holding him
in my arms and brushing his black hair from his eyes.

(01:09:11):
I missed him everything about him. What did he say
to you? Emmett was both curious and nervous at the
same time. He said. Milly's voice broke and the tears
in her eyes poured down. He said, I'm fine, Grandma,

(01:09:36):
I love you. Milly placed her face into her hands
and caught her tears and sobs. Emmett again placed his
hand on her leg to comfort her. Do you think
Danny is trying to communicate with me? Emmett asked. Once
Milly had composed herself I believe Dan, he is reaching

(01:10:01):
out to you. She nodded. I'm not sure why, but
he allowed you to see him getting hit by that car.
He's never done that before, that I'm aware of. Millie
and Emmett sat talking for a few more minutes. They
agreed to keep in touch with one another. She made

(01:10:22):
Emmett promise that if Danny did speak to him, he
would tell him how much she loved him and let
her know what his message was. Emmett agreed. Stepping off
Milly's porch and heading home, he noticed how late it
had gotten and how much time had slipped away. While

(01:10:44):
speaking to Milly, He pulled his phone out of his
pocket and saw it was already six. He was starving.
His appetite had returned, even though his nerves were still shot.
He was unsay certain that Danny was a true spirit
with a message for him. Emmittt wasn't as scared as

(01:11:06):
he had been the night before, but he was still uneasy,
wondering what it could be that the boy might want
to say to him, and questioning why Gareth had just

(01:11:27):
gotten out of the shower. When Emmett returned home. You
look like shit, he jokingly, mumbled, feeling like shit too.
Emmittt said, if you've come down with a bug, stay
the fuck away from me. He said, as he headed
towards his room. I can't afford to get sick. Just

(01:11:50):
haven't been sleeping well, man, Emmett explained, nothing, a few
shots down at the bar. Can't care. Gareth mocked his roommate,
knowing how hard he had been working on his sobriety,
but not believing it would stick. He thought Emmett would
be a boozer until the day he died, and kept

(01:12:14):
hoping and praying he'd fall off the wagon so they
could go back to their nightly antics at the bar.
He missed working alongside his roommate and hoped he'd return
and start bartending again. Emmett decided against making hamburgers and
instead made a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and

(01:12:37):
ate half a bag of potato chips and two dill pickles.
He then drove to a carry out next to his
house to grab a case of beer. If that kid
wants to communicate, let's fucking do it, Emmett thought. He
planned to sit out on the porch, get a good

(01:12:58):
buzz and look out for Danny. He was nervous, but
didn't think Danny was trying to hurt him, at least
he hoped not. After cracking open his first beer of
the night and plopping down in a chair on his porch,

(01:13:22):
Emmett called Nathan. They only spoke for a few minutes,
with Nathan detailing what he had done throughout the day
and how much fun he had had. The call ended
with them both saying I love you. Emmett always had
mixed feelings when getting off the phone with his son.

(01:13:43):
There was always a feeling of sadness. He missed his
son and wished he was with him. The second feeling
was overwhelming love. He had never loved anyone as much
as he loved his son. He thought about him all
throughout the day. After hanging up with Nathan, he started

(01:14:07):
thinking about his life without his son. He couldn't begin
to imagine what Milly Martin and their daughter had gone
through when they had lost Danny. His mind again went
to dark places, thinking how he knew he would never
survive if anything tragic happened to Nathan. He just hoped

(01:14:32):
and prayed that he would meet his own death before
his son ever did. He knew he wouldn't be able
to take it if it were the other way around.
Emmett didn't know it, but he was caught in the
world of dreams. In the dream, he sat on the

(01:14:56):
front porch, watching Nathan kick a small black and white
soccer ball around and laughing as he played in the
water sprinkler. Emmett reached to the table next to his
chair to retrieve his cigarettes and realized he had left
them on the counter in the kitchen. Stay there, Buddy,

(01:15:17):
Emmett called out, daddy's grabbing his smokes. Emmett returned to
the house, leaving the front door open, and approached the
kitchen counter less than ten steps from the front door.
That is when he heard a terrible thud and tires
screeching from the front of the house. Emmett dropped his cigarettes,

(01:15:42):
turned and ran through the open door. All the air
had left his lungs and his heart was brutally pounding.

Speaker 3 (01:15:53):
Nay.

Speaker 1 (01:15:53):
Then Emmett felt himself scream, but he didn't hear it.
Truck had stopped in the middle of the road outside
his house. In the middle of the street, he could
see little Nathan crumpled in a ball in his swimming
trunks in the gutter. He saw Nathan's soccer ball. He

(01:16:17):
screamed again, running by the truck driver who had just
exited his vehicle. The man was pale white and had
a pained and terrified expression. I didn't see him, the
man cried out. He came out of nowhere, and it
ran to Nathan's crumpled body. He grabbed him and pulled

(01:16:41):
him into his arms. He bled from every orifice and
was not moving in the slightest. The man from the
truck pulled his phone from his pocket, calling for help.
Multiple neighbors had moved from their porches to their front
lawns and watched the scene with curious and horrified eyes.

(01:17:07):
Emmett screamed again, shaking his tiny limp body and holding
him tighter to his chest. He cried and moaned a
sound that was terrifying and skin crawling. Wake up Emmett,
a child's voice said. Emmett felt a cold, yet comforting

(01:17:31):
hand on his shoulder. He turned around and young Danny
stood beside him on a bike. He smiled, and when
he did, a grotesque river of squiggling maggots fell from
his mouth. Wake up Danny. Screamed. Emmett lurched forward on

(01:17:59):
his seat. It was night He could see the moon
and stars in the sky as he stood on his
shaking feet. He was sweating and his heart was pounding.
He was recovering from the terrible dream he had just
escaped from. It wasn't a dream, it was a fucking nightmare,

(01:18:22):
his mind corrected him. A fucking nightmare, Emmett mumbled as
he slowly sat back in his chair. Next to him
were eleven empty beer bottles. He ignored those and grabbed
his cigarettes, quickly lighting one. He needed to calm down

(01:18:43):
before he lost his shit. He was having difficulty shaking
the image of Nathan's crumpled and bloody body in his
arms and the maggots spilling from Danny's mouth. Danny, Emmett
whispered as he turned to the corner of Cawley Place

(01:19:04):
and Gratis, where the boy on the bike always presented himself.
The street was quiet and there was no sign of Danny.
A set of headlights appeared on the corner, and a
second later, Gareth pulled into the driveway. Emmett immediately picked

(01:19:25):
up his phone and checked the time. It was three
thirty in the morning. Emmett couldn't believe he had been
so out of it that he had slept that long.
On the front porch, Gareth was getting off work. What's up,
fuck face, Gareth called out as he came staggering out

(01:19:45):
of his vehicle. Emmett could tell he was shitface drunk
and probably fucked up on cocaine. God, I miss cocaine.
You missed a hell of a time tonight. Man. Gareth
stumbled onto the porch and sat in the chair beside him.
He placed two fingers to his lips, motioning for Emmett

(01:20:09):
to give him a cigarette. He was a social smoker
and never bought his own. He was well known for
bumming them. Emmett slid his pack over on the table
between them. Gareth drunkenly pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
I bet I did, Emmett replied, with not much emotion.

(01:20:32):
What the fuck are you doing out here so late?
Gareth blew a cloud of smoke in his direction. Told you, man,
haven't been sleeping too well. Nightmares, bad ones, Emmett answered,
as something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Listen, man,

(01:20:54):
Gareth began, I know I've been giving you a hard
time about not drinking, and we haven't had the chance
to hang out and talk lately. But if there is
something on your mind, if you just need to vent,
I'm here for you, buddy. But right now I've got
to take a wicked piss. Gareth stood and walked by Emmett,

(01:21:17):
entering the house and slamming the door. Emmett looked to
the corner of Cawley Place and Gratis, where he watched
Danny riding his bike back and forth in the darkness
of night. His heart once again attempted to claw its
way out of his chest. Danny was on the corner

(01:21:40):
once again. Emmett saw that he was wearing a tiny helmet,
and this time he noticed a little horn connected to
the handlebars of his bike. Danny stopped on the corner,
turned his bike around, and sped back up the road,

(01:22:01):
disappearing from Emmett's line of vision. Should I go after him?
What does Danny want with me? He knew. Milly believed
Danny was trying to reach out for some mysterious reason.
Why did he choose me? He stood, stepped off his

(01:22:22):
porch and began walking toward the corner. His legs felt
heavy beneath his frame. Emmett could feel sweat building on
his forehead. He moved closer to the corner and felt
flush with heat. When he saw Danny speeding down the
street toward him, Emmett stopped walking, frozen to his spot

(01:22:47):
in the middle of the two streets. Danny waved a
hand at him. This is fucking insane, he thought to himself,
as he slowly lifted his hand and returned the gesture.
Danny laughed and beaped the horn on his bike. He

(01:23:11):
stopped on the corner and stared Emmett in the eyes.
He could feel them penetrating his soul. His skin was
pale and nearly sparkling in the moonlight. Danny dropped his
face and Emmett watched in terror as a stream of

(01:23:32):
maggots began running from the corner of the boy's eyes.
He was crying, a river of maggots. Emmett held his
hand to his mouth, sure he was about to vomit. Billy.
Danny opened his mouth and the word filled the air.

(01:23:55):
But it wasn't coming directly from his mouth. It was
coming from all around. Emmett. Pounding in his ears talk
to Billy. Danny's hand lifted and pointed beyond Emmett toward
his house, or at least in that general direction. Beware

(01:24:21):
the bad lady. Danny's mouth shut. He stopped pointing, snapped
his fingers, and suddenly vanished. Another restless night lay ahead
of Emmett. He couldn't get Danny out of his mind.

(01:24:46):
He didn't understand why, out of all people, he had
chosen to reveal himself and reach out to him. I'm
a loser, Emmett thought as he stared at the sea
in the darkness of his room, wishing he could fall asleep.
At the same time, he was sure that even in sleep,

(01:25:10):
he wouldn't obtain rest. He'd been having terrible nightmares for
days now. Billy was the little boy that Danny had
been friends with before his death. Emmett was sure he
knew who the little boy was. He had seen him
a few times in his backyard while mowing the grass.

(01:25:35):
He had a habit of kicking his soccer ball over
the small fence into the back yard, but he never
once tried to venture into Emmett's yard to retrieve it.
Emmett would toss it over the fence each time he
discovered it, but he wouldn't have minded if the kid
had crossed on to his property to retrieve his belongings.

(01:26:01):
Who is the bad lady? This was the final thought
Emmitt had before his eyes finally grew heavy and he
was instantly transported into the realm of nightmares. Emm It
jerked in his sleep. He could hear crying coming from

(01:26:23):
the other side of his bedroom door. It was Nathan.
Goosebumps covered Emmit's skin, and a nervousness flowed through his
blood to the point that he was sure he would
be sick. Emmet knew Nathan was not at his house
that night, but he knew the crying came from his son, Nathan.

(01:26:49):
Emmett called out, pulling himself out of bed and rushing
into the hall, Nathan, where are you? He heard the
crying again and ran toward the living room, positive that
that was where the sound came from. The moment he
entered the room, he stopped frozen in place. The living

(01:27:13):
room had changed. It was not how Emmett remembered it.
It was almost from another time, even though it was
his living room. There was a large oriental rug that
covered much of the hardwood floor. An old brown recliner
sat in the corner beside the bay window. The curtains

(01:27:38):
were open, but they were not curtains that Emmett recognized
from his home. The curtains were yellow with orange and
blue butterflies. It was dark outside. There was a small
table next to the recliner where he saw a glass
of urine or light colored tea. Next to it were

(01:28:01):
three open baby jars. Each one looked like they were
filled with blood. It was dripping from the sides of
the jars, running on to the table. What terrified Emmett
the most was the forty something woman sitting in the chair.

(01:28:23):
Her face was jaunt with dark circles under her eyes,
and her hair was thinning to the point that he
could see bald patches. She wore an old white cotton
nightgown covered in dry food and multiple stains. There were
holes in it as well as if moths had been

(01:28:45):
feeding on it. She reminded Emmett of some one in
the final stages of cancer. On the woman's lap sat Nathan,
not really sat, more like a held prisoner. She gripped
Nathan's arm and Emmett could see his son squirming in

(01:29:06):
her grasp. Her other hand had a large spoon in it.
She moved it to the table, dipped it in one
of the bloody jars, and then pulled it out, moving
it back to Nathan. Nathan screamed, and Emmett could see
his lips and face stained red. He was sure the

(01:29:30):
creepy woman had been feeding him what was in the jars.
He looked at the spoon she was moving toward his
son's mouth and saw an eyeball on it. Veins hung
off the spoon, and drops of blood were falling like rain.
The woman quickly shoved the spoon into Nathan's screaming mouth.

(01:29:55):
No Emmett bound forward. He was no l longer frozen
in place, but the moment he took his first step
to rescue his son, he awoke in the real world
and fell off his bed, hitting the hardwood floor with

(01:30:15):
a thud. Shit Emmett called out in pain. Sunlight was
creeping in through the sides of the curtains in his
bedroom window. His heart was still racing from the realness
of the nightmare. He looked over at the clock and

(01:30:37):
saw that it was already noon. What the hell am
I going to do. After showering, Emmett was pleased to
discover he had energy. He had felt drained ever since
seeing Danny for the first time, even though he had

(01:31:01):
experienced the terrible dream the night before. He had also
gotten enough sleep to feel like a new person. He
also discovered that his appetite was coming back. He made
some crispy bacon and a large four egg omelet. He

(01:31:21):
devoured every bit of it. While eating breakfast, Emmett decided
his first order of business would be to see if
he could find Billy outside playing so he could speak
with him. Emmett was nervous about doing this, knowing how
it could look if his neighbors saw him conversing deeply

(01:31:45):
with a little boy in the neighborhood. It didn't seem appropriate,
but Emmett knew he had to do it. Danny had
directed him to do so, and he was curious to
see what the boy would say, not that he had
any idea of how to start a conversation about Danny

(01:32:08):
with him. Emmett considered walking down to Milly's and telling
her about the words Danny had spoken to him, but
he decided against it. He would only talk to her
when he had something more substantial to tell her. Plus,

(01:32:29):
he didn't want to worry the lady. She had enough
going on in her life already. Emmett pushed his mower
into the backyard. His grass didn't need cutting, but he

(01:32:52):
felt he would look less creepy if he at least
appeared to be doing something in his yard. When he
conversed with Billy, he noticed that the boy always played
in his backyard. He seemed like a loaner. He spotted
Billy's black and white soccer ball to the left of

(01:33:12):
his fence line. He didn't approach it. He'd wait for
Billy to appear first. That way he could quickly start
a conversation with the boy. He didn't have to wait
too long. Billy came running out of the back door
of his house and went to the wooden shed. Moving

(01:33:35):
to the side of it, he watched as the little
boy pulled out a small soccer goal and moved it
to the corner of his yard where he always set
it up. He waved at Emmett, Sorry, mister, Billy called out,
I kicked my ball into your yard again. The boy smiled,

(01:33:57):
but it wasn't a happy one. Was an apologetic one.
Not a problem, buddy. Emmett stopped pretending to pick weeds
and went to the soccer ball. He retrieved it and
walked over to the fence, where Billy awaited. Here you go.
He tossed the ball to the boy. Thanks. I'm trying

(01:34:20):
to get better with my high kicks, but I keep
losing control of the ball. Billy explained, do you play
soccer in school? Emmett pushed forward, trying to show the
kid he was friendly. Not in school. Billy shook his head.
I play at the YMCA, though I'm the second best

(01:34:42):
player on the team. I reckon. Emmett laughed and then smiled.
He liked the confidence the kid displayed. What position do
you play? Center forward? You must be good if you're
a forward. Billy dropped the ball to his feet, and
Emmett thought he was about to display some footwork to

(01:35:04):
impress him. Instead, he moved closer to Emmett and the fence.
He looked back over his shoulder as if he was
checking to see if his parents were around or if
anyone was listening. Then he whispered, did Danny send you?

(01:35:27):
The seriousness and the tone of Billy's whispers sent chills
running through Emmett's body. Yes, Emmett whispered, how did you
know that? Billy looked over his shoulder again, then returned
his gaze to Emmett. He comes to me in my

(01:35:49):
dreams sometimes, only I don't think I'm dreaming. I think
he's really here, and he's sad. Why is he said,
Because he's dead and he told you I was going
to talk to you. He wants me to tell you
about the the bad Lady. Billy's face filled with concern,

(01:36:15):
and his whisper lowered even more. Who is the bad lady?
Emmett asked the question, not knowing if he wanted the answer.
Even in the light of day, he felt terror she
Billy started to speak when his mother stepped out the

(01:36:36):
back door. She had a nervous look on her face. Billy,
the woman called out. He jumped at the sound of
her voice. Hey mom, Billy faked a smile. This is
our neighbor. I kicked my ball into his yard. Emmett
raised a hand in greeting, i'mm it nice to meet you, ma'am.

(01:37:00):
The woman stared him up and down. He could tell
she was sizing him up to see if he was
a friend. Or foe. She was looking out for her
little boy. I'm Missus Smith. Emmett could tell by the
expression on her face that she was not happy that
he had been talking to her son. Even though he

(01:37:23):
needed answers about the bad lady, he decided not to
press his luck anyway. I better get back to work.
Emmett turned, starting away from his fence. This lawn isn't
going to mow itself. He moved to his mower and
noticed that Missus Smith was still staring at him. He

(01:37:48):
didn't plan on mowing the lawn, but now he had
no choice. He had to put on a show or
Missus Smith would think he was a threat. Had already
returned to his ball and goal. Emmett started the mower
and began cutting his grass, wondering how he would find

(01:38:10):
out who the bad lady was. Was it the woman
from his nightmare the night before? She certainly looked like
a bad lady feeding his son eyeballs? Did the bad
lady hurt Billy or Danny? Does the bad lady want
to hurt Nathan? Emmittt wondered, and a shudder ran down

(01:38:36):
his spine. That night, Emmett found himself once again sitting
on the porch of his house. His eyes were directed
toward the corner of Cawley Place and Gradis, eagerly waiting
for an appearance of Danny. He had met with Bill

(01:39:00):
like Danny wanted, but did not receive much information. All
he knew was Billy knew who the bad lady was.
Emmett was half way through a case of beer and
was good and stoned. He had gone through more weed
in three days than he usually went through in a month.

(01:39:22):
He realized that was partly to replace his alcohol consumption
with another vice. He really could go for a jack
and coke, maybe a double or a triple. He had
also gone from smoking one pack of cigarettes daily to
two to two and a half packs. He could feel

(01:39:43):
his lungs burning each night he crawled into bed and
he would hack for a good hour after he first awoke.
In the morning, there was no sign of Danny and
he was starting to think he would not be appearing
that night. Part of Emmett wanted to see him, while
another part hoped he wouldn't show up. He just wanted

(01:40:07):
the whole situation to end before he was forced to
open a bottle of whiskey or snort an entire bag
of cocaine. Time to break the seal. Emmett's bladder was
screaming for release. He stood up, moved to the door,
and placed his feet on the doormat when he noticed

(01:40:28):
something near his foot. There was a piece of paper
poking out from under the doormat. Emmett stepped back, lowered
himself to the ground, and pulled the paper from under
the doormat. It was a folded piece of notebook paper.

(01:40:48):
Emmett opened it and saw youthful writing in black. It
was all written in large print, with a few misspellings.
Emmett looked at the bottom of the paper and saw
it was signed Billy. The little neighbor boy had left
him a note. Emmet forgot about the need to release

(01:41:10):
his bladder as he sat back in his chair and
began reading the letter. In the dim light above his head,
two moths flew around the light bulb near the door.
My mom doesn't like you. She doesn't like your house.
That is where the bad lady lived. She says you

(01:41:32):
could be a bad man. I don't believe her. You
are nice. The bad lady gave us cookies. They made
me sick. The bad Lady didn't like us playing ball
or making noise. The bad Lady hurt Danny. I still
see her sometimes in the windows of your house. Be careful,

(01:41:56):
signed Billy. Hand shook and he dropped the note on
to his lap. He slowly turned his head, looking to
the bay window. He had the uncanny feeling that he
was being watched, not by Danny, but by someone inside

(01:42:19):
his house. He felt like the bad Lady was watching him.
Danny did not make an appearance that night. Sleep did

(01:42:41):
not come easy for Emmett. That night. He lay on
his bed reading the letter from Billy over and over again.
The bad Lady was the lady who lived in the
house before he moved in. He was sure of that now.
It was just hard for him to believe. After meeting

(01:43:04):
her father, whom he purchased the home from, he couldn't
imagine his daughter being bad, let alone a person who
could hurt a child. You never know what types of
secrets people hide. Just because her father was nice doesn't
mean she was. She could have been a truly terrible person.

(01:43:26):
People can lead two very different lives without being discovered.
Emmett knew that for a fact. If she was a
bad lady. What did she do to Danny? Was she
responsible for his death? Is that what Danny is trying
to tell me? Billy said he sometimes saw the bad

(01:43:49):
Lady in the windows of his house. That chilled Emmett
to the bone. He told himself the little boy could
have imagined things, seeing things that weren't there. But at
the same time, he wondered if maybe her soul was

(01:44:09):
attached to the house the same way Danny seemed to
be connected to his bike and the street corner. Emmett
fell asleep thinking about the bad lady and how she
could have hurt Danny, and if she was attached to
the house, would she be capable of hurting Nathan. The

(01:44:34):
following morning, Emmett found himself watching Nathan like a hawk.
He would not let his son out of sight as
they played in the living room. The house was small,
and from the living room he could see into the
dining room and down the hall. The only place he
couldn't see was the bathroom. Nathan was potty trained and

(01:44:58):
drank so much juice that he ran to the bathroom
every twenty minutes. Emmittt grew nervous each time he was
in the bathroom. He kept waiting to hear Nathan scream.
If he did, Emmett knew it would be because the
bad lady had her grip on him and would be

(01:45:18):
feeding him eyeballs. He was so distracted by his thoughts
that he couldn't even enjoy himself with his son. He
felt terrible when he dropped him off at his mother's work.
He felt like he had wasted the day thinking about
the boy on the bike and the bad lady when
he should have focused entirely on living in the moment

(01:45:42):
and making memories with his son. On his way home,
Emmett stopped at the liquor store. He went inside and
grabbed the largest bottle of whiskey he could find. He
didn't want to do it, but couldn't help himself. He
needed to get fucked up. He needed to get as

(01:46:04):
shit faced as possible to escape the world around him.
Emmt also stopped at the bar he used to work at,
had two beers and waited for one of the local
dealers to show up. When they did, he approached them
and secured some cocaine. He knew what he was doing

(01:46:24):
was wrong. He had been doing so well with avoiding
hard liquor and drugs, but the idea that there may
be a bad lady lurking behind the walls of his
home was pushing him over the edge. Tears were in
Emmett's eyes as he made the drive back to his house.

(01:46:46):
He was disappointed in himself, but was incapable of stopping.
Gareth was sitting on the couch when Emmett walked through
the front door. He eyed the bottle of whiskey in
Emmett's hand. He figured it was just a matter of

(01:47:06):
time before Emmett would return to the bottle. He had
also received a text from the bartender at work letting
him know that Emmett had shown up. He was finally
going to get his friend back and they could go
bar hopping and chasing tail again. Rough day, he asked,

(01:47:28):
rough week. Emmett responded as he moved to the kitchen
and placed the bottle on the counter. He returned to
his car and retrieved a case of beer, a two
liter of coke, and a bag of hamburger meat. Gareth
curiously watched Emmett season hamburger meat in the kitchen. He

(01:47:49):
had already cracked open two beers and smoked one cigarette
after another. Seriously man, Gareth began as he turned down
the television set where he had been watching an old
war movie. You need to talk, I'm good man, Emmet lied.

(01:48:10):
He would have liked to sit down and tell Gareth
everything about the boy on the bike and the bad lady.
He would have loved to tell him about Milly, the
story she told him about Danny, and how he was
terrified Nathan could be in danger in the house. He
had not seen or heard anything in the house other

(01:48:32):
than that feeling of being watched that one night. No
bumps in the night, no apparitions. He also knew Gareth
would not believe a single word. He figured he himself
wouldn't have believed them if he had been on the
opposite side of the events. He was now part of

(01:48:53):
working tonight. Yeah, picked up a shift, Gareth answered emm
It grilled out some burghers, and he and Gareth devoured them. Afterward,
Gareth headed off to work and Emmett headed to the
porch with a beer, a bottle of whisky and a
glass full of ice with a splash of coke and

(01:49:16):
sat down. He was ready to confront Danny. It was
just beginning to grow dark outside, but Emmett was already
shifting in his seat. He shifted from side to side

(01:49:38):
and kept looking at the corner. He kept expecting Danny
to appear, but he knew it wasn't dark enough. Danny
only appeared when darkness fully engulfed the neighborhood. The glass
of ice with a splash of coke had melted entirely.
The whiskey bottle had yet to be opened, but Emmett

(01:50:02):
kept eyeing it, fighting the urge to pour himself a
hearty glass. He had one hand in his pocket, fingering
the small bag of cocaine he had acquired. He had
yet to partake, but he was getting close to running
inside and spreading a few lines out on the kitchen
counter to truly gain the focus he needed to confront Danny.

(01:50:28):
Emmett decided he'd do whatever it took to get Danny
to tell him what exactly he wanted so he could
end the nightmare he was living. He just wanted to
be done with Danny and the bad Lady. He needed
to return his focus to getting a job and being
an upstanding father to Nathan. I want you to stay

(01:50:52):
away from my son, Missus Smith stood three feet from
Emmett's front porch. He didn't even see her walk up
his lawn. He had been consumed with his thoughts about
Danny and the bad lady. Hello, Missus Smith. Emmett's voice

(01:51:12):
was shaking. He could see Missus Smith's eyes judgmentally looking
at all the empty beer cans and the bottle of
whiskey sitting next to him. I didn't think I did
anything wrong. We were just talking about soccer. You were
doing more than that, Emmett. Missus Smith moved a step

(01:51:33):
closer to the porch. You were talking to him about Danny.
He told me you asked about him, and he told
me he told you about the lady who used to
live in this house. Billy told me she was a
bad lady, Emmett revealed. Everyone that has lived in your
house has been a bad person, but she was the

(01:51:57):
worst of all. I'm sure she poisoned and Billy and
Danny the night that poor sweet child was hit by
a car. I couldn't prove it, and at this point
it's moot now that the bitch got what she deserved,
Missus Smith said, with a crooked smile playing across her face. Listen, no,

(01:52:18):
you listen to me, Missus Smith stepped back. Billy is
finally getting over what happened with Danny and this house.
You stay the fuck away from him, or I'll send
my husband here next time. And he is nowhere near
as nice as I am. Emmett didn't even need to
verbalize a response. He nodded as she quickly turned and

(01:52:40):
walked away from the house. She stopped halfway down the sidewalk,
looked over her shoulder and shot Emmett the middle finger.
The sound of a horn filled Emmett's ears. It wasn't
the horn from a car, it was the horn from
a bike. Emmett turned his head and looked to the

(01:53:04):
corner of Cawley Place and Gratis. There in the middle
of the street was Danny. He was looking at Emmett,
waving at him with one dead and clammy hand. The
bizarre interaction between Emmett and Missus Smith was no longer

(01:53:27):
on his mind. Emmett's eyes were focused on Danny standing
in the street waving at him. He didn't turn his
bike and ride back into the shadows of the street
as he usually did. This is it the moment of truth,
Emmett thought, as he walked across the lawn, heading directly

(01:53:51):
to the corner where Danny stood. His legs were wobbly,
just like the night he had witnessed the ghost boy
hit by a car. Danny stopped waving his hand and
dropped it to his side. He had a serious expression
on his face. His eyes were wholly transfixed on Emmett.

(01:54:16):
I talked to Billy. He told me the bad lady
lived in my house, Emmett began before he even made
it to Danny. He didn't even care that one of
the neighbors might see him talking to himself, because they
most likely wouldn't have seen Danny standing in the road.

(01:54:37):
He believed that Danny had appeared that night to speak
to him, to see if he talked to Billy or not. See.
Danny's voice was monotone, his eyes were nearly black, but
Emmett could feel them eyeing him. See what. Emmett yelled.

(01:54:59):
He was now closer to Danny than he had ever
been before. Danny dropped his hands from the handlebars of
his bike and reached them toward Emmett as if he
were requesting a hug. See Danny repeated the moment he

(01:55:19):
did maggots began pouring out from the corners of his
eyes like tears. Again, what do you want me to see?
Danny stepped right before the bike. He was sure it
would vanish into thin air if he reached out to
touch it. See Danny screamed as he pulled Emmett down

(01:55:46):
until they were staring one another in the eyes. Emmett's
skin crawled as he watched the larvae roll out of
the corners of his eyes. See Danny placed both hand
on the side of Emmett's head and put his thumbs
over Emmett's eyes. Emmett immediately closed his eyelids, and a

(01:56:10):
second later he saw things as he had never seen
them before. Emmett was more disoriented than he could ever
remember being. He was even more disoriented than he had

(01:56:31):
ever been when he was nearing blackout, drunk or stoned
out of his gourd. At first, he could barely get
his eyes to focus. He knew he was standing on
grass and it was daytime, but everything was moving fast.
Kick it to me, Danny, A young voice called out.

(01:56:54):
Emmett immediately recognized it as the voice of the neighbor boy, Billy.
Emmett's vision lifted and he was staring directly at Billy,
who was a few yards away. He looked down and
saw a soccer ball between his tiny feet. Emmett was

(01:57:15):
not looking through his own eyes. He was looking through
Danny's eyes. Danny had taken control of him and was
showing him things just as he had seen them in
the past before he was killed. Emmett watched Danny's little
foot pull back and kick the soccer ball to Billy.

(01:57:38):
He began to dribble the ball and went to kick
it into the goal. He pulled his leg back and
kicked with a vengeance. The ball went high into the air,
flew over the goal, and crossed over the fence into
the back yard of the house Emmett now lived in. However,

(01:58:00):
it did not live in the house. Now. The bad
Lady lived in the house. This was a vision from
the past. What did I tell you, little shits? The
voice was crude and high pitched. Danny turned toward the
sound of the voice, and Emmett caught a glimpse of

(01:58:21):
the bad Lady for the first time. The woman was
five feet tall with a hunched back. She was wearing
a pink bathroom that had seen better days. She had long, scraggly,
sandy blonde hair that needed to be washed. She had
an oxygen tank with tubes running to her nose. Her

(01:58:45):
teeth were stained brown, and Emmett assumed it was from
the tea stains. As he had been told, she died
in her chair drinking tea. Sorry, ma'am. Billy's voice called out,
there was an accident. It's always an accident, the bad
lady lashed out. If it happens again, I'll keep the

(01:59:08):
damn ball. Anything on my property is mine. Danny shuffled
his feet and his eyes dropped to the ground. Get
your ball and scoot, the bad lady called out. Danny
lifted his eyes and Emmett watched as Danny climbed over
the fence, retrieved the ball, and retreated to his yard.

(01:59:33):
The bad lady cussed under her breath. Danny's eyes lifted
and he watched as she vanished back into her house.
A shudder of brilliant white light flashed before Danny and
Emmett's eyes. It reminded him of the bright flash from

(01:59:56):
a camera. A second later, he was transported to a
new scene. He was once again looking through Danny's eyes.
He could instantly tell that he was climbing onto his bike.
Danny began to pedal the bike quickly. He was outside
Billy's house and the street lights had just come on.

(02:00:20):
Danny waved goodbye to Billy as he sped away. He
turned his bike and rode by the house Emmett now
lived in. He heard a crunching sound and watched Danny
hit the brakes on his bike, bringing it to a halt.
Oh no, Danny's voice called out as he dropped his eyes,

(02:00:44):
and Emmett saw what Danny was seeing. The sidewalk outside
the house was covered in broken glass. Danny had just
ridden over it and popped his tire. That'll teach you,
little shits. The bad lady stood on the front porch.
She had a beer bottle in her hand that matched

(02:01:07):
the same glass on the sidewalk. This sidewalk is mine, now,
shoe get going. Emmett heard Danny crying. He was upset
about his tire popping and was scared of the bad lady.
She was a cruel woman. Who the fuck does she

(02:01:28):
think she is? Emmett thought to himself, She doesn't own
the fucking sidewalk. In front of the damn house. Danny
was just a kid, and she flattened his tire for
no reason. The strange visions continued for what seemed like
hours to Emmett. He saw Danny's grandpa help him fix

(02:01:49):
the tire on his bike. He watched as Danny's Grandma, Millie,
tucked him into bed. Emmett felt nothing but love when
he captured vision of Danny and his grandparents. Whenever the
visions would switch to Danny playing with Billy and seeing
the Bad Lady, Emmitt felt nothing but nervousness and fear.

(02:02:15):
There was no love other than when Danny and Billy
were playing in Billy's front yard or within the protection
of Billy's house. The visions grew confusing when they seemed
to slow down to a single moment, a moment Emmett
knew was critical. He could feel it in his bones. Hey, boys,

(02:02:41):
it was the voice of the Bad Lady. But she
was not screaming or scolding Danny and Billy. Emmet saw
her through Danny's eyes. She was wearing a pair of
khaki pants and a floral shirt. Her hair was fixed,
but her smile was still brown. She was smiling at

(02:03:03):
the boys. You can get your ball. I can see
it by my flowers. Danny's eyes looked to Billy's, and
Emmett could see confusion in Billy's eyes. The bad Lady
had never spoken to the boys with any sort of politeness.
It was very unsettling. Okay, Billy said, as he crossed

(02:03:29):
the fence to retrieve the ball. Do you like sunflowers,
the bad Lady questioned, yeah, they are pretty. Billy stuttered,
thank you. I work hard to keep them looking this way.
They make me happy. The bad Lady spoke, do you

(02:03:52):
like cookies. Danny's eyes focused on Billy again, Yes, ma'am.
Billy answered, well, I just made some fresh chocolate chip
cookies and sun tea. The bad Lady said, why don't
you boys join me in the sunroom and we can

(02:04:12):
have some. Billy and Danny's eyes once again met. Both
of them were nervous, but the idea of chocolate chip
cookies delighted them both. The Bad Lady's sunroom was quaint.

(02:04:36):
There were hundreds of flowers, a small flowing fountain in
the corner, and numerous comfy seats with floral patterns. There
was also a small glass table where Emmett saw a
plate of fresh cookies and a picture of sun tea.
The bad Lady poured the boys a glass of iced

(02:04:58):
tea each as both boys eagerly ate the cookies. Danny's
eyes surveyed every inch of the sunroom, and Emmett could
see how beautiful it really was. Back in his reality,
there were only a few old lawn chairs and trash
bags filled with empty beer bottles. He wished the sunroom

(02:05:21):
looked like the bad Ladies. He imagined that Nathan would
enjoy sitting out there and playing. Another flash of light
moved the scene to Billy's backyard, where the soccer ball
was being passed around again. It was growing dark and
Emmett knew the street lights would come on soon, beckoning

(02:05:43):
Danny back to his grandparents house. Billy suddenly stopped dribbling
the ball and looked at Danny with a pained expression,
I feel sick. Danny ran to the corner of the
yard where the sh the shed was set. He leaned
over and began vomiting. Though Emmett was looking through Danny's eyes,

(02:06:08):
he could also feel what Danny was feeling. He felt
his stomach rumble and then a tiny stab of pain.
He could tell that Danny was about to be sick too.
The street lights were coming on, and Emmett could hear
Billy's mom calling the puking kid inside. I don't feel

(02:06:32):
so good, Danny said, with a shaking voice. I'm going home.
Danny stumbled to Billy's front yard and got on his bike.
Emmett started to see that Danny's vision was blurring. He
got to his bike and had a hard time getting
onto it and getting it going. When he did, he

(02:06:56):
swerved back and forth on the sidewalk as he rode
to the corner, turned and rode by the Bad Lady's house.
He looked at it, but his vision kept going in
and out. He could see Danny peddling faster on the bike,
crossing the street to pass over from Cawley Place to Gratis.

(02:07:19):
Emtt next saw the headlights of a car barreling down
on Danny. He watched in horror through Danny's eyes as
his little body was hit and thrown through the air.
He felt the wind go out of Danny. He heard
his bones crunch and crack on the pavement. He felt

(02:07:41):
tears and blood forming in Danny's eyes. And rolling from
his mouth. He listened to the cries of Milly screaming.
He then watched her come to Billy and hold his
dying body in her arms. Another camera flash of light

(02:08:05):
filled Emmett's mind, and he was back standing on the
street corner. He was staring directly into the eyes of
the boy on the bike, who had removed his hands
and fingers from Emmett's head and face. See Danny, cried out,

(02:08:27):
See see what? Emmett was crying. He had witnessed the
death of Danny first hand and couldn't stop thinking what
if that had been Nathan? See Danny hissed one final

(02:08:48):
time before he vanished into a vapor of smoke. Emmett
stood from his hunched position in the street and stared
at the spot where Danny had been Moments earlier. A
horn honked and brakes squealed. Emmett looked up and saw

(02:09:08):
that a car had stopped just feet from him. He
had nearly been hit again in the same spot where
Danny had been killed. Three days later, Emmett gathered Milly
and Billy's parents, Mister and Missus Smith, into his living room.

(02:09:33):
He waited to arrange the gathering when Gareth would not
be home. He didn't want him to know anything about
the boy on the bike, and it was certain he
would think he had lost his mind. It had been
a near impossible task for Emmett to convince mister and
Missus Smith to come to his home. Missus Smith had

(02:09:57):
already shown great disdain for him. Only after Emmett revealed
that he could prove the previous tenant of two seventeen
Callie Place poisoned both her son and Danny did they agree.
Missus Smith was skeptical but acquiesced. However, she threatened Emmett

(02:10:19):
that if we were fucking around with them, she would
take action. If Jerry, the father of the Bad Lady
and his wife were still in Ohio, he would have
invited them as well, but they had already relocated to Florida.
He planned to send them what he uncovered only after

(02:10:40):
he showed it to the Smiths and Milly. Milly was
the easiest to convince to stop by Emmett told her
he had spoken to Danny and knew what he wanted
him to see. She smiled with tears in her eyes
and told Emmett she would be there Emmett had connected

(02:11:02):
his laptop to the flat screen TV mounted on the
living room wall and purchased a couple of bottles of wine.
He wasn't sure if the Smiths or Milly would be
interested in drinking, but he figured it would at least
be a polite gesture when hosting house guests. The Smiths
arrived a few minutes before eight that night. Billy was

(02:11:26):
with them. He shyly waved at Emmett and sat beside
his mother on the couch. Mister Smith introduced himself and
shook Emmett's hand. He had a firm handshake when speaking
to him. He looked Emmett directly in the eyes, and
Emmett could tell that mister Smith did not trust him.

(02:11:49):
Milly arrived at seven thirty. She was anxious to discover
what Emmett had to say, and was more than curious
why Emmett had invited the Smiths. What is this all about,
missus Smith questioned. She had crossed her legs and was
anxiously shaking her foot. She was eyeing the room up

(02:12:11):
and down judgmentally. Well, we are all here for Danny,
Emmett began. You didn't even know the kid mister Smith said,
you weren't here when the accident happened. I know. Emmett
began again. Then explain to us why we are here.

(02:12:33):
Missus Smith said, in the most condescending tone, how about
we let the young man say what he has to
say instead of interrupting him. Let's give him a little
respect like mature adults. Milly sat forward in the recliner
and shot fire from her eyes as she spoke to

(02:12:53):
mister and Missus Smith directly. Billy smiled when she did so,
and Emmett a imagine this was the first time someone
had ever talked to his parents with disrespect in his presence.
He figured the kid was happy to see someone take
a stand against them. Mister and Missus Smith looked shocked,

(02:13:16):
but fell silent and sat back on the couch, returning
their gaze to Emmett. When I first moved here, I
began seeing a small boy on a bike. He would
ride up and down the street and then vanish. At first,
I didn't think much about it, but then one night

(02:13:37):
I believed I saw this little boy being hit by
a car in the intersection. But when I got to
the corner, the boy he wasn't there. This went on
for weeks until one day I took a walk and
ran into Milly. Emmett quickly described his first experiences with Danny.

(02:13:59):
Milly leaned forward and directed her attention to the Smiths again.
I invited Emmett here to sit with me on my porch.
I could tell he was troubled and had many things
on his mind. I also knew he had seen Danny
riding his bike up and down the street. Milly explained,

(02:14:20):
with all due respect, Milly, your grandson is dead. He
isn't riding his bike up and down the street any longer.
Mister Smith spoke gently. Milly chuckled, I may be older,
but I can confidently tell you I have seen Danny
riding his bike up and down the street. I've been

(02:14:42):
seeing him do this since his funeral, and to this
very day. Others have also seen him, but he's only
directly interacted with me and emmittt here. He interacted with
me because of our closeness, but I was never certain
why he had revealed himself to Emmett and showed him

(02:15:03):
the accident he was in. I don't believe in ghosts,
missus Smith replied, Mommy, I see Danny too. He tells
me things. Billy spoke for the first time since arriving
at Emmett's house. We don't tell lies in this family, Billy.

(02:15:24):
Mister Smith sternly spoke to his son, I'm not telling lies,
Billy solemnly swore. Mister and missus Smith both looked from
Billy then to one another. Billy was a good kid,
and he had never once lied to them as far
as they were concerned. Still, neither one of them believed

(02:15:47):
in ghosts, whether you believe it or not. I want
to show you something on my TV. It'll only take
a few seconds, but I want you to know this first.
Danny spoke to me about the bad lady who lived
in this house, and he wanted me to see something
from the final day of his life. Em It shook.

(02:16:09):
He hadn't had a single drink all day. He wanted
to be completely sober when he revealed what he had discovered.
Danny showed me that the bad lady may have poisoned
him and Billy here. Emmett continued, but of course there
has never been any proof until now. Emm It turned

(02:16:31):
from his visitors. He switched on the TV and clicked
a few keys on his laptop. A few seconds later,
the screen came to life, and the Smiths and Milly
discovered the truth. Three days earlier, after having the strange

(02:16:57):
experience with Danny in the street where he saw through
his eyes, Emmett had returned to his house and had
a one person party. He consumed the entire bottle of
whisky and half the bag of cocaine he had acquired
to hell with sobriety, he thought to himself he needed

(02:17:20):
to get the images of Danny's accident from his mind
and the feelings he experienced whenever he was around the
Bad Lady. He blacked out drunk and woke up in
a pool of vomit and urine in the upstairs bathroom
of his house, dry heaving with the worst headache of
his life. Emm It was in and out of consciousness

(02:17:43):
the rest of the day in his bedroom with the
curtains tightly closed. He took small SIPs of water and
nibbled on crackers. He took it slowly, certain he would
throw up. Plus, whenever he opened his eyes and came
into contact with direct light, he felt like he was

(02:18:04):
about to pass out. See Danny's voice kept popping into
Emmett's mind. What the fuck do you want me to see?
Emmett whispered into the emptiness and darkness of his bedroom.
Emmett started to recall that one memory Danny showed him

(02:18:25):
involved the sun room of his new home. He remembered
thinking Danny wanted him to pay attention. He remembered all
the beautiful flowers, the comfy chairs, and the table. He
also remembered the fountain, cookies and tea. He knew he
was supposed to remember something else, but could not figure

(02:18:49):
out what it was. For his life, white flashes of
light had taken him from one scene to the next.
As Danny showed him memory after me, Emmett recalled thinking
that it reminded him of flashes from a camera. Emmett's
eyes opened wide. He suddenly remembered something from the sun

(02:19:12):
room of his house when he bought the place. He
remembered the wireless, battery powered security camera installed in the
sun room. He remembered asking Jerry, the father of the
Bad Lady, about the cameras, and he told them they
came with the house, but he didn't know if they worked.
When Emmett opened the camera in the sunroom. He found.

(02:19:35):
The batteries were acid covered and smelled metallic. The cameras
were cheap, and Emmett didn't think he needed them. The
neighborhood was safe and he didn't think anyone would dare
fuck with him or his roommate. He removed all four cameras.
He found two on the front of the house, one

(02:19:56):
on the back, and the one in the sun room,
the one Danny wanted him to see. Emmett found the
hard drive for the cameras, placed it and the cameras
in a box, and put them in the attic. When
he moved into the house, he stored them away, thinking
maybe he could sell them on Facebook or eBay. The

(02:20:21):
fucking hard drive. Emmett needed to retrieve the hard drive
and see if it had anything from the sun room
on it. His headache and stomach issues were no longer
a concern. He retrieved the hard drive from the attic
and attempted to figure out how to operate it. When
he couldn't, he got in his car and headed to

(02:20:44):
the bar he used to work at. Peter was a
computer technician who spent most of his time at the
bar when he wasn't working Emmet had shown him the
hard drive and asked if he could pull the contents
from the device and place them on his lap. Peter
agreed to do so if Emmett would pay off his

(02:21:04):
tab at the bar, which was nearing two hundred dollars.
Emmett didn't want to spend that type of money, but
he knew if he didn't, he'd most likely be haunted
by Danny until the day he died. All three Smiths

(02:21:25):
and Milly leaned forward, watching the security camera footage playing
on the screen. The footage was from the sunroom, and
it was also from the night that Danny died. Milly
held her hand to her mouth as she saw Billy
and Danny enter the sunroom and devour cookies and tea.

(02:21:48):
She had tears in her eyes seeing Danny smiling and
joking around with his best friend. They watched the footage
until Billy and Danny left the sun room, leaving the
bad Lady alone. She waved at the boys and flipped
them off when their backs were to her. The footage

(02:22:11):
stopped and Emmett looked at his guests. Did you notice
that she didn't drink tea or cookies with Danny and
Billy that day. He asked, now that you mention it, yes,
but that doesn't prove that she did anything illegal. Missus
Smith answered with curious eyes. She felt like Emmett had

(02:22:34):
more to say or to share with them. That day.
You got sick, Billy, right, I did. I couldn't get
off the toilet all night, and I puked for two days.
Mom thought I had the flu, Billy explained. Danny and
Billy were poisoned by the lady that lived here. I

(02:22:56):
don't know if she was trying to kill them or
just make them sick. Billy, did you get dizzy and
have blurred vision? Emmett continued, I did. He staggered around
like a drunk. Mister Smith revealed. We just assured him
it was from his fever and sickness. I have one

(02:23:17):
more thing to show you, Everett moved to the laptop.
I went back on the footage to before the boys arrived,
and that's when I found this. He pushed another key

(02:23:38):
and then stood back and allowed the others to watch
as the bad Lady entered the sun room with her
plate of cookies and a pitcher of tea. She reached
into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills.
She placed a few into her mouth and appeared to

(02:23:58):
begin them. She then leaned over the pitcher and spat
them into the tea. She seemed to be laughing. There
was no audio on the video, so no one could
be sure. She then stirred the tea and placed the
bottle of pills back into her pocket, before going to

(02:24:23):
the back door and entering her yard. On her way
to invite Danny and Billy inside for cookies and tea,
the video stopped and everyone sat in stunned silence. I
don't know what she put in the tea, but her
father told me she died of a blood disease, so

(02:24:46):
so I assumed she put some of her medication in there.
I don't know what it is, but I believe it
affected Danny like it did Billy. I believe he was
disoriented when he left your house. Emmett motioned toward the Smiths.
I bet he didn't even see the car coming when
he was hit by it. My Danny was always so safe.

(02:25:12):
Tears streamed down Milly's cheeks. Emmett and his visitors spoke
for upwards of an hour about his discovery. They believed
the bad lady had drugged the young boys, but with
her dead, they didn't think they could do anything about it.
I think Danny just wanted us to know what happened,

(02:25:35):
Milly said toward the end of the conversation. Mister and
Missus Smith still didn't believe in ghosts. Later that night,
they both agreed that Emmett must have been bored and
had been going through the footage left on the hard
drive and discovered the drugging of the boys. They didn't
know what his angle was, but decided to watch him closely.

(02:26:01):
Milly hugged Emmett on the front porch as she headed
toward the street. Before leaving, she told him she loved
him and thanked him, telling him that she believed Danny
would be at peace now that the truth had been revealed.

(02:26:23):
Emmett sat on his porch that night with a smile
on his face. He didn't even feel the need to drink.
He enjoyed a few cigarettes and thought about everything he
would do the next day when Nathan came to the house.
He was ready to be the very best father he

(02:26:47):
could be, right before heading inside for the night, where
he would have the best sleep in years. Something caught
his attention from the corner of his eye. He looked
over and saw Danny standing in the middle of the street.

(02:27:10):
His bike was gone, and he wasn't wearing a helmet.
His eyes were clear, nearly glowing from a distance. Emmett
stood to his feet, lifted one hand and waved at Danny.
The little kid raised his hand and waved back at

(02:27:33):
Emmett with a smile. Emmett then heard Danny laugh the
most youthful and joyful laugh he had ever heard, and
the next second he vanished into the night, and that

(02:27:57):
my spookies was Boy on the Bike by Travis van Hoofs.
But don't put the flashlight away just yet, because tomorrow
we're taking a ride you won't forget. We're heading to Pendleton,
where a Haunted hay Ride promises screams, thrills, and maybe

(02:28:20):
a few broken rules. It's Halloween Haunted hay Ride by
Rob Fields, a night full of laughter, scares, and a
few rules you might not want to break. So grab
your caramel apple, bundle up and join us for another
tale where Halloween fun turns deliciously dark tomorrow, So make

(02:28:44):
sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app and while
you're at it, leave us a five star rating on
Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It really does help the show.
And if you want to support us in a very
direct way, you can head to Weeklyspooky dot com slash join,
where for as little as one dollar a month you
get two bonus episodes every single month and over five

(02:29:06):
years of bonus content like creepypasta readings and audiobooks. And
speaking of I want to say an extra special thank
you to our podcast boosters. Folks would pay just a
little bit more to hear their names at the end
of the show, and they are Johnny Nix, Kate and Lulu,
Jessica Fuller, Mike Escuey, Jenny Green, Amber Hansford, Karen we Met,

(02:29:26):
Jack Kerr, and Craig Cohen. Thank you, guys, and if
you want to hear your name at the end of
every episode of Weekly Spooky, just head to Weeklyspooky dot
Com slash join and sign up at the fifteen dollar
a month or higher tier. You'll get to hear your name.
Come out of my spooky, silky voice and get my
undying gratitude at Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join.

Speaker 4 (02:29:49):
But now I need to get back to work because
there is so much more to do before Halloween gets here.
So for myself, for my executive producers Rob Fields and
Babbletopia dot Com, my producer Dan Wilder, and my creepy
composer Ray Maddis, I'll talk at you tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (02:30:05):
Thank you for listening. Make sure to find your way
back next week, but for now you are safe.

Speaker 3 (02:30:15):
Trust me,

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