February 21, 2024 • 22 mins
Brendan comes back to where it all Started as he gets a cruel reminder of what Freedom might look like from another perspective.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:06):
Told. Ten episodes. I can't believe I've made ten episodes of this.
Ten weeks! And I feel like it has been a lifetime already.
And it has! I'm not the same Kim as the one who opened the door to find the
package in the first letter.
My insanity was bad before this all happened and something tells me it has not
(00:26):
improved a lot. Well, maybe it has.
Maybe I've just woken up from a long, long dream.
What surprised me the most was the other day I met one of you guys that are
listening to this podcast.
I won't say name or anything other than it was truly nice to meet one of you.
It has made me feel more sane than anything else.
Hearing they like the podcast and how they're rooting for Brendan is nice.
(00:50):
I hope I will write him a good ending in the future.
I tried again to explain I'm not writing, he's writing to me.
They brushed it away laughing before we departed. hearted.
Maybe it's best that they didn't believe me then. The horrors both me and Brendan have experienced?
It can be fiction. What do they say again?
(01:10):
Ignorance is bliss? No true words have been spoken.
Well, maybe the words I spoke today suddenly went out of the blue while I was
trying to get my 10k steps in.
A bird dropped a letter on my head.
No, seriously. A bird dropped a letter on my head.
What the flying f... I managed to say before my jaw dropped open.
(01:32):
My pale Scandinavian skin turning to a new shade of white because I saw the
bird in the heavy clouded evening sky stare at me with eyes on its wings.
Its grey feathers wreathing and wrapping like it was made out of thousands of worms.
Where it beaked should be a row of human feats clattering making making a horrible grinding sound.
(01:58):
And where the eyes should be, sticking out what I could only describe as dog-like
snouts with cat-like pupils inside the nostrils.
I blinked, and it was gone.
Like I said, ignorance is bliss. I took the letter.
I made sure my 10k steps was going to become a light jog than a frisk walk.
(02:21):
The light jog became what I now classifies as screaming while running home with
tears down my face wishing for the comfort of my mother.
I opened the letter after I had calmed down a bit.
And it read, Dear Kim Chill, Thank you and all that are listening for my well wishes.
It truly has lifted my spirits up again.
I have seen some comments on the interwebs. You guys are the best.
(02:45):
I am feeling a lot better and I am able to move again without having to be helped.
I even managed to get to the store today, and that was a win in my book.
I'm taking pain medications too.
I don't know if you've heard about it, but there's an epidemic surrounding pain
medications here in the States.
So I fear them a bit more than I guess other countries do.
(03:05):
Kim, what in the tartarus was that thing handing you the letter last week?
I've never heard nor seen anything like that before.
That you didn't faint is a surprise to me. I would have. have,
I hope that today's letter is delivered a bit better than last one.
I'm shivering just thinking about it.
By the way, my place is not warded up. The person did arrive and was very adept
(03:29):
in protecting binding of the Loa, and I feel even more safer than before.
I got their phone number if I ever needed any more help. But let's get back to the story, shall we?
I was running through Paris after
throwing a hot coffee in the face of Masika, and I I hadn't been shot.
Which proved one of two theories. One theory was she didn't have a gun pointed at me under the table.
(03:53):
Though I have been shot at by cultists before.
The other one was more likely. They needed me alive.
Because they thought I either had the key already, or I knew where the key was.
The worst part of that? They knew that I knew.
And as I rounded a corner, I bumped into someone so hard that we toppled over
and I rolled in a wet, dirty snow.
(04:16):
My poor coat. Sorry, I managed to say as I got up to one knee and looked over
at the person, and I saw the aura of white with sickly yellow in it.
The person tried to fish something from their jacket, and I quickly closed the
distance between us with my kneeling knee, flying straight at the man's jaw.
I heard it pop, or maybe break.
(04:39):
My Muay Thai lessons had paid off. My bad, sorry, sorry, that's gotta hurt.
As I snatched what had fallen from his jacket and I continued to run away as
the muffled sound of pain and agony came from behind me.
I looked down at my hand and I saw a gun.
Damn, they were not playing fair. I decided to run through alleys in a zigzag
(05:01):
motion to keep them off my tail.
And when it felt like it had been a few minutes, I tossed the gun into a garbage
can and a magazine with bullets in another.
How was I supposed to get away from them? At least I could spot them.
And that was a blessing in itself, like, literally.
Did Hakata know I would need it to get away?
(05:21):
Perhaps she had given me the tool Ra had made sure I didn't die of.
So I would honor them both, I guess, and get my ass out of Paris. And suddenly I stopped.
How? I had bought plane rides, but the airport would be packed with cultists.
I may have bought different plane tickets, but it'd mean nothing if they just
stood on each gate and waited for me.
(05:43):
This is bad, I muttered. It was about 12 hours until the first plane ride would start.
And then it came to me. The difference between Europe and the States.
A five-hour train ride could potentially get you into another country. It was a gamble.
But a better gamble than showing up at the airport hoping that they would not
(06:03):
be there. Or hadn't flagged me yet.
Which country, though? It had to be random. Coin toss again.
Four coin tosses, one winner. It was England. I had to get myself to Heathrow Airport.
Damn, I was rooting for Amsterdam. That meant I had three options.
But I had been smart and taken out 300 euros.
(06:26):
From here on out, cash until I could order the flight physically at the airport.
I would have to use my credit card, and I didn't like that I was broke.
I decided on the train it was faster. I managed to get to the express train,
so it took only two and a half hours, and about an hour to Heathrow.
All in all, as I boarded the plane to New York, I had seen no other cultists. The downside?
(06:51):
They had now eight and a half hours to mobilize if they managed to ping my purchase.
But as the plane lifted and we were in the sky, I finally managed to relax after
a thorough look at each and every other person in the plane as I stood up and get to the toilet.
Almost everyone had a grey aura, except two. One female had a dark blood red aura, almost dripping.
(07:15):
But she paid me no mind, so I did not either. And a goth teenager that had a
white glowing aura, but with a calm color like a prism. It changed slightly. slightly.
The goth teenager was too busy with their Nintendo Switch, and I was kind of jealous.
Sitting back down, I decided to take a nap as we flew through the night sky
(07:36):
over the North Atlantic.
And I had again a very lucid dream.
This time, I was seated by a dining table in what seemed like a high-end place,
looking over skyscrapers in nighttime. time.
I see Ra has finished your blessing.
Good. A middle-aged woman in a beautiful blue-skin-tight dress sat opposite
(07:58):
of me, eating what seemed like a beef tartare. Her kate.
She smiled as she shifted from the younger version. In flesh.
Well, dream flesh, I guess. I asked Morpheus to to help us out a little.
Whoa. I tried to say my best Canoe Reeves imitation.
Though I don't like that he has made you unable to cast magic.
(08:23):
It will hinder you, Brendan. That cleared me up a bit. And I was about to yell
at her before I remember the rat situation.
Yeah, I was grateful for your gift, Hekate, but not its costs.
I'm happy Ram fixed that. I do not wish to die in a few years, Hekate snorted.
Some live more in a couple of years than most do for decades, child.
(08:49):
Age does not define how well you have lived.
Though it is your choice that is irreversible now. I breathed it out. Does Ra still live?
Barely. Though it will take him a good while to get back to where he was.
If he ever can. But he will continue.
(09:09):
There are more of his worshippers now than twenty years ago.
She took a sip of what I assumed was a white wine.
They will be waiting on you at the gates as the plane arrives.
Listen well, Brendan. I have made arrangements as soon as the plane has landed.
Get up, move to the front, and speak the words.
(09:32):
The torches of Hekate shows me the way. Remember that, Brendan.
It will help you. Okay, what happens after? If I get the key,
where do I go? Where do I read the book?
She took a time with the tartar before answering me.
Wherever you want to, Brendan. though at night time would be best.
(09:54):
Somewhere safe where you can see anyone coming. A place where it is hard to get you.
I was about to ask again as I woke up. The sun was rising in the sky and over
the speakers I heard, we're about to descend, please put on your seatbelt.
Why can't I ever just give me a straight answer? Why is it always so freaking
(10:14):
cryptic? I muttered to myself self as I put on the seatbelt.
As the plane landed and started braking, I was already unbuckling and then trying
my best not to go flying forward into the seat in front of me.
Quickly, I got up and straight ran towards the front of the plane.
Sir, sir, you can't be here right now. Please go. The stewardess said,
(10:36):
the torches of Ekate, show me the way.
I blurted out. I did not have time to wait for her to try and calm me down.
She went from a worried look to a very serious one. And their lights will lead
you to safety, as our lady wishes.
She knocked three times on the cabin door before I felt the slow crawling of the plane stopping.
(10:56):
She quickly opened the huge door. I guess I will be skipping the fun slide,
I muttered as I started to sit myself down on the floor near the door.
You see that car? The steward had pointed toward the waiting small golf cart. Yeah? Yeah.
It will take you to an exit. Good luck. I decided then and there I was going
to hang out the door before dropping to the ground.
(11:18):
It seems like it was about three meters from the hatch to the concrete,
and I had no time to get injured now.
Thanks, I said, and dropped, remembering to roll as I did.
Energy continued will disperse better than just landing on your feet.
It's how parkour artists can leap from high buildings and etc.
They always roll. Quickly, I got to the golf cart, and it sped up.
(11:42):
Driving it, smiling to me, was a man, about average built, though I believe
by his skin tone and hair, not to mention the beautiful armband woven into patterns
I think I recognize, he was a Native American, who presented me with a huge envelope.
Here you go. He smiled wide as he drove.
What's in it? I asked, not daring to open it just yet, as the golf cart was quicker than I thought.
(12:08):
The man's aura was white, but with a gentle orange glow in it.
Help. We heard you needed it. It's a smartphone, fake ID, credit card in that
person's name, the passwords and PIN for different emails, and the credit card. I was a bit surprised.
That's illegal, I muttered. Just a bit.
(12:29):
It's identity theft, I managed to blurt out. Nah, he consented.
Now it's just illegal because you're not supposed to share an identity with someone.
Consent is important, he added, and I was dumbfounded.
Thanks? And thank him? The driver just nodded before we came to the exit,
where the security guard was strangely gone.
(12:51):
The limit of the credit card is about 12k. Hey, don't spell it all in one place. He winked.
Who are you? Now that would be telling. He grinned and sped off before I could ask any more questions.
I reminded myself that I should get going too, as there were watchers at the airport.
So I held the cab and told them where to go. I needed to go back to where it all began.
(13:14):
Liberty Island. But this time, the museum part. I opened the envelope and there
it was, a smartphone, ID, one credit card and a handful of cash.
I was starving and made the cab go to a drive-thru before we went to the ferries.
I was still munching on the fries from the box as I waved goodbye to it.
(13:35):
It was good to be back in the States.
We might make our fries in a different way, cause it tasted so much more American.
As I now had a new ID, a new phone and cash it had to be harder for the watchers to find me.
That being said, in hindsight, probably should have gotten a new clothes and
maybe a haircut and a shave.
The trouble wasn't getting to the island, nor into the museum.
(13:58):
I saw almost no other of the waking world. The problem I had was getting into
the original torch, cause it was huge.
It was secure, and a lot of people were looking at it. My mind went to,
maybe I needed to stay here until closing time.
Hide myself away, though I was registered on the boat, and to be honest,
(14:19):
something told me there was gonna be a lot of cameras watching.
The original torch was truly different than the one now.
It had stripes of metal, and the light would shine from within, instead from outside.
And suddenly, my mind got an idea. The key wasn't inside the torch.
It was too easy, and the first place anyone would look if they figured out where it was.
(14:41):
I was betting that inside was something of a fake key. It was hidden in The Fires of Freedom.
The glass is not original, I muttered.
Actually, no. It was added in 1916. A female voice came to my right.
A woman in a grey dress stood next to me. Her eyes were kind.
(15:01):
Her hair was that of a golden blonde and in a bun.
My left eye saw the truth, though.
The aura making an outline of a woman standing with a rod in one hand,
in a shining golden light.
I took a step to the side and I think she noticed my fear.
Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I admire you more, Mr. Brendan. She smiled.
(15:26):
Admire me? Why? I asked slowly.
You step into so much more than what you think. And what do you do?
You push through every obstacle. I didn't like what Hekate did with you.
You had no choice, but instead of just taking it, you chose to sacrifice something
she never could. For your freedom.
(15:47):
Not many had, mind you. Really?
Power is a very strong motivator for people.
Power makes you blind to hardship of the world. Power makes you suppress other
people's thoughts and emotions.
Power is hard. Because for some, power is freedom. Freedom, a kind of freedom
that costs so many others.
(16:08):
She looked up through the window and towards the statue.
As this country has proven more than once, I could almost see the fires inside her eyes.
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.
Tell that to the Native Americans, the slaves taken from their homes to get
(16:29):
here, the immigrants from the East. At least, she looked back at me with tears
in her eyes, and it hurt me to my soul.
I know what you seek, and a part of me wishes you to succeed and free the sun.
I will not lie, but the freedom is also a freedom to choose.
She pointed to the outlines between the glass and the torch.
(16:52):
What you search for is there, and I turned to ask her something else, and she was gone. on.
It was a somber feeling not to be able to ask if she was okay.
All I wanted was to see that goddess smile again.
And what saddened me even more is that the smile she had given before was perhaps not a real one.
(17:13):
I looked back where she had pointed, and I saw nothing.
But, as I saw most people were away, I did jump the security fence and climb
quickly up to see the beam between the two golden glass.
Nothing. Not even an inscription. Damn! And I did not see anything in the magical aura either.
But what if I lifted the headband covering the left eye, and I suddenly saw
(17:37):
a holy light, with a word inscribed in the language I had seen in the book.
And I knew instantly what it was. I gasped as I fell down from the torch onto the floor.
As I landed on my back, the breath was truly taken out of my lungs.
The word was etched into my mind forever.
(17:57):
And keeping the left eye closed, I finally managed to get breath back to my
lungs to put the headband over again.
It didn't take long before the security came. They had seen me on the camera,
and I was escorted very sternly to the ferry. I was even told that if I ever
came back, they would press charges.
And the only reason why they didn't was because nothing was broken.
(18:17):
That I should count myself lucky.
I apologized like a madman, and I was humble as much as I could.
And one security was with me all the way back to the mainland before making
sure I got into a cab and rode towards wherever but here.
I had finally gotten what I came here for.
The key. And it wasn't anything physical. It was the word to unbind the chains on the book.
(18:41):
And now I understood why no one had been looking for it either.
I hadn't taken up the book and looked at it through my eye.
Mostly because I believed it would be too dangerous. Or, if it was out in the
open, someone would just snatch it up.
So I had only opened my bag four times since I got it. To make sure it was still there.
The other reason I was safe to assume it was there, it was the aura radiating from it.
(19:05):
It was the same as the Watchers. White, with sickly yellow in it.
I had the key, and the book. I was so tempted to open it in the cab and be done with it.
But I caught this warning rang in my head. Where should I go?
New York didn't seem like the right place. I needed a flat land. Well, ish.
I needed to be far away. A place where they wouldn't think I would go.
(19:28):
One thing came to my mind. A desert. I cursed slowly.
Across the country, plane is out of the question. That means only one thing.
Find myself a rental car and drive at least 37 hours. Including sleep.
It meant three days on the road. Yay.
Getting a rental car is surprisingly easy. And with my luck,
(19:50):
what was after me, I did opt in the insurance.
I can be smart sometimes too. I managed to get myself a really nice long-distance
car, electric, because I do try to take care of the environment.
The first day on the road was pretty nice, and I ended up in a roadside motel
for my first sleep. Not too shabby.
Way better than what I had been in before. It really did look like the owners
loved their place of business.
(20:11):
And that matters when it comes to motels. I managed to sleep for about three
hours before my phone went crazy. I had gotten five texts in a matter of three minutes.
Someone on their way to the motel. Get away. Every time I've gotten a message
from an unknown person, it had been correct.
As I got into the now fully charged car, this motel had chargers.
That is how good you know they are.
(20:33):
I spotted a car pulling up to the opposite side of the car park.
I semi-hid and turned on the dashboard cam to watch on the screen in the car.
And what I saw made my blood freeze.
Steven Patrice. breeze, walking into the building that housed the front desk.
I am happy that electric cars don't make too much noise when you don't want
(20:53):
them to, and quietly and quickly I draw out of there before they came back out.
I never thought I would see them again, and now they were on my tail. How?
It is strange, Kim, that where it all started, the key was.
If you wonder what it is, you will know soon enough. Patience, my friend.
(21:13):
Patience. I'm I'm going to try and get some physical therapy now,
Kim, so I gotta end this letter.
Again, thank you and everyone for wishing me health and quickly recover. It means so much.
Don't worry, I'm going to get better soon.
Until next time, Brendan Craft.
That is the end of the letter. And holy snap, it's a lot happening now.
(21:34):
Steven Patrice? And you met Libertas herself?
And do you think the person who started all this knew the key was there somewhere?
I got so many questions. I just hope we get them.
Cause I need them, Brendan. I need the questions answered so much.
I've calmed down a bit after what happened today too. Two times in a row now
(21:54):
something truly freaky has delivered your letters. Why?
Where am I starting to see things even more awful than I should?
I gotta think on that. And I will leave you all with this. Does true freedom really exist?
This has been the 10th episode of Letters About the Untold. Written and read by Kim Kjell Jørsta.
(22:16):
Music by Nikolaj Hagen. The places and people you hear in this podcast might
be real, but the description or personality of the places and people might have
been altered. This is fiction.
Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, and I do hope you enjoy it and
hope you will listen to the next episode.
If you do, press that subscribe button and follow the podcast on social media.
(22:39):
And if you can, it would be nice if you could leave a review.
Until next time, beware of the flickering lights.
Music.
(00:06):
Told. Ten episodes. I can't believe I've made ten episodes of this.
Ten weeks! And I feel like it has been a lifetime already.
And it has! I'm not the same Kim as the one who opened the door to find the
package in the first letter.
My insanity was bad before this all happened and something tells me it has not
(00:26):
improved a lot. Well, maybe it has.
Maybe I've just woken up from a long, long dream.
What surprised me the most was the other day I met one of you guys that are
listening to this podcast.
I won't say name or anything other than it was truly nice to meet one of you.
It has made me feel more sane than anything else.
Hearing they like the podcast and how they're rooting for Brendan is nice.
(00:50):
I hope I will write him a good ending in the future.
I tried again to explain I'm not writing, he's writing to me.
They brushed it away laughing before we departed. hearted.
Maybe it's best that they didn't believe me then. The horrors both me and Brendan have experienced?
It can be fiction. What do they say again?
(01:10):
Ignorance is bliss? No true words have been spoken.
Well, maybe the words I spoke today suddenly went out of the blue while I was
trying to get my 10k steps in.
A bird dropped a letter on my head.
No, seriously. A bird dropped a letter on my head.
What the flying f... I managed to say before my jaw dropped open.
(01:32):
My pale Scandinavian skin turning to a new shade of white because I saw the
bird in the heavy clouded evening sky stare at me with eyes on its wings.
Its grey feathers wreathing and wrapping like it was made out of thousands of worms.
Where it beaked should be a row of human feats clattering making making a horrible grinding sound.
(01:58):
And where the eyes should be, sticking out what I could only describe as dog-like
snouts with cat-like pupils inside the nostrils.
I blinked, and it was gone.
Like I said, ignorance is bliss. I took the letter.
I made sure my 10k steps was going to become a light jog than a frisk walk.
(02:21):
The light jog became what I now classifies as screaming while running home with
tears down my face wishing for the comfort of my mother.
I opened the letter after I had calmed down a bit.
And it read, Dear Kim Chill, Thank you and all that are listening for my well wishes.
It truly has lifted my spirits up again.
I have seen some comments on the interwebs. You guys are the best.
(02:45):
I am feeling a lot better and I am able to move again without having to be helped.
I even managed to get to the store today, and that was a win in my book.
I'm taking pain medications too.
I don't know if you've heard about it, but there's an epidemic surrounding pain
medications here in the States.
So I fear them a bit more than I guess other countries do.
(03:05):
Kim, what in the tartarus was that thing handing you the letter last week?
I've never heard nor seen anything like that before.
That you didn't faint is a surprise to me. I would have. have,
I hope that today's letter is delivered a bit better than last one.
I'm shivering just thinking about it.
By the way, my place is not warded up. The person did arrive and was very adept
(03:29):
in protecting binding of the Loa, and I feel even more safer than before.
I got their phone number if I ever needed any more help. But let's get back to the story, shall we?
I was running through Paris after
throwing a hot coffee in the face of Masika, and I I hadn't been shot.
Which proved one of two theories. One theory was she didn't have a gun pointed at me under the table.
(03:53):
Though I have been shot at by cultists before.
The other one was more likely. They needed me alive.
Because they thought I either had the key already, or I knew where the key was.
The worst part of that? They knew that I knew.
And as I rounded a corner, I bumped into someone so hard that we toppled over
and I rolled in a wet, dirty snow.
(04:16):
My poor coat. Sorry, I managed to say as I got up to one knee and looked over
at the person, and I saw the aura of white with sickly yellow in it.
The person tried to fish something from their jacket, and I quickly closed the
distance between us with my kneeling knee, flying straight at the man's jaw.
I heard it pop, or maybe break.
(04:39):
My Muay Thai lessons had paid off. My bad, sorry, sorry, that's gotta hurt.
As I snatched what had fallen from his jacket and I continued to run away as
the muffled sound of pain and agony came from behind me.
I looked down at my hand and I saw a gun.
Damn, they were not playing fair. I decided to run through alleys in a zigzag
(05:01):
motion to keep them off my tail.
And when it felt like it had been a few minutes, I tossed the gun into a garbage
can and a magazine with bullets in another.
How was I supposed to get away from them? At least I could spot them.
And that was a blessing in itself, like, literally.
Did Hakata know I would need it to get away?
(05:21):
Perhaps she had given me the tool Ra had made sure I didn't die of.
So I would honor them both, I guess, and get my ass out of Paris. And suddenly I stopped.
How? I had bought plane rides, but the airport would be packed with cultists.
I may have bought different plane tickets, but it'd mean nothing if they just
stood on each gate and waited for me.
(05:43):
This is bad, I muttered. It was about 12 hours until the first plane ride would start.
And then it came to me. The difference between Europe and the States.
A five-hour train ride could potentially get you into another country. It was a gamble.
But a better gamble than showing up at the airport hoping that they would not
(06:03):
be there. Or hadn't flagged me yet.
Which country, though? It had to be random. Coin toss again.
Four coin tosses, one winner. It was England. I had to get myself to Heathrow Airport.
Damn, I was rooting for Amsterdam. That meant I had three options.
But I had been smart and taken out 300 euros.
(06:26):
From here on out, cash until I could order the flight physically at the airport.
I would have to use my credit card, and I didn't like that I was broke.
I decided on the train it was faster. I managed to get to the express train,
so it took only two and a half hours, and about an hour to Heathrow.
All in all, as I boarded the plane to New York, I had seen no other cultists. The downside?
(06:51):
They had now eight and a half hours to mobilize if they managed to ping my purchase.
But as the plane lifted and we were in the sky, I finally managed to relax after
a thorough look at each and every other person in the plane as I stood up and get to the toilet.
Almost everyone had a grey aura, except two. One female had a dark blood red aura, almost dripping.
(07:15):
But she paid me no mind, so I did not either. And a goth teenager that had a
white glowing aura, but with a calm color like a prism. It changed slightly. slightly.
The goth teenager was too busy with their Nintendo Switch, and I was kind of jealous.
Sitting back down, I decided to take a nap as we flew through the night sky
(07:36):
over the North Atlantic.
And I had again a very lucid dream.
This time, I was seated by a dining table in what seemed like a high-end place,
looking over skyscrapers in nighttime. time.
I see Ra has finished your blessing.
Good. A middle-aged woman in a beautiful blue-skin-tight dress sat opposite
(07:58):
of me, eating what seemed like a beef tartare. Her kate.
She smiled as she shifted from the younger version. In flesh.
Well, dream flesh, I guess. I asked Morpheus to to help us out a little.
Whoa. I tried to say my best Canoe Reeves imitation.
Though I don't like that he has made you unable to cast magic.
(08:23):
It will hinder you, Brendan. That cleared me up a bit. And I was about to yell
at her before I remember the rat situation.
Yeah, I was grateful for your gift, Hekate, but not its costs.
I'm happy Ram fixed that. I do not wish to die in a few years, Hekate snorted.
Some live more in a couple of years than most do for decades, child.
(08:49):
Age does not define how well you have lived.
Though it is your choice that is irreversible now. I breathed it out. Does Ra still live?
Barely. Though it will take him a good while to get back to where he was.
If he ever can. But he will continue.
(09:09):
There are more of his worshippers now than twenty years ago.
She took a sip of what I assumed was a white wine.
They will be waiting on you at the gates as the plane arrives.
Listen well, Brendan. I have made arrangements as soon as the plane has landed.
Get up, move to the front, and speak the words.
(09:32):
The torches of Hekate shows me the way. Remember that, Brendan.
It will help you. Okay, what happens after? If I get the key,
where do I go? Where do I read the book?
She took a time with the tartar before answering me.
Wherever you want to, Brendan. though at night time would be best.
(09:54):
Somewhere safe where you can see anyone coming. A place where it is hard to get you.
I was about to ask again as I woke up. The sun was rising in the sky and over
the speakers I heard, we're about to descend, please put on your seatbelt.
Why can't I ever just give me a straight answer? Why is it always so freaking
(10:14):
cryptic? I muttered to myself self as I put on the seatbelt.
As the plane landed and started braking, I was already unbuckling and then trying
my best not to go flying forward into the seat in front of me.
Quickly, I got up and straight ran towards the front of the plane.
Sir, sir, you can't be here right now. Please go. The stewardess said,
(10:36):
the torches of Ekate, show me the way.
I blurted out. I did not have time to wait for her to try and calm me down.
She went from a worried look to a very serious one. And their lights will lead
you to safety, as our lady wishes.
She knocked three times on the cabin door before I felt the slow crawling of the plane stopping.
(10:56):
She quickly opened the huge door. I guess I will be skipping the fun slide,
I muttered as I started to sit myself down on the floor near the door.
You see that car? The steward had pointed toward the waiting small golf cart. Yeah? Yeah.
It will take you to an exit. Good luck. I decided then and there I was going
to hang out the door before dropping to the ground.
(11:18):
It seems like it was about three meters from the hatch to the concrete,
and I had no time to get injured now.
Thanks, I said, and dropped, remembering to roll as I did.
Energy continued will disperse better than just landing on your feet.
It's how parkour artists can leap from high buildings and etc.
They always roll. Quickly, I got to the golf cart, and it sped up.
(11:42):
Driving it, smiling to me, was a man, about average built, though I believe
by his skin tone and hair, not to mention the beautiful armband woven into patterns
I think I recognize, he was a Native American, who presented me with a huge envelope.
Here you go. He smiled wide as he drove.
What's in it? I asked, not daring to open it just yet, as the golf cart was quicker than I thought.
(12:08):
The man's aura was white, but with a gentle orange glow in it.
Help. We heard you needed it. It's a smartphone, fake ID, credit card in that
person's name, the passwords and PIN for different emails, and the credit card. I was a bit surprised.
That's illegal, I muttered. Just a bit.
(12:29):
It's identity theft, I managed to blurt out. Nah, he consented.
Now it's just illegal because you're not supposed to share an identity with someone.
Consent is important, he added, and I was dumbfounded.
Thanks? And thank him? The driver just nodded before we came to the exit,
where the security guard was strangely gone.
(12:51):
The limit of the credit card is about 12k. Hey, don't spell it all in one place. He winked.
Who are you? Now that would be telling. He grinned and sped off before I could ask any more questions.
I reminded myself that I should get going too, as there were watchers at the airport.
So I held the cab and told them where to go. I needed to go back to where it all began.
(13:14):
Liberty Island. But this time, the museum part. I opened the envelope and there
it was, a smartphone, ID, one credit card and a handful of cash.
I was starving and made the cab go to a drive-thru before we went to the ferries.
I was still munching on the fries from the box as I waved goodbye to it.
(13:35):
It was good to be back in the States.
We might make our fries in a different way, cause it tasted so much more American.
As I now had a new ID, a new phone and cash it had to be harder for the watchers to find me.
That being said, in hindsight, probably should have gotten a new clothes and
maybe a haircut and a shave.
The trouble wasn't getting to the island, nor into the museum.
(13:58):
I saw almost no other of the waking world. The problem I had was getting into
the original torch, cause it was huge.
It was secure, and a lot of people were looking at it. My mind went to,
maybe I needed to stay here until closing time.
Hide myself away, though I was registered on the boat, and to be honest,
(14:19):
something told me there was gonna be a lot of cameras watching.
The original torch was truly different than the one now.
It had stripes of metal, and the light would shine from within, instead from outside.
And suddenly, my mind got an idea. The key wasn't inside the torch.
It was too easy, and the first place anyone would look if they figured out where it was.
(14:41):
I was betting that inside was something of a fake key. It was hidden in The Fires of Freedom.
The glass is not original, I muttered.
Actually, no. It was added in 1916. A female voice came to my right.
A woman in a grey dress stood next to me. Her eyes were kind.
(15:01):
Her hair was that of a golden blonde and in a bun.
My left eye saw the truth, though.
The aura making an outline of a woman standing with a rod in one hand,
in a shining golden light.
I took a step to the side and I think she noticed my fear.
Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I admire you more, Mr. Brendan. She smiled.
(15:26):
Admire me? Why? I asked slowly.
You step into so much more than what you think. And what do you do?
You push through every obstacle. I didn't like what Hekate did with you.
You had no choice, but instead of just taking it, you chose to sacrifice something
she never could. For your freedom.
(15:47):
Not many had, mind you. Really?
Power is a very strong motivator for people.
Power makes you blind to hardship of the world. Power makes you suppress other
people's thoughts and emotions.
Power is hard. Because for some, power is freedom. Freedom, a kind of freedom
that costs so many others.
(16:08):
She looked up through the window and towards the statue.
As this country has proven more than once, I could almost see the fires inside her eyes.
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.
Tell that to the Native Americans, the slaves taken from their homes to get
(16:29):
here, the immigrants from the East. At least, she looked back at me with tears
in her eyes, and it hurt me to my soul.
I know what you seek, and a part of me wishes you to succeed and free the sun.
I will not lie, but the freedom is also a freedom to choose.
She pointed to the outlines between the glass and the torch.
(16:52):
What you search for is there, and I turned to ask her something else, and she was gone. on.
It was a somber feeling not to be able to ask if she was okay.
All I wanted was to see that goddess smile again.
And what saddened me even more is that the smile she had given before was perhaps not a real one.
(17:13):
I looked back where she had pointed, and I saw nothing.
But, as I saw most people were away, I did jump the security fence and climb
quickly up to see the beam between the two golden glass.
Nothing. Not even an inscription. Damn! And I did not see anything in the magical aura either.
But what if I lifted the headband covering the left eye, and I suddenly saw
(17:37):
a holy light, with a word inscribed in the language I had seen in the book.
And I knew instantly what it was. I gasped as I fell down from the torch onto the floor.
As I landed on my back, the breath was truly taken out of my lungs.
The word was etched into my mind forever.
(17:57):
And keeping the left eye closed, I finally managed to get breath back to my
lungs to put the headband over again.
It didn't take long before the security came. They had seen me on the camera,
and I was escorted very sternly to the ferry. I was even told that if I ever
came back, they would press charges.
And the only reason why they didn't was because nothing was broken.
(18:17):
That I should count myself lucky.
I apologized like a madman, and I was humble as much as I could.
And one security was with me all the way back to the mainland before making
sure I got into a cab and rode towards wherever but here.
I had finally gotten what I came here for.
The key. And it wasn't anything physical. It was the word to unbind the chains on the book.
(18:41):
And now I understood why no one had been looking for it either.
I hadn't taken up the book and looked at it through my eye.
Mostly because I believed it would be too dangerous. Or, if it was out in the
open, someone would just snatch it up.
So I had only opened my bag four times since I got it. To make sure it was still there.
The other reason I was safe to assume it was there, it was the aura radiating from it.
(19:05):
It was the same as the Watchers. White, with sickly yellow in it.
I had the key, and the book. I was so tempted to open it in the cab and be done with it.
But I caught this warning rang in my head. Where should I go?
New York didn't seem like the right place. I needed a flat land. Well, ish.
I needed to be far away. A place where they wouldn't think I would go.
(19:28):
One thing came to my mind. A desert. I cursed slowly.
Across the country, plane is out of the question. That means only one thing.
Find myself a rental car and drive at least 37 hours. Including sleep.
It meant three days on the road. Yay.
Getting a rental car is surprisingly easy. And with my luck,
(19:50):
what was after me, I did opt in the insurance.
I can be smart sometimes too. I managed to get myself a really nice long-distance
car, electric, because I do try to take care of the environment.
The first day on the road was pretty nice, and I ended up in a roadside motel
for my first sleep. Not too shabby.
Way better than what I had been in before. It really did look like the owners
loved their place of business.
(20:11):
And that matters when it comes to motels. I managed to sleep for about three
hours before my phone went crazy. I had gotten five texts in a matter of three minutes.
Someone on their way to the motel. Get away. Every time I've gotten a message
from an unknown person, it had been correct.
As I got into the now fully charged car, this motel had chargers.
That is how good you know they are.
(20:33):
I spotted a car pulling up to the opposite side of the car park.
I semi-hid and turned on the dashboard cam to watch on the screen in the car.
And what I saw made my blood freeze.
Steven Patrice. breeze, walking into the building that housed the front desk.
I am happy that electric cars don't make too much noise when you don't want
(20:53):
them to, and quietly and quickly I draw out of there before they came back out.
I never thought I would see them again, and now they were on my tail. How?
It is strange, Kim, that where it all started, the key was.
If you wonder what it is, you will know soon enough. Patience, my friend.
(21:13):
Patience. I'm I'm going to try and get some physical therapy now,
Kim, so I gotta end this letter.
Again, thank you and everyone for wishing me health and quickly recover. It means so much.
Don't worry, I'm going to get better soon.
Until next time, Brendan Craft.
That is the end of the letter. And holy snap, it's a lot happening now.
(21:34):
Steven Patrice? And you met Libertas herself?
And do you think the person who started all this knew the key was there somewhere?
I got so many questions. I just hope we get them.
Cause I need them, Brendan. I need the questions answered so much.
I've calmed down a bit after what happened today too. Two times in a row now
(21:54):
something truly freaky has delivered your letters. Why?
Where am I starting to see things even more awful than I should?
I gotta think on that. And I will leave you all with this. Does true freedom really exist?
This has been the 10th episode of Letters About the Untold. Written and read by Kim Kjell Jørsta.
(22:16):
Music by Nikolaj Hagen. The places and people you hear in this podcast might
be real, but the description or personality of the places and people might have
been altered. This is fiction.
Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, and I do hope you enjoy it and
hope you will listen to the next episode.
If you do, press that subscribe button and follow the podcast on social media.
(22:39):
And if you can, it would be nice if you could leave a review.
Until next time, beware of the flickering lights.
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