S1, E12 The Strangers

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Episode Transcript

(00:30):
This is Ed Falco on the air,reading The Strangers, a novel
in 19 episodes.
In episode 11, Severn and thekids meet Matthew and A'isha.
Two human survivors who havebuilt a fortress and a cave to
protect themselves from thepack.
At the conclusion of theepisode, the five of them,

(00:51):
Severn, Tommy, Vi, Matthew, andA'isha, have just come down from
the attic of a farmhouse where acache of weapons is stored.
They're in the farmhouse talkingthings over before leaving for
the cave to spend the night.
That's where we pick up episode12.

(01:12):
Downstairs.
On the ground floor of thehouse, Vi and Tommy helped
Matthew gather more dishes andutensils before taking seats
around the table.
Severn came up from the basementwith A'isha where they had
started the generator.
He carried plastic containers offood.
In the dining room, he glancedat the uncurtained porch windows

(01:34):
before placing the food in thecenter of the table and pulling
up a seat alongside Vi.
There were still a couple ofhours to sunset.
But it was grey outside, under abank of dark clouds.
The light through the windowswould be visible from the road.
He considered pulling thecurtains and decided against it.

(01:56):
At the table, Matthew wastalking about the strangers
tearing down whole cities.
On their journey east, runningfrom the packs, they'd passed
through Oklahoma City and Tulsa,St.
Louis and Memphis and Nashville,and they'd found the strangers
busily tearing down greatexpanses of buildings and
businesses and homes.

(02:16):
Matthew seemed to enjoy theattention of Vi and Tommy, both
of whom were leaning over theirplates, listening with
fascination.
What's your thinking on that?
Severn asked.
He pulled up a chair at thetable.
Why would they level cities likethat?
They've also blown up every damin the world that we've checked,
Matthew said.
Boulder Dam, gone.

(02:38):
Three gorges in China, gone.
Fort Peck, Hiaaswang, all gone.
How do you know that?
Tommy asked.
A'isha stopped what she wasdoing in the kitchen to join the
conversation.
She held on to the refrigeratorhandle and leaned into the
living room.
We were able to hack militaryand civilian satellites, she
said.
Matthew's a genius at thatstuff.

(03:00):
There was no one to fight usoff, Matthew said.
You mean there's no one keepingyou from getting into the
computers, Vi asked?
Exactly, Matthew said.
But we didn't need anything moreelaborate than Google Earth
anyway.
Why would they do that, Severnasked.
He surprised himself with howannoyed he sounded.
When everyone looked at him asif to ask what his problem was,

(03:21):
he tried to tone it down.
Why would they tear everythingdown?
They're returning the planet toa pre industrialized state,
A'isha said from the kitchen.
And not just preindustrialization, but back
practically in some places atleast to pre civilization.
That's pretty awesome, Tommysaid.
And he lifted his beer as iftoasting the strangers.

(03:41):
Matthew said, they've got ageneration's worth of work just
getting rid of the stuffhumankind spent its entire
history building and acquiring.
He stretched out his legs andlooked up to Severn.
A few more generations beforenature swallows up everything
they aren't maintaining.
And after that, they'll have apristine, earthly paradise.

(04:01):
They're leaving whole continentsuntouched, A'isha said.
She opened the refrigeratordoor.
Africa, Australia, most of SouthAmerica, no one there.
Pacific Islands too, Matthewsaid.
Severn looked from Matthew toA'isha and then out the window
again, where his gaze lingered.
Beyond the window he saw theporch and the fields, though in

(04:24):
his mind's eye he was imaginingthe great rainforests of South
America re emerging where theyhad been burned and cut and
decimated by encroaching townsand cities.
He tried to imagine Africa withno human development of any
kind, all forest and veldt andsavannah populated only by
wildlife and swarms of birds andinsects, like stepping back in

(04:45):
time hundreds of thousands ofyears.
When he turned back to thetable, Matthew was talking about
Nashville, about seeing theMississippi flowing through what
had once been downtown.
And these black holes, Severnasked as soon as Matthew paused
to take a breath, these cinderblock structures that they're
dumping everything into.

(05:06):
Do you have any idea about them?
We have theories.
Matthew picked up his beer andheld it poised for a drink.
We think the Hulls are here toaccelerate the work of cleaning
up the planet.
Other than that, they'reexclusively using our
technology.
Dump trucks, wrecking balls,explosives.
Then the Black Hulls eat up thedebris.

(05:27):
He tilted his beer bottle to hislips and emptied it in a single
gulp.
Any idea how?
Severn asked.
A'isha leaned into the livingroom again.
There's only one way into thoseplaces and no way out, she said
to Severn.
Do you want to go inside andlook around?
She has a point, Tommy said.
Anyway, Matthew said, they knowhow to travel through space, I'm
not shocked if they know how tozap stuff back to the molecular

(05:49):
level.
And I'll bet anything that oncethey're done tearing down
everything, they'll get rid ofthe black holes too.
He got up and went to therefrigerator for another beer.
A'isha said to no one inparticular, they don't even have
weapons.
She sounded exasperated.
Really, Tommy said?
They don't have any weapons?

(06:10):
Severn said, they invaded andinhabited a planet, and they
didn't bring any kind ofweaponry with them?
Matthew returned to the tablewith his beer.
Told you, he said.
They're non violent.
Except, Vi said, and sighed, asif frustrated beyond words at
having to repeat her point,except that they killed
approximately seven billionhuman beings.

(06:31):
There is that, Matthew said.
A'isha returned to the table andpoured Vi a glass of lemonade.
She glanced at the unopened foodcontainers on the table.
I hope you guys aren't waitingfor me to serve you.
At that, everyone beganportioning out food on their
plates.
The containers were full ofchicken salad and it looked like
A'isha had put some effort intomaking it.

(06:52):
There were chunks of celery init along with what looked like
chopped up walnuts and slices ofgrapes.
Hey, Tommy said after taking abite.
This is really good.
It's just chicken salad, A'ishasaid.
You're strangers of vegetarians.
Lots of chickens roaming aroundjust waiting to get eaten.
There's not much A'isha can'tdo, Matthew said.

(07:12):
Stop, A'isha said.
And then brought the talk backto the strangers.
We were surprised too when wefigured out they were unarmed.
We thought they'd have to haveweapons if for nothing else than
to protect themselves from wildanimals.
Then we saw why they don't needprotection, Matthew said in
between bites.
They've got the packs for that,he nodded to Severn.

(07:32):
How did you get through thewhole winter without the dogs
finding you?
Today was your first encounterwith them?
How could that be?
The birds have been here sinceDecember.
No idea, Severn said.
He thought about it and thenventured.
We were pretty remote.
Only a couple of back roads goby the farm.
Matthew finished his beer andthen went to get another.

(07:54):
On his way to the fridge heasked, Then how is it they found
you now?
Again Severn said, No idea.
Oh hell, Tommy said.
When everyone looked at him, hesaid, Sterling.
And then turned to Severn andVi.
Vi said, You think Sterling ledthem to us?
A'isha asked, Who's Sterling?

(08:15):
When Severn explained aboutSterling running off with the
two strangers, A'isha said,That's possible.
Dogs can't be trusted.
They've turned on us.
Except Sage, Vi said.
Sage can be trusted.
She reached under the table topat Sage's head.
Why do you think it is that onlyyou and A'isha got away from the
pack?
Severn asked Matthew.

(08:36):
If they killed everyone else,any idea why you two survived?
For a while, A'isha said, wethought it was the caves.
We were trying to get toManhattan, where we thought
there was the best chance offinding other survivors.
But they kept cutting us off,and we wound up here in the
south, where we found the caves.
We thought maybe they couldn'ttrack our smell in the caves.

(09:00):
Matthew looked at his beerbottle solemnly, as if something
about it depressed him.
He pushed it aside.
But then we'd smell them outsidethe cave, and even inside more
than once A'isha interrupted.
So they know where we are,Matthew went on.
For some reason, they're notattacking, A'isha said.

(09:21):
I was thinking that they werejust playing with us again,
Matthew said, raising his voicea little as if bothered by
A'isha's interruptions.
Sometimes, in the past, they'dlet weeks go by between attacks.
So just when you thought maybeit was over, maybe you lost
them.
Matthew looked at his beerbottle and then pushed it
farther away.
When it was clear Matthew wasdone speaking, A'isha said, And

(09:44):
now we find out that they didn'tattack you when they could have.
Phi laughed and said, So whatare you thinking?
They going to let the remainingfive human beings live
peacefully in caves?
Tommy said, Maybe they'rekeeping us as pets.
They're beasts, Matthew said.
They smell like what they are,filth with teeth and claws.

(10:07):
They're not going to let us livepeacefully, in caves or anywhere
else.
Severn looked out the window atthe darkening sky.
Before he could say anything,Matthew stood up.
We should go, he said, and hepulled a rifle from the back of
his chair and slung it over hisshoulder.
On the trek from the farmhouseto the cave, Matthew and A'isha

(10:29):
took the lead, followed closelyby Tommy and Vi.
The early evening had turnedgloomy under a dense expanse of
clouds.
Severn hung back with Sage athis side and let some distance
accumulate between himself andthe others.
They were following a trail thatcut through a rocky field toward
the horseshoe curve of highhills and caves that wrapped

(10:50):
around the farmhouse and thefarm.
In front of him, Matthew andA'isha laughed and then turned
to Tommy and Vi, and the kidslaughed along with them.
When all four of them lookedback at him, he waved and they
turned around again andcontinued with their talk, the
sounds of which floated back tohim in an indistinguishable
volley of pitches and notes.

(11:13):
He patted Sage on the rump,pointed to the others, and said,
Go.
Sage dutifully bolted to Vi,where he walked alongside her,
though not without an occasionalbackward glance at Severn.
Alone for a moment, Severn lethimself relax.
Because his eyes were on hisfeet and his thoughts were
wandering, he didn't see Matthewfalling back from the others and

(11:35):
waiting for him.
He was practically on top ofthem before he stopped and
looked up and then laughed athis own distraction.
Lost in thought, he said, andmade a face that expressed
dismay with himself for being soinattentive.
Listen, Matthew said, A'isha isworried about you already.
He straightened out the riflesslung over his shoulder and

(11:56):
quickly glanced behind them.
I mean, he went on, that's howshe is.
She worries about everybody.
But the kids told us you weredepressed all winter.
Really?
They said that?
It's nothing to me, Matthewsaid, as if frustrated at
A'isha's level of concern aboutthings.
Why wouldn't you be depressed?
Severn didn't think he'd beendepressed all winter.

(12:18):
There was a big difference inhis mind between depression and
grief.
He considered defending himselfbut instead changed the subject.
How come you guys never got ridof the corpses back at the
farmhouse?
You mean Mr.
and Mrs.?
Is that what you call them?
They were Howard and JanetWalker in the old world.
We call them Mr.

(12:39):
and Mrs.
How come you didn't bury them?
Man, Matthew said, and hethought about it a moment.
They look peaceful side by sidelike that.
We thought it better to let thembe.
A hundred yards in front of themthe field was intersected by a
narrow stream that meandered outof a wide strip of pine trees at
the bottom of a limestone bluff.

(13:01):
Matthew pointed to a small blackopening in the rock face.
That's us, he said.
Severn saw, even from adistance, that it was an easy
climb to the mouth of the cave.
You think you're safe from thepack in there?
You'll have to see how we haveit set up.
Matthew straightened out hisglasses by tugging on one side
of the yellow croquet.
We stand a chance in there, hesaid.

(13:23):
He added a caveat.
In the short term, anyway.
In the short term?
We can hold them off in there,he said, but we could never come
out and face them on openground.
And so them what?
He turned towards Severn with alook of resignation.
Severn looked up at the caveagain, at the last of the dull

(13:43):
evening light smeared over thecraggy rocks surrounding the
black opening.
You don't think there's any wayto kill these things?
He asked Matthew.
What if we could kill the wholepack?
We tried everything, Matthewsaid.
He stopped and looked as if hewas momentarily reliving old
battles.
In all that time crossing thecountry, in all those attacks,

(14:04):
we only managed to kill one ofthem, and that was mostly luck.
What?
Severn asked.
How?
Me?
Matthew said.
I killed one of them.
How?
Severn asked again, impatientwith Matthew's long pauses.
They run on all fours, Matthewsaid, but they fight either way.
On all fours or standing up.

(14:25):
I've seen them go from all foursto upright and mid leap.
He paused again and wiped away aline of sweat that had suddenly
appeared above his lip.
I saw one running along theforest floor like a panther,
that smooth and sleek, and thenleap and in mid air turn into
something almost human before itgrabbed a tree branch and swung
itself upward like a chimpanzeeand disappeared into the canopy.

(14:47):
Matthew laughed in wonder andwiped away more sweat from his
upper lip.
Again Severn asked, So how didyou kill one?
They were nearing the streamwhere the others were waiting
for them.
At one point Matthew said, Therewere seven of us left, six guys
and A'isha.
When they came for us again thattime, I was the one they peeled

(15:10):
off.
It was dark and late and Iremember getting thrown against
a big rock.
It was still for a second whereI was, though I could hear
gunfire nearby, and then Iremember thinking to myself that
in a moment they're going to beon me, they're going to hit me
hard and tear me apart.
I thought that, and then Iimagined where they would come

(15:31):
from.
I pointed my rifle there andpulled the trigger, and then one
of them was lying dead in frontof me.
Matthew turned to Severn, hisface full of amazement, as if he
were surprised all over again inthe retelling of the story.
There was nothing there when Ipointed the rifle, he said.
I anticipated where it would beand pulled the trigger before I

(15:52):
saw or heard a thing.
And that's how I killed one ofthem.
What about the others?
Severn asked.
What about the rest of the pack?
That's the strangest part.
Matthew pulled a handkerchieffrom his pocket and Deb sweat
from his forehead.
My clip was empty.
I was defenseless.
The pack made a semicirclearound me.

(16:12):
They watched me.
Then they pulled the one I'dkilled away and disappeared.
Why didn't they kill you?
Matthew looked at Severn as ifthat had to be the stupidest
question in the world.
How would I know that, he said,and he walked on to join the
others.
Severn understood that there hadto be more attacks after the one

(16:33):
Matthew described.
More men killed before onlyMatthew and A'isha remained.
He waited, watching Matthew walkaway from him toward the stream
and the cave, and he didn't moveto join him until he heard Tommy
and Vi shouting his name.
He waved to them and thenhurried to catch up with
Matthew.

(16:54):
Up close, the entrance to thecave appeared shockingly easy to
access.
Severn was standing on a siltytalus slope that led to three
boulders so easy to climb theymight as well have been steps,
and beyond that a flat ridgesome three or four feet wide lay
like a porch in front of themouth of the cave.
Hell, he thought, and almostsaid aloud.

(17:15):
Why not put a couple of rockingchairs up there, hang a home
sweet home sign, and lay awelcome mat out?
With a quick scan of the rockface he found two caves that
looked more difficult to accessand thus, to Severn's thinking,
safer.
Several feet in front of him,Matthew and A'isha were talking
to the kids.
The evening was turning briskand a low whistling breeze blew

(17:36):
through the strip of pine forestthat followed the curve of hills
and mountains like a scarfaround their neck.
The smell of pine was in theair, along with the sound of
birds squawking, but for amoment that all faded away and
Severn was enclosed in a bubbleof silence.
Sage was stretched out besidethe kids who were standing
beside Matthew and A'isha.

(17:57):
A'isha was pointing to the woodsand talking, but Severn couldn't
hear a thing.
Around him, everywhere, pressingon him, he felt the presence of
the dead.
The breeze was their breath, andevery solid, unmoving thing in
his field of sight.
And everything he couldn't seeand everything that wasn't
moving, in all of it, he sensedtheir presence.

(18:21):
They looked out at him from therock face and from the black
hole of the cave, from the pineforest, from the trees and
spaces between the trees.
The silence was their voice.
Their hearts beat in afluctuation of light.
Their body was the ground andthe mountains rising around him
and the woods and the trees andthe dark.

(18:41):
They were everywhere, watching.
He took a step forward, as if hemight somehow move closer to
their presence, might move intoit, and was startled to hear
Tommy calling his name.
He looked to where Tommy waswaiting for him with Sage at his
side.
He meant to say something, butno words came out until Sage
barked and Tommy started towardhim.

(19:02):
He waved Tommy on.
Go ahead, he shouted.
I'm right behind you.
At the cave, Severn found Tommyand Vi waiting.
Tommy offered him a hand andhelped him up the last step from
the boulder to the ridge.
Matthew and A'isha were in theshadows at the mouth of the
cave, looking out over thesurrounding woods and fields.
Sage was behind them, sniffingat the cold air coming out of

(19:25):
the darkness.
Come on, A'isha said, and sheled the way into the shadows.
The mouth of the cave openedonto a small chamber, at the
back of which was a seven foothigh, arched opening to another,
much larger chamber.
A'isha retrieved a heavy blackmaglite from a nook in the cave
wall and led the group into thesecond chamber, where she

(19:47):
scurried up a tunneled rock walland turned on a rectangular
black battery powered kryptonlight that cast its narrow beam
down into the center of a largeopen space that looked like a
primitive opera house.
The ground was remarkably flatand smooth, though the shadowy
walls rose around it craggy andtunneled in a long oval.

(20:10):
The opera house look came from awide, jutting ledge two thirds
of the way up the cave wall thatfollowed the oval like a wide
balcony, stopping short of thesmooth, concave back wall, which
is where the stage should havebeen.
The ledge was uniformly enclosedby a three or four foot lip like
a balcony railing.

(20:30):
Stalactites hung from the bottomof the ledge and from the roof
of the cave, which appeared tobe some 40 or 50 feet high in
places.
Spaced evenly along the ledge,each separated by approximately
a dozen feet, were a series ofgreen dumpsters.
The lip of the ledge hit all butthe top of the dumpsters from
view, but the distinctive greencolor and the heavy lids made

(20:54):
them unmistakable.
Those are dumpsters.
Tommy looked amazed.
How did you get them up there?
Severn turned to Matthew, whowas strapping a miner's lamp to
his forehead.
Cables and pulleys and a lot ofgenuinely terrifying moments,
A'isha answered for Matthew.
She too had strapped a miner'slamp on.

(21:14):
And why, I ask?
Come on, Matthew said, we'llshow you.
He crouched down and climbed oneof the multitude of grooved
tunnels in the cave wall.
Severn followed directly behindhim and together they made their
way up the slick surface, movingalong a path that was relatively
easy to climb, though it gottight in places.

(21:35):
At one point, some twenty ortwenty five feet up, he had to
get down on his belly andslither through a rock tube that
emerged on the chamber's ledge.
I see why you have the Miner'sLamp, Severn said.
Once, Matthew's body had filledthe tube and blocked off the
light from his lamp, and Severnhad found himself crawling
through a slimy dark.

(21:55):
It had taken a little talking tohimself to tamp down a rising
shock of panic.
Not my favorite thing, he saidto Matthew upon emerging from
the tube.
Crawling through littlewormholes in rock.
Got you, Matthew said, and hecrouched at the mouth of the
tube and gave Vi a hand as sheslithered out.
That wasn't too bad, Vi said toMatthew, and then made a wide

(22:17):
eyed, terrified face when sheturned to Severn.
Severn waited with Vi as theothers emerged one by one out of
the tube.
A'isha laughed.
Welcome to our home, A'ishasaid.
She jumped up and flipped theswitch on a krypton light that
cast its beam off the rock ledgeand down to the slick cave floor
below.

(22:38):
Do I have anything in my hair,she asked Vi.
She bowed to her so that Vicould examine her hair closely.
I hate climbing through thattube, she said, her eyes on the
ground.
I always get something in myhair.
In the glow of the Kryptonlight, Severn saw that they had
built a wooden platform some tenfeet long and the width of the
ledge.
A ridiculously out of place,expensive looking black leather

(23:00):
sofa was situated in the centerof the platform with wide
mahogany end tables on eitherside of it and a long slate
surfaced coffee table in frontof it.
The couch and tables rested on athick oriental rug that looked
like it should be in a museumrather than a cave.
There were battery poweredreading lamps on each of the end
tables and two more on thecoffee table, along with a 17

(23:23):
inch MacBook Pro, a half dozeniPods and iPads, a stack of
People and Vogue magazines, anda scattering of books with old
bindings that looked like theymust have come from the
farmhouse library.
Surrounding the platform werestacks of crates like the ones
in the farmhouse attic.
Severn assumed they were full ofweapons and ammunition.

(23:44):
Matthew fell back onto the couchand threw his feet up on the
coffee table.
Sage, who had been slinkingaround sniffing everything in
sight, jumped onto the couch andburied her head in Matthew's
lap.
Matthew looked her over,obviously still a little wary of
her, and then scratched herbeyond the ears.
Join us, he said to Tommy, andTommy flopped down on the other
end of the couch.

(24:06):
A'isha and Vi had switchedplaces, and now Vi was bowing
and A'isha was examining Vi'shair.
Severn picked up a book from thecoffee table.
From the farmhouse, he askedMatthew.
Matthew stretched his arms outover the backrest.
They may have pushed mankindback into the cave, he said, but
we're decidedly more comfortablethan our Cro Magnum brethren.

(24:29):
And better read, Severn added.
He placed the book back on thecoffee table and looked along
the curving length of the ledgeand down over the rock railing.
The beams of light from thekrypton lamps cut through a haze
of moisture and dust and spreadout in small circles of light on
the rock floor.
The ledge under the palm of hishand was rough and damp, as if

(24:51):
it was sweating.
Severn took a deep breath.
The cave smelled to him like aroot cellar, that earthy,
slightly acrid odor that had asense of thickness to it, as if
he were drinking it as well assmelling it.
Where do you sleep, he askedMatthew.
Matthew gestured toward thedumpsters.
In them?
Tommy got up and joined Severn.

(25:12):
Yes, A'isha said.
It's safest that way.
She started toward the nearestdumpster and everyone including
Matthew followed her.
The dumpsters appeared to beidentical.
Green, about twelve feet long,eight feet wide and five feet
deep.
When A'isha reached the firstone, she struggled with the
heavy lid before Severn came upalongside her to help.

(25:35):
Once they flipped it open, thelid banged into the rock with a
crash that sounded like a bombblast.
I hate that, A'isha said.
She had covered her ears,anticipating the crash.
Inside the dumpster was a cutsized mattress with sheets,
covers, and two pillows, areading lamp, an iPad, two
assault rifles, a machinepistol, and a handgun, and a

(25:56):
crate of ammunition.
Where the dumpster rose uphigher than the ledge railing it
was pushed up against, there wasa rough, narrow window that
looked like it had been cut outof the metal with an acetylene
torch.
Obviously for shooting.
Similar, though smaller, windowswere cut into the other three
walls so that they could shootin any direction.

(26:17):
But you really sleep in these?
A'isha scrunched up her facelike she couldn't believe it.
Sure, Matthew said.
Look.
He pointed down over therailing.
There's no place for them tohide.
They're going to have to jump orclimb the walls to get here.
Severn looked down at the cavernfloor.
You think they can jump twenty,twenty five feet?

(26:37):
I know, hard to believe, Matthewsaid, but yeah, I do.
They bounce off things and swingoff stuff and they leap like
there's suddenly no gravity.
Matthew shook his head as ifoverwhelmed by trying to
describe the dog's way ofmoving.
Regardless, he said, if we can'thit them on the way up, then we
should get a shot at them whenthey try to get into the
dumpsters.

(26:59):
He pointed to the otherdumpsters.
We move around, each of ussleeping in a different dumpster
each night.
That way, we get familiar with avariety of views of the cave.
He paused and then added, Fromany one of these dumpsters,
you've got a good shot at theother.
If they're going after A'ishaand one of them, I can get a
shot at them, and vice versa.

(27:19):
You sleep in differentdumpsters, Vi asked.
Even though she had just beentold, as if she couldn't believe
it.
Safer for both of us, Matthewsaid.
Severn was impressed.
That the two of them had beenable to haul these heavy
dumpsters along with the couchand furnishings up to this ledge
was impressive.
Their plan for defendingthemselves from the dogs was

(27:39):
impressive.
If the pack came after them,they'd find themselves under
fire with no place to hide.
Matthew and A'isha had giventhemselves every tactical
advantage.
Tommy turned back to the couchand coffee table.
What kind of music have you goton your iPods?
he asked Matthew.
Wide selection, A'isha said.

(28:00):
I'm a heavy metal guy, Matthewsaid to Tommy.
He started back to the coffeetable.
You like Motorhead?
Tommy blushed and didn't answer.
He likes country, Vi blurtedout, following them.
He's embarrassed, I tell you.
I'm not embarrassed, Tommy said.
I like Hank Williams Jr., DwightYoakam, that kind of country.
Matthew and A'isha both staredat Tommy as if he had suddenly

(28:21):
become one of the aliens.
Actually, A'isha said, catchingherself and taking Tommy by the
hand, one of these iPods doeshave a lot of country on it.
It does, Matthew said.
He was already stretched out onthe couch and was about to put
on a set of headphones.
Sage was curled up in a ball onthe oriental rug, sleeping.
The red mini, A'isha said.

(28:42):
We picked it up in Nashville.
Cool, Tommy said.
Severn watched as Tommy and Vijoined Matthew on the couch.
The kids were flipping throughthe selections of iPods and
iPads, exploring their contents.
Matthew had reached behind thecouch and come up with a bottle
of beer, which he was sippingfrom as he leaned back and
listened to music that leakedout of his earbuds in a tinny

(29:03):
buzz.
Vi appeared to be reading on aniPad.
She had folded her legs underher, settled into a corner of
the couch, and every few minutesshe swiped at the screen with
one finger, turning a digitalpage.
A'isha had climbed into one ofthe dumpsters and light shined
out of its narrow windows.
When Severn caught a flash ofthe bare skin of her back as she

(29:24):
pulled a dark garment over herhead, he turned his eyes back to
the couch, but not before a waveof loneliness threw him off
balance.
The thought of leaning back andletting himself tumble off the
ledge played out in hisimagination.
There was no sense that he mightreally do it.
But there was a pleasure inimagining it, until he got to
the part in the fantasy where Vior Tommy looked over the ledge

(29:47):
and found him sprawled on thecavern floor.
At that point he let the fantasygo and returned to concentrating
on the sheer weirdness of thescene.
Tommy, Vi, and Matthew playingwith their electronic gadgets in
a living room surreally placedon a rock ledge rimmed with
green dumpsters, Sage sleepingat their feet.

(30:09):
A'isha emerged from the dumpsterlooking like a ninja.
She was dressed in blackslippers and loose fitting black
garments.
When she caught sight of Severnby himself at the ledge, she
joined him.
What are you grinning at?
she asked.
Was I grinning?
Severn said.
Just the weirdness of things.
He looked toward the couch.
Wouldn't have guessed Matthewwas a heavy metal fan, he went

(30:31):
on, making conversation.
I pictured their fans more asdisaffected suburban youths.
That's Matthew, A'isha said.
His parents were both professorsat UC Davis.
Sacramento was the nearest city.
Ah, my stereotypes hold up.
He nodded at her outfit.
Are those your pajamas?

(30:52):
A'isha opened her arms andglanced down at herself.
Nice and loose for sleeping, shesaid.
Also good for not being seen,should it ever come to a battle.
You two have thought ofeverything.
That's why we're still alive,A'isha touched his arm.
Come have a look at this, shesaid, and she started toward the
shadowy curve of the ledge wherethe lights from the couch faded

(31:13):
into murky shadows.
Severn glanced toward the kidsand saw that Matthew's eyes were
open and following him.
Once they rounded the curve, theledge continued, tracing the
line of the cave wall.
Three more dumpsters were spreadevenly to midway across the
chamber.
A'isha found another kryptonitefastened to the rock above the
nearest dumpster.

(31:35):
She leapt up, hit the switch toturn the light on, and then
gestured to the entrance of anewly illumined chamber at the
back of the ledge.
Our private bath, she said, andmotioned for Severn to go ahead
of her.
How many of these are there,Severn asked, pointing to the
krypton light A'isha had justturned on.
One over each dumpster, shesaid.

(31:55):
Another half dozen spread aroundthe cave, all bolted into the
rock.
Severn walked past A'isha andthrough the entrance to a black
chamber.
He couldn't see a thing and sostopped and waited until he felt
A'isha brush by him.
In her black ninja pajamas shemight as well have been
invisible.
But he heard a grunt slightlyand then another krypton light

(32:15):
came on, illuminating a smallspace at the center of which was
an almost perfectly circularpool of clear water.
Next to the pool, they had builta freestanding wood structure
with several shelves.
The shelves were stacked withtowels and bath supplies.
Its source is an undergroundstream, A'isha said.

(32:35):
Look, she went to the edge ofthe pool, sat on a lip of stone,
and stuck her hand into thewater.
You can feel where it entershere, she said, and she pointed
across the pool, which was somesix or eight feet in diameter.
It drains over there.
She cupped a handful of waterand sipped it.
It's pure, she said.
We tested it.
Severn sat next to A'isha,lowered his head to the pool,

(32:58):
and took a sip of the water.
It's got a little tingle to it.
Natural carbonation, Matthewsays.
Feels great to take a bath in.
Feel it.
She stuck her hand into the poolagain.
It's actually moving prettyfast, even though it looks
perfectly still.
Severn moved closer to A'ishaand stuck his hand in the pool.

(33:19):
The force of the water enteringthe circle pushed his fingers
apart.
You found a little paradise backhere.
I wouldn't call it paradise, butthis pool is pretty special.
What's going on?
Matthew said.
A'isha jumped at the sound ofhis voice.
He had appeared at the entranceof the chamber without warning,
as if he had just materializedthere.
You scared me, she said.

(33:40):
It's easy to walk silently overthis rock surface, she explained
to Severn.
Another advantage.
A'isha was just showing me yourprivate bath, Severn said.
Matthew said, neat, isn't it?
Very.
Severn stood and stretched.
You two are impressive.
This is, he fumbled for theright words, an intelligence
setup.

(34:01):
He moved past Matthew and stoodin the chamber entrance,
gesturing out to the cave.
You've got the light shiningdown into their eyes, blinding
them.
Only way up here is to leap.
No way they'd fit through thatrock tube.
If you sleep on opposite sidesof the ledge, we do, Matthew
interrupted, then you've gotthem caught in a crossfire.

(34:22):
Not to mention what it must havetaken to get these dumpsters up
here, which I'm still amazed at.
Matthew looked pleased.
Thanks.
My parents were hysterical whenI went into the cadets, but see,
the stuff I learned turned outto be useful.
I never saw a combat, though.
Before the dogs, that is.
Tommy tells me you have.
Story for another time, Severnsaid.

(34:44):
He put a fist to his mouth,covering a yawn.
Can I just pick a dumpster, heasked?
Or do you have one picked outfor us?
Be best if each of you slept indifferent ones, Matthew said.
You think the kids will bealright with that?
I'm sure, Severn said.
Tommy's fine, and Vi is tougherthan all of us put together.
A'isha said, I would have swornshe was your daughter.

(35:06):
You sure she's not?
She had three sisters, Severnsaid.
They were all named afterflowers.
Daisy, Iris, and Rose.
She was the youngest, Violet.
When Severn finished speaking, asilence fell over them as if
they were all thrown back amoment into their separate
pasts.
I found it best not to getnostalgic, Matthew said, and he

(35:27):
moved past Severn and out of thechamber.
Severn looked to A'isha as if toask what he had done wrong.
He was tight with his parents,A'isha answered, and he had an
older brother he adored.
Severn said, I guess we've allgot similar stories.
I guess.
A'isha slid by Severn and wentout to the ledge with Severn

(35:48):
following.
Pick your sleeping quartersexcept for that one.
She pointed to the dumpster withthe light still shining out of
it.
Severn picked the nearestdumpster, started to open the
lid and then laughed.
This is seriously weird, he saidto A'isha before he climbed in.
A'isha knelt to one of thewindows as Severn turned on the
light and settled onto his cot.
You get used to it, she said.

(36:10):
Severn picked up the iPad.
Got books on here, he asked.
Uh huh, a ton of them.
What about you, Severn asked,looking up from the iPad.
You told me about Matthew'sfamily.
Who do you miss?
I miss everybody, A'isha said.
I don't let myself think aboutit.
She was quiet, and Severnthought she might go on to tell
him a little more about herself.

(36:31):
Instead, she said goodnight anddisappeared from the window.
Severn navigated the iPad'stouchscreen to the bookstore.
Glanced at the titles on thedigital wooden bookshelf and
then turned the thing off andtossed it to the foot of the
bed.
He picked up one of the assaultrifles, checked to be sure the
safety was on, and laid itbeside him on the mattress.

(36:52):
He looked around once at thetight confines of his space and
then tried to concentrate ontheir circumstances.
The situation with the pack wasa puzzle.
If they had killed off all therest of the survivors, why were
Matthew and A'isha still alive?
Why hadn't they killed him andthe kids when they had the
chance?
He recalled the pack's attack onthe buck and disregarded any

(37:14):
theories of kindness orforgiveness or generosity.
They were animals.
There were hunters and killers.
He thought back to the moment inthe clearing when the biggest of
the dogs, the one with themottled brown coat, had stepped
past the two bays and approachedhim and the kids.
There was no fear in thatcreature's eyes, though Severn
had his gun leveled at itschest.

(37:35):
It looked down at him with a mixof curiosity and anger that was
haughty, with the air of awarrior slightly amazed at the
temerity of a difficult child.
Severn sensed that it wasthinking, deciding what it would
do.
And then the sun came up.
And it put the decision on hold.
Severn was tired of mysteries.

(37:56):
He was tired of searching forreasonable answers to incredible
situations, only to discoverthat his notions of what was
reasonable were a joke.
Aliens, he whispered, and hethought, aliens that look like
humans, and creatures that looklike a mix of dogs and human.
Back at the start of thelurchings, he couldn't possibly
have guessed what was coming.

(38:17):
It wasn't reasonable.
Why should he bother trying now?
He was ignorant and small andweak, and he wouldn't give a
damn if it weren't for Vi andTommy, who seemed to think that
he knew what he was doing.
For their sake, he would keep upthe pretense that there might be
some reasonable path to followin the midst of these incredible
circumstances, but he no longerbelieved that himself.

(38:41):
In that way, he was changed.
It was a subtle change that hadbeen working on him all winter,
but now he felt it acutely.
He would act and react inaccordance to the particulars of
the situation, but he wouldn'tallow himself to believe for a
second that he was in control ofanything, that he had any idea
what was going to happen next.
Anything could happen.

(39:03):
It was all a mystery,everything, and it always had
been.
This radical shift incircumstances was simply making
it evident.
He wasn't amazed anymore at theincredible turn of events.
Rather, he was amazed that hehad ever been completely unaware
that the incredible was alwayspossible and could happen at any
moment.

(39:24):
Always.
He sat up on his cot, arranged apair of pillows for support, and
reached again for the iPad.
He had just turned it on when aknock on the lid of the dumpster
interrupted him.
Room in there for me, Tommyasked.
Without waiting for a response,he opened the lid and dropped
into the dumpster.
Dude, he said, you forgot yourbackpack.

(39:45):
He tossed Severn's pack onto thecot.
Don't you want to brush yourteeth before you go to sleep?
No, Severn said, I don't.
Ooh, disgusting.
Tommy crossed his legs under himand settled himself.
I feel like I'm back in the BoyScouts, camping out.
Without taking a breath, headded, Vi has a serious girl
crush on A'isha.
Have you noticed?

(40:06):
Tommy was dressed identically toA'isha in loose fitting black
cotton slacks and a blackpullover.
You guys look like ninjas,Severn said.
Where'd you get the outfit?
There's a crate of them, Tommysaid.
You want me to go get you one?
Severn said, I'll pass for now,and turned off the iPad.
He was glad for Tommy's company.
So, did you notice, Tommy asked?

(40:26):
Notice what?
That Vi has a girl crush onA'isha, Tommy repeated.
No, I didn't, Severn said.
But I'm sure Vi misses hersisters.
A'isha, she's probably only acouple years older than Daisy.
Than Daisy was before she died,Tommy corrected.
I miss her too, he said.
Man, that was fun hanging outwith those girls.

(40:48):
They could be like wild, but notcrazy wild like I used to get
before their parents took me in.
You miss them?
Severn asked.
Tommy looked taken aback.
Of course I miss them, he said.
Are you depressed?
What do you mean, am Idepressed?
You mean about the girls?
Yes, are you depressed becausethey're all dead?

(41:08):
Tommy stared at Sevyn, trying toread him.
I'm not depressed, he said.
I'm sad.
I'm sad about all of it.
That's my point, Severn said.
I'm not depressed either, Tommy.
What's this about?
Tommy clasped his hands behindhis neck.
Even through the loose blackfabric of the pullover, his
biceps were evident.
You told Matthew you thought Iwas depressed all winter.

(41:31):
You were, Sev.
You've been depressed formonths.
It worries me and Vi.
It's like the biggest thing weworry about.
Severn covered his face withboth hands and rubbed his
temples.
We're in a dumpster in a cavehiding from a pack of alien
animals, he said, his face stillhidden.
And whether or not I'm depressedis what you and Vi are most
worried about?

(41:51):
Yes, it is, Tommy said.
When Severn looked up again hesaw that Tommy had covered his
face with his hands and wasrubbing his temples, mirroring
him a moment earlier.
We never have talked about yourfather, he said.
I don't like talking about that,Tommy said.
I'd rather we didn't.
Okay, I respect that.

(42:12):
Look at me.
He pulled Tommy's hands awayfrom his face.
I gave you and Von my word thatI wasn't going anywhere.
A.
You can trust me on that.
B.
I'm not depressed.
I'm grieving.
Just like all of us.
I'm not as young and resilientas you guys, though.
And it shows more on me.
That's what this is.
That's what you're seeing.

(42:32):
Not depression.
Tommy didn't look convinced.
I hate talking about stuff likethis.
He shook himself like a dog fromhead to toe.
Whatever.
He looked around and grinned.
You're right though, dude, hesaid and then left.
We're talking in a dumpster.
Vi appeared at the window behindTommy and said, What's so funny?

(42:53):
Tommy lifted the dumpster lidand Vi hopped in beside him.
What's going on?
Tommy and I were just talking,Severn said.
I've got Sage in my dumpsterwith me, Vi said.
I don't think she likes it inthere.
You should get back to her,Severn said.
Matthew and A'isha won't likethe three of us hanging out in
one place either.
It's not tactically smart.

(43:14):
Vi said, I'm guessing they'renot thinking much about us right
now.
Why not?
Tommy asked.
Vy grinned wickedly.
They're both in one dumpster andI heard some funny noises.
Oh man, Tommy said.
What do you mean, oh man?
Vy slapped him playfully.
Severn said, I guess privacy isgoing to be hard to come by for
a while.

(43:34):
As soon as he said it, they allheard one dumpster lid open and
close, followed by a similar setof sounds a few seconds later.
Tommy said, I think we can gosafely now.
Good, Vy said, I'm tired.
Severn said, We'll work out aplan in the morning.
He stretched out on his cot.
Right now, I'm exhausted.
When the kids were gone, hepulled his iPod from his pocket

(43:57):
and flipped through pictures ofhim and Sarah and their family.
Pictures on the farm with theirparents.
Pictures on Mount St.
Helen.
The eruption devastated acres inthe background.
He flipped through the imagesquickly, pausing now and then to
remember a particular moment ora set of circumstances
surrounding a scene.
When he felt himself gettingdrowsy, he switched off the

(44:18):
light.
Put the iPod back in his pocketand lay in the dark listening.
For a time he heard variousclicks and bangs as the others
moved around and arrangedthemselves in their sleeping
spaces, and then the noisesstopped and all that remained
was a wide silence punctuated bythe music of water dripping from

(44:38):
stalactites and splashing intorock or into pools of water.
It was a comforting sound thatwashed away his thoughts.
And lull them to sleep.
That was episode 12 of TheStrangers.

(45:00):
New episodes will be availabletwice a week on Mondays and
Fridays until the novel iscompleted.
If you want to read ahead, aninexpensive digital edition of
The Strangers is available fromAmazon, Barnes Noble, and other
online bookstores.
This podcast is an experiment inalternatives to traditional
publishing.

(45:20):
If you would like to support it,and more like it in the future,
Please consider becoming asubscriber or supporter.
If enough listeners choose to doso, that will go a long way to
help ensuring the podcast'ssuccess and continuation.
In any event, this is Ed Falcom,I wrote The Strangers, and I
hope you'll come back for thenext episode.