S1, E14 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 13, the dogsattacked.
And in the ensuing struggle,Severn killed one of them.
And Sage, attempting to protectSevern, was killed by one of the
dogs.

(00:51):
In an act that is a mystery toeveryone, the pack did not kill
Severn when they could have.
As episode 14 begins, Severn,after cleaning up from the
fight, finds himself too keyedup to sleep.
That's where we pick up ourstory.
From the pool chamber.

(01:13):
Severn could hear Matthew andA'isha still talking over the
events of the night.
He had finished washing himselfsome time ago, and now he was
sitting on the lip of the pool,his head largely empty,
listening to snatches ofconversation that floated to him
through the mist and over theconstant drip and flow of water.
Earlier, After he had stretchedout in the pool and washed

(01:37):
himself, and had lain a longtime in the cleansing water, he
had nearly fallen asleep, and inthat moment, the very substance
of the chamber, the limestonewalls and their kaleidoscope
shadows, had warped and wavered,as if they were an illusion
dissolving before his eyes.
Something about it hadfrightened him, and he had

(01:58):
snapped awake and pulled himselffrom the pool to quickly dry off
with a luxuriously soft sky bluebath towel that A'isha had
placed at the foot of the pool.
Once he had gotten himself driedoff and dressed, He didn't
rejoin the others.
Instead, he sat on the lip ofthe pool and listened.
For a long time the otherstalked and talked, reviewing and

(02:21):
speculating about the attack andthe surrounding events
repeatedly, even though the fiveof them had done the same thing
before Severn left them to cleanup.
They couldn't seem to get enoughof it, the speculating,
theorizing, and reviewing, whileSevern himself was tired of it
all.
It had to be done.

(02:41):
It had to be attempted.
The speculating and reviewingand theorizing.
But Severn put little or nostock in any of it.
Whatever was going to happennext would surprise him as just
about everything that hadhappened so far had surprised
him.
Vi had not been able to quitcrying over Sage.
She had joined Tommy on thecouch and participated in the

(03:03):
conversation, but she had tokeep blotting away tears.
When she said goodnight andclimbed into a dumpster, her
voice was still shaky and hereyes were still wet.
Tommy had looked to Severn andsaid, I'm gonna go in there with
her, okay?
And Severn had nodded.
He had watched Tommy knock onthe dumpster wall and then climb

(03:24):
in and let the lid drop closedover them.
Severn had left Matthew andA'isha a minute later to get
cleaned up, and now most of thenight had passed, and finally,
A'isha said goodnight, and Andthere was a sound of a dumpster
lid opening and closing.
All that remained after that wasthe silence of Severn and
Matthew, each of them quiet andalone with their thoughts.

(03:48):
Severn was still too wound up tosleep.
His head was empty but his bodywas tense and alert.
He wouldn't call what he wasfeeling nervous or anxious.
It was more a hyper alertness,an acute awareness of his
surroundings.
He felt a little crazy maybe, alittle out of his mind.
Except not really.

(04:08):
He also felt simultaneouslystill as a cat.
And in a strange way, peaceful.
Only when the silence had goneon long enough that he was
pretty sure Matthew must besleeping did he exit the
chamber.
Matthew though, wasn't sleeping.
He was sitting up straight onthe couch, his hands in his lap,
looking out through his thickblack glasses into the darkness

(04:31):
over the ledge.
He had an assault rifle strappedover his chest and a second one
on the table in front of him,beside his miner's lantern and a
long bowie knife in a darkleather sheath that he had been
using apparently to whittle astick that lay at his feet.
His right arm rested on top ofthe rifle strapped to his chest.
He turned his head slowly toSevern and watched him approach.

(04:55):
Severn took the opposite side ofthe couch.
Everybody sleeping?
Matthew didn't bother to answer.
He looked back out over theledge again.
You like to whittle?
Severn asked.
The stick at Matthew's feetdidn't look like it was being
shaped to any purpose.
Helps me think, Matthew said.
Calms me down.

(05:15):
Severn put his feet up on thecoffee table and joined Matthew
in staring out into thedarkness.
After several minutes ofsilence, Matthew asked, Do you
think I should have gone downwith the kids when they went
after you?
Severn answered withouthesitation, No, you did the only
smart thing.
Smart, yes, Matthew said.
But still maybe not the rightthing.

(05:36):
He turned to Severn, Do you knowwhat I'm saying?
When Severn didn't answer, hewent on, Maybe the right thing
would have been to risk all ourlives to save one of us.
He paused and was quiet for aminute before he added, It
didn't feel right.
Staying in the dumpster whilethe kids went after you.
It still doesn't feel right.

(05:56):
It's eating at me.
I don't know what the rightthing would have been, Severn
said.
I know you did the smart thing.
You did what I would have done.
Matthew smiled at that.
Not if it was the kids downthere and you up here.
You know damn well you wouldhave gone after them.
But would I have gone after youand A'isha?
Severn asked.
If it was you down there and meand the kids up here, from your

(06:19):
perspective, that shouldn't bethe question.
Matthew nodded at that, as ifacknowledging that it was worth
thinking about.
How good do you think theirsense of smell is?
Severn asked.
Matthew didn't answer rightaway.
He seemed to be thinking itover.
When he did answer, his eyeswere still in the darkness
beyond the ledge.
I think they smell everything,he said.

(06:41):
I think they can smell us frommiles away.
Bloodhounds and wolves havesenses of smell millions of
times more powerful than men.
These creatures, I think theycan smell our emotions.
I think they can smell ourthoughts.
I think they know what we'regoing to do before we do it.
Why?
Severn asked.

(07:01):
Why do you think that?
Maybe it's not just smell,Matthew answered.
Maybe it's a combination ofhearing and smell and some other
senses we don't even know exist.
They seem to know everything.
They know when we're going tomove before we move, when we're
going to pull the trigger beforewe pull it.
And yet, Severn said, you and I,We both managed to kill one of

(07:22):
them.
A miracle of timing, Matthewsaid.
In both cases, they were alreadyhurtling through the air.
Already virtually on top of us.
Still, they're not invincible.
Close to it, Matthew said.
They seem able to interpret andreact to every twitch of muscle.
No matter where you fire, theyaren't there.

(07:44):
He ran his hand over the shinyball top of his head.
We're going to have to bolt thedumpsters to the ground, he
said.
I never imagined that they couldhurl them around so easily.
Came as a surprise to me too,Severn said.
I'm all for bolting them down.
We're blind and dumb compared tothem, Matthew said, apparently
unable to close the subject ofthe dog's senses.

(08:07):
All we have is our technology.
We have our intelligence, Severnsaid, and our resourcefulness.
Matthew sat forward and rubbedhis eyes.
The cave was black all aroundhim, the only light coming from
a pair of lamps, one on each endof the coffee table.
I suppose, he said.
It'll be dawn in a little bit,he added.

(08:28):
I'm going to try to get anhour's sleep or so.
He nodded to Severn, and thenstarted for his dumpster, but
stopped suddenly and turnedaround.
Why did they leave us alone allthe time only to start up again
after we met you?
Why didn't they kill you whenthey had the chance?
Why didn't they kill me?
He threw open his hands andlooked dumbfounded.

(08:49):
I don't know what they're doing,he said.
At least before I knew what wasgoing on.
They were killing us off one ata time.
They were hunting us.
Now, now I don't know what'sgoing on anymore.
I have no idea.
They had already talked aboutthis and gone over it a dozen
times, speculating, theorizing.

(09:09):
The pack had taken a break fromtheir hunting for some reason.
Now they were starting up again.
It might have something to dowith numbers.
They felt threatened by thelarger number of humans.
Nothing really made much sense.
We'll figure it out in time,Severn said.
Whatever time we have, Matthewanswered.

(09:31):
He nodded to Severn again andthen disappeared into the
shadows.
Severn waited until he heard adumpster lid open and close, and
then he strapped the bowie knifeto his belt, took the assault
rifle and the miner's lanternfrom the coffee table, and
headed down to the chamberfloor, where he had in mind
bandaging up Sage.

(09:52):
He planned to bury her in themorning, at the farmhouse, and
he didn't want Vi to have to seeher with her guts spilled out.
He had decided to do this hoursago, while lying quietly in the
chamber pool.
He had cut his buddy clothinginto strips for bandages, and
now they were jammed into thepockets of his pants.
At the chamber wall, near thewormhole, he hesitated.

(10:15):
He had never liked small,enclosed spaces.
And he had to close his eyes andgather his strength before he
got down on all fours and stuckhis head into the limestone
opening, pushing the assaultrifle out in front of him.
It was better, thankfully, withthe miner's lantern casting its
beam of light into the darkness.
The fit was tight enough that hehad to scrunch his shoulders

(10:36):
together and slither through thenarrowest spaces, moving forward
by wiggling and squirming untilthe space opened and he could
pull himself forward with hishands and push with his feet.
The rock walls around him weredamp and, apart from the
occasional spider, apparentlydevoid of life.
He was thankful for that.
He didn't much like spiders, butthey were infinitely preferable

(10:59):
to coming upon a bat hangingupside down at forehead level.
There didn't appear to be anysuch bats at all in this cave.
And small as that piece of goodluck was, he was grateful for it
nonetheless.
He found Sage stretched out in amess of coagulated blood and
slick entrails.
He knelt behind her and tried tolift her and discovered that she

(11:21):
was stuck to the ground, gluedin place by her own blood.
Before he could begin bandagingher, he had to work his hands
under the matted coat and yankher free of the mess.
With the bowie knife, he slicedaway her entrails and then
lifted her to his knees andbegan wrapping the bandages
around her belly.
It didn't take long.

(11:41):
While he was doing it, hewondered what Sara would think
if she could see him sitting inthe dark of a cave with a dead
animal in his lap, working bythe light of a lantern strapped
to his head, severing the gutsfrom an animal and kicking them
away as he wrapped it in blackbandages, dripping water the
only sound, other than the noiseof his own movements.
What a great distance had beencovered in the months since they

(12:02):
had gone to bed together on thatlast night of the old world.
He tried to remember the booksshe had been reading in bed, in
their clean and orderly and welllit house, and he couldn't pull
up the title.
He thought it was a newtranslation of one of the great
Russians, Tolstoy orDostoyevsky.
He was pretty sure about it, buthe couldn't remember which.

(12:23):
And now here he was, less than afull year later, sitting in a
cave with a bowie knife on hiship and a gun at his side,
wrapping bandages around a deadanimal, as if preparing it for
mummification.
When he was finished, he carriedSage to a nearby ledge and laid
her there.
He patted her, though she wascold and stiff, and he felt as
though he might as well bepatting a statue.

(12:45):
He bowed his head and closed hiseyes.
With Sage on the ledge in frontof him like a sacrificial
offering.
All around him again, as hadhappened the day before, he felt
the presence of the dead.
Again they pressed against him,out of the cave walls, the
limestone, the water and air.

(13:05):
He felt their breath on his neckand in his hair, and he let
himself be still in theirpresence.
He listened.
The stuff of his consciousness,thoughts and ideas and reason
and dreams and logic spilledaway, leaving him empty and
altered, himself and nothimself.
The voices of the dead were awhisper in the air.

(13:26):
If he could be still enough, ifhe could listen closely enough,
he might hear what they weretrying to say.
He opened his eyes and turnedaround, half expecting to see
multitudes of people assembledon the chamber floor, watching
him.
He saw only the dark chamber,the beam of his lantern slicing
through space and illuminatingrock, and so he pulled the strap

(13:49):
of the assault rifle over hisneck and started back for the
ledge.
Before he had managed more thana few feet, he heard a
strangled, crow like warblecoming from someplace outside
the cave.
The warble was faint anddistant, but there was something
about it he recognized.
It was an alien sound, somethingbetween the packs and the

(14:10):
strangers, more stranger likethan pack like.
He waited and listened, and whenhe heard it again, he moved
cautiously toward the entranceof the cave.
He didn't smell the pack, and hedidn't hear movement nearby.
And so he made his way into thesmall entrance chamber and then
out to the ledge, where thefirst dull light of an overcast

(14:31):
morning was spreading over thetrees and fields.
He took off the lantern andtossed it behind him, before he
crouched on the rocks, graspingthe ledge with both hands to
steady himself.
A constant wind poured down overthe hills behind him and ruffled
the hair at the back of his headas it snapped the loose fabric
of his shirt.

(14:53):
At first he saw nothing, onlythe rocky slope and the stands
of pine trees bracketed by thehills and the streams, and
beyond that the open fields andmore trees.
The clouds were grey and low inthreatening rain.
He was about to return to thecave when he heard the warble
again, bird like and frightened.

(15:14):
It came from someplace muchcloser this time, from the pine
forest at the foot of the hills.
He leaned out over the edge andpeered down to the blue grey,
misty spaces between the trees.
The warble came again, louder,and then, as if materializing
out of the cloud shrouded air,the pack appeared, high in the
pines, leaping from tree totree.

(15:37):
He was shocked, cause he hadn'tsmelled them, and then he
realized the wind had beenblowing the smell away.
He moved back quickly into themouth of the cave, and just as
he was about to turn and run forthe ledge to wake up the others,
a girl bolted out of the pineforest and ran frantically
toward the hills.
His first thought was that shemust be human.

(15:58):
The pack didn't hunt strangers.
Then one of the dogs, the blackone, leapt down from the trees
and landed close behind thegirl, who let out a terrified,
crow like scream.
Severn remained frozen in placeat the mouth of the cave.
He didn't understand why thepack would be hunting a
stranger.
Matthew said they left strangersalone, and he didn't understand

(16:20):
why they had not yet killed her,if that was their intent, if
they were hunting her.
The black had landed behind herand roared, and then watched her
as she ran and screamed interror.
It occurred to him then thatthey were playing with her.
And his next thought was thatthey were playing with all of
them.
Like a cat twang with a mousethat had no prayer of escape,

(16:42):
letting it run just for thethrill of swooping down on it at
will.
The thought infuriated him.
Before he was conscious of whathe was doing, he heard himself
yell and found himself leapingfrom the ledge of the boulders
while unleashing a rattle ofgunfire on the black dog, who of
course was gone before thebullets even struck dirt.

(17:02):
The girl on the ground sawSevern, stopped for an instant,
and then ran to him.
She was small, maybe 5'5 withlong bright red hair that
spilled midway down her back andflew out behind her as she ran.
She was dressed in black jeans,red sneakers, and a strapped
ribbed t shirt that was torn atone side.

(17:23):
The white cotton stained crimsonwith blood, as if to taunt her.
The pair of roans leapt downfrom the trees, drawing his
fire, and then bounded up overthe terrified girl and onto the
hillside, where they disappearedinto openings in the rock face.
Severn fired in bursts,conserving his ammunition.

(17:44):
When the girl was near, he feltfor the handle of the bowie
knife strapped to his side.
He thought if he couldn't shootthe dogs, he might still be able
to do some damage with the bowieonce they were on him.
When the stranger girl reachedhim, she threw her arms around
his chest and scurried behindhim for protection.
He managed a single stepbackward before the biggest of

(18:05):
the dogs, the mottled brown,appeared out of nowhere, leaping
up from the bottom of thehillside.
It knocked the assault rifle outof his hand, raised its clawed
arms, and then bounded away tothe accompanying cacophony of
gunfire from above.
Severn crouched, backed upagainst the limestone, and saw
Tami, Vi, Matthew, and A'ishalying on their bellies, firing

(18:27):
down from the ledge.
At his side, the stranger girlseemed on the verge of fainting.
Her eyes were unfocused, herbreath was shallow, and she
appeared to be collapsed morethan resting against the
hillside.
Severn picked her up, carriedher on his shoulder, and ran up
the hill.
When he reached the ledge,Matthew and the others were on

(18:48):
their feet.
They're gone, Tani said, and hepointed to the pack, running on
all fours across the openfields.
Severn watched with the othersuntil the pack was out of sight.
Thank you, he said to all ofthem.
He looked at Matthew, theirearlier conversation in mind.
The one about whether it wassmart to leave the safety of the
dumpsters to help someone indanger.

(19:10):
Matthew read Severn's look andshook his head, as if displeased
with himself.
Vi said, Who is this?
And nodded to the stranger girl,who had regained her senses and
was clinging to Severn's arm,hiding behind him.
Red, Severn said, naming her onthe spot.
She's a stranger.
The dogs were hunting her.

(19:31):
You risked your life, our lives,to save a stranger?
Matthew gripped his rifle withboth hands, as if he might shoot
Red himself.
A'isha held Matthew's arm.
Why would the pack be hunting astranger, she asked Severn.
That doesn't make sense.
They don't bother with birds.
This one, apparently, they do.
Severn pulled Red alongside himto face the others.

(19:53):
She's hurt, Tommy said.
She's bleeding.
And she's scared, Severn said.
Matthew said, so what are wesupposed to do with her?
He let go of the rifle, took astep back toward the cave, and
then sat on an outcropping ofrock.
We're not taking care of her, hesaid.
Not one of them, we're not.
We can at least bandage her up,Tommy said.
He moved close to Red, examiningher wound.

(20:14):
Matthew said, she can bleed todeath for all I care.
A'isha lifted Red's torn tshirt.
Red issued a soft trill like awhimper at A'isha's touch.
It's nothing bad, A'isha said,but hell, the way those dogs
stink, we should probably giveher some antibiotics.
Vi crouched beside Matthew.
Do we have a good enough supply,she asked, of antibiotics?

(20:39):
Plenty of everything, A'ishasaid, and then she looked at
Severn, as if asking what hewanted to do next.
I'll take her back to thefarmhouse, he said.
He looked out over the ridgewhere it was fully light out and
had started to drizzle.
It was a windy, overcast day.
I don't know what they're doing,he said, meaning the packs.

(21:00):
If they had wanted to kill her,they could have.
Are you sure?
Matthew asked.
They don't just kill you, no.
They drag away what they killand they eat it.
There's a ritual.
I've seen them.
There's an order in which theyeat.
There's a hierarchy in whatparts they eat.
I know, Severn said.
I saw them kill and eat a buck.

(21:22):
So maybe we interrupted theirfeeding, Vi said.
Matthew glanced from Vi toSevern.
There's something off here.
The pack doesn't kill birds.
Something different is going on.
You have any guesses, Severnasked.
Ask her.
Matthew gestured toward Red.
She understands every word we'resaying.

(21:42):
Severn held Red at arm's length.
Do you, he asked.
Do you understand what we'resaying?
He watched her and was struck bythe sparkling green of her eyes.
When she responded by lookingdown at her feet, he turned to
A'isha.
She looks more Irish than alien,he said.
She understands what we'resaying, Matthew moved closer to
Red.
We can't trust her.

(22:04):
Red squirmed grasp and hidbehind him.
Vi said, she thinks you're herprotector.
They do understand this, A'ishasaid, but they don't speak.
At his back, Severn felt Redshaking.
She's terrified, he said, andshe's hurt.
He looked to Vi and Tommy.
I'll take her back to thefarmhouse, he repeated.

(22:26):
What about the pack?
Vi stepped in front of him,blocking his way.
They're back in their lair bynow, Matthew said.
They're gone.
Severn brushed Vi's hair awayfrom her face.
She seems to feel safe with me,he said.
He turned back to Matthew.
I'll bandage her wounds and gether calmed down, and then we can
take her back to Millersville.

(22:46):
That's probably where she'sfrom.
Is that where you're from?
Matthew said, raising his voice.
Are you from Millersville, Red?
The only answer from the girlwas more shaking.
Severn checked the clip on hisrifle and then nodded to Red.
Come on, he said.
Come with me.
Red hesitated a moment and thentook Severn's hand.

(23:08):
Matthew started back for thecave.
We'll meet you at the farmhouseand then we'll take her back to
the rest of the birds.
I'll come with you, Vi said toSevern.
She went for her rifle, whichshe had left on the ledge.
Tommy and Vi, like A'isha, werestill in their black pajamas.
Why don't you get changed,Severn glanced at Red, who had
turned her eyes to the groundand stiffened at Vi's proposal.

(23:31):
She trusts me, and she seems tobe scared of everybody else.
Sure, Vi said, her eyes on Red.
You're her hero.
You saved her from being a mealfor the pack.
Severn looked to A'isha.
I saw a first aid kit in thekitchen, didn't I?
Over the sink, A'isha answered.
She put a hand on Vi's back andspoke to her and Tommy.

(23:52):
Come on, she said.
We can get cleaned up here.
I haven't shown you guys thepool yet.
Pool?
Tommy said.
We have a pool?
Severn stepped off the ledgeonto the boulders, still holding
Red's hand.
At the bottom of the slope ofcrumbling rock, close to the
start of the woods, he let go ofher hand.
And as he did so, she warbledsoftly.

(24:15):
The muted note seemed to haveissued from her involuntarily,
and she appeared to beembarrassed.
Her face reddened slightlybefore she crossed her arms over
her chest and walked alongsidehim through the woods, her eyes
straight ahead.
After they had walked a good wayin silence, Severn said, I'm
going on the assumption that youunderstand me.

(24:35):
He stopped and faced her.
Can you at least give me anindication that that's the case?
Can you nod your head?
Do you understand what I'msaying?
Red looked straight ahead.
Her eyes were fixed on a spot inthe distance as she stood in the
dull morning light surrounded bypine trees.
She played with the pine needlesat her feet, the bright red of

(24:55):
her sneaker pushing the goldenneedles into a pile.
Severn was certain sheunderstood him.
He read it in her eyes, in hermovements.
Do you know what it means to nodyour head, he asked.
And then he exaggeratedly noddedhis head.
In response, she cut her eyestoward him before returning her
gaze to the same distant spot infront of her.

(25:17):
Okay, Severn said.
He continued the trek to thefarmhouse and Red continued at
his side.
He thought he might have madeher angry.
He found it interesting that shenever let herself fall behind
him or move ahead of him.
Instead, she remained parallelwith him, matching him step for
step with that slight bouncetypical of strangers.

(25:39):
You're fast, Severn said.
You can run faster than we can,I've seen you.
He waited a second, leaving aspace for her to speak.
When she didn't, he went on.
We'll clean up that cut, putsome antibiotics and bandages on
it, and then we'll take you backto Millersville.
I'm guessing you're fromMillersville, he said, looking
at her.

(25:59):
I can't imagine where else you'dbe from.
Red continued walking besidehim, staring straight ahead.
You're pretty, Severn said,taking a shot at flattery.
She was pretty.
Her skin was fair andunblemished, and there was
something playful about herfeatures.
Something in the shape of hermouth and those green eyes that
suggested a spirited nature.

(26:21):
He guessed she was in hertwenties.
He asked, How did you get fromMillersville all the way out
here?
Red turned to Severn briefly,her eyes falling on the rifle
strapped over his chest beforeshe turned away.
She was pretty.
Severn took her glance asencouragement.
Your sneakers are new, as areyour jeans and top.
Your hair has obviously beengroomed and cared for.

(26:43):
You're clean and in apparentgood health.
So clearly, you've been livingin some degree of comfort.
Someplace where you can batheand wash your hair and take care
of yourself.
That to me means you're fromMillersville.
Do you have family there?
Your people seem to live inprecisely the same family
constellations as humans did.
Returned to him again, and thistime nodded.

(27:05):
So, Severn said, thank you, wecan communicate.
Instead of asking her one of themultitude of questions he wanted
to ask, he was quiet.
He sensed that he shouldn't pushtoo hard.
Too fast.

(27:28):
That was episode 14 of TheStrangers.
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

(27:50):
publishing.
If you'd like to support it, andmore 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, I'm Ed Falco, Iwrote The Strangers, and I hope

(28:11):
you'll come back for the nextepisode.