WEBVTT

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Welcome to Endo the night. I'm
Narri your guide on today's excursion down a

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twisted path. Be careful not to
get lost. Be it dark or light,

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It's easy to lose your way.
Are you ready, then let's begin

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the home coming. Black Eyed Susan's
mingled with daisies in the field, bobbing

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to and fro in the late morning
air. The warm breeze flowed from the

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south, bringing muggy air and building
clouds on the horizon. Spring slipped gently

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into summer, making Evelyn McMahon's return
to her childhood home even sweeter. If

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I didn't know any better, i'd
swear nothing has changed. A slight WinCE

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crossed her face. I know better
than that, though so much has changed.

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The last time she walked this field
felt like a different lifetime. Closing

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her eyes, Evelyn could hear her
mother's sweet soprano singing as she busied herself

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around their home. Her father's laughter
echoed through her memories, and she swore

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she could hear her brothers and sisters
giggling as they chased each other during an

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endless game of tag. Evelyn knew
these were only memories. Though her siblings

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left this place long ago to pursue
their own lives. She recalled her mother,

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reminding her of this long ago.
You can't stay here forever, Evie.

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You were born to make your own
path in the world. You and

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your brothers and sisters will always love
each other, but you must go your

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own ways. Scattered to the winds
like the dandelion seeds flowing through the field,

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her mother squinted as she watched the
dandelions take flight. It's magical,

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isn't it, Mamma, Yes,
it is. We will miss you when

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you go, But your father and
I could never live with ourselves if we

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didn't let you find the life you
were destined to live. Her mother wrapped

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her daughter in her arms and kissed
her. Mamma, what if I can't

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find my way? What if I
get lost? You won't, Evie,

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you won't get lost. You have
a good head on your shoulders, so

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do your brothers and sisters. We
know you will be just fine. Now

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Here she was, back in the
same place she was born. She'd never

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been far away, or at least
not as far as some of her brothers

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and sisters had traveled, but she
hadn't been home. Now she was,

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and for the first time in ages, she felt she belonged. The changes

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that took place in her absence were
hard to adjust to. Both of her

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parents were gone, lost in an
unexpected flood that ravaged the area. Their

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home, once located on a sleepy
little broad book that was no more than

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a trickle, was swept away by
a torrent of water that devastated the community.

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Neighbors were lost as well, and
it was difficult to walk along the

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once familiar landscape that was now forever
altered by the storm. None of the

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bodies were recovered, further adding to
the despair of those who survived. All

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the bereaved could do was stand on
the edge of the once placid creek bank

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and cry silent tears of farewell.
The lack of closure a funeral provided made

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the emptiness so much more profound.
Evelyn was determined, however, to find

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out the cause of the disaster.
The sun beating down on the mourners made

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it even more difficult to comprehend that
a sudden flood had just destroyed their lives

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forever. Surely someone is to blame
for what happened. Shouldn't a warning have

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been sounded, shouldn't the residents have
been given time to escape. I just

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can't accept that this was an act
of God. I don't believe God operates

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that way. While she was an
artist, a weaver by trade, Evelyn

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was born with an inquisitive nature.
She knew how to investigate, and she

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had the grit not to accept that
there were no answers to her many questions.

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Yes, she grieved, but she
was angry. The two emotions combined

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made her an unstoppable force. She
would get to the bottom of this tragedy,

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and she wanted the world to know
what happened to her community. I

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never should have left, I told
Mamma. I wanted to stay, but

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she wanted me to explore. She
knew my curiosity caused me to want to

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see other places, but my heart
was always here. If I'd stayed,

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could I have saved them? These
thoughts weighed heavily on her. At times,

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she beat herself up for not being
with her family. Why did she

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survive when others didn't. The guilt
overwhelmed her, and sometimes she felt as

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though she she couldn't breathe. Sometimes, though, I think I was spared

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for a reason. Who would go
to the lengths I'm willing to go to

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to solve what happened. Who would
give Mamma and Daddy and all of their

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neighbors justice if I wasn't here.
Certainly not my siblings. Some of them

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are so self absorbed with themselves and
their own families that I'm not sure they'd

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even stopped to pay their respect to
our parents. The anger boiled in her

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veins. She rubbed her hands against
her temples to try to keep a headache

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at bay that came from the emotional
overload and lack of sleep that she had

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dealt with since the horrible events of
the past week. I can't let a

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headache slow me down. Now that
the memorial service is over, I have

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to get busy. I must track
down the cause of the flood, and

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I can't afford to waste time in
bed with a headache. She slowed her

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breathing, closed her eyes, and
tried to calm herself. Slowly, the

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headache abated when she felt her heart
rate lesson. She opened her eyes and

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looked out over the field of blowing
grasses in their pasture. In the distance,

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cattle grazed peacefully, and the meadowlark
flew overhead if someone didn't know better,

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they'd think nothing bad could ever happen
here, that nothing bad ever happened

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here. I wonder if the cows
and the meadowlack are aware of the tragedy

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that took place, or if their
lives continued of while the lives of so

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many others didn't. She realized it
was folly to think that a cow or

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bird would be so thoughtful or aware, but her pain caused her to resent

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any one and anything that didn't acknowledge
her loss. How dare any living creature

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live a life of blissful ignorance to
her parents deaths? How did the sun

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even continue to rise or the stars
come out at night when Evelyn's world was

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so completely shattered? Exhausted from it
all, Evelyn fell asleep on a soft

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bed of clover in what had once
been her family's backyard, and she didn't

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awaken until early morning light peeked over
the distant hills. Glary eyed and rested,

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she knew today was when she would
begin her search for answers. The

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only way to know what caused the
flood is to find its source. Where

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did the catastrophic failure happen? Had
a damn brol Had someone caused the torrent

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on purpose? I hate to think
that someone would willfully cause harm, but

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evil exists in the world. Gathering
her pack, her journey began. It

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may not be a direct route,
but my best bet is to follow the

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devastation of the flood upstream. Eventually
I'll come to its source. She met

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some neighbors as she started out.
Some gave her words of encouragement. Others

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thought she was foolhardy for believing that
she, a mere girl barely old enough

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to make her way in the world, was able to take on the task.

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The naysayers, they're just simply too
afraid to do it themselves. Their

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doubt only makes me angrier, and
my anger fuels my determination to find the

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truth. Treacherous days passed as Evelyn
followed the winding path of the ravaged creek

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bed. The sun beat down upon
her in the day, and she slept

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vulnerable to wild beasts during the night. Her feet hurt, her stomach growled,

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and she nearly gave up hope a
few times. Maybe this is too

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great of an undertaking for a young
girl. I'm not strong or fearsome.

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What if I find something I can't
overcome at the end of this journey.

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What if I never even complete this
journey? Doubt only stabbed at her in

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her weakest moments. Quickly she redoubled
her determination to carry on. She must

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solve the mystery of what happened.
Sleep and a light meal generally gave her

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a fresh perspective and allowed her to
continue her hike. After days of tortuous

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travel, she came upon a frightful
sight. Towering ahead of her at the

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end of the flood ravaged landscape,
stood a monstrous structure. Cold, dead

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and menacing, the contraption made Evelyn
WinCE in distress. She knew what she

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had to do. Perhaps if she
climbed to the top of the disturbing structure,

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she would gain the perspective she needed
to find the answer she so desperately

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sought. The going was tough,
with few hand holds to grip, she

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fell a few times before gaining her
momentum and confidence. Slowly, slowly,

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she ascended the tower. A strange, circular knob sat at the top of

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this unusual feature, and as her
heart filled with dread, she knew it

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somehow held the key to what happened
to her. Family. Finally she reached

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the top. She shaded her eyes
with her hand and looked out over the

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terrain. Yes, this is where
the flood began. Suddenly her blood ran

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cold. A horrifying sound sing song
in nature grew louder and louder. A

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terrifying giant approached carrying a large bucket. Evelyn shrank against the cold metal structure

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as the shadow of the beast loomed
above her. The gruesome words, sung

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as though they were a happy thought, etched into Evelyn's mind. They were

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words she'd never forget for as long
as she lived, and upon returning to

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the village after she barely escaped with
her life, she taught her neighbors the

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song to keep them safe from the
heartless beast that operated the destructive metal tower

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in the distance. These are the
words, but I warn you use them

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with care, she told her friends
as they stood near her, entranced by

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her tail. These martyrs were premeditated, and this is proof I fear the

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beast plans to do it again.
Horrified, they listened, the itsy bit

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se spider went up the water spout, down, came the rain and washed

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the spider out. Out came the
sign and dried up all the rain.

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Then the its bite spider went up
the spout again, embracing her neighbors with

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all eight of her limbs. Evelyn
wept. Thank you for joining me for

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this episode of the Into the Night
Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco,

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narrated by Nari Quak, the music
by Nico Rodriguez, all other original music,

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sound design and editing by Omenhawk Studios. You can find our links in

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the show notes. Into the Night
is on your favorite podcatcher, so make

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00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:07.320
sure to like, subscribe and leave
a five star review to help other excursionists

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00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:11.559
to join us. I'll see you
next time, and remember, whether in

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the shadows or in the daylight,
all twisted paths lead you into the night.

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Into the Night Anthology is a creative
typo entertainment production from the indie podcast

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00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:28.440
creators that brought you Microphones and Monsters
of Fool's Quest, Ethereal, Embrace,

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and other hit podcasts. Comes a
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set in the futuristic cyberpunks setting of
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Agents knits with his drone Blip Sylvia
Rivera, the shape shifting of social media

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Icon and Zaus the zoog heavy Gunner
take on the evil Corporation yog Sonic Dynamics

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in an attempt to bring the heinous
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But will our heroes be prepared for
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