Welcome listeners. All J's little tied up at the moment, so I will
just introduce this week's installment of our anthology as promised, Part two of the
Things in the Valley by E. J. Miller. Grandpa and this town.
Stupid old man with his stupid stories. Mutant turkeys. Really, he
couldn't think of anything better to try and scare me with. Mutant turkeys.
Didn't go with the where wolves or the ghost. Too old to probably even
know what slender Man is, he went for mutant turkeys. Couldn't even make
a cool couldn't even make it. Turkeys from space had to had to do
this whole government toxic waste, conspiracy crap. Stupid boomer mutant turkeys with razor
sharp beaks and talents who so scary? Old man has me wake up at
the dawn and then forces me to listen to some story that will supposedly save
my life if I run into these mutant turkeys. I wonder if they're like
those turtles my old man used to watch on t when he was a kid.
What were they called, Oh yeah, teenage mutant ninja turtles, teenage
mutant ninja tchero keys, teenage mutant ninja chero keys. Maybe the turkeys no
kung fu so lame teenage mutant ninja charic keys, teenage mutant ninja chtero keys.
And here I am doing him a favor, doing everyone a favor.
I have to hike five miles from town just to get to the clearing.
Grocery stores are low on food and meet because the supply chain issues. The
factory shut down, so everyone's low on money. I don't know where all
the game has gone that they used to hunt. My old man should be
doing this. He up and left. Haven't seen that over a year.
He said the night before he was going off hunting the next morning. But
last the last time I talked to him. The next morning he was gone,
took his gun to make a show of it. I guess dump left
his truck, though at least Mom was able to sell that for the money.
Just ridiculous. Five miles just to get to the clearing and then into
the wood and over the ridge, drop into the valley. Even brought wire
cutters to cut through the fence, which will at least make it easier should
I get a deer, I can just drag the body through the hole.
In the fence. It's gonna be a long drag home, though, and
that's only if I can actually hit anything with this ancient shotgun. Here we
are at the clearing, just beyond the pines as a fence. Wow,
first time I've been this close to it. It's got to be seven feet
with barbed wire at the top. It just stretches for miles. They really
want to keep people out, stupid government types. Put the barbed wire on
the wrong side. Unless just gonna get my hand a little wire cutters and
cut a little hole and then we go. Damn, I haven't seen anything.
I mean, not even one small crater. No squirrels, no pheasants,
no nothing. I haven't even heard anything, not even a bird.
It's like someone hitting nature's mute button. But I have seen some well worn
paths. Something is coming through. But what it's the lake and the miss
it's black. He was telling me the truth. It's like this thin black
miss ain't even right over the lake. I'm out because if that after missus
real those where are you? I heard you? Where the are you me?
You're behind that bush? You a little one or a big one.
I see your red eye down there. Let me, see you how old
this I'm not waiting loving them scattered, living them little ones, shit little
black turkeys with red eyes and that beak like a like a hook, and
those talents, those claws. The little ones are real. The the miss
is real. Nothing black miss. I'm gone. This is hafing wrong.
I'm getting that out of here. Oh crap, those those those sound like
the bigger ones. Not for off either. I just have to have to
make it to the whole offense. No way the big ones can make it
if you go whole it almost say almost sare mom? Mom, Thank god
you're safe. Thank god you're safe. Are you at work? Stay there,
stay there? Do not? Yeah, yeah I'm safe. I'm saying
I'm safe. Yeah, yeah, I've seen him. I've seen him.
I've seen him too. They must have. They must have followed me back
into town. I went hunting. Grandpa sent me into the valley. Though
I know, I know, I know, I know he told me.
He told me, but it sounds crazy. It sounded so crazy. I
didn't believe him. So stop crying, Stop crying. I'll tell you.
I'll tell you. I went to the clearing and I cut a whole of
fence to get through. I walked down off the ridge and down to the
lake. I saw it, the mist. Yeah, the mist is still
on the lake. Have you seen it. It's so much sed up,
this thin black fog that just hovers over the lake. And when I was
there, I saw the little ones lurk and behind a bush, just watching
me. I fired a shot to spook them. Let me finish, Let
me finish, let me finish, and it just sent a bunch of them
running. The little ones they were just they were just as Scrampan described,
and I got I got so scared with the mist and the and the little
ones. I started running. And that's when the big ones I could hear
there. They're calls to each other, they're they're stomping right after me.
I couldn't tell how many. I dropped the gun and I just sprinted for
the whole in the fence. I guess the I guess the fence couldn't withstand
all of them, not all at once. I heard a crash as I
ran down around the down around the bend towards home. They're all here now,
though, aren't they. I can I can see them outside. I
lost of how many you can. You can hear the screaming all throughout town
though. I saw a few of the little ones take out the Singer's cat
across the street. A pack of the medium sized ones. They took out
old Lady Singer. I couldn't do nothing to help. I dropped the gun.
I didn't have nothing. I know. The big ones, though,
I haven't seen any of them up by the house just yet. They must
have went directly for town center. I'm guessing they just kept going towards the
sound of people, all those people at the diner, at church, at
the Little League ball field, all that screaming, MA, what are we
gonna do? Who? Who do we call? Who do we who do
we call? For help? Mama? Are you there, My mamm