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you for listening. Chapter fifteen Hunted. Maybe it's time for us to speak
about a different hidden. Okay, who's next? Your pick? Well,
we've already covered chroniclers, anomalies, guides, and shifters. What are my
options? You have the dream Wraiths, the Shadow Reavers, the Bloodborn,
the Hunter, and the dragons. There are dragons and you're just now telling
me, Hastings, I thought we were friends. I am sorry to disappoint
you, but there are dragons no more. They have gone extinct. Oh
how, I'm not certain? Then why do you list them among the hidden?
Because they were once cinching creatures that lived in the world with us,
it feels wrong to exclude them. Well, honestly, Hastings, I am
extremely disappointed. You know you had me pretty excited. To meet a dragon,
and now you're telling me I can't. I am sorry to disappoint you.
The dragons are extinct, and the Hunter has never been visually confirmed.
They are unique cases among the hidden and are frequently excluded by chroniclers and guides,
but you personally don't exclude them. No, I wish to meet them
one day. Meet them. You said dragons are extinct. How can you
possibly hope to meet one? They are extinct as far as we know,
but I don't know how we know that. Maybe it is assume based on
research. Maybe they are hidden among the hidden. I have met every sension
on our world except the dragons and the Hunter. I have a fantasy of
beating the odds and meeting both. Oh that's kind of cute. I didn't
realize you could have aspirations like that. Are you teasing me? No?
I can understand your desire to find something unique. I wasn't expecting it,
but I really admire it. Thank you, Emily. So what will you
do if you find a dragon? I will ask it the one question that
terrifies me more than any other, A question that terrifies you. Yes,
what are they hiding from? If they are really extinct, then there is
nothing to fear. But if they live, there is a reason for their
absence. Jesus Hastings. You know, I don't mean to be unsupportive,
but I hope you never find a dragon. Sometimes I hope that as well.
Okay, now that we've kind of covered the dragon, what about the
hunter? September slams the book he was reading clothes with an exasperated sigh.
The air in the restricted archives was stale and reminded the guide of a tomb.
For what seemed like the hundredth time of the day, his thoughts wandered
to Emily and Marcus, hoping that they were okay, and wondering what he
could do to protect her. He had contemplated taking them to a property in
a secluded part of Canada. They had enough money to support Emily in Marcus
and keep them safe there. Then Hastings could monitor Emily and figure out if
there was a way to keep her safe. He shoved those thoughts aside and
reached for another book. Hastings had selected a stack of old journals that referenced
anomalies. Most of the journal contents had nothing to do with anomalies, but
occasionally there was a note regarding them. I really would like you to stop
doing that. What slamming the books around as if they were enemies needing to
be subdued. I didn't damage the books. They're fine. September. I
know you mentioned that I should quit inquiring, But are you okay? You
seem annoyed. I'm annoyed. I'm exhausted. My head is getting foggy from
reading through all these texts, and neither of us are finding anything at all.
The journals are turning into a jumbled mess in my head. I have
never seen you struggle this much with research before. This is not like you.
Is there anything I can do to help? I don't know. I
can't figure it out. I'm at a complete loss. Maybe you should take
a break, leave the chronicling to the chronicler. No, maybe, why
don't you go to the hospital and see if there is someone there that could
use a guide. The hospital is full of guides just like me, waiting
for chroniclers just like you, to finish doing their research. They have the
hospital more than covered. If I went there, I would be accomplishing even
less than I am here. Oh, look at this, this is interesting?
What is it? What did you find? Right here, there's a
reference to the fact that anomalies can only see blue lines. Okay, we
know that isn't true because of you know who and their ability to see other
lines. We already know that, But isn't it nice to get confirmation that
the archives, even the restricted ones, appear to be lacking important information.
Sure, Hastings, I was simply attempting to make you feel better by showing
you marks of progress that we have made. I know, and thank you.
You're welcome. Maybe you're right I should take a break. I am
not a chronicler, and I'm entitled to be overwhelmed by all of this research.
I said as much. I'm a guide, yep, a completely incapable
guide, one that has absolutely no clue what to do with Emily. Have
you considered that she cannot be guided like others? Maybe you should stop trying
so hard to guide her. You know what, You're a genius. I
appreciate the compliment, but I am not saying that you are. Look,
I've been spending all my energy focusing on Emily, and she is chaos.
Maybe I can't guide her. We talked about it before, but I never
really thought about it after it feels like I can guide her, but maybe
I can't. Okay, but I can guide you September. September rose from
the table and smiled down at Hastings. Guide inhaled deeply and then closed his
eyes. September, what are you trying to do? Shut up? Let
me focus. September kept his eyes closed and stretched his arms out to the
sides. He began walking down the aisle, touching every book as he moved
along. After several minutes, the guide returned with eyes wide and a smile
to match. He set three heavy texts down on the table in front of
Hastings. The whole reason guides are partnered with chroniclers is because we've worked so
congruently better than any of the other sentients, hidden or human. I should
have been focusing on guiding your studies rather than finding a way to protect Emily.
September. This is fantastic. What are these books? I have no
clue, but something tells me they're important. My intuition is screaming that there's
something that we need from each one. Strange, what's that? These texts
are not about anomalies, No, they are not about anomalies. Not reading
chronicler, Dean, I apologize, I did not see you enter. The
books are about the ancient hidden before we were hidden September. You'll dismissed,
Hastings. I should like to see you in my office. Agents. Natalie
White and Victor Brown sat in their two bedroom New ar York City apartment,
eating a meal of Chinese takeout. The apartment reflected their minimalist lifestyle, with
only the barest of necessities scattered throughout the living space. The duo had neither
friends, family, nor employment in the city. They were currently stationed here
and shared the apartment as roommates. They maintained a daily routine of chores and
a nightly ritual of exercise and takeout food. The lifestyle was in no way
glorious, but the pair knew their commitment was to a higher cause, the
protection of humanity from the inhuman scourge. Natalie's cell phone rang. She checked
the caller ID and read the word restricted across the screen. This is Natalie,
Natalie, this is the operator. Is Victim with you? Yes?
Are you in a secure location? Yes? Please place the mobile on speaker
mode. Done good evening, Victor Arbator. I am activating both of you.
For another job. Are you properly functional? We are? What's the
job? We have had two agents go dark? Which agents agents du Bois
and Blanc. They were following up on a lead Montana and have gone silent.
We believe that they have been eliminated and advise you to proceed with extreme
care. From who is the target? There are several at this time,
an anomaly named Emily Swanson and are Harbinger Marcus Baker. Emily is a Caucasian
female in her early twenties, a bit later for an anomaly, but we
suspect some oddities with her. She has a pixie style haircut and a Chicago
accent. Marcus Baker is a Latino male with a scar on his left hand,
shoulder length hair, and a Chicago accent. They both are likely to
stick out and ruar Montana. I'm dropping their files in the secure channel.
Would you like us to recover them or eliminate them? Recover if possible,
If not possible, eliminate them. Do not take risks. We've already lost
several agents and we do not wish to take any more casualties on our end.
Well, that should be easy enough. There are two other targets,
the chronicler, Hastings and the Guide September. You're joking, right, I've
been waiting for a stab at those two. This is not a game,
Victor. Those two are dangerous. Natalie is correct. Those two are very
dangerous, and for some reason they have decided to collect an anomaly instead of
eliminating her. We do not know their intentions our September and Hastings still collection
status or can they be eliminated? Eliminate them on site? No more risks,
fan fucking testing, Victor. Enough, there's more, Please continue.
Operator. There's a detective in Chicago that is linked to the group, Detective
George Bullard of the Chicago Police Department. He has been asking some rather invasive
questions. Find out what he knows, then eliminate him. Consider it done.
There are also two close friends to the anomaly, both Sam Wilson and
Umber, lying reside in Chicago. They have not been confirmed harbingers, but
just in case, bring them in if possible. If not, eliminate them.
Oh, that's a busy schedule. We will take care of it.
Flights have been booked for first thing tomorrow morning. You will fly into Chicago's
O'Hare and first investigate Bullard, then Lang and Wilson. From there you will
continue on to Montana. Do you have all the resources required to complete these
tasks? Yes? Operator, goodbye and good luck, Agents White and Brown.
Following the directions Marcus gave, Emily pulled her vehicle into a sketchy looking
motel. Marcus had known where to go, but not where they were going.
Sometimes his visions were cryptic like that. Once the car was parked,
Emily gave Marcus a once over. He was bloodied in several places and held
his chest as if it hurt to breathe. He had wrapped his t shirt
over his wounded leg and tied a poor attempt at a knot. Overall,
he looked awful. Emily didn't know how to use her ispet for most things,
but she knew how to restore health to someone. Early on, she
had a dream about an anomaly restoring health to a sickly landlord. Later,
she used this ability to heal Marcus after their battle with Harp. The fight
with Harp was hardly that. If the Contra agent had wanted them dead,
she would have killed them. Nonetheless, Emily had learned to use this one
ability, and she used it well. After the fight with Harp, Emily
and Marcus had practiced restoring and drawing the life force from Marcus. He had
complained about the process, but relented, knowing that there may be a time
when it could save someone's life. Emily was thankful for the practice. She
reached over and placed her hand on Marcus's shoulder. She found it easier to
move the life force from her will to target if they were touching. She
could do it without touching, but this was no time to put out extra
effort. She focused her will and pushed the life force into him. She
could immediately see some of the color come back into his face. After she
was finished, she leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath.
She felt a little less alive. She didn't feel exhausted or trained, but
she felt as if the world around her had lost a little of its color.
She opened her car door and heard Marcus do the same. Uh,
what do you think you're doing? Going inside with you? Like? Hell?
You are? You look like shit? You just healed me. I
could feel it. Yeah, so it's not like I healed you back to
full health. This isn't a video game, Emily. No, your leg
is still fucked up and you look like you've been hit by a small truck.
I'm fine. No, you're trying to be macho, and honestly it's
annoying. Look we're at a motel. There's likely going to be people around.
Nothing bad is going to happen to me here. Why don't you put
your window down a little bit and then you can just talk to me while
I check out the room. Fine, I'll be right back in and out,
in and out of where Jesus Christ. Nope, just cricket. Sorry
to disappoint cricket. Now is not really a good time. You say that
a lot. Well, I mean it this time, Emily. Dreams don't
really work like that. I'm literally asleep right now. I can't just force
myself back away. Well, try to be quiet. Then, what's going
on? Nothing important? Hey, that's rude. I'll explain later. So
what are we doing? Where are we going? We are checking out this
motel room. And before you ask why, I'm not sure. Marcus said
he had a vision and there's something I'm gonna find here. Ah, so
that's why you left the range? Uh? No, we were attacked by
something attacked by what. I'm not sure some kind of monster. Hmmm.
I might be able to help if you tell me more. I do know
a lot about your history, at least since you're tap all right, one
second, I think this is the room. Was that door unlocked? Yeah?
People were way more trusting back in your time. No, they're not.
This is strange. But let's see what's inside? Oh my god,
Holly, hell, are you okay? Do you need me in there?
I'm okay. What do you see? There's blood, lots of blood.
There's still luggage and belongings inside. It feels recent. Look at the night
stands. There's a gun and some cash there. So whatever happened to her,
it wasn't for the money. Wait where are you going? You should
check out that luggage, right, see if the thing you're looking for is
in there. I'm going to check the bathroom first. I want to make
sure no one else is here, all right, Jesus frist Is this what
you were supposed to find? I don't know. I don't think so.
Could you close the door please? I don't want to look at this anymore?
Yeah, me neither. Wait, what what is it? That body
there? Who is it? I don't. I don't know, but I
think I know what attacked you. I'm closing this now. Were you attacked
by a grocery delivery person? Yes? How did you know? That doesn't
matter? I know what's hunting you? Hunting me? Yes, hunting.
It's a shifter. Why is it hunting me? I'm not sure? You
know. It would be nice if you could give me more information on some
of the shit. It's kind of important. Hey, blame yourself. You're
the one that has to tell me the things so that I could even possibly
relay them back to you. Why don't you tell me what you do know
while I search through this luggage? Well? Uh oh, I know it's
probably working alone. Yeah, All accounts of shifter engagement always show them working
solo. I think it's how they like to hunt. It looks like those
people in there were Contra agents, So I'd say it's safe to say that
Shifter isn't working with the Contra. Yeah, probably not. Contra doesn't really
like the hidden anyway. I doubt they'd employ one of us. So the
Shifter's side with the chroniclers and guides the ones that kill anomalies. So,
from what I understand, Shifters don't side with anyone. They operate on their
own agenda. They have their own personal code that they stick to. It's
different from shifter shifter, but they treat that code like it's a personal religion.
I've heard some of this before, but what does it mean to you?
Well, for example, one shifter might decide that they were created to
protect a specific forest from being destroyed, so they might haunt that forest as
a weird creature that murders people who try to start fires. Another shifter might
decide that it wants to collect rare gems, so it travels the world,
finding and hiding different gems until it feels the collection is complete. Another shifter
might decide that it needs to run a country, so it slaughters its way
up a branch of government until it gains control. It's different for all of
them, so there's no way to know why this one is hunting me.
Maybe it hunts anomalies. Maybe you weren't supposed to be on that ranch.
Maybe it just really hates former baristas. There could be a bunch of reasons.
I'm sorry, but I don't know. Do you at least know how
to kill it? There's a couple of ways, but none of them are
very easy. Nothing ever is If you can completely burn it to ash,
that'll do it. They're not super sensitive to fire, though, so you'll
have to find a way to restrain the creature while it burns. Doesn't seem
likely. Or you could rip it to pieces, you know, like put
it in a wood chipper or something, really tear it apart so it can't
put itself together again. Gory but logical. I guess you could shoot it
into space logan, come on, really, okay, okay, for real,
though, there's a part of every shifter that controls the body. It's
kind of like a brain. Just not okay, It's a small patch of
fungus looking stuff. It spiderwebs out through the body of the shifter, like
some kind of nervous system or something. Anyway, the core part of that
fungus is hidden in the shifter's body somewhere they can't move it. But it
isn't a different position for each shifter. So if you can cut the shifter
open, find that portion of its insides, and remove it from the rest
of its body, then the shifter will die. Damn, you weren't kidding.
It's not easy. Yeah, I tried to tell you. You're honestly
much better off just trying to get away and hide. Maybe the shifter will
stop hunting you. Yeah. Maybe. Oh what's that? It's a briefcase
with files in it, and there's a file in here about me. These
were definitely contray agents. Is that what we're looking for? Hold on,
Emily, this second sheet of paper, Emily. Emily lifted her gaze from
the open folder and began to shout a response to Marcus when she noticed the
lines had spawned from every direction. An ESPET event was happening, and it
felt big. She should have known an event would happen. Marcus knew about
this place from a vision. He knew that she would find something there,
and Emily should have realized much earlier that Marcus only had visions of Ispet events.
Of course, something would happen here. Panicked, she threw the folder
back into the briefcase and latched the case closed. She ran over to the
night stand and grabbed the handgun, the cash, and the kharkeys, then
shoved everything into her jacket's pocket. The earth began to shake, and a
large crash sounded from the parking lotter outside, Marcus could feel the air shift
in his vision. From earlier, he had seen a treasure chest surrounded by
quicksand Emily stood next to the treasure chest and traded a toy house made of
popsicle sticks for something out of the chest. A wolf had charged forward and
jumped directly into the quicksand the vision had left a residual feeling. After he
woke, he knew where they needed to go, but not where they were
going or what would happen once they arrived. Now that the ISPET event had
started, Marcus was terrified that he had made the wrong choice. The vision
didn't seem extravagant, but the energy in the air reminded him of the ISPT
event that took place at the police station. This one was just as dangerous
as that had been. He called for Emily several times, but she wasn't
coming. He could hear her talking to herself in the room, but couldn't
make out what she was saying. With an agitated grunt, he pulled the
door handle and leaned against the door to push it open. That's when something
the size of a bear with wings slammed in the driver's side of the car
and rolled him over twice. Emily saw Marcus and the car roll over and
land upside down. The shifter was back and had taken a new form.
The creature looked like a hideous, fur covered moth with bare arms and no
head. It bounced off the car after impact and then flapped its wings,
flying directly toward her. Emily could see the maroon line to the creature.
She could also see the blue lines connected to the people in the motel,
the lines connected the plants outside, and the one attached to the small critters
that littered the area. She slammed the door just as the monster arrived.
The door splintered inward, but didn't break enough for the creature to gain entry.
Emily drew the weapon from her pocket, but hesitated. She had no
inclination where to shoot. She traced the maroon line, pinpointing it to the
specific section of the shifter, maybe as where the focus was hidden. Even
if it was, she had no idea how to get to it, and
she was not a good enough marchman to hit that small of a target.
The creature slammed into the door a second time, then reached its arm arm
through to swipe around one more attempt like that, and the door would give.
Emily backed away from the entrance and looked around the room, searching for
anything she could use to defend herself. Nothing. Blue lines danced along the
floor. The lines only attached to inanimate objects. If her isfat was about
to do something to them, she had an idea. The shifter pushed a
final time and entered the motel room. Emily could now see clearly where the
maroon line pinpointed the lower right side of the creature, just above where a
hip would be if the creature were human. A wavering maroon line turned into
a steady, attached marker. Emily raised the gun and took aim, but
didn't fire. The creatures stepped a second step into the room and began to
crouch into a position that would allow it to pounce on her. Its wings
folded in on the creature's back, and the creature had to pull the bear
like arms closer to its chest. Just as the creature was about to leap
forward, Emily pulled the blue lines on the floor, and the flooring fell
away into the sub floor. The earth shook again. The shifter lost its
balance and sank into the flooring. Then Emily pulled the trigger. She may
have not been a good marksman, but she didn't need to be. She
was an anomaly, and she had the ability to send the bullet down a
maroon ispit line. The bullet followed her orders and struck home. The creature
didn't cry out, but it hunched over in what seemed like pain. The
lack of any noise from the shifter was unnerving to Emily. When something felt
paint, it made noise. This felt unnatural. Emily took aim again,
but waited for the creature to stop hunching so that she could get a clear
shot. The opportunity never came. The earth shook again and the flooring gave
away into a pit. The shifter fell into the ground, with floorboards follow
Emily could see the entire building shake. She ran to the side of the
motel room and edged her way around the hole in the floor. She tried
to steal a glance at the creature below, but could see nothing. She
didn't hang around to investigate. Instead, she turned and ran out of the
motel. With the briefcase in one hand and the gun in the other.
Emily hurried into the parking lot and found Marcus crawling out of the open window
of the car. His head was bleeding. He must have hit it when
the car flipped over. She put the gun in her pocket and pulled the
contra agent's car keys out. She beaped the unlocked button and quickly found the
rental that the keys belonged to. The Earth was shaking more furiously now.
Emily helped Marcus to his feet and placed his arm over her shoulder. She
helped him limp across the parking lot and to the rental car. He assured
her he could get in on his own, so she released him and rushed
to the driver's side of the vehicle. As the engine ro to life,
Emily looked back at the motel room and saw the shifter as it crawled out
of the floor of the room. It had taken its baseless form again.
Then the motel collapsed in on itself as it sank into a pit. A
sinkhole had formed under the motel and had swallowed the building and all its occupants
whole. Emily watched in horror as the maroon line, along with over a
dozen blue lines, sank into the earth. She contained her urge to vomit
and shifted the vehicle from park to reverse. It wasn't until she was several
miles down the road that she allowed herself to cry. Hastings is voiced by
Adam Culbertson. Emily Swanson is voiced by Tsha Zang. September is voiced by
Richard Collins. Chronicler Dean is voiced by Seamus Rodriguez. Detective George Bullard is
voiced by Anthony Kinney. Agent Natalie is voiced by Sarah Callahan. Contra operator
is voiced by Helen Edgar. Victor is voiced by t Alexander Saxton. Marcus
Baker is voiced by Nico Rodriguez. Cricket is voiced by Josh Allen and narrated
by Michael cole is fet Archives was written by Nico Rodriguez in collaboration with Tisha
Zang Easpett. Archives is a Creative TYPEO Entertainment production. Find out more about
our show at www dot creative Typo dot com. A very special thank you
to our executive producers from Patreon, Nick Mead and Patrick t Arsenal