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Speaker 2: Chapter twenty The Long Road Home.
Speaker 3: And while we are on the topic, let's talk about humans.
Speaker 4: I think I'm pretty familiar with how humans work.
Speaker 3: Emily, you may believe you have a foundational understanding of humans,
but I suggest you take some time to restructure your assumptions.
You are not a human, and because of that, many
humans will seek to destroy or control you. In general,
humans are a destructive force. They consume, expand, and negotiate
power over one another, as well as the environment they
reside within. You must be alert with humans around you,
trusting them only after they have earned it, not as
a default.
Speaker 4: I don't like that you can't assume everyone is bad
just because some humans are. I believe there are more
good humans than bad ones.
Speaker 3: Good and bad are subjective and mean little. In this context,
it is not about whether the individual fits your ideal morality.
It is about what drives constructive or deconstructive actions from
the human in question. Humans frequently fear what they do
not understand. This fear may initiate a reaction of violence
or need to control the source of the fear. In
this scenario, violenced against or control of view. Time and
time again, humans have proven to reject concepts that they
cannot understand. They reject nature, they reject science. They even
reject each other, especially on topics of religion, morality, and
application of power. Their frequent acts of consumption, coupled with
their thirst for power, creates a phobia of scarcity, as
well as an inherent desire to be the most powerful
creature in the local vicinity. You must be mindful of
these facts when dealing with humans in mass.
Speaker 4: If humans are so awful, why do chroniclers and guides
work so hard to protect them? I mean, you hunt
anomalies in order to keep humans safe. It just it
seems like a lot of effort for a group of
people that you fear.
Speaker 3: While humans are dangerous, they also are creative and innovative.
Many of the Hidden depend on the humans for our
own personal survival. Anomalies, guides and blood born are created
from humans, Shifters and dream Race take their forms from humans,
and Chroniclers rely on the imagination of humans. Their ability
to imagine and lie is impactful to my kind. We
all depend on each other in one way or another,
despite what humans may believe.
Speaker 4: It seems like there could be a better way. I
feel like we could all coexist.
Speaker 3: We do coexist with humans.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but they don't know that. I mean. I want
a way for us to coexist in the open. That's
the world that I would like to live in.
Speaker 3: Emily, I would like that world as well. That is
partially why I am interested in working with you. I
want to find a way to coexist with your kind.
But for now, we must be careful.
Speaker 4: Okay, I mean honestly, I should probably stay away from
humans anyway, at least until I can figure out how
to control my isfat.
Speaker 3: I am glad you are making an effort to understand.
Speaker 4: You don't have to word it like that, Hastings.
Speaker 3: Now I must finish packing for my trip to the
Chronicler Archives. We can discuss more about the Hidden when
September and I return from Libya.
Speaker 4: Sounds good. I look forward to continuing my studies.
Speaker 5: Professor September scrolled through the anomaly candidates that were contained
in the jump drives Hasting had recovered. The guide had
already perused the contents several times, carefully evaluating the priority
of each potential anomaly. The chronicler jumped followed a specific system,
one whose intricacies September didn't fully grasp. He wasn't even
sure if Hastings understood how chroniclers at the archives identified
emerging anomalies, but one thing was clear. The system was effective.
The drives categorized anomalies using a color coded system based
on the likelihood of a tap the moment an anomaly
first harnesses their ISPAD. Many experience this tap in their
late teenage years, though there's been a recent trend of
anomalies tapping in their early twenties. This shift is theorized
to be an evolutionary adaptation, allowing anomalies more time to
develop before confronting the world, akin to a baby developing
in the womb for an extra week of additional development.
Regarding the jump drives, the three factors for classification are red,
purple and blue red marks those too young to tap
but fitting whatever criteria the chroniclers have for identification. This
age group generally consists of twelve to eighteen year old children.
They are not to be investigated, but awareness is recommended.
Chroniclers do not forget faces or names, so it is
never too early to log candidates. Purple targets are mostly
individuals aged nineteen to twenty. This group is of the
age to tap, but is considered unlikely. Purples are under
the watch of chronicler specialists who conduct non intrusive monitoring.
In the unlikely event that a purple does tap, the
specialist will call in a duo. A duo is made
up of a chronicler and a guide, much like Hastings
in September. They are expected to review the contents of
a drive, search out the targets with the blue color classification,
and then accept a job. Upon accepting the job and
informing the archives, the duo's duty is to seek out
the anomaly, verify the tap, and then neutralize the target.
This was September's mandate with Emily, a responsibility he accepted
but failed to fulfill by sparing her life. September removed
the data stick from the USB port idly tapping it
against his palm. His gaze swept over the airport terminal
as Hastings approached, returning with snacks and bottles of water.
Speaker 6: Thank you for grabbing snacks. I'm starving.
Speaker 3: You are welcome, September. We have a little over an
hour before boarding should begin our next flight noted, I
think I rather enjoy this airport. You do, yes, although
I do say it isn't the cleanest airport we have visited.
Speaker 6: I don't think anyone has ever accused Boston International for
being the cleanest.
Speaker 3: Even being slightly dirty. I prefer this to Atlanta.
Speaker 6: That's not saying much you hate Atlanta.
Speaker 3: I like the city of Atlanta, just not the airport.
Speaker 6: Well, the airport doesn't like you either, so I would
say the feeling is mutual.
Speaker 3: Airports do not have feelings. September. But you already know this.
Speaker 6: Yes, Hastings, it was a joke. It was meant to
be funny.
Speaker 3: Did you think it was funny?
Speaker 6: A little?
Speaker 3: Good? Your efforts were not wasted?
Speaker 6: Was that an intentional burn?
Speaker 3: Yes? It was? Was it good?
Speaker 6: You've been spending too much time with Emily, her snark
is starting to rub off on you.
Speaker 3: While we are on the topic of anomalies, what did
you find?
Speaker 6: Not much more than what you already saw. There are
nine anomalies flagged as blue in the United States, only
nine in the whole country. I was hoping there would
be more.
Speaker 3: That number seems accurate to me. The United States accounts
for roughly four point twenty five percent of the world's population.
There are eighty one anomalies born every Yearly three to
four anomalies should be born in the United States every year.
Considering that anomalies do not tap it exactly twenty years old,
and exactly eighty one anomalies are not eliminated every year,
it is possible that there are nine targets in their
early twenties residing in the country.
Speaker 6: Are you trying to attribute order to chaos? If it
is just as likely to drop all eighty one anomalies
in the US as it is to drop all eighty
one in Taiwan. Statistics don't really have a role here.
Speaker 3: Okay, September I was just noting that the math seemed reasonable.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I know, I just wish we had more than nine.
And they're all spread out.
Speaker 3: Have you come up with a plan.
Speaker 6: I believe so. I would like to find a second
anomaly and partner them up with Emily.
Speaker 3: That seems incredibly risky. Maybe the potential for catastrophe would
increase significantly in theory.
Speaker 6: We don't know that for certain. At this point, we
only know what we've person tested.
Speaker 3: I still believe it to be dangerous.
Speaker 6: Yet it probably will be, but I know it's what
we have to do next.
Speaker 3: We also need to account for the fact that we
are no longer an active duo, so we cannot take
responsibility for any of those blues.
Speaker 6: We don't need to take responsibility from the archives, we
just need to get to them first.
Speaker 3: There is also the potential that another duo is assigned
to monitor the blue already, we could find ourselves in
conflict with other guides and chroniclers.
Speaker 6: That's a risk we will have to take.
Speaker 3: All right, September, as long as you have a plan.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Hastings. By the way, have you called Emily
yet to let her know we're on our way?
Speaker 3: Oh? No, I can do that now. Hmm. It appears
I have a voicemail from her.
Speaker 6: Let's get the voicemail and just call her back. It'll
be better to check in.
Speaker 3: Okay, September, I'm calling her now.
Speaker 5: Emily stared out the front passenger side window of Detective
George Bullard's car, taking a deep, satisfying breath, relishing the
momentary silence. The detective had handcuffed Marcus and placed him
in the back seat, allowing Emily to ride up front
provided she continued to comply with Bullard's orders. The ensuing
interrogation was exhaustive. She told the detective everything that had
occurred since leaving the Chicago Police Department on the day
of the explosion. She detailed the roles of anomalies, guides, chroniclers,
and shifters. She emphasized that she was the one posing
a danger, not Marcus, almost pleading made a case for Marcus,
insisting on his role in protecting others from her. Detective
Bullard maintained his focus on the road and only interjected
with questions when the narrative began to dwindle. Occasionally, he'd
glance at Emily or Pique in the rearview mirror to
gage Marcus's reactions. He was searching for something in their expressions,
but Emily couldn't decipher what he might be seeing. She
hoped her story was convincing. By the time she finished,
Bullard listened so intently that his engagement almost suggested belief.
Then he took out his phone, pressed the start button
on the voice recording application, and asked her to begin again.
After the third or fourth repetition, Bullard deemed a break necessary. Marcus,
still bearing the brunt of the past few days events,
looked particularly worn out. Bullard informed Emily that they were
headed back to the station, where they would answer questions
and Marcus could receive medical attention. Twenty minutes had passed
since that conversation, leaving Emily frustrated and Marcus visibly anxious.
Just as Emily was about to break the silence with
a concern for Marcus, her phone's ringer shattered the calm.
The caller id flashed Hastings.
Speaker 4: Hastings, Hello, Emily, where have you been? I've been trying
to get a hold of you.
Speaker 7: We have been in Libya, I.
Speaker 4: Know, but you couldn't answer my calls.
Speaker 7: Your previous attempts to contact me have always occurred at
inappropriate times. Is everything okay, Emily?
Speaker 8: Please put your phone on speaker?
Speaker 4: Fine? No, Hastings. Everything is not okay. Who is with you,
Detective Bullard? He's taking us back to Chicago.
Speaker 7: Emily, you were supposed to stay in Montana until we returned.
Speaker 6: She's not in Montana.
Speaker 7: Where is she? She says, she's on the way back
to Chicago with Detective George Bullard.
Speaker 6: I'm going to change our flights.
Speaker 7: Stay here, Emily. Is the Harbager still with you?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Marcus is still here.
Speaker 7: I understand Hasteing.
Speaker 4: Something is chasing us, it's trying to kill us.
Speaker 7: What do you mean something.
Speaker 4: I think it's a shifter.
Speaker 7: Is that why you are with Detective George Bullard.
Speaker 4: No, that's a bit of a long story.
Speaker 7: I assume you will tell me those details later.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I will listen. So we were attacked by the
shifter at the ranch house. Then Marcus took us to
some motel where we found a couple of dead Contra agents.
They had files on me, Marcus, Sam and Amber. They
said that if they couldn't find me that they were
going to have to kill Sam and Amber.
Speaker 7: You said you've found the dead agents. Was it Isabet?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 4: I think the shifter killed them. I might have killed
the shifter, though, I thought I.
Speaker 7: Was clear when I told you not to fight a shifter.
You should run.
Speaker 4: I was trapped? Is that just lashed out?
Speaker 7: Emily? I do not think you should go back to Chicago.
You could hurt a lot of people. What the city
is too big and you cannot control your ismat Why
don't you call Sam and Amber and let me in
September stop by to check on them? Going there is
likely a bad.
Speaker 4: Idea, Hastings. It's not as if I have a choice.
Bullard has Marcus over here in cuffs, and he's arresting
both of us.
Speaker 7: I wouldn't recommend that either. Did he forget what happened
the last time you three were in a police station?
Speaker 8: Is that a threat?
Speaker 7: Emily? Just call Amber and Sam.
Speaker 4: I tried that they think I've been kidnapped and that
I'm being brainwashed or something.
Speaker 7: We are in Boston right now. September is changing our
flights to go to Chicago. We will be there as
soon as possible. Why don't you find someplace safe to
lay low and we will come to you once we land.
Speaker 4: What part of we are under arrest? Aren't you comprehending here?
And look, even if we weren't under arrest. I'm going
back to Chicago. I'm gonna help my friends one way
or another. Emily Hastings, I don't care. I'm not asking
you for permission to go to Chicago. If you want
to come to Chicago and help, I'll be grateful. But
I'm gonna do what I want with or without your help. Goodbye.
Speaker 6: That was a little.
Speaker 4: Aggressive, says the guy that handcuffed Marcus and tossed him
in the back of the car.
Speaker 8: We said in cuff you cute, Emily. He's a criminal bullard.
Speaker 4: He's half dead. I mean, look at him. He's too
weak to do anything.
Speaker 8: I don't think you're fully appreciating the gravity of the situation.
He is an escape fugitive and you were harboring him.
This is a very serious offense. Both of you are
in a lot of trouble right now. You should be
happy it was me that found you on road.
Speaker 4: Yeah, super happy.
Speaker 8: I'm serious. If it was another person from another police
department would to find you or the FBI. Emily, I'm
probably the best you could have hoped for. With that said,
I'm not buying this magic powers bullshit, and you're too
smart to think I would. So why don't we take
it from the beginning and you could tell me the truth.
Speaker 4: This time, I am telling you the truth.
Speaker 8: There's absolutely no evidence to back up any of your claims.
If you can do magic, do some show me.
Speaker 4: No, it's too dangerous. You saw what happened to our
last car in the bridge.
Speaker 8: Of course it's too dangerous. I just need to trust you, right.
Speaker 4: What about the files that I showed you, the ones
with pictures of all of us? Isn't that proof?
Speaker 8: That's proof that someone has a file on you. It
could have come from anywhere.
Speaker 4: It didn't come from anywhere. It came from this company
called TCO Cleaning Supplies. At least that's who the file
says will pay the finders fee.
Speaker 8: What do you know about TCO Cleaning Supplies.
Speaker 4: It's a fake business front for the Contra, the people
that are trying to kill us, the very same people
that you seem to think I made up.
Speaker 8: I don't know about the Contra, but I've spoken to
that company before, and I can assure you they are real. Really,
why they contacted me about you?
Speaker 4: What did they say?
Speaker 8: Easy? Now, I'm still asking the questions.
Speaker 4: Not you fine? Well, I'm not answering any more questions
until you agree to stop by and check on Sam
and Amber.
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's not how this works.
Speaker 4: Please, let's just stop by their places and get them
on the way to the station. I'll comply with everything
and answer every question, but please, can we get them
and make sure they're safe, Emily, Please? There are hitmen
after them, and it's my fault.
Speaker 8: Okay, I'll tell you what if you two can be
on your best behavior, do as I say when I say,
and answer my questions while we drive. We'll stop buy
Ambers and Sam's places on the way back to the station.
In the meantime, I'll call a buddy and ask them
to swing by Amber's place.
Speaker 4: Can you send people to go watch their apartments and
keep an eye out.
Speaker 8: There's no way the Captain would let me reserve resources
like that without a long explanation of why, and I
don't think I'm ready to tell him that a secret
organization that's hunting a magical fugitive is planted the user
friends as bait.
Speaker 6: This isn't a joke.
Speaker 8: I'm not laughing. Look, Davis is a good detective. We
can trust them. Now, give me a minute to make
the call.
Speaker 5: Detective Mariano Davis stood before apartment five eighteen, mulling over
his next move. Upon his initial arrival, he had politely
knocked the door and announced himself as a detective with
the Chicago Police Department. No answer had come from the
other side, but the nosy neighbor from the adjacent unit
had popped their head out to let Davis know that
Amber Lang was not home right now. She had gone
to nearby YMCA to swim, just like she did every
Thursday night. After thanking the new and reassuring them that
Amber wasn't in trouble, Davis pulled his cellphone from his
back pocket and prepared to call Bullard to provide an update.
That's when he heard it. Initially faint, Davis was uncertain
if it had emanated from Amber's apartment or a neighboring unit,
but he had heard it the sound of a man
whispering a curse and bumping into something hard, followed quickly
by the hiss of a cat. Davis pressed his ear
next to the door, trying to isolate the sounds from
the city noise. A cat meowed an irritation inside the apartment,
indicating that the hissing had come from within, which meant
the sound of the man's whispered curse had also originated
inside Amber's apartment, So Davis considered the situation. The neighbor
had said that Amber was at the pool on Thursdays,
but that didn't guarantee she went this particular Thursday. The
voice inside was certainly not Amber's. Davis had met her
several times during her sessions with Bullard, and while she
didn't have the most memory low voices, he could tell
that the deep, masculine voice he heard was not hers.
Maybe Amber had a boyfriend, Davis thought, maybe that boyfriend
was hanging out at the house waiting for what if
that boyfriend hated Amber's cat, that could reasonably lead to
the inevitable cat versus boyfriend showdown that they had heard
in the apartment. Truth be told, the exact scenario unfolding
inside was irrelevant. Davis knew he had to enter Bullet's
brief on Emily's explanation, and Davis's knowledge of the involvement
of Contra meant that the entity that employed him would
expect him to investigate, So it was not a question
of whether or not Davis was going into the apartment
It was a matter of how he proceeded once he entered.
Should he attempt to creep in stealthily and hope to
remain unseen. Would he charge in, claiming to be the
valiant Knight arriving to save Amber from an anonymous threat,
or would he simply slide through the entrance as an
invited guest. Davis pulled his locksmithing tool from his inner
pocket and unlocked the dead bolt. He was too old
to play the stealth game, and he was too exhausted
to play the valiant hero, So fuck it, He decided
he was going to walk in like he owned the place.
Whatever happened once he was inside would be cleared up
with a smile and simple explanation. Besides, he was generally
concerned about the cat. With a forced smile, he twisted
the handle, opened the door, and stepped in just two steps.
That was all that was needed to validate his suspicions.
An individual clad in black with night vision goggles stood
on the far side of the room. Davis's instincts kicked in.
His left hand hit the wall in search of a
light switch, while his right reached for his side arm.
With a lucky break, his left hand struck gold and
flipped the switch in a single motion. The light would
disrupt the assassin's vision momentarily while their night vision goggles
adjusted to the change in lighting. Davis hoped it would
be enough to time time to draw his weapon and
gain the advantage. As he unbuttoned the thumb brake snap,
pulled his firearm from its holster, and began to raise
his arm, Davis caught sight of a second assailant from
the corner of his right eye.
Speaker 8: So much for that luck.
Speaker 5: The second assassin had been hiding behind the door. Davis
turned his head, but it was too late. A syringe
plunged into the base of his neck, sending fiery pain
coursing through his veins. His vision blurred, his knees buckled,
and the floor rushed up to meet him. In the
fleeting moments before darkness enveloped him, Detective Mariano Davis saw
a small, fluffy cat flee into the back of amber
Ling's one bedroom apartment. Hastings is voiced by Adam Culbertson.
Emily Swanson is voiced by Tisha Zang. September is voiced
by Richard Collins. Detective Bullard is voiced by Tony Kinney
and narrated by Michael cole.
Speaker 7: E.
Speaker 5: SPET Archives is a Creative TYPEO entertainment production. Find out
more about our show at www dot creative typo dot com.
Speaker 2: A very special thank you to our executive producers from Patreon,
Nick Mead and Patrick t Arsenal