Speaker 1: This episode may contain content that is not suitable for
all audiences. Listener discretion is advised, especially for those under
the age of thirteen. Welcome to end too the night.
I'm narri your guide on to day's excursion down a
twisted path. Be careful not to get lost. Be it
dark or light, it's easy to lose your way. Are
you ready, then let's begin the weather Man. A fluorescent
light flickered as the glow of the computer screen illuminated
a face grown scruffy with five days worth of beard.
Beads of sweat appeared on his brow, but a smile
played at the corners of his mouth. Leonard Biller was
in his element. It came as no surprise that Leo
felt comfortable there. He sat. He'd lived in this house
for forty years, which corresponded with how much time had
passed since his birth. His parents, Shirley and Stan Mitchell,
didn't mind, son. You're welcome to stay here as long
as you want to, his father told him many times.
His mother added, we wouldn't know what to do with
ourselves without you. Their sentiments were noble, but truth be told.
Leo and his parents rarely interacted for decades, he'd spent
nearly every waking hour in the basement of the three
story home, with a few forays into the rest of
the residence. Leo liked the arrangement, and he assumed his
parents did too. They'd certainly never said otherwise. The animation
on the screen before him caused his eyes to dart
to and fro. His hands adeptly gripped a controller as
he guided the images on the screen. This would be
his crowning achievement. Simply put, he was a genius when
it came to computer programming. No average gamer, Leo prided
himself on his ability to create top notch computer games
of his own. Through the years, he'd made a decent
living working remotely from his parents' basement. Major gaming companies
competed for him to develop lifelike graphics for them. Sitting
in the darkened basement, he looked down at his hands
that hovered over the keyboard and smiled. These hands may
not swing hammers or operate on patients, but they are
so useful. For all the times I was made fun
of in school, I'm finally getting the last laugh. He
flexed his hands into fists and then straightened his fingers again,
you're taking care of me very well. To remind himself
of their value, Leo clicked on the app to his
banking account. The commas and digits that appeared certainly made
him happy. While his parents knew he fended for himself
financially through his gaming revenue, they weren't aware of the
extent of his earnings. Leonard, given ample time and the
availability of the Internet, had found many ways to generate income.
Mom and Pop think they're going to save me by
leaving me this house when they're done. Now, I love
this place and it will always be home. But I'm
worth ten times, maybe more than what they are. That's
my little secret.
Speaker 2: Though.
Speaker 1: Leonard Miller liked secrets. He always had. Maybe that began
when he was a little boy and he was made
to feel like a social outcast. Society forced him into
being an observer instead of a participant, so he quietly
kept to himself and learned many secrets that others would
never guess. He knew about them. Forced me to be
an observer, and that's exactly what I'll be. I paid attention,
listened and watched, and kept detailed notes. He had his
share of secrets as well. No one asked him what
he thought about anything, so it wasn't difficult to keep
his secrets safely tucked away. He vividly remembered the first
time he realized he wasn't wanted in a group. It
was the beginning of kindergarten. Missus Hanson told us to
choose a partner and we had to run to the
other end of the playground to wait for her instructions.
I was left standing alone. She didn't even notice that
I was left behind, and I can still see her
walking happily away from me toward the other children. She
didn't notice I wasn't included. Until the bell rang for
us to come in from recess. I cried, and then
the other kids called me a baby for being sad.
Missus Hanson told me I needed to act like a
big boy and stop embarrassing myself in front of the class.
Leo's face flushed with anger. That day in kindergarten burned
a hole through his little heart. That day was the
first secret he'd kept from his parents, and he never
spoke of it to anyone. When his mother asked him
how school was, he smiled and said it was good. Mama.
When his father would ask him if he wanted to
invite his friends over, Leo told him, I asked, but
they can't come over. Their parents said they had other
things they had to do. He'd never admit to his
parents that he had no friends. Sometimes he took himself
to the park and lied, telling them that he was
going to a friend's house. These lies spared him from
the torment of admitting the ugly truth he had no friends,
not even one. It taught me lessons, though, and it
allowed me plenty of time to work on projects like this.
He watched the graphics on his screen and smiled. Programming
was his passion. It wasn't the sort of activity that
made him friends or attracted women, but it was lucrative,
and in his own way, he felt powerful and in control.
He also liked knowing that his video games gave awkward
kids a way to pass their time and feel accomplished.
Leo wished when he was a kid he'd had someone
who worried about helping him. His anger flared for an instant.
It was hard not to be angry when he thought
of the thousands of hurts others inflicted on him. Cruel
jokes were made at his expense. His town was known
for being mean anyway, but growing up as an overweight
geek with social anxiety, the meanness was overwhelming. The school
did nothing to help him, and he would rather have
died than let his parents know. It was another series
of secrets he kept from them. The memories flooded back,
and no one hurt him worse than Marla Munson. Pretty
popular and a girl who'd captivated him since junior high,
she was perhaps the cruelest of all of them. She
knew he liked her, and for two months during their
sophomore year of high school, she led him on. She
flirted shamelessly, and gleefully accepted. When he asked her if
she would go to the homecoming dance with it, he
was nothing short of ecstatic. To his surprise, Marla told
everyone at school about their upcoming big date. Other students
would nod and smile at him, and he heard congratulating
comments from nearly every one. Some boys outright told him
that they were jealous. This was better than he could
have dreamed. Leo wanted the night to be perfect. He
used every bit of money he'd saved to rent a
tuxedo and buy flowers for Marla. He paid for two tickets,
and that wiped out the rest of the money he
had ahead of their date. Marla sweetly told him, my
parents have this event going on that I have to
be at. I'll meet you at the dance. I'm so sorry.
Is that okay? I feel terrible about this. Of course
it's okay, Marla. I'll meet you there. We'll have a
night to remember. She gave him a wink that made
his knees buckle. His thoughts ran wild. On the night
of the dance, Leo looked sharp, His mother took photos
of him, and off he went. When he arrived at
the venue, Marla wasn't waiting outside as they had agreed upon.
Leo waited for twenty five minutes, then decided to check
inside in case she waited. There, he pushed his way
through the crowd, searching for any sign of Marla, and
there she was. Clint Haveman, the quarterback, cozied up to
her with his hand on her well lower than her back.
She didn't seem to mind. Furthermore, Leo instantly saw that
the green vest on Clint's suit perfectly matched Marla's emerald
dress on her wrist was a corsage. The music stopped playing,
and Marla spotted Leo across the room. She nudged Clint
and pointed at Leo.
Speaker 2: Well, look at that, Marla, loser. Leo actually believed he'd
take you to the dance, Clint shouted. The entire student
body laughed and appointed, having taken part in the joke.
Leo wanted to disappear into the floor, but instead he
stood staring at the girl he loved, kissing Clint haveman
in earnest. She told you it would be a night
to remember. Clint and everyone else, including Marla v Finally,
in a daze, Leo walked out of the dance hall
and through the flowers He bought for Marla in the
trash on his way out the door. Too embarrassed to
go home early, he drove to a nearby park and cried.
He couldn't stand to answer his mother's questions if he
went home before it was time for the dance to end,
so he sat morosely in his car, then slowly drove home.
It was another secret he kept for the rest of
high school. He was tormented by others for falling for
the elaborate hoax perpetrated by Marla and Clint. Already a
social outcast, he withdrew even further into himself. He even
contemplated suicide. The chiming of the clock brought Leo back
to the present. He looked at the time six o'clock.
His parents would be watching the local news. His mother's
favorite weather man was on Channel six. His name was
Clint Haverman. Leo stretched and looked at his computer screen.
He only had a few more adjustments to make. It
wouldn't take long and the satisfaction would be exquisite. He
dove into the last of the programming he needed to make,
finishing at six fifteen, just in time for Clint Haveman's
weather segment.
Speaker 1: Leo chuckled. I hate to tell you, Mom, but Clint
Haveman isn't the real weatherman. Another of my little secrets
is about to be unleashed. I hate humanity to my core.
Just one little push of this button. The moment Leo's
finger hit the button on his keyboard, a humming sound
floated through the air. The wind began to roar outside,
and lightning cracked in rapid volleys on his screen. Leo
Miller saw the culmination of his life's work under fruition.
Storms unexpectedly ravaged the Heartland. Hurricanes swelled out of seemingly
nowhere from the oceans and barreled toward unsuspecting cities. This
is my revenge on all of you. I hope you die.
I don't think I'll share my secret with Mom, but
I'm the real weather man. He laughed at the thought
of what he'd put into motion, and his laughter mingled
with the thunder that wore. Thank you for joining me
for this episode of the Into the Night anthology podcast.
Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nari, the music by
Nico Rodriguez. You can find our links in the show notes.
Into the Night is on your favorite podcatcher, so make
sure to like, subscribe and leave a five star review
to help other excursionists to join us. I'll see you
next time, and remember, whether in the shadows or in
the daylight, all twisted paths lead you into the night. Hi, Excursionists,
I'm so glad you stayed. If you ever wonder what
I'm working on when I'm not here, you can find
my current and past projects at Nari narrates dot com.
That's also where you can sign up to be a
story in my library, where every story somehow finds its
way back home.