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Speaker 1: Hello, I'm welcome stories all the time. Glad you are here.

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Let's get into it. When I was twenty two, so

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it seems like a lifetime ago now, I landed myself

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a security job a steel plant here in Pennsylvania. It

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was a pretty easy gig for the most part, but

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there were a lot of overnight shifts, and depending on

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who you were working with, those shifts could either suck

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or be a whole lot of fun. I've been working

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there for about a year, with the same team the

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whole time, when one day one of the senior guys

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announced that he was throwing in the towel. He was

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moving someplace else to be closer to his family, so

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naturally the boss needed to replace him. We all hoped

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the replacement would be a good guide and a decent worker,

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but what we got was a guy named Parker, a

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decent worker who seemed to have all the personality traits

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of a serial killer. We first met Poker on day's ships,

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because you had to complete a probation period before you

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were allowed to work nights. He was about six feet

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all with dark eyes, close crop, dark hair, and a

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rough beard. He also had a weird scar on the

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right side of his neck, like where a patch of

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skin was paler pinker china than the rest. Then whenever

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he took his gloves off, you could see that he

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had the same patches of deep pink scar tissue on

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the outside of his fingers, like near his knuckles. We

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figured that he'd been in some kind of accident, like

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a bad car wreck or something, but since it's not

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polite to bring the kind of stuff up, no one

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ever asked him. But then it wasn't Parker Scurs that

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freaked us out. It was the way he acted. He

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was quiet, real quiet, and whenever he speak it was

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like English was a second language to him. He had

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a distinct northeastern Pennsylvania accent, and by that I mean

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like Scranton, Wilke's Bar and the Poconos, that kind of area.

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But then when he spoke, it was like he was

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frightening over every little syllable. He talk talk like this,

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as if stressing over every little word. He'd get real

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jumpy sometimes too, like a skittish horse. He wouldn't scream

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and dive under the table anytime he heard a loud noise.

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And we guarded a steel plants so in the daytimes

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there were many, but he could see him softly flinch

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or spin his head around anytime something took him by surprise.

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The guy seemed like a turtle bowl of nerves, and

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the fellows even jerked that he might kill a man

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if he snuck up on him and spooped him back.

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But then at the same time, he was a good worker,

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so while we remained fairly cautious, we eventually accepted him

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as one of us. About six months into Parker working

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with us, I found out that I'd be working with

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him for a whole weeks worth of night shifts, just me,

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him and the supervisor. Needless to say, I was not

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looking forward to the Arsia would be in a security

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office watching Thomas and stuffing his face with letter pies,

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but it would be up to me and Papa to

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patrol the grounds of the punt onfitun Like I said before,

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the few were with the right crew, Knights could be

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a dizzy. You'd walk around talking about the birds or

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the fliers, just shooed in the breeze and all of that.

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And then with Patha, I got the feeling that the

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conversation wasn't exactly going to flow and the idea of

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walking around at night with the button, and so I

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could felt more of a wristlin chase in junkies off

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the side. All in all, it came down to do

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options work. The ships will lose out unpaid, and so

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I worked them. My wisher could say working those knights

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with Papa was like a Buddy Coop movie or something

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of the nature that we slowly warmed up to one

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another and we've been pals ever since. But that was

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not the case. Whenever Parker was sitting in total silence,

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staring off into space like he was watching a movie

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no one else could see, he'd be muttering to himself.

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He'd mostly only do it when he thought no one

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was a round, but I caught him doing it once

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or twice, and when I did, he sounded like he

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was real angry about something, and that's what God is

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all thinking. He really was some kind of ticking time bomb,

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a kind of guy to just snap one day and

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go totally postal. Naturally, no one wanted to be around him,

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and he did. And when I said that, they tried

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to cozy up to him a little so that he

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might just skip over shooting me. When he finally did

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bring a gun to work. I'm really only half joking

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with you. The second night shift we worked together, we

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were walking around the plant's perimit defense when I decided

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to ask Parker what he did before security, and he

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didn't tell me much, but he did mention having worked

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for a company that didn't have his back after he

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got hurt, so he moved on and that's how he

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ended up working security. I told him he should just

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lawyer upon that he could probably win millions if it

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was some kind of industrial extent, but he told me

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it wasn't like that, and that the best thing he

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could have done is just move on. Whatever it was.

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From the way Parker talked about it, it sounded bad,

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and with me not being a total jerk, I asked

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him nothing more about it and changed the subject as

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quickly as I could. Parker didn't follow any sports, He

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wasn't into moves like me and some of the other

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guys there, and he didn't drink, he didn't smoke, and

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he didn't have any wife or a kid for girlfriend.

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And it got to the point where I asked him

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what the hell do you do when you're not at work?

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And he told me he either worked out, worked on

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his car, or read books. I asked him what kind

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of books he read, and he started talking about a

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bunch of old Russian guys whose names I can't even

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pretend to remember or spell. I've never been much of

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a reader, and the last thing I read was had

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Finn back in high school. But Parker didn't strike me

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as much of a reader EI though, so to hear

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him talking all fancy like that, it was kind of surprising.

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He finally managed to find a topic of mutual interests

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and automobiles, and after Parker told me that he had

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a two thousand and six Pontjact GETO, that was all

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we talked about for the rest of the shift. It

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was the most conversation any of us had ever heard

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with him, and to me, it was a sign he

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wasn't going to show up in a hockey mask one

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day and start shopping us all up with a machete.

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That's what I told my supervisor too, when he asked

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how working with Parker had become the end of the shift,

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I really did everything I've been told about Parker getting

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out at the previous job, and how in spite of

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him not giving me much detail. I felt I had

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a rough idea of what had happened. I said, I

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no doubt whatsoever that Parker had a messed up pass,

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but that I figured that he was way more of

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a threat to his former associates than he was to us.

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And it turns out I was right about that in

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ways that I could never imagine. On the fourth of

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what was supposed to be five nights ships together, Parker

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and I stopped by the guard chat by the main

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entrance for some coffee. It must have been around one

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thirty in the morning. It had been a real quiet night,

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and I planned on working my way through a bag

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of those many podded doughnuts before we got back on

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our feet again. I was sitting at the little desk

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where we kept the log book, reading through a copy

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of the previous day's papers someone had left behind, while

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Parker was standing by the shack's window, staring out into

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the darkness and muttering to himself. Forty eight hours before,

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i'd have found that kind of behavior creepy, but it's

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amazing how quickly you get used to person's corks. After

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working a couple of twelve I R night shifts with

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them he could stare off into space, mottered himself a little,

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and I didn't think it was normal by any stretch.

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But it didn't freak me out as much as it

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did when I first met him. But what did freak

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me out was when out of nowhere, Parker told me

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there's something coming up the road. We never got anyone

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coming up that road at night, not unless it was

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someone from security, but they always called ahead. But what

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was even stranger was when I looked up and saw

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absolutely nothing on the road outside the shack. Now keeping

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in mind that I'm looking for headlights, so when I

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don't see any, I'm assuming that there's nothing. I also

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kind of assumed that I don't know Parker was just

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being a little overzealous. On account of how jumpy he

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always was. It wouldn't be the first time that he

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acted like that. I made a mountain out of a moleel,

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but the boss liked it and said that we should

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all act a little bit more like that. And so

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I look up see nothing, and I respond, are you sure, buddy,

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because I don't see nothing at there. Parker then says

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something in response, they got head let's switched off, but

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there's something there, all right? And then no sooner had

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he said that. When the headlights of what looked like

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a truck or a van switched on so bright that

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it was almost blinding. I was halfway through yelling at something,

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just like who the hell are those guys? When Parker

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turned and with this real angry look on his face,

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he comes lunging across the shack at me. I backed up,

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asking what the hell he was thinking, but he didn't stop.

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He ran, lowered his body like some football player about

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to tackle me in lamb. He took me down so

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hard at knock the wind out of me, and even

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though I was fighting for my life, I didn't stand

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a chance of overpowering him. I had flashes of thoughts

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running through my mind, stuff about it inside job, about

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how Parker was a plant, and that he was about

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to kill me to keep me quiet. Hell knows where

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heister Tea would want from a steel plant. But I

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guess I wasn't thinking straight at the time. This also

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took place over the space of a couple of seconds too.

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Like the lights came on, Pocker turned and tackled me.

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Then I'm right about to yell, what are you doing?

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When the whole godumbshack exploded in a shower of glass

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and sparks. I could hear automatic weapons, maybe half a

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dozen of them, all slinging lead at the shack, the

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sort of doca doca, doca doca. The glass came in first,

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but after that you could hear ricochets and sea sparks,

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before a bullet hit the light above our heads and

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plunged the shack into doctors before showering us with even

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more broken blasts. Pako was on top of me the

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whole time, but obviously, but then I realized why he'd

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taken me to the ground, and I quit trying to struggle.

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He didn't want to hurt me very much, the opposite.

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In fact, the guy I once thought might end up

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going parcel on us was trying to save my life.

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The gunfire was over in a couple of seconds, and

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I know it's a huge cliche at this point, but

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it did feel like way longer. But then the second

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it went quiet, Poker rolled off of me and then

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scurried out of the shack at a bit of a

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crouching pasce position. I wanted to follow him, and I

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wanted to get up and run, but my legs just

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wouldn't let me. All I could think about was whatever

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automatic weapons they had outside, and how if I stood up,

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they put so much fleet in me that you could

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shave my head and use me as a pencil. I

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wasn't certified to carry a weapon yet, but Parker had

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shown up certified, which I guess is half the reason

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he got the job. So while I was on with

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nothing but my flask light and some pepper spray, he'd

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gone running off carrying our only weapon. I knew whatever

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a brief window I had to escape the shack was gone.

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Parker had seem to recognize that the guys outside were

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reloading and had ducked out of the shack before they

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had a chance to open fire again. I figured that

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meant I had second before another hel storm of bullets

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ripped through the shack and potentially meet you. But then

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get up and run and I give them something solid

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to aim at, and I'd be totally screwed, not just partially.

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And so I waited and waited, half expecting that sound

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to return again of gun fire and for my lights

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to go out. But they didn't, and the only thing

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I heard was the sound of footsteps getting closer and

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closer to a shack. Unlike I said before, I had

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nothing but my pepper spray, but I knew that I

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had to do something, or whoever was out there was

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going to walk inside and finish me off. And so

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I did the only thing I could think to do

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and start making a lot of noise. I started yelling

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about how if they took one step closer, I was

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going to open up with my shotgun, and how even

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though I wouldn't be able to take all of them out,

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at least one of them was going to die. The

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footsteps suddenly stopped and there was a moment of silence,

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and then I heard a voice. It sounded like a

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man who smoked exhaust pats and a gravel for breakfast.

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And when he spoke, he didn't sound mad or scared.

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He sounded almost smug, asking, to which I obviously responded,

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we didn't have anyone by that name working for us,

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so you can bet your assa let them know that

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Licky split and I told them there was no Mackaide there,

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and that's who they were looking for. They'd risked a

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hundred years in prison for absolutely nothing, because whoever that

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was was not here. There was another pause, and then

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the guy said something like I know he's there. I

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respect you trying to protect him, but it's going to

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get you killed, and a piece of shit like that

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isn't worth dying over. I had to tell him a

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second time that I had exactly zero clue what he

255
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was talking about, and that no one had to die

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because they made a dumb mistake. There was another pause,

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and I I heard the Jews outside sort of whispering

258
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to one another, but I couldn't make it out. Then

259
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the other guy who smote exhaust pipe said all right,

260
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you got to count a three to tell us from

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00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,440
a kaye biszam, we're coming in to kill you. And

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after that he started his countdown. After Freda told him

263
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that there was no point in killing me, and all

264
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he said in response was too and that I started

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thinking that maybe I could dive out of the broken

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windows they started approaching, and then I could use the

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shack as cover for a few seconds to run off

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into the night. The guy shouted one, and I was thinking, Okay,

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I need to clear this window in one try or

270
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I'm dead, and then the guy shouted all right, where

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and That's all I heard, because whatever his next word,

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it was drowned up by the sound of more gunfire.

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I had maybe nine or ten shots, and then someone

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00:10:37,919 --> 00:10:41,039
screened before some fired again. I was so scared. I

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thought that they were just shooting up the shack again,

276
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and instead of actually risking sifty to get inside the

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shack to kill me, they were just going to empty

278
00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:48,720
the bullets into it again in the hopes that a

279
00:10:48,759 --> 00:10:51,000
shot went through and hit me. But then I very

280
00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,320
quickly realized nothing was hitting the shack. All the shooting

281
00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:57,240
was directed at something else outside. I knew that was

282
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my golden opportunity to run, But when it came to

283
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standing up again, and I knew it was just too

284
00:11:01,039 --> 00:11:03,600
much of a risqual lower bullets in the air, I

285
00:11:03,639 --> 00:11:05,440
had to say put wait for the shooting to stop,

286
00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,120
and then wait for a moment. But literally no sooner

287
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than the shooting did stop, I heard footsteps printing over

288
00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:13,159
to the shat before suddenly Parker was standing in front

289
00:11:13,159 --> 00:11:15,679
of me, pistol in hand, and this absolute psycho kind

290
00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,240
of look on his face. He barks at me, get

291
00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,360
out of here. There'll be more of them coming. I

292
00:11:20,399 --> 00:11:22,120
don't know what it was about him telling me all

293
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of that, but all of a sudden, my legs suddenly

294
00:11:24,279 --> 00:11:27,360
remembered how to work again. I didn't thank him, I

295
00:11:27,399 --> 00:11:30,639
didn't ask any questions. I just ran full speed towards

296
00:11:30,639 --> 00:11:33,360
the plant security office to take shelfeur there. There was

297
00:11:33,399 --> 00:11:35,639
a chance our souper had seen what was happening, but

298
00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:37,559
there was also a chance that he hadn't either, so

299
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I needed to get their SAP to make sure the

300
00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:42,720
cops got their SAP too. And now, long story short,

301
00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:44,600
we watched the cameras the whole time till the cops

302
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,080
do show up, but all we see is the shack

303
00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,159
all shut up and the headlights of whatever vehicle the

304
00:11:48,159 --> 00:11:51,799
shooters had approached him. Parker mckabe, whatever you want to

305
00:11:51,799 --> 00:11:54,000
call him, was nowhere to be found, nor to my knowledge,

306
00:11:54,039 --> 00:11:56,799
did he have a resurface. Our boss handed over all

307
00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,879
his paperwork to the cops, every last scrap that we

308
00:11:58,919 --> 00:12:00,919
had to go on, and they came back and told

309
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,240
us all of it was false. The only thing that

310
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,600
was real was Parker's face, and that it did match

311
00:12:05,639 --> 00:12:07,519
a guy named mccabees who used to be part of

312
00:12:07,519 --> 00:12:10,399
some prison gown until his relationship with his associate Siren

313
00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,360
for some reason, and that's all the explanation we ever got.

314
00:12:13,399 --> 00:12:15,120
And as far as I know, Poker or MacCabe is

315
00:12:15,159 --> 00:12:17,240
still on the run. I don't know what he did

316
00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:18,879
to pest his guys off so much, but I know

317
00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,480
he made a mistake coming after him like that, a

318
00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,360
mistake they paid for with their lives. My name is

319
00:12:24,399 --> 00:12:26,679
Father Thomas, and I've been with the parish priesthood at

320
00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:29,240
Saint Nicholas's Catholic Church here in WENSCHKINMB for the past

321
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,000
three and a half years. Winskim is a small town

322
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,840
here in rural Gloucestershire, and about five thousand people are

323
00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,279
very proud to call at home. It's about as quaint

324
00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,360
a rural English town as you are ever likely to find,

325
00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,639
with a beautiful village, green, a trio of tinlessly charming pubs,

326
00:12:42,919 --> 00:12:45,039
and even a fifteenth century to Uda castle on the

327
00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,240
town's outskirts. There's nowhere on earth I'd rather be living

328
00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,200
or serving God. But it's also true that Winchkim has

329
00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,399
a history steeped and strange and sometimes rather sinister occurrences.

330
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:56,960
Visit the local museium and you'll be told that Winschum

331
00:12:57,039 --> 00:12:59,000
started life as a Roman hamlet around the middle of

332
00:12:59,039 --> 00:13:01,399
the first century, but but three miles to the southeast

333
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:03,799
atop a place called Cleave Hill. Though fine traces of

334
00:13:03,919 --> 00:13:07,200
Neolithic burial ground the dates back five thousand years. The

335
00:13:07,279 --> 00:13:09,759
area's inhabitants would take their dead to a chambered lawn

336
00:13:09,799 --> 00:13:11,960
barrow atop the hill, which was not only a place

337
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,159
of reverence, but also a place of right and ritual

338
00:13:14,159 --> 00:13:17,000
weather living cocommune with the dead. There was a focus

339
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,720
on collective memory and kinship, emphasizing the dead as part

340
00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,240
of a community rather than isolated individuals, and befitting my profession,

341
00:13:23,399 --> 00:13:26,639
that something I find profoundly moving. Yet I've often wondered

342
00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:29,440
how much influence those ancestral spirits have today, or if

343
00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,919
the strange events have observed around Winskimba the echoes of

344
00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,720
much more recent events. In a sixteenth century scandal rocked

345
00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,600
a nearby monastery known as Hales Abbey. For hundreds of years,

346
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the monastery had been home to a religious relic known

347
00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,919
as the Holy Blood, which consisted of an ornately decorated

348
00:13:44,919 --> 00:13:48,919
wooden box containing a glass vial of Jesus Christ's blood Supposedly,

349
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:50,799
the vile had filled with the blood which dripped from

350
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,279
Christ's featuring his crucifixion, and had been delivered from the

351
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,080
Holy Land by Crusading Night. Some time in the thirteenth century.

352
00:13:56,639 --> 00:13:58,440
The Night claimed the relic had been given to him

353
00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:00,480
by the monks of Hermitage somewhere near the dead See.

354
00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,919
After defending its occupants against the Sarisen raid. The monks

355
00:14:03,919 --> 00:14:06,759
guaranteed their various souls and the relics authenticity, claiming it

356
00:14:06,799 --> 00:14:09,039
had once belonged to one of Christ's apostles. Following its

357
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,559
intermented Hailes Abbey, the monastery became one of the most

358
00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:14,960
prominent in all of England. But sometime in the sixteenth century,

359
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,639
an inspection of the Holy Blood uncovered something deeply shocking.

360
00:14:18,159 --> 00:14:22,000
The vile containing Christ's blood had been stolen. Following an investigation,

361
00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,240
the official story became that the Holy Blood had been

362
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,480
stolen by a group of professional thieves at the behest

363
00:14:26,519 --> 00:14:29,960
of all wealthy benefactor. However, someone was rich enough to

364
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,919
finance the theft of such a relic. You can bet

365
00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:33,679
that they had a large house with a large stuff

366
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,320
a staff, which, if they believed the blood of Christ

367
00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:38,399
was secreted somewhere in their home would have had a

368
00:14:38,519 --> 00:14:41,399
very hard time keeping their mouth shut about it. Yet,

369
00:14:41,559 --> 00:14:44,240
as history shows, neither the thieves nor the buyer were

370
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,399
ever found. Many believed the Holy Blood would still be intact,

371
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,799
hidden away somewhere until its inevitable discovery. Others have a

372
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,200
much more disconcerting explanation. Shortly after the theft of the

373
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,559
Holy Blood, a royally sanctioned which finder arrived in Gloucestershire.

374
00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,480
The King of England, James Eye, was obst est with

375
00:15:00,519 --> 00:15:02,960
stamping out witchcraft and other heresy, and so when he

376
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,240
heard the Holy Blood had been stolen, he believed devilry

377
00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,159
was afot and sent as Chief were Trender to root

378
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,960
it out. The witch Render's investigation led to the Burly

379
00:15:10,039 --> 00:15:13,080
witch Trials, whereby Joan Flower and her two daughters, Margaret

380
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,440
and Philippa, were accused of cursing the Earl of Rutland.

381
00:15:16,039 --> 00:15:18,159
After half a dozen of the Earl's family and friends

382
00:15:18,159 --> 00:15:21,240
suffered southern and tragic deaths, many blamed a hidden coven

383
00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,399
of witches. Margaret and Philip of Flora were hunted. Dan

384
00:15:24,639 --> 00:15:27,600
arrested then hand following convictions for communing with the devil.

385
00:15:28,159 --> 00:15:31,120
Their mother, heartbroken and impoverished, died in prison not long after.

386
00:15:31,799 --> 00:15:34,080
A few years later, a woman named Alice Colin was

387
00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,919
accused of causing illness and death by using curses and charms.

388
00:15:37,559 --> 00:15:40,360
She was convicted following tessamonies from her own neighbors, and

389
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,159
was executed to the cheers of the gathered Tantzuk. It's

390
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,000
clear that at the time many believed that the Holy

391
00:15:45,039 --> 00:15:46,960
Blood had been stolen by the accused and used in

392
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,159
a seige of profane rituals. They believed these rituals had

393
00:15:50,159 --> 00:15:52,360
brought a great and terrible darkness to the region, and

394
00:15:52,399 --> 00:15:54,440
it seems there are some who still believed this even

395
00:15:54,519 --> 00:15:57,840
hundreds of years later. I've seen some rather unsettling graffiti

396
00:15:57,879 --> 00:16:00,399
around town over the years, things quite unlike the usual

397
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:02,559
drostinages like to dall, but those will not be the

398
00:16:02,559 --> 00:16:05,120
focus of this memoir. What I've told you are things

399
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,240
I wished on you before I arrived in Wittscombe, and

400
00:16:07,279 --> 00:16:09,080
because at the very least, I feel like they have

401
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,320
helped me understand some of the things that have happened

402
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,159
here since. For although I now live a life of peace,

403
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,720
harmony and simplicity, I had to endure a living nightmare

404
00:16:16,759 --> 00:16:19,320
to obtain it. I won't stultify you with the finer

405
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,919
details of entering the priesthood, but let's just say it's

406
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,879
neither quick, nor easy nor painless. For some prospective priests

407
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,159
it takes years of discernment before they commit themselves. Then

408
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,559
after that you're looking at a decade of training until

409
00:16:31,559 --> 00:16:34,399
you're even considered for priesthood. Then when you finally do

410
00:16:34,559 --> 00:16:36,840
become a priest, you have to serve under another much

411
00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,600
more experienced counterpart before either taking over the parish should

412
00:16:39,559 --> 00:16:42,240
being assigned one of your own. That's the exact position

413
00:16:42,279 --> 00:16:44,000
I was in when I arrived in winchkimb back in

414
00:16:44,039 --> 00:16:47,399
early twenty twenty. Saint Nicholas's church was under the care

415
00:16:47,399 --> 00:16:50,200
of Father Michael, an elderly priesthood held the position since

416
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,639
the Midmanus one thousand, nine hundred seventies. He was set

417
00:16:53,679 --> 00:16:56,039
to retire in the summer of twenty twenty one, so

418
00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,159
the idea was I had spend eighteen months under his

419
00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,200
tutelage before taking over as guardian of the church in parish.

420
00:17:01,559 --> 00:17:04,039
The usual period of tutelage is two years, so as

421
00:17:04,039 --> 00:17:06,200
you can imagine, I was rather surprised at the offer

422
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,759
of a rare shortcut. Needless to say, it came with

423
00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:12,160
a caveat. Father Michael, who was almost seventy nine years

424
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:13,920
old when we first met, had been in a state

425
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,359
of mental decline for quite some time, and his condition

426
00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:18,599
had become of deep concern to many of his parishioners.

427
00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,880
People spoke of strange sermons, troubing outbursts while settling remarks

428
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,240
during cloystood conversations, and to aboss the Bishop of Clifton

429
00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:29,440
this was unacceptable. If I could keep Father Michael's behavior

430
00:17:29,519 --> 00:17:31,799
under wraps and prevent the situation from progressing into a

431
00:17:31,799 --> 00:17:34,480
full blown scandal, then one of the most coveted parishes

432
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,119
in England would be mine for as long as I

433
00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:39,039
could serve it. I knew it would be a challenge.

434
00:17:39,079 --> 00:17:40,599
I was taking on the role of a car as

435
00:17:40,599 --> 00:17:42,640
well as a priest, But at the same time it

436
00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,759
was an absolute no brainer. As they say, I considered

437
00:17:45,759 --> 00:17:47,160
it an honor to be able to attend to a

438
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,359
veteran of the church during the twilight of his tenure.

439
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,359
I just didn't realize how terribly taxing it would prove

440
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,400
to be, both to my faith and to my sanity.

441
00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,920
I first visited Winschkem in December of twenty nineteen. Prior

442
00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,680
to my confirmation there, Father Mike had something in the

443
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:02,880
final say on whom he transferred the parish to. But

444
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,440
after some afternoon tea and a long conversation on equomanical matters,

445
00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,440
the man himself told me that I've gotten the job.

446
00:18:09,079 --> 00:18:11,480
Father Michael wasn't anything like I'd imagined him, and in

447
00:18:11,559 --> 00:18:13,480
so many words, I've been told that he was losing

448
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:15,880
his mind and was a liability to the church. But

449
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,440
our meetings suggested nothing of the sort. Father Michael was aged,

450
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:21,279
but his mind was as sharp as his wit, and

451
00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:23,200
as I said, we spoke at length on a number

452
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,079
of different topics, all of which he displayed a vast

453
00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,400
knowledge of. He was a sort of bewelcoming, charming, but humble,

454
00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:33,160
and displayed wisdom without arrogance. He embodied everything I thought

455
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,880
a priest was supposed to, so quarks were no quirks.

456
00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,559
I was thrilled at the prospect of being minted by him,

457
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,319
even if that mentorship came with its unique set of challenges.

458
00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,359
In early February of twenty twenty, I moved into the

459
00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:47,319
spare room of the cottage that stands behind Saint Nicholas's Church.

460
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,079
It's a beautiful little cottage with a thatched roof and

461
00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,880
a small rose garden. It's also my current home and

462
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:54,759
the place at I presently sit and tied this memoir.

463
00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:57,279
But back when I first arrived, it was a place

464
00:18:57,279 --> 00:19:00,519
of great uncertainty from me. But now, almost five years

465
00:19:00,519 --> 00:19:02,240
to the day since I moved into their cottage, I

466
00:19:02,279 --> 00:19:05,200
have more unanswered Christians than ever. My first month or

467
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,359
so under Father Michael's tutelig went smoothly. I helped him

468
00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:11,359
perform mass I helped him perform baptisms, and we went

469
00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,920
through procedures for both weddings and funerals. I accompanied Father

470
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:17,559
Michael in visits to hospitals and nursing homes, and I

471
00:19:17,599 --> 00:19:20,039
sat down on pastoral counseling sessions to learn how to

472
00:19:20,039 --> 00:19:23,480
provide guidance and support to my future parishoners. I shadowed

473
00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,200
Father Michael in preparing sermons and homilies, and then when

474
00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,720
it came to my own personal duties, I would organize

475
00:19:28,759 --> 00:19:31,880
Bible steady groups or youth group meetings. I also had

476
00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,359
to manage the daily administrative duties of the church, which

477
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,079
kept me very busy, I can assure you, but that

478
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,559
first month, aided by the warmth of the Christmas season,

479
00:19:39,799 --> 00:19:42,240
made for a very smooth transition into my new life.

480
00:19:42,599 --> 00:19:44,960
There were no signs of Father Michael's decline, none of

481
00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,160
his episodes as people I had taken too calling them,

482
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,839
and at first it appeared the whole thing had been

483
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,920
quite overblown. But then it happened. One evening after dinner,

484
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,839
Father Michael and I were enjoying a cup of tea

485
00:19:54,839 --> 00:19:56,960
and a few biscuits when the subject of parish funerals

486
00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,880
came up. A conversation on the topic then meandered in

487
00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:02,240
one about death in general. And while that might sound

488
00:20:02,319 --> 00:20:04,720
like a subject too heavy for tea and biscuits, discussion

489
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,480
of the afterlife can be a rather common thing for

490
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,039
those who take the cloth. Father Michael and I had

491
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,000
very briefly touched on the subject while discussing parish funerals

492
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,279
on a previous occasion, but that marked the first time

493
00:20:14,279 --> 00:20:16,920
that we delved into the subject in depth. He mentioned

494
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,680
how his time on earth was drawn to a close

495
00:20:18,839 --> 00:20:20,640
and how he'd been pondering on what that meant for

496
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,480
his eternal soul. Father Michael knew he'd lived a good

497
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,440
and decent life, one dedicated almost entirely to the Church,

498
00:20:26,759 --> 00:20:29,720
no less, but he still found himself preoccupied by matters

499
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,519
of faith. In a remark I thought was a passing one,

500
00:20:32,759 --> 00:20:35,319
Father Michael mentioned how he sometimes envied the holy martyrs,

501
00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,680
those whose dedication to the faith had cost him their lives.

502
00:20:38,279 --> 00:20:40,960
He quite rightly said that while priests occupies special place

503
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,160
in heaven, martyrs, by virtue of this sacrifice, may bypass

504
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,200
progatory and enter Heaven immediately, as their suffering is considered

505
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:50,079
a purification in itself, and it's this that was the

506
00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,880
source of his self confessed to envy. The subject of

507
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,079
the church as martyrs is something were encouraged to reflect

508
00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:57,160
on often, but at the time I was only familiar

509
00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,400
with some of the more well known martyrs. Their saints Stephen,

510
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:02,359
the first Christian martyr, who was stone to death after

511
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,880
preaching about Jesus. Then there Saint Peter, who was crucified

512
00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:07,799
upside down as he felt unworthy to die in the

513
00:21:07,799 --> 00:21:10,759
same way as Christ. But perhaps the most famous is

514
00:21:10,799 --> 00:21:13,759
Paul the Apostle, one of Christianity's greatest evangelist, who was

515
00:21:13,759 --> 00:21:17,160
beheaded in Romander Emperor Neer. Yet although we touched on them,

516
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,319
it was in these Marty's father Michael wanted to discuss.

517
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,079
He asked if I was aware of Saint Sebastian, and

518
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,039
I was, but I discovered I was privy to the

519
00:21:24,079 --> 00:21:27,680
whole story. Sebastian was murdered by being shot full of errors,

520
00:21:27,759 --> 00:21:30,640
but bizarrely, and unbeknownst to myself, he'd survived this phase

521
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,680
of his execution. His awestruck killers who had never seen

522
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,200
such corporeal with silients, thin a tymn cut from the stick,

523
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,279
he was tight and then beaten to death with clubs.

524
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,039
They broke every bone in his body one by one

525
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,759
until massive internal bleeding caused his heart to finally give

526
00:21:43,759 --> 00:21:46,720
out and he passed into martyrdom. Father Michael said that

527
00:21:46,759 --> 00:21:49,480
when he recently revisited the tale of Saint Betholomew, who

528
00:21:49,519 --> 00:21:52,440
was skinned alive prior to his beheading to ensure maximum suffering,

529
00:21:52,519 --> 00:21:55,079
he felt a deep and shameful sense of envy. He

530
00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,279
felt the same comfortousness when he re read the story

531
00:21:57,279 --> 00:21:59,519
of Saint Kavin of Alexandria, who was put to death

532
00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:02,319
using a spot white breaking wheel and for the unfamiliar

533
00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,599
The breaking wheel is a method of execution which involves

534
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,119
being tied to a large spoked wheel before your legs, arms,

535
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,559
and ribs are broken, usually in that order to again

536
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,319
cause maxim suffering. The wailing victims shattered Lindsa then moven

537
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,960
into the breaking wheel spokes in the sickening cyclical recreation

538
00:22:16,039 --> 00:22:18,160
of the human form before being displayed as a warning

539
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,839
to others. The fate of thus objected to the breaking

540
00:22:20,839 --> 00:22:22,880
wheel is similar to those who underwent crucifixion in that

541
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,279
they didn't expire right away and sometimes spent days at

542
00:22:25,279 --> 00:22:27,279
a time clinging to life. Their body is rat with

543
00:22:27,279 --> 00:22:30,599
acony until they finally expired, And to put Saint Catherine's

544
00:22:30,599 --> 00:22:32,880
suffering into perspective, it said that the breaking wheel broke

545
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,000
before she did, shattering from the force of the blows

546
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,920
to her body before she was even close to expiring. Then,

547
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,359
much like Saint Sebastian, her executioners were so awestruck at

548
00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,480
her dedication to her faith that they ordered her beheaded

549
00:22:43,559 --> 00:22:46,680
less he's ill proved contagious. Father Michael said that he

550
00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,039
also envied Saint Agnes, who was so touched by God's

551
00:22:49,039 --> 00:22:51,319
grace that the flames of her execution Piet could not

552
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,440
set her ablaze. He felt the same towards Saint Better

553
00:22:54,519 --> 00:22:56,799
and Saint Felicity, who in the Roman Colsium were torn

554
00:22:56,799 --> 00:22:59,079
apart by wild animals before being put to the sword.

555
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,160
Father Michael claimed to feel a deep melancholy alarm, with

556
00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,400
the sense of frustration that God had never provided him

557
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,599
with a similar opportunity to prove his faith. He acknowledged

558
00:23:07,599 --> 00:23:10,079
it was a dark, potentially perturbing point of view, yet

559
00:23:10,079 --> 00:23:12,519
it was one he wrestled none the less as ye

560
00:23:12,519 --> 00:23:15,240
can all imagine. I found his confession to be deeply unsettling,

561
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,079
but relatively enterprising. I'd received prior warning that Father Michael

562
00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:21,799
might say or due some rather unusual things. Preventing such

563
00:23:21,799 --> 00:23:23,960
instances was half a reason I was there. But what

564
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,039
I was not prepared for was what he said next.

565
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,000
In known certain terms, Father Michael told me that he

566
00:23:29,039 --> 00:23:31,200
was not only envious of the Church's Holy martyrs, but

567
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,000
also enid those who made them so. Unbeknownst to those

568
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:36,759
who beheaded, flayed, or burned the faithful alive, they'd been

569
00:23:36,799 --> 00:23:38,960
a part of God's plan, and without their actions, the

570
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,759
Holy Martyrs would not be so venerated to day, even

571
00:23:41,799 --> 00:23:44,119
if he himself could not achieve martyrdom, he would gladly

572
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,799
swap places with one of the many martyrs executioners, simply

573
00:23:46,799 --> 00:23:49,519
to be closer to the act itself. Father Michael said,

574
00:23:49,519 --> 00:23:51,759
if he'd known the implications of his actions, he'd have

575
00:23:51,839 --> 00:23:54,480
tortured Saint catherin Lon after the wheel brooke, knowing her

576
00:23:54,519 --> 00:23:57,680
continued suffering would only elevate her status in heaven. As

577
00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,839
he talked, he became more and more animated, and then

578
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,279
and more mannic, until suddenly there was spittle flying from

579
00:24:02,279 --> 00:24:04,559
his lips as he made his case with wide frant guys.

580
00:24:05,319 --> 00:24:07,240
I'm not ashamed to say that I was frightened, because

581
00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:10,119
the fear wasn't for myself. It was entirely for the

582
00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:12,640
health and well being of Father Michael. It had been

583
00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,400
the first time he'd exhibited any objectively disturbing or upsetting behavior,

584
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,680
the kind of thing I'd been warned about before my arrival.

585
00:24:19,319 --> 00:24:21,480
But still seeing it at close for the first time,

586
00:24:21,519 --> 00:24:23,640
and knowing justtoographically he could speak, it made for a

587
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,759
chilling revelation. I reported the incident back to the Bishop

588
00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:29,279
of Clifton, the head clergyman for all of Glercshire, and

589
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:31,319
he essentially told me to keep up the good work.

590
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,880
I'd managed to talk Father Michael Dan from the mild

591
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:35,960
form of mania he talked himself into, and he seemed

592
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000
rather self aware regarding his deteriorating condition, So there was

593
00:24:39,039 --> 00:24:42,160
no comfort following my intervention, but the same could not

594
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:44,720
be said for the next instance of de escalation. Some

595
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,839
time after our conversation on Martyrs, Father Michael asked if

596
00:24:47,839 --> 00:24:50,039
he could share something with me, something he believed might

597
00:24:50,039 --> 00:24:53,119
make me rather uncomfortable. When we got back to the cottage,

598
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,200
I put the kettle on, put on a few biscuit

599
00:24:55,279 --> 00:24:57,519
and cream cakes, and then sat down for some tea.

600
00:24:57,559 --> 00:25:00,880
Before he made his rather daunting announcement. Father Michael had

601
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,400
been talking to an angel, and my heart sank the

602
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,000
moment he said it, realizing his condition was far more

603
00:25:06,039 --> 00:25:09,200
severe than mere vobal diarrhea. If he was suffering audible

604
00:25:09,279 --> 00:25:12,880
or even visual hallucinations, then he evidently required urgent medical care.

605
00:25:13,599 --> 00:25:15,720
And as you can very well imagine, I was keen

606
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,799
to get to the bottom of his angelic interactions to

607
00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:21,079
determine if they were harmless metaphors or yet more worrying manifestations.

608
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,079
Of his encroaching madness. Father Michael told me that for

609
00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:26,240
the past few years, an angel had visited him in

610
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,759
the middle of the night around once a week. He'd

611
00:25:28,759 --> 00:25:30,640
waken in the wee, small eyeOS of the morning, not

612
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,400
to her voice, but her feeling, and then, after walking downstairs,

613
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:34,839
he'd sit in the darkness in the chair in the

614
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:36,720
corner of the room and he'd listened to the angel

615
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,400
speak to him. I asked what form this angel appeared

616
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,119
to her, then that Father Michael didn't know. He sat

617
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:43,920
in the corner facing the wall as a means of

618
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,359
protecting himself. He believed looking upon the angel's form without

619
00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,359
the proper permission would burn his eyes out and set

620
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:52,240
his very mind flame. I asked Father Thomas what made

621
00:25:52,319 --> 00:25:53,880
him think that he didn't have permission to look if

622
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,119
the angel was present and conversing with him, And without

623
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,680
going into the long winded explanation he gave me, let's

624
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,400
just say that his answers were best inconsistent. I knew

625
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,720
he needed help, and he needed it as soon as possible,

626
00:26:04,759 --> 00:26:07,079
But when I tried contacting the Bishop with my concerns,

627
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,319
the only person I could reach was his assistant priest,

628
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,680
whom to save his own embarrassment or remain unnamed. Now,

629
00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:15,519
Father Nameless or should that be Father Spineless claimed the

630
00:26:15,519 --> 00:26:17,920
Bishop was very busy with prior engagement, but that he'd

631
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,920
be more than happy to assist me. Obviously, my request

632
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,400
was that he put me in touch with the Bishop

633
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,720
because I had a very important development to report to him.

634
00:26:24,759 --> 00:26:27,079
But after almost a week of all forscutting, I realized

635
00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:30,480
the Bishop was deliberately avoiding my calls. I was furious,

636
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,799
but the church's strict hierarchy is just that strict. I

637
00:26:33,839 --> 00:26:35,880
had no choice but to deal with Father Spyness, and

638
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,920
the process was as frustrating as it was fruitless. Much

639
00:26:39,039 --> 00:26:41,400
like the realization that the Bishop was avoiding my calls,

640
00:26:41,519 --> 00:26:43,720
there came a point where I realized Father Spyness was

641
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,240
acting in a manner one might describe as deliberately obtuse.

642
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,720
When I explained that Father Thomas needed urgent psychiatric care,

643
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,119
he asked for more details, but when I gave them,

644
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,599
he appeared to completely misunderstand both the timeline and the

645
00:26:54,599 --> 00:26:57,960
severity of the events. I hadn't dealt with this assistant much,

646
00:26:58,079 --> 00:27:00,119
after all, I was only a few months into my

647
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,400
winch contenure, But it didn't take me very long to

648
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,200
figure out that he wasn't in a besselle. He was

649
00:27:04,279 --> 00:27:06,880
merely acting like one and all with a view to

650
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,839
frustrating my attempts to get help for Father Michael. Without

651
00:27:09,839 --> 00:27:12,480
going into too much detail, if Father Michael needed serious

652
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:15,359
psychiatic care before his retirement, the Church would be obligated

653
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,039
to pay for his medication and potentially even expensive private

654
00:27:18,079 --> 00:27:21,079
medical care. But if his condition stayed a secret until

655
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:23,599
after his retirement, then any expenses incurred would be Father

656
00:27:23,599 --> 00:27:27,119
Michael's responsibility. The Church would still technically be paying for

657
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,079
his treatment, but it had come out of his pension

658
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:32,079
and not their own personal coffers. Break into too much

659
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,039
of the budget and our bishop might lose his standing

660
00:27:34,039 --> 00:27:36,200
with the Archbishop, which would no doubt affect his chances

661
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,039
of climbing the parochical ladder. I didn't find that out

662
00:27:39,039 --> 00:27:41,440
from Father Spyness, but when I did, you can bet

663
00:27:41,519 --> 00:27:43,759
your ask that I sensed some very ungodly language as

664
00:27:43,759 --> 00:27:46,400
way when I called him back. The audacity of the

665
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,440
Bishop to try and further his career, and at the

666
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,519
cost of such a senior and well respected member of

667
00:27:50,599 --> 00:27:53,720
the church seemed nothing short of criminal wha The spinelist

668
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,680
simply told me that he'd pass on what I'd said

669
00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,160
to the Bishop, and I assumed there was thinly veiled sarchism.

670
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,799
It was not. Just a few hours later I received

671
00:28:01,799 --> 00:28:03,880
a call from none other than the Bishop himself, and

672
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,519
to say he wasn't pleased with me would be the

673
00:28:05,599 --> 00:28:09,440
understatement of the sentry. Without giving details of the entire exchange,

674
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,119
he rather furiously asked if his instructions had been unclear.

675
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,519
He reminded me of what I'd been told prior to

676
00:28:14,519 --> 00:28:17,079
accepting my position in Winchcombe, and then asked if there's

677
00:28:17,079 --> 00:28:20,119
anything I misunderstood. I told him now that I hadn't

678
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,599
misunderstood anything, but that Father Michael needed the kind of

679
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,519
urgent care that I was incapable of providing as a

680
00:28:24,559 --> 00:28:27,440
mere priest. The Bishop then simply told me that if

681
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,839
I was incapable of fulfilling my duties, he'd find some

682
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,279
one that could. The whole point of me being there

683
00:28:32,319 --> 00:28:34,279
was to prevent any kind of scandal, be it moral

684
00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:36,680
in this case financial, and in all fairness, that had

685
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,880
indeed been made clear to me prior to being formally

686
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,359
offered the position it was either put up and shut

687
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:43,480
up or hit the road and potentially wait years for

688
00:28:43,519 --> 00:28:45,559
the chance to take another parish, because I would most

689
00:28:45,599 --> 00:28:49,200
certainly be blacklisted by the Bishop. Not formally, you understand,

690
00:28:49,319 --> 00:28:52,759
but blacklisted nevertheless. And so I issued a formal verbal

691
00:28:52,759 --> 00:28:54,839
apology to the Bishop and then reassured him I was

692
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,240
capable of the task at hand. And that was the

693
00:28:57,279 --> 00:28:59,240
late spring of twenty twenty, and as many of you

694
00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:03,000
will remember, lockdowns followed shortly after. I thought the temporary

695
00:29:03,039 --> 00:29:05,480
cessation of church services would give Father Michael a well

696
00:29:05,519 --> 00:29:08,599
deserved break and to an extent, function exactly as I'd hoped,

697
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,640
But over time, the prolonged desolation led to a serious

698
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,160
and rapid decline in his condition. In the end, I

699
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:16,440
actually considered the social distancing to be something of a

700
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,920
double edged sword, because as much as it played havocne

701
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,799
Father thomas mental health shielded his deterioration from the public eye.

702
00:29:22,839 --> 00:29:25,920
He became increasingly erratic, having difficulty sleeping, and was prone

703
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:29,119
to increasingly maniacal upbursts, which both concerned and frightened me deeply.

704
00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,880
He remained fixated on the concept of martyrdom from the

705
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,480
perspective of both the Saint and the killer, and I

706
00:29:34,559 --> 00:29:36,160
took to locking my door at night for fear that

707
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,720
he might do something unspeakable. Thankfully, the easing of lockdowns

708
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:41,599
in the autumn of twenty twenty helped a great deal

709
00:29:41,599 --> 00:29:44,640
with Father Michael's condition. Being thus back into public life

710
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,400
proved something of a shop to the system, and one

711
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:49,519
he desperately needed, and so for a while anyway, he

712
00:29:49,599 --> 00:29:51,480
was able to get back into a steady routine and

713
00:29:51,599 --> 00:29:53,759
was able to focus his mind on much healthier thoughts

714
00:29:53,759 --> 00:29:56,880
than those of martyrdom and murder. But one's limitations were

715
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,640
reintroduced towards All Saints Day, and Father Michael was limited

716
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:01,480
in even the the number of funerals he could attend.

717
00:30:01,519 --> 00:30:05,079
His conditions sank back towards the severe. He became increasingly

718
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:06,839
fixated in the idea that he was about to be

719
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,799
the recipient of what he called a heavenly communication. But

720
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,200
whenever I pressed him on the matters, he began speaking

721
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:16,039
in scritural riddles and avoided giving any straight answers. Obviously,

722
00:30:16,119 --> 00:30:18,680
it was something I found deeply concerning, but it marked

723
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:20,920
something of a new phrase in Father Michael's state of mind.

724
00:30:21,599 --> 00:30:24,720
Instead of brooding irritable and quick to anger. He was euphoric.

725
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,759
As I said, it was deeply concerning. But this new

726
00:30:27,799 --> 00:30:30,680
phase came with behaviors that proved considerably more manageable than

727
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:34,079
those previously exhibited. The approach in Christmas season gave him

728
00:30:34,079 --> 00:30:36,680
something to focus his mind on, something that wasn't as

729
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,359
ghastly or gory as his former fixations, and that I

730
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,039
most warmly welcomed. Yet after New Year's Day came and went,

731
00:30:43,079 --> 00:30:46,680
things changed dramatically. The isolation of the January lockdowns and

732
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,000
the desolation of the bleak British went to prove devastating

733
00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:52,119
to Father Michael's state of mind. His conversations with that

734
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:54,519
Angel went from being a weekly to an almost nightly affair,

735
00:30:54,559 --> 00:30:57,480
which in TURNE meant as sleep hygiene was atrocious. He

736
00:30:57,559 --> 00:31:01,519
became irritable, angry, sometimes even violent, and he smashed household items,

737
00:31:01,559 --> 00:31:03,839
snapped at parishoners, and in one instance I had to

738
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,359
physically intervene during a mass. After he took a disturbing

739
00:31:06,359 --> 00:31:09,720
diversion relating to commning with angels, I began to wonder

740
00:31:09,759 --> 00:31:12,359
if I could survive another year of Father Michael's tutelage,

741
00:31:12,599 --> 00:31:14,640
and I used the words survive in the literal sense.

742
00:31:15,319 --> 00:31:17,400
Little did I know, but he begne within a month.

743
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,039
Throughout most of February twenty twenty one, Father Michael had

744
00:31:21,079 --> 00:31:23,640
been taking a break from his paracal duties. He had

745
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,400
refused previous suggestions he undertake a period of rest, but

746
00:31:26,519 --> 00:31:28,960
following the cessation of the Christmas period, his mania had

747
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,200
been replaced by a rather crippling depression. His public absence

748
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,720
was relatively easy to explain, and I was experienced enough

749
00:31:34,759 --> 00:31:37,799
to effectively replace him during that period. But then one

750
00:31:37,839 --> 00:31:40,240
Sunday morning, the twenty eighth of February, to be exact,

751
00:31:40,279 --> 00:31:42,960
I worked to find Father Michael dressed, composed and ready

752
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,839
to administer mass. It was like all his depression a

753
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,839
mayniad suddenly evaporated, and not only did he seem perfectly

754
00:31:48,839 --> 00:31:51,759
fit unwell, but he seemed positively excited to perform mass.

755
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,480
The service itself went impeccably, and the parishoners were positively

756
00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:59,440
beaming to see him up and about again following his absence. Then, afterwards,

757
00:31:59,519 --> 00:32:01,720
over ap parst tea and a few custard creams, I

758
00:32:01,799 --> 00:32:05,119
began acting Father Michaels about his rejuvenated state I asked

759
00:32:05,119 --> 00:32:08,839
a few gentle but probing questions. His responses were quite direct.

760
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:11,599
He told me that over the previous twelve months he'd

761
00:32:11,599 --> 00:32:14,559
ask God many many questions, none of which had received

762
00:32:14,559 --> 00:32:16,599
an answer. But in the early eye it was a

763
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,319
Sunday morning, he'd finally received a response from the angel

764
00:32:19,359 --> 00:32:22,079
he'd been communicating with. The angel told him how the

765
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,680
very night Father Michael would be given a sign, and

766
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,160
he would not know where, how, or exactly when, but

767
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,920
he would be given a sign. Again. I did nothing

768
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,559
but worry. He had piques and then troughs, and then

769
00:32:32,599 --> 00:32:35,359
hire his peaks, the lower his troughs. And if his

770
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,759
so called angel failed to reappear that evening, if he

771
00:32:37,799 --> 00:32:39,759
didn't receive his so cold sign, there would be a

772
00:32:39,839 --> 00:32:41,599
change in his mood and it might plummet toward a

773
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,680
manageable or even dangerous lowes. All I could do was

774
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:46,680
hope for the best and be ready for anything. But

775
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,759
nothing could have prepared me for what happened that night. Nothing.

776
00:32:50,359 --> 00:32:52,559
Father Michael's usual bedtime, the one he stuck to when

777
00:32:52,559 --> 00:32:55,200
he wasn't feeling mannic, was usually around nine point thirty

778
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,519
at night. He taught her off around nine and that

779
00:32:57,599 --> 00:32:59,680
was under the impression that he was undertaking his evening

780
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,599
bed time routine. But then suddenly he reappeared fully dressed

781
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,039
and began to put his coat on. I asked him

782
00:33:05,039 --> 00:33:07,599
where he was going, but he didn't respond. He just

783
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:09,519
walked towards the front door of the cottage, and then

784
00:33:09,559 --> 00:33:11,119
as he opened it, he looked at me and said,

785
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,160
you're going to follow me. He didn't say it an imperative.

786
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,240
It wasn't a command. It was a statement, an emotional

787
00:33:16,319 --> 00:33:19,480
statement of cold, hard fact. Because as he stepped out

788
00:33:19,519 --> 00:33:21,440
of the cottage and began walking off into the night,

789
00:33:21,519 --> 00:33:23,240
I rushed to put on my own coat and hat

790
00:33:23,279 --> 00:33:26,400
and then followed him. All of my questions went unanswered.

791
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:29,000
Father Michael simply told me to be patient, and Anne

792
00:33:29,039 --> 00:33:30,720
led me on a short walk out into a field

793
00:33:30,799 --> 00:33:33,400
just eae of sut Mel Lane. I walked through the trees,

794
00:33:33,519 --> 00:33:36,119
crossed the public footpath, and then stopped some place in

795
00:33:36,119 --> 00:33:38,160
the middle of the field, looking out toward Rushie Lane.

796
00:33:38,599 --> 00:33:40,720
I once again asked Father Michael what he was during,

797
00:33:40,839 --> 00:33:43,200
but instead of further dismissal of my question, he told

798
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,440
me were waiting, and then took something small from his

799
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,359
pocket and unfolded it. It was a penknife. It's blake,

800
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,160
glinting in the pill moonlight. I pulled up my phone

801
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,240
and placed to phone call to the local police. Exactly

802
00:33:53,319 --> 00:33:56,480
nine point forty seven pound I remember. I told them

803
00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,799
Father Michael was having another of his episodes, but that

804
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,400
this was one much more severe than the others. The

805
00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,680
despatcher taught me officers would be there with the minutes,

806
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:05,480
and then after that, dehun up and went about trying

807
00:34:05,519 --> 00:34:07,559
to talk Father Michael out of doing whatever I believed

808
00:34:07,559 --> 00:34:09,280
he was planning on doing. But he struck me, really

809
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:10,920
struck me. I mean, and it wasn't the knife that

810
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:12,639
he produced, It was how calm and collected he was.

811
00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:14,119
As I bit him to fold away the knife and

812
00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,280
reconsider or whatever he was planning. Father Michael simply smiled.

813
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:19,719
He told me all I needed to do was wait

814
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:21,760
a few more minutes and then all would become clear.

815
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:24,079
I told him the police were on their way, and

816
00:34:24,119 --> 00:34:26,039
that in order to prevent scandal, he needed to make

817
00:34:26,079 --> 00:34:28,239
sure that the knife was out of sight before they arrived.

818
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,559
Father Michael didn't listen, and once again simply told me

819
00:34:31,599 --> 00:34:34,280
to be patient. A wave of relief washed over me.

820
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,159
As I saw the blue flashing lights of the police

821
00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:38,159
car behind us, and I began calling out to them

822
00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:41,360
as they advanced in our direction. Once they drew level,

823
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,199
I told them Father Michael had a knife, at which

824
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:46,159
point the officer produced an electric stun gun. I saw

825
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,719
him produce the stun gun, then turned back towards Father Michael,

826
00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:50,519
intent on begging him to put down the knife, and

827
00:34:50,559 --> 00:34:52,599
something happened that I have yet to reconcile with my

828
00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:55,599
own sanity. Father Michael was looking up into the skies,

829
00:34:55,599 --> 00:34:57,679
completely deaf to the police, of both myself and the

830
00:34:57,679 --> 00:34:59,559
police officers, and then out of nowid there was a

831
00:34:59,559 --> 00:35:01,840
great grip flash in the sky before a sharp streak

832
00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:04,639
of bright white light bursts from the green flash. It

833
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:06,880
was one of the most incredible things I had ever seen.

834
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:08,719
And then as the strange lights faded and a great

835
00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:11,920
boom echoed across the sky's, Father Michael turned He told

836
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:13,519
me his question being answered that he was to be

837
00:35:13,559 --> 00:35:15,199
martyred at the hands of the man standing in the

838
00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,000
field at him, and that man was Meet. He approached

839
00:35:17,039 --> 00:35:18,480
Meet with the knife, holding it up by the blade

840
00:35:18,519 --> 00:35:20,360
as the police screened at him to stand still and

841
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:22,199
put the knife done. All three of us, myself and

842
00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,599
the two offices began backing away from Father Michael, begging

843
00:35:24,679 --> 00:35:26,679
him to stop what he was doing before somebody got hut.

844
00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:28,760
He commanded me to tell him over and over again,

845
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:30,760
and each time I refused, he became more and more

846
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:32,880
of it. Then finally he completely lost his mind. He

847
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:34,599
turned the knife for an, charged at me with it

848
00:35:34,679 --> 00:35:36,639
raised above his head, and was instantly shot by the

849
00:35:36,639 --> 00:35:39,119
stun gun wilding policeman. He dropped to the gun, felt conscious,

850
00:35:39,119 --> 00:35:41,599
and was swiftly transported to hospital, where I was assured

851
00:35:41,599 --> 00:35:43,519
that he had every hope of making a full recovery.

852
00:35:44,039 --> 00:35:47,239
But Father Michael never woke up. The stun gun's charge,

853
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,599
in tandem with an a diagnosed heart condition, had a

854
00:35:49,679 --> 00:35:53,039
terrible effect on Father Michael's cardiovuscular health. He grew worse

855
00:35:53,079 --> 00:35:55,239
and worse, until eventually he simply passed away in the

856
00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:57,880
early hours of the following morning. I was the first

857
00:35:57,920 --> 00:35:59,840
to hear the news, and when I did, I wept.

858
00:36:00,559 --> 00:36:02,519
But it wasn't so much shock or grief that brought

859
00:36:02,519 --> 00:36:05,000
tears to my eyes. It was that Father and Michael

860
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,000
had been proven right. Father Michael believed God had told

861
00:36:08,039 --> 00:36:09,679
him how he be martyred that night by some one

862
00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:13,039
standing in the field with him. He believed the Winchkom meteorite,

863
00:36:13,079 --> 00:36:16,360
which has since been completely and scientifically blamed, was his

864
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,440
sign that he was indeed to become a holy martyr.

865
00:36:19,039 --> 00:36:21,280
He didn't believe he'd leave that field alive, and in

866
00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,639
more ways than one, the actions of that policeman proved

867
00:36:23,679 --> 00:36:26,920
him exactly right. I've no idea how Father Michael knew

868
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:29,679
about the meteorite. Sometimes I think it was all just

869
00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:32,199
some terrible coincidence, and that its sudden appearance was a

870
00:36:32,199 --> 00:36:36,000
matter of misfortune. But other times I think differently. Frankly,

871
00:36:36,039 --> 00:36:38,480
I'm not sure what to think any more. The only

872
00:36:38,519 --> 00:36:40,360
thing I know for certain about the incident is that

873
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:42,559
it joins the long list of other strange occurrences that

874
00:36:42,599 --> 00:36:45,760
have taken place in Winchham over the years, and doubtless

875
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:48,880
there will be many many more. Back in twenty thirteen,

876
00:36:49,039 --> 00:36:51,159
I was a deputy manager at a hardware store here

877
00:36:51,159 --> 00:36:54,400
in Delaware. For my morning's shifts, I'd open the place up,

878
00:36:54,519 --> 00:36:56,960
get the computer and registers up and running, then I'd

879
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,719
head into the office to check our answering machine. This

880
00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:01,920
was probably one of the more crucial aspects of my

881
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:03,920
morning routine, because that was my way of finding out

882
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,400
if any the liverers had canceled, if anything was arriving

883
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,760
outlier than expected, and also if anyone had called and

884
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,360
sick that morning. So I sit down with my coffee

885
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:13,880
and I listened to maybe two or three fairly routine messages.

886
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,440
Then when I hit play on the next one, I

887
00:37:16,519 --> 00:37:19,480
recognized a voice right away. I'd been half expecting to

888
00:37:19,519 --> 00:37:21,639
hear Gregg's voice on one of the messages, because he

889
00:37:21,679 --> 00:37:23,280
was supposed to be there that morning to help me

890
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,079
open up. Hearing his voice was kind of a relief

891
00:37:26,079 --> 00:37:27,920
of furze, because at least to neither he was okay

892
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,320
and just sick. But that's not what he'd called to

893
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:33,840
tell us. Gregg was an older guy, close to retirement age,

894
00:37:34,199 --> 00:37:36,320
and he was quite possibly the sweetest man i'd had

895
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:39,280
the pleasure of walking with, so naturally, when I didn't

896
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,119
see him that morning, I was concerned. I figured he

897
00:37:42,159 --> 00:37:44,039
was going to say how he wasn't feeling too good,

898
00:37:44,119 --> 00:37:45,719
how he was going to take the day off, and

899
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:47,360
as much as it was going to stop trying to

900
00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:49,360
find coverage for him, I was just glad to know

901
00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:51,519
that he was okay, but what he had to tell

902
00:37:51,599 --> 00:37:55,400
us was anything but reassuring. The message started with good morning, ladies,

903
00:37:55,639 --> 00:37:57,599
which made me smile right away because it was how

904
00:37:57,599 --> 00:38:00,119
he greeted us every morning. But then he went on

905
00:38:00,199 --> 00:38:01,880
to say, I'm reel sorry, but I don't think i'll

906
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:03,719
be making it into work tomorrow morning. I'm going to

907
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:06,440
see Sherry. I didn't know who the Sherry Pusson was,

908
00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:08,440
but I also wasn't super close with Greg, not like

909
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,079
he was with the ladies who worked in the storre's

910
00:38:10,119 --> 00:38:12,280
floor or registers, and so I went to ask them.

911
00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:14,760
I asked my co worker, a woman named Jeanine, who

912
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,880
Sherry was in relation to Greg, and then a way

913
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:18,800
that she looked at me told me almost everything I

914
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:22,360
needed to know. Sherry was Gregg's wife, at least she

915
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:25,039
had been until she passed away. I guess that doesn't

916
00:38:25,039 --> 00:38:26,920
make her not his wife, but you see what I mean.

917
00:38:27,519 --> 00:38:29,559
And so when he said he was going to see Sherry,

918
00:38:29,559 --> 00:38:31,079
I figured that he meant that he was going to

919
00:38:31,119 --> 00:38:33,679
visit her grave or something. But then when I said that,

920
00:38:33,679 --> 00:38:35,679
An expressed why, I wasn't sure that warranted a sick

921
00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:38,840
day Jeanine totally agreed. She says it wasn't like Gregg

922
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:40,440
to out of a call and sake, and he only

923
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,000
ever visited Cherry's grave on the anniversary, the birthday and

924
00:38:43,119 --> 00:38:46,639
usually once around the holidays. I dun't ask Jeanine, well,

925
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,480
what does it mean when he says he's going to

926
00:38:48,519 --> 00:38:51,400
see Cherry? And after she turned a whiter shade of pale,

927
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,679
she simply responded with, I think you'd better go make

928
00:38:53,679 --> 00:38:57,280
some phone calls, to which I did. I called Greg

929
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,239
on his cell maybe two or three times, hoping maybe

930
00:39:00,239 --> 00:39:02,679
he just wasn't hearing the phone, and I tried his

931
00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:06,000
home phone number, but again my calls went unnounswered, I

932
00:39:06,039 --> 00:39:07,920
put the phone down, and then I swear to God,

933
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,960
not even two seconds goes by before it rings. I'm

934
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,760
hoping it's Gregg, but it's not. It's Greg's son. Then,

935
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:16,639
when I asked if his dad was okay, he told

936
00:39:16,679 --> 00:39:20,039
me no, Greg was not okay. In fact, he passed

937
00:39:20,039 --> 00:39:22,880
away during the night. Gregg's son said that this is

938
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:25,159
what he figured from having seen a scene appeared as

939
00:39:25,199 --> 00:39:27,920
dad of gottn a bunch of paperwork done, including his will,

940
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,159
before laying down in an easy chair and just slipping away.

941
00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,760
During the night, He'd watered his house, plants, paid his bills,

942
00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:36,400
put on his best suit, and shined his shoes, And then,

943
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:38,719
after leaving messages for us and one for his quiet

944
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:40,639
director letting him know that he wouldn't need a right

945
00:39:40,679 --> 00:39:43,320
to practice, Gregg laid down in his recliner and just died.

946
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,239
There was nothing to suggest that he'd expedited his exit,

947
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:49,400
so to speak. There were no pills, no blood, no

948
00:39:49,519 --> 00:39:52,800
clear plastic bags or anything of that nature. Everything looked

949
00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,239
entirely painless and entirely natural. But then somehow I find

950
00:39:56,239 --> 00:39:58,679
that all the more haunting. The thing that scares me

951
00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:00,199
is sort of how he knew it was his time.

952
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:02,960
Do we all know when we're close to death? And

953
00:40:03,079 --> 00:40:04,920
do we all feel so God uncheery about it? Or

954
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,400
was Gregg just not afraid to go? The whole thing

955
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:09,800
with Greg isn't the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.

956
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:12,400
I've bean in a fourteen car palep where a family

957
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:14,159
afore died, and let me tell you that was way

958
00:40:14,199 --> 00:40:16,920
more terrifying than finding out Gregg had passed away peacefully.

959
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,639
But that accident doesn't stick with me the way Greg's

960
00:40:19,639 --> 00:40:22,000
sudden passing to us, And I guess that's because all

961
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,360
of those unanswered questions regarding one of the few things

962
00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:27,960
we all share, man, woman or child, east or west,

963
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:31,599
north or south are unthoppable and inevitable. End I know

964
00:40:31,679 --> 00:40:33,559
this is a bit of an unusual request, but I

965
00:40:33,599 --> 00:40:35,360
was hoping you could give me some advice on how

966
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,159
to handle a situation with a male colleague of mine. Now,

967
00:40:38,199 --> 00:40:40,000
I'd rather not say where I live or work or

968
00:40:40,039 --> 00:40:42,599
anything like that. I'd like to just try and keep

969
00:40:42,599 --> 00:40:44,679
this as anonymous as possible. But here is the gist

970
00:40:44,679 --> 00:40:47,400
of my story. We first met when I started working

971
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,639
at a large retail store that had lots of employees.

972
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:52,119
He was the first person to really make an effort

973
00:40:52,119 --> 00:40:53,519
to be friendly with me, and I thought that we

974
00:40:53,599 --> 00:40:55,840
might end up being work friends, But I was wrong.

975
00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:59,039
It quite quickly progressed from him being warm but platonically

976
00:40:59,119 --> 00:41:01,280
friendly to ask him to go out for drinks with him.

977
00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:03,679
I wasn't looking for a relationship at the time, and

978
00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:06,119
I knew exactly what the implications of his invitation were,

979
00:41:06,159 --> 00:41:08,400
so each time he'd asked me, I politely declined helping.

980
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:11,400
He'd eventually take the hint, but he didn't. He seemed

981
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,000
to think that if he just kept asking that I'd

982
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,760
eventually say yes. I didn't have the heart to tell

983
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:17,199
him that I didn't like him like that, but I

984
00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:18,960
also didn't want to lie and say that I had

985
00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:21,320
a boyfriend. In the end, I thought the best thing

986
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:23,239
to do would be to transfer to a different department,

987
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:25,079
but it became this sort of cat and mass game

988
00:41:25,119 --> 00:41:27,159
of him following me wherever I went in terms of

989
00:41:27,199 --> 00:41:30,280
departmental transfer. In the end, I had to go to

990
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:32,360
char about it, and only then did this stop his

991
00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:34,960
transfers without cluing him into the fact that I'd approached them.

992
00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:37,280
I'd made the mistake of giving him my phone number

993
00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:39,159
when I first arted, as he'd offered to work here

994
00:41:39,119 --> 00:41:41,679
any shifts I needed covering, But after realizing he was

995
00:41:41,679 --> 00:41:43,719
only going to use that to pester me, I blocked

996
00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:46,719
his number. I made my social media private, but he

997
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,280
sent me a follow request anyways, and I chose to

998
00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:51,360
just ignore it once again, assuming that he'd have the

999
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:54,639
emotional maturity to just understand his attention was not appreciated,

1000
00:41:55,199 --> 00:41:58,119
but again he did not. His increasing his stoker like

1001
00:41:58,159 --> 00:42:00,519
behavior wasn't all that much of a problem at the time.

1002
00:42:01,119 --> 00:42:03,159
I'd made sure our two departments were just about as

1003
00:42:03,199 --> 00:42:05,320
far removed from one another as it was possible to be,

1004
00:42:05,559 --> 00:42:07,480
so it was like we bumped into each other often,

1005
00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:09,480
and when we did, it was just sort of a

1006
00:42:09,519 --> 00:42:11,320
smile and a not kind of exchange as we went

1007
00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:14,440
about our duties. That Then, one evening, after we'd all

1008
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:16,239
closed up and I was walking to my car, I

1009
00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:18,079
looked up from my phone to see him standing near

1010
00:42:18,079 --> 00:42:19,880
my drive as I'd like he'd been waiting for me.

1011
00:42:20,519 --> 00:42:22,280
It was early winter, so it had long gone dark

1012
00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:24,760
by the time we got out. I'd parked my car

1013
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:26,760
quite far from the store, so there was hardly anyone

1014
00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,679
else around as I was walking, and then suddenly there's

1015
00:42:29,719 --> 00:42:32,400
my cheerful stalker who's basically cornering me in a dark

1016
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:35,360
car park. I was a mix of startled and nervous,

1017
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:37,079
but I just did what I usually did in that

1018
00:42:37,119 --> 00:42:39,159
sort of situation and tried to be as friendly and

1019
00:42:39,199 --> 00:42:42,239
disarming as possible. I asked what I could do for him,

1020
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:45,239
and he started trying to make small talk. I humored

1021
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:47,239
him for a moment or two, and then very politely

1022
00:42:47,239 --> 00:42:49,760
asked him what he wanted. Then, when he asked if

1023
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:51,480
I could give him a left home, I felt my

1024
00:42:51,559 --> 00:42:54,039
heart jump into my throat. I knew he lived on

1025
00:42:54,079 --> 00:42:56,039
my rat home close to it anyway, but I knew

1026
00:42:56,079 --> 00:42:58,760
he knew that too, so turning him dumb wasn't going

1027
00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:01,599
to be easy without cunning cross as rude or selfish,

1028
00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:04,480
So I'd note this also might seem like a perfectly

1029
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,679
normal exchange, and I might seem selfish in not giving

1030
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,599
him a left home, but this was not a normal exchange.

1031
00:43:09,599 --> 00:43:11,760
This guy couldn't take the hint that I wasn't into him,

1032
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:13,760
so he clearly wasn't playing with a full deck. And

1033
00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:15,800
now he's blocking me from getting into my car in

1034
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:17,800
a dark car park, after making sure that there's no

1035
00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,440
one else around but me and him. I'm not trying

1036
00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,119
to use this to slag off men, so please don't

1037
00:43:22,119 --> 00:43:24,960
think handing that. But sometimes guys just don't appreciate how

1038
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,559
punt's shittingly terrifying that kind of behavior is to girls.

1039
00:43:28,199 --> 00:43:30,519
He was quite capable of overpowering me if he wanted to,

1040
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:32,639
which is why i'd stay on my best behavior and

1041
00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:35,920
keep him sweet, But he made that very very difficult

1042
00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:37,840
for me In part of me thinks he did it deliberately,

1043
00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:40,760
in the nicest voice I could possibly muster. I told

1044
00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:42,440
him I was too busy to give him a left

1045
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:44,400
and then made up some excuse about having to pick

1046
00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:47,119
up my mom from her friend's house. I just really

1047
00:43:47,119 --> 00:43:48,760
didn't want to be alone in the car with him.

1048
00:43:49,199 --> 00:43:51,400
I had visions of dropping him off his flat, asking

1049
00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:53,239
me to come inside, and then making a big scene

1050
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:54,880
and refusing to get out of my car after I

1051
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,280
rejected him, none of which I am emotionally equipped to

1052
00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,000
deal with, and so quite naturally, I didn't want him

1053
00:44:00,039 --> 00:44:02,960
anywhere I couldn't physically remove him, specially the passenger seat

1054
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:05,559
of my car. I gave him my excuse, and he

1055
00:44:05,599 --> 00:44:07,320
seemed to take it in the chin, but then made

1056
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:10,719
a sharp segue into the ignored Instagram follow request, and

1057
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:12,840
when he asked me if I'd seen it, I lie.

1058
00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:15,320
I told him I hadn't and I'd been taking a

1059
00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:17,679
bit of a mental health break from social media, which

1060
00:44:17,719 --> 00:44:20,880
was partially true. He then counted that since we were colleagues,

1061
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:22,400
to be nice to be able to keep in touch

1062
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,920
on social media. I tried the path of least resistance

1063
00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:27,760
and told him I checked my install the first chance

1064
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:29,880
I got. But then instead of leaving me alone, he

1065
00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:32,079
started asking about my phone number and why I wasn't

1066
00:44:32,079 --> 00:44:34,360
answering my phone. I had to tell him I got

1067
00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:36,880
any number and hadn't memorized it yet. But he smelled

1068
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:39,480
the lion an instant, and in that moment, the way

1069
00:44:39,519 --> 00:44:42,239
he looked at me, she'll meet the bone. Upon detecting

1070
00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:44,320
the light, the smile was immediately white from his face.

1071
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:47,280
He went cheerful and warmed a frighteningly cold, and it

1072
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,760
took just a second for it to happen. I started

1073
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:52,239
to feel very unsafe around him. He said the calls

1074
00:44:52,239 --> 00:44:54,519
when connecting, but that the little robotic voice didn't say

1075
00:44:54,519 --> 00:44:58,000
the number wasn't in service. It said the person wasn't available.

1076
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,880
And apparently my now not so cheerful stocker understood the difference.

1077
00:45:01,519 --> 00:45:03,599
He started asking if I blocked his phone number, and

1078
00:45:03,639 --> 00:45:05,679
then before I could even answer, he asked, why did

1079
00:45:05,679 --> 00:45:08,079
you do that? What have I ever done to upset

1080
00:45:08,119 --> 00:45:10,760
you so much that you'd block my number? I tried

1081
00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:12,719
to dig myself out of the situation as best I

1082
00:45:12,719 --> 00:45:15,800
could by giving the sunniest, most non confrontational answer possible.

1083
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,079
Most of which involved me claiming that I essentially was

1084
00:45:18,119 --> 00:45:20,480
a ditzy d who barely knew how instagram a phone

1085
00:45:20,519 --> 00:45:23,559
carriers even worked. But that wasn't good enough for him.

1086
00:45:24,079 --> 00:45:26,800
He kept asking why and how in what questions, sometimes

1087
00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:28,760
without even letting my answer go from the previous, and

1088
00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:30,920
in and day completely lost my rag and I went

1089
00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,400
mental on him. I told him I wasn't into him,

1090
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:35,000
and that he should have gotten the message weeks ago,

1091
00:45:35,039 --> 00:45:36,760
and that he needed to leave me alone or I'm

1092
00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:38,559
going to h R without telling him to be for

1093
00:45:38,599 --> 00:45:41,239
the second time, he gave a bit more math, asking

1094
00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:43,320
if I was messing around and if I was really

1095
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:45,639
that petty, but he knew what he was doing. I

1096
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:48,679
rejected him, and now he wanted to shame me. It

1097
00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:52,519
adouances old as time. Really, only after he was satisfied

1098
00:45:52,519 --> 00:45:54,639
with brating me did he relent and walk away, but

1099
00:45:54,679 --> 00:45:57,079
the damage had been done. I knowed that might sound

1100
00:45:57,079 --> 00:45:59,559
a bit overly sensitive, and I absolutely hate any kind

1101
00:45:59,559 --> 00:46:01,840
of conflict, and I find myself welling up with tears

1102
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,519
every time the adrenaline starts to subside, and that incident

1103
00:46:04,559 --> 00:46:07,800
was no exception. It might sound naiven retrospect, but after

1104
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:10,000
that I really did think it was all over. I

1105
00:46:10,079 --> 00:46:12,000
tried to be strong, but I think all my stocker

1106
00:46:12,039 --> 00:46:13,920
soul was weakness. And now I know his little car

1107
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,119
park confrontation is only the beginning of what he had

1108
00:46:16,159 --> 00:46:18,599
in store for me. He was quiet for a while,

1109
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:21,519
my stalker. I mean, he stayed away from me at work,

1110
00:46:21,559 --> 00:46:23,719
and whenever we did run into one another, he didn't

1111
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:26,679
even acknowledge my presence, and it suited me. But I

1112
00:46:26,679 --> 00:46:30,199
could tell he felt severely humiliated. But to be brutally honest,

1113
00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:32,800
I didn't care. I wish he'd taken the hint way

1114
00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:34,880
back when he first started asking me out, but that's

1115
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,719
just the way the cookie crumples sometimes, isn't it. And

1116
00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,079
the point is I thought it was over. I thought

1117
00:46:40,079 --> 00:46:43,360
he'd finally leave me alone, but he hasn't, and now

1118
00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:46,280
it's only gotten worse. Last week, I woke up in

1119
00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:48,039
the middle of the night I text on my phone.

1120
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:50,159
I also needed to we so while I was there,

1121
00:46:50,199 --> 00:46:52,119
I checked the notification to see who it was from,

1122
00:46:52,119 --> 00:46:54,480
and saw it was from an unknown number. I was

1123
00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:56,559
half asleep when I first started reading it, but by

1124
00:46:56,559 --> 00:46:58,159
the time I was maybe two or three lines and

1125
00:46:58,199 --> 00:47:00,800
my heart was pounding the decks was from my stalker,

1126
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:02,960
and it said something along the lines of, hay my name.

1127
00:47:03,599 --> 00:47:06,000
I think I'm part next to your car. Do you

1128
00:47:06,039 --> 00:47:08,519
live at my address? Because I swear it to your

1129
00:47:08,559 --> 00:47:11,719
car I'm parked next to What are the chances? Huh?

1130
00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:13,480
He even sent a picture just to make sure that

1131
00:47:13,519 --> 00:47:15,320
I knew that he hadn't made some kind of mistake

1132
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:17,519
or was just messing with me as revenge for scolding him.

1133
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:20,800
My heart was in my throat again. I was wide awake,

1134
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:23,920
a thousand million different questions all running through my head

1135
00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:25,599
at once, with the primary one being how the hell

1136
00:47:25,639 --> 00:47:28,559
did he find me? My overarching theory is that he

1137
00:47:28,599 --> 00:47:31,280
followed me home. He obviously got in self a car,

1138
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:34,079
didn't he, And obviously, with me not talking to him,

1139
00:47:34,119 --> 00:47:35,960
there was no way of me knowing that he bought one.

1140
00:47:36,519 --> 00:47:38,519
He could have followed me home, been right behind me

1141
00:47:38,559 --> 00:47:40,559
the whole time, and unless I really looked into my

1142
00:47:40,599 --> 00:47:42,480
rear view to see who the driver's behind me were,

1143
00:47:42,519 --> 00:47:44,320
there's no way I'd have known that he was following.

1144
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:47,280
I think I'd have figured that part out. The only

1145
00:47:47,320 --> 00:47:49,119
thing I can't figure out is what to do next.

1146
00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:51,320
I know this might be too much of an ass.

1147
00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:53,840
But is it possible you could read this out let

1148
00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:56,000
your listeners know what I'm going through right now, and

1149
00:47:56,039 --> 00:47:57,840
then they could give me maybe the best advice in

1150
00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:01,000
the comments. I'm not talking about legal stuff either, because

1151
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:02,719
I have absolutely no faith in a police to be

1152
00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:05,440
able to keep me safe. I also don't think moving

1153
00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:07,320
back in with my parents is an option because they

1154
00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:09,360
live within five minutes drive of the place we work,

1155
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,280
and I don't want my car sitting outside the place

1156
00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:13,320
in the off chance my stalker spots and then knows

1157
00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:15,719
where they live to I'm more than willing to quit

1158
00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:17,559
the place where I work, and I think there's probably

1159
00:48:17,639 --> 00:48:19,719
what I'm going to do the first available opportunity. But

1160
00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:21,360
I just want to know if any one else has

1161
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:23,559
had the same issue, doesn't have faith in the police

1162
00:48:23,559 --> 00:48:24,920
to put a stop to it, and ended up to

1163
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:26,559
you in something that I don't know made it all

1164
00:48:26,599 --> 00:48:29,480
go away. Also, my dad's not around any more, but

1165
00:48:29,519 --> 00:48:31,360
I really don't want to tell my brother about this

1166
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:33,360
because if I do, he'll probably just end up going

1167
00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:36,360
to prison. I just know he will. And they say

1168
00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:38,519
that because people are inevitably going to ask why don't

1169
00:48:38,519 --> 00:48:40,400
you get your dad or are the male relatives involved?

1170
00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:41,960
And the short answer to that this I don't have

1171
00:48:42,079 --> 00:48:44,760
any I know this probably wasn't the scariest thing you've

1172
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:46,679
ever read, and I feel a bit weird sending it

1173
00:48:46,719 --> 00:48:48,559
to you when there's people who's leg it nearly died

1174
00:48:48,599 --> 00:48:51,920
and the experiences they tell you about. But please, when

1175
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:53,760
I say I'm really scared, I mean it from the

1176
00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:56,400
bottom of my soul. I'm scared. This isn't going to

1177
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,480
be something I laugh about in ten or fifteen years,

1178
00:48:58,559 --> 00:49:01,599
that obsessive admirer roll eyes about when my future husband

1179
00:49:01,599 --> 00:49:04,000
reminds me of it. I'm scared this is going to

1180
00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:06,360
be the last chapter of my short life. The sky

1181
00:49:06,480 --> 00:49:08,639
is escalating, and I really will try anything to make

1182
00:49:08,639 --> 00:49:10,880
it stop, because there's only one way these things end.

1183
00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:14,000
If that escalation doesn't stop, I'm scared. I don't think

1184
00:49:14,039 --> 00:49:15,719
I can even bring myself to say what that end

1185
00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:19,280
result might be. And that is the end. Thank you

1186
00:49:19,320 --> 00:49:29,280
for listening, and I will see you in the next one.