Intro (Click to reveal)

(Intro music)

End Intro

(Tape recorder sounds)

Mark

Okay. All set and ready to roll.

D

All right, cool. For the record, what the heck's been going on with you lately?

Cole

I, I don't even know where to begin.

Jesse

Are you guys totally sure it's okay for me to be here for this? It seems like it might be an internal team moment.

Cole

No, you're good, Jesse. And I'm really sorry about the way I spoke to you, that, that really wasn't cool of me.

Jesse

Oh, that's fine. I've already let it go.

Mark

Oh, uh, hi. I'm Mark, by the way.

Jesse

Hi, Mark. I'm Jesse. D's girlfriend. Nice to meet you.

Mark

Oh, girlfriend, eh?

D

Yep.

Mark

Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.

D

Okay. So Cole, what's going on?

Cole

All right. But I want this entered straight into the Tiny Terrors Exchange as well, so let's record it properly, eh?

(Tape recorder sounds)

Cole

Okay. This all began before we even started recording the podcast, really. I, I mean, that's when I think it began, because... I, I can't for the life of me figure out where, or how else this all could have happened. How he, they, whatever, found me. So, when we came up with the idea for the podcast, I sent out a little, I don't know, I guess you could call it a notice.

Well, I sent the notice to every address I collected in all the years in the Tiny Terror Exchange. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to, but I also know that I'd never heard that you couldn't. Maybe that's cuz no one had ever tried to advertise anything through the exchange before. Or maybe it was before my time, but, but I sent out a couple hundred letters telling folks to send me their best stories and recordings, you know, to put in the podcast.

Okay. Before you give me that look, I know it was unsolicited. I know I probably shouldn't have done it. But I, but I don't think you guys know how badly I wanted this all to work. I'd spent months running my big mouth like I always do. Telling you both how it would be so easy to start a podcast. "Oh, look at those idiots. If they can do it, then, then we can," but honestly, I just really wanted you both to get as excited as I was to just, I, I don't know, just make something that belonged to us and no one else. I had no idea if I could get anyone to listen. And I guess I got in my head a little bit about it, like everything sort of disappeared around the edges and I was just tunnel visioned on having the best possible stories, which isn't really what the exchange is about so much as the gamble, the excitement of opening a letter and not knowing what's inside.

But, but, but what can I say? I, I just really didn't wanna let you guys down. So anyways, I sent out the letters and mostly forgot about it. After a week or two, a couple people did end up replying, but in one letter they sent a handful of glitter, which by the way, took me an hour to clean up and another ripped a page out of a children's book and shoved it in the envelope.

I was completely discouraged. Uh, so I just focused on what I had already saved, hoping that when I released the podcast, folks would just, they would just, I don't know, just get it. I just hoped they'd magically understand why I felt it was important. It was about that time that we recorded the first episode.

Well, it was after that, but also before I had you both begin recording as well. It was late that night and I couldn't sleep. It just felt like the whole world was staring in at me and breathing on me, and my chest was all twisted up inside and my mind was racing and I was just trying to figure out how we were gonna pull off this damn podcast, and I had spent so long winding you both up and getting you so excited.

So I got up and I came out here and started throwing papers around trying to find that one story that would hook everyone and have them instantly love us. Well, I didn't succeed, but just trying made me feel. And as I began to put the papers away, as I was feeling a yawn coming on, I saw a sealed letter, like a, like a neon sign popping out of the papers thrown all over the desk.

So I picked it up and opened it. It was a letter, and the entire page was filled from top to bottom with writing. "Why did you feed the beast? Why did you feed the beast? Why did you feed the beast?" Over and over, it was written and it was written so many times that whoever had penned the letter ran out of space and began to trace the words again until it had nearly worn through the paper.

But, but in the middle of all that chaos was a list as well. A list of names. Nathan Landsdown. Jamie, Pete, Marlon Gunter and McKessog. Dennis Malt, Stephan Krell, Donny Sums, and then the final name on the list, Cole Weavers. I didn't really know what I was looking at, honestly. It was unnerving, but I wasn't afraid.

I wasn't immediately startled, so I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash and went to bed. But when I laid down, I couldn't sleep once again. I just kept repeating the names I remembered from the list. It was sort of lyrical, I guess. It had wormed its way into my brain, so I pulled out my phone and began Googling a couple of them.

First was Emma Kessog, Stoker Award candidate: dead. Second was Stephan Krell, comic book writer: missing. Third, I looked up Dennis Malt, a sort of modern day Vincent Price and; murdered. It was unnerving, but I mostly shrugged it off and went to bed. When I woke in the morning, the curiosity got the better of me once again, and I came back out to the shed and got the letter out of the trash and Googled one name after another, after another until the whole list was done and dead, missing, dead murdered, murdered, missing. Every single one of them was dead or missing.

The only two people named on that list who were still living were myself and Donny Sums the New York Times bestselling author of Corpse Singer. This must have been a gag, someone memeing on me or seeing the perfect time to copy a lame, creepy pasta.

But fast forward later that week, I was walking home from work on that one stretch a few blocks down from the old theater, you know, that, that back road with the old lamppost that looks more like spotlights. And I was just listening to the first couple episodes that we had recorded over and over again trying to find anything that might be wrong with them.

Just completely in my head, when someone tackled me to the ground, my heart leapt into my throat as I threw my hands up the nearest lamppost, completely backlighting the person or thing that had just bowled me over. All I could see was a dark silhouette. I wasn't sure if I was embarrassed or scared, but I just began saying, "Sorry, I'm, I'm so sorry." Just repeating it, hoping that whoever it was would just walk away, but they stuck their hand out as if to help me up.

I, I didn't want to take it, but I, I didn't want to be rude, so I took their hand and began to stand myself up and without any sort of warning, it was so much strength all at once, the person yanked me up close and grabbed me tight.

I, I tried to pull away, but they wouldn't let me. And then in my ear, they said so quietly I could barely hear. "Why did you feed the beast?" Then the names, he began repeating the names that had been on the list, and then as if to punctuate them, he said, Once again, but louder. "Why did you feed the beast?" And then he just, just let me go.

Uh, I, I was paralyzed with fear. All I could do was close my eyes and try to listen to his footsteps, walk away between the sounds of my own heartbeat racing in my ear. I couldn't hear him anymore. I just ran as fast as my legs would let me. My knees wouldn't stop wobbling, and I nearly fell every other step.

But finally I got back and ran into the shed to double check the names or I, I don't know. I just hope the letter and all this was just some mental breakdown that I just imagined at all, but I hadn't, and that's when I found the cassette tape. It was, it was just there wrapped in a piece of paper with an elastic tying it together.

The wrapping didn't say anything on it. I already checked, but I, I kept it just in case I was murdered and there were fingerprints or I, I don't know, something just told me that I shouldn't throw it away. The cassette tape, however, wasn't blank and was recorded.

Um, it was, it was recorded right here. Where I'm sitting now.

Someone broke into here and spent long enough to record their own tape before you ask. No, I'm not gonna play it for you right now. You can listen to it after I'm gone. I've, I've already heard it once and I don't want to hear it again. So yeah, that's, that's why I've been gone. That's why I've been kind of missing in action.

I've been trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who these people are, and I've been at the library chasing down relatives of the people on the list, scouring the internet, looking for anyone who might be able to tell me if I'm going to be murdered... And I just, I just can't believe I've sent my address to hundreds of people.

Could be anyone, and I was stupid enough not to use a postal box. For years. I just thought, wow, that's kind of weird that so many people have PO boxes, and now I know why.

(Tape recorder sounds)

Mark

You're not serious. Right? Tell me, you're not serious.

D

This is just some sort of performance art. Right?

Mark

Yeah, mate. I'll be honest. It sounds like some sort of wind up.

Cole

Mark. Trust me when I say this. I wish it was.

Mark

And you just found the sealed envelope on the desk.

Cole

It was just laying right there the morning after we recorded the first episode.

Mark

I mean, maybe it's a weird coincidence.

D

Or maybe it's not.

Cole

Neither of you signed up for any of this.

Mark

No, you're right. We didn't,

Cole

I, I, I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. It. It's just, it's hanging over me. This has just been this dark cloud above my head and this weight on my shoulders. If I could just ignore this, I would, but I feel like my head's going to explode if I don't stick it out. But listen, I'm not expecting you guys to stick around. I understand if it's too much.

Mark

You're kidding, right?

D

Yeah. I'm not going.

Mark

Yeah, same.

D

You really think we're just gonna leave you in the cold like that? Like just when things are starting to get interesting.

Mark

Not a chance.

(Tape recorder sounds)

Outro (Click to reveal)

Mark

Tiny Terrors is an anthology horror podcast produced by Pulp Audio and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

D

This episode was directed by Cole Weavers, with sound production and editing by Mike LeBeau.

Mark

To find additional information or to join our Patreon for additional content and ad free episodes, visit our website www.tinyterrorspod.com.

D

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at Tiny Terrors Pod.

Mark

Or join the Pulp Audio Discord by clicking the link in the description below.

D

Rate and review us on Spotify and Apple.

Mark

And finally, thanks for listening.

End Outro