Speaker 1: M Thirteen Days of Halloween, Devil's Night, a production of
Speaker 1: My Heart three D audio, Blumhouse Television and Grimm and
Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Mackey. Headphones recommended. Listener discretion advised. Here
Speaker 1: we go. Are you're ready? Here? Oh? You wait? Wait
Speaker 1: for it? That one the boks are? They were ready? Three? Two, one,
Speaker 1: ah aero. Okay, boy, I really noted my arm, but
Speaker 1: we made it. I just hope we're headed in the
Speaker 1: right direction. Let's try and find a dry spot away
Speaker 1: from the cold. Whoa, hello, I can't see you. You
Speaker 1: don't need to. I've been expecting you. What do you
Speaker 1: mean shut yourself for a moment. Hold onto that cargo
Speaker 1: beside you. The train will be picking up speed. In
Speaker 1: a moment it will smooth out a bit. Hold tight
Speaker 1: one moment. More, hold yes, max, just so like a tie.
Speaker 1: I was looking for the train into town. Wait, how
Speaker 1: do you know my name? How does anyone learn anything?
Speaker 1: You get old, and when you get as old as
Speaker 1: I am, there are a few surprises left. As for
Speaker 1: your other question, all trains go in the same place
Speaker 1: these days, behind the curtain. You ride with me, You
Speaker 1: ride under the skin of this great country. You're rolling
Speaker 1: through its veins. But have you a bite for me?
Speaker 1: Some pro vendor? I haven't Apple, I was saving, but
Speaker 1: if you're starving, Wow, this will do for now. Let
Speaker 1: me stand over in this moonlight. Here you can see me.
Speaker 1: I'm no harm. You bang yourself up something awful. Trying
Speaker 1: to hop sounded like a bone landing hard on the
Speaker 1: iron first time? First time? What writing, rail son? Your
Speaker 1: arm looks torn worse than a twice boiled Oklahoma chicken.
Speaker 1: Let me wrap that up for you else you're likely
Speaker 1: to bleed all around the bunk. Look, it's no who do.
Speaker 1: Just sit there for a moment, Trust me, old boy.
Speaker 1: The last thing I want is for Max's body to
Speaker 1: get hurt. All right, careful, here we go. Let me
Speaker 1: put a bit now, Max. How's that? That's m feels
Speaker 1: ran new? Thanks? Mr. I didn't get your name, you
Speaker 1: did not Max. Names have power. Why don't you just
Speaker 1: call me the conductor? You know, I thought you would
Speaker 1: be taller. I suspect you cast a mighty shadow, or
Speaker 1: some shadow follows you. Look, Mr Conductor. I don't mean
Speaker 1: to be rude, but I don't know how you seem
Speaker 1: to know so much about me? Are you from town.
Speaker 1: Oh no, far past town. Sun No. The signs told
Speaker 1: me where to find you, hobo code from here on
Speaker 1: to Sandusky points this way. I see the boy as
Speaker 1: he was, I see the old arrow, but I don't
Speaker 1: see that which follows after you. I smell it on you,
Speaker 1: though all I smell is cold smoke. No, there's something else,
Speaker 1: something close. It must be haunting you. You mean like
Speaker 1: a ghost, not a ghost, son, You're familiar. Do you
Speaker 1: understand the thing that follows? That's what drove you to
Speaker 1: my train. Look, I appreciate you binding on my arm,
Speaker 1: but you have to understand you always have it, don't
Speaker 1: you that urgent need that act now? Listen, you're in shock.
Speaker 1: You took a bruising in It looks like that bruising
Speaker 1: started earlier than when we met there. Relax, this is
Speaker 1: a safe place. Sit u spell travel with me. We've
Speaker 1: got a ways to go, and you're right. I am,
Speaker 1: as are all my people. Now we have been traveling,
Speaker 1: max traveling for a long long time. Once upon a time,
Speaker 1: before they mastered fire, your people sent their elders and
Speaker 1: their young alike out into the unknown. For some of
Speaker 1: the danger were the caves. For some, the sunlight. For
Speaker 1: most the distance, it was a noble endeavor to travel
Speaker 1: away from safety to return with glory and knowledge. Most died,
Speaker 1: but on the off chance that one might return, their
Speaker 1: people would wait. My people are from back before the rails,
Speaker 1: before folks crossed the ocean and hitched their horses westward,
Speaker 1: wagons and tow And we were always searching. Our currency
Speaker 1: is stories, and stories are the only true currency of
Speaker 1: this world, passed from one to another, like coins in
Speaker 1: the hand or laid across the eyes, searching, always searching.
Speaker 1: Where Once we traveled through clouds and chariots and prophets, dreams,
Speaker 1: we travel now with the ravens and the crows, the rats,
Speaker 1: the hobo and the coyote. My people are like you.
Speaker 1: We're just trying to get home. Once long ago, the
Speaker 1: Creator and there is one, had an uncharacteristically good mood.
Speaker 1: He brought into being the mortal world from light. He
Speaker 1: made angels from clay, He made man from smokeless fire.
Speaker 1: He made my people powerful. We were in those days
Speaker 1: astride both this world and the next, being of smokeless fire.
Speaker 1: We alone in all the world, had no shadows of
Speaker 1: our own. Last the Creator made the shadows, that they
Speaker 1: may hold passage between the riddle of light and the
Speaker 1: answer of the dark. We raised a mighty city bur
Speaker 1: Some called it the city of Brass. Others later saw
Speaker 1: the ruins and called those Babylon. For some long ages
Speaker 1: the city grew ripe and golden, a flame of wisdom
Speaker 1: for all who visited. In the manner of holy things,
Speaker 1: we set upon each member of this city a task,
Speaker 1: a ritual, to leave, to travel, to return, and add
Speaker 1: what they had learned to this great endeavor. So it
Speaker 1: came to pass A boy set out into the wild.
Speaker 1: He didn't want to leave, Like so many, he was forced,
Speaker 1: though truth be told, some piece of him yearned for this,
Speaker 1: the promise of adventure, of ship and story and danger.
Speaker 1: This is the siren call of all men, all boy, human, angel,
Speaker 1: or otherwise, dream of venturing. They believe their journey will
Speaker 1: bring them, piece by piece closer towards the man they
Speaker 1: hoped to one day be. Come. This boy he was
Speaker 1: just like you. Only a day, he thought again and again,
Speaker 1: and sooner than I know, I will be returned. And
Speaker 1: like you, he found one way leads only to another.
Speaker 1: At first he came to a farm in a land
Speaker 1: near his own, a farm in desperate times, where the
Speaker 1: people's ribs showed through their clothes, and the vultures circled
Speaker 1: fat heavy through the pitiless sky. Coming from a land
Speaker 1: of magic and plenty, this was unfamiliar. He sought to
Speaker 1: learn this boy the ways of this land in the
Speaker 1: hopes that he might God willing improve the lot of
Speaker 1: the people living upon it. And so he sought to
Speaker 1: teach these laborers the secret arts of the orchard, the
Speaker 1: delicate pull of the ripest dates, the fragile song of
Speaker 1: seeds within the ground, how to hear them, how to
Speaker 1: sing to them. Yet he was rebuffed, beaten by the
Speaker 1: peasants on the land. Just like a bum, you could say,
Speaker 1: when the bulls catch you snoozing in the grainer, Bulls
Speaker 1: in the train yard, railroad bulls. Police. Boy, there have
Speaker 1: always been the police, or something like them, the things
Speaker 1: that hunt the free. Tell me, do you see your shadow?
Speaker 1: It's too dark to see anything in here. Don't pretend, boy,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. I know you've seen it before,
Speaker 1: and we both know it's following you. Still, that name
Speaker 1: is meaningless. You could call all of a thousand names
Speaker 1: and a thousand tons and it may respond it's a trickster, Max,
Speaker 1: it's playing games with you. So is he here with us? Now?
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Well, you don't see him. But
Speaker 1: do you think your shadow sees you? I I don't know.
Speaker 1: I'd be careful, Max, You might be surprised what they
Speaker 1: see and what they hear. The boy certainly was, you see.
Speaker 1: As he was laying there in the land of Men,
Speaker 1: beaten into the dirt, his shadow rose and took its vengeance.
Speaker 1: It broke the covenant of shadows and raised its hand
Speaker 1: to the mortal world. Listen close, Max. The shadow offered
Speaker 1: the boy a deal as inevitable as a train on
Speaker 1: iron Hans. It had offered him a passage home. What
Speaker 1: did the boys say? You know this story? I don't
Speaker 1: think I do. The boy said, yes, of course. Like
Speaker 1: all boys, he grew tired of wandering once he learned
Speaker 1: the cruelty of the road. He wanted more than anything
Speaker 1: to return home. But his shadow followed, and the shadow
Speaker 1: had different fans for the old storytellers were trading our currency.
Speaker 1: This covenant with the shadow is the great moral, That's
Speaker 1: what we tell. Outsiders, at least gathered around the hobo jungles,
Speaker 1: and the breadlines and the other hidden places. But let
Speaker 1: me tell you this, It's not the end of the tale.
Speaker 1: Would you like to know the rest? Look? I know
Speaker 1: some stories of my own. How about this one? A
Speaker 1: kid in this dog just trying to get home. No
Speaker 1: one will help them. I like it, Max, I do.
Speaker 1: But you'll need more than that where you're going. Here's
Speaker 1: what happens next, the part of the story only a
Speaker 1: few may know, and fewer remember. Listen closely. This is
Speaker 1: my gift to you, A thank you for the apple,
Speaker 1: an appeal, a favor. The boy escaped the farm, pursued
Speaker 1: like it or not by his shadow. It became part
Speaker 1: of him, It followed, it yearned. He was waylaid more
Speaker 1: than once. On the hungry road to home, he learned
Speaker 1: from a kindly traveler the danger of the shadows. You see, Max,
Speaker 1: All shadows are of one. And what if I tell
Speaker 1: would you? This shadow knew all along that the boy's
Speaker 1: home had been lost? Why didn't it tell him? Shadows
Speaker 1: are creatures of secrets, and here is their greatest They
Speaker 1: are not content to follow with every step they take.
Speaker 1: They raced to not be behind, but to be within.
Speaker 1: And then they seek to consume, they want to become
Speaker 1: in their world. You are the reflection what happened to
Speaker 1: the boy. That's the biggest secret of all, Max. This
Speaker 1: is the part you will have to right yourself. The
Speaker 1: boy could not guess what the shadow wanted. Sometimes it
Speaker 1: seemed to help him, sometimes to hinder him. It grew
Speaker 1: closer and closer with each passing day, with each passing hour,
Speaker 1: until one day the boy awoke to find he had
Speaker 1: no shadow at all, at least not on the outside.
Speaker 1: He heard his voice as though it was a shadow,
Speaker 1: and he asked himself, Am I the boy that left?
Speaker 1: Am I the shadow that returned? I was that boy
Speaker 1: once upon a time, Max, and my shadow caught me.
Speaker 1: It holds me even now, and I am doomed to search,
Speaker 1: to roam by darkness and rail until I find the
Speaker 1: city of my people, that which was once lost. It
Speaker 1: is a pitiless quest, one that grants me no rest,
Speaker 1: no peace in this mortal world. If I die, it
Speaker 1: reaches back and pulls me from the depths. I'm tired now.
Speaker 1: The shadow needs new blood and I need rest. Something's wrong.
Speaker 1: They're stopping the train. We don't have much time. Listen
Speaker 1: I've searched for you so long, Max, This body is
Speaker 1: almost done. Come closer. Please, you can save me, Max,
Speaker 1: and I can save you. Join me. Trade your shadow,
Speaker 1: the one you hear even now for mine. Take my
Speaker 1: place along the road. You will not weaken, you will
Speaker 1: not die. You will ride free as a lonely wind
Speaker 1: throughout this land. And I in your place, I will
Speaker 1: finally be granted the peace of death. What's that? What
Speaker 1: do you think the bulls? Come here, boy? I know
Speaker 1: just where the heart. All right, come on out now.
Speaker 1: We can make this easy, but that's up to you.
Speaker 1: Of course. This car is cleared for transport of livestock
Speaker 1: and material only. Anyone found freight hopping should be warned
Speaker 1: that they are committing an interstate felony. We already know
Speaker 1: you're here. We will find you better, easier for you
Speaker 1: to show yourself. Now, come mad, Come at wherever you
Speaker 1: are mat Are you okay? I'll steal it from me.
Speaker 1: I know you're here. I can smell you. Max. Where
Speaker 1: is it? We know he was here with you? Who
Speaker 1: was here? Who is here? You know? Damn well? Another
Speaker 1: presence could have been a man, a woman? Is it home?
Speaker 1: When you recognize or maybe another dog. Come here, Arrow,
Speaker 1: call yourself, Arrow, Just let me see your eyes. No, no,
Speaker 1: it's not the dog. Something drew you into this train,
Speaker 1: Something lured you in. We just need to know what
Speaker 1: it was. Just tell them the truth. Boy, the thing
Speaker 1: lured me in. I was running from the carnival and
Speaker 1: I hopped the train. Do you know what his train is? No?
Speaker 1: But I hope he was going in the right direction.
Speaker 1: Then all aboard for Brad Barren. How did you do that? Hear?
Speaker 1: Do you think it's driving why east? More than one
Speaker 1: of you? Why? Well, that doesn't have to be better.
Speaker 1: Now go on, son, ask him? What do you want
Speaker 1: to know? How does this end? How does what end?
Speaker 1: The story of the Boy and the Dog in the Shadow?
Speaker 1: I don't think I know that with Max, but I'm
Speaker 1: sure of one thing. You were not alone on this trade,
Speaker 1: and we are not alone. Now this is important. Max.
Speaker 1: Did it give you something? What's there to give with
Speaker 1: no one to give it to? No nothing? What is
Speaker 1: this on your own? I? Um, where did you get this? Oh?
Speaker 1: That's been there all along. I think I had it.
Speaker 1: I don't know, I don't remember. Yes, you do, something happened,
Speaker 1: you hurt your own did somebody wrap it up for you?
Speaker 1: Not her? Feeling much better? It's feeling much better, then
Speaker 1: let's just take it off. No step away, boy. It
Speaker 1: aims to hurt you. It aims to take you away
Speaker 1: from me. No, no, no, Well hello, I was wondering
Speaker 1: where I would find you back demon, You are too late.
Speaker 1: The boy is mine, Max. Walk towards me. Stay away, boy,
Speaker 1: you know now what that thing is, what he pretends
Speaker 1: to be is only a mask. I can keep you safe.
Speaker 1: I'm counting to three. One. It will lie to you, Max,
Speaker 1: It will play games with your life to Once it
Speaker 1: gets you, it will never let you go. Three. Come
Speaker 1: to me, boy. I've got his feet, I've got his arms,
Speaker 1: I've got his head. You put me down, your abomination
Speaker 1: out of the train. Ready boys, Ready, ready, right, swift
Speaker 1: and efficient? Well that boys, now back to one. Are
Speaker 1: you okay? Max? Who was that? A corrupted thing? Hiding
Speaker 1: and wait for someone like you to come along? Like
Speaker 1: he was writing this train, it rides from one body
Speaker 1: to the next. He knew things about me, things he
Speaker 1: had no reason to know. A great story teller, but
Speaker 1: a trickster. You were lucky you were not taken in
Speaker 1: by it. And well not all the way, And it
Speaker 1: knew about you more careful deception. These things are crafty.
Speaker 1: It shifts its story to lure its prey. What means
Speaker 1: you any different? You? In both of you? All of you?
Speaker 1: You're not who you say you are. You're nothing but
Speaker 1: a shadow, a lousy shadow, following me around, stirring up trouble.
Speaker 1: But I am not going to hurt you. Where is
Speaker 1: this train going? I told you home. Look, we're about
Speaker 1: to cross the river. That's the bridge ahead, Harrow, get ready?
Speaker 1: What are you doing to you? Do not need to
Speaker 1: fear me? Great m Thirteen Days of Halloween, Devil's Night,
Speaker 1: starring Carter Rockwood and Clancy Brown, Episode four The train
Speaker 1: tracks written by Ben Bolan and Alexander Williams, featuring the
Speaker 1: voice of Mark Hatfield. Editing and sound design by Trevor Young,
Speaker 1: directed by Alexander Williams, Script supervision by Nicholas Takoski. Casting
Speaker 1: by Sunday Bowling c s A and Meg Mormon c
Speaker 1: s A. Production coordinator Wayna Calderon, Production assistants Zoe Shay
Speaker 1: and Amber Ferris. Animal recording by Ben James, closing theme
Speaker 1: by Rose Azerti. Loyalty Freak Music dot Com. Recorded at
Speaker 1: d G Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. Engineered by Gary
Speaker 1: Forbes and Jody Abbott. Executive producers Aaron Manky, Noah Finberg,
Speaker 1: Chris Dicky, Matt Frederick and Alexander Williams. Supervising producers Trevor
Speaker 1: Young and Josh Thane. Producers Jeff see Funk and rima
Speaker 1: Il Kali. Thirteen Days of Halloween was created by Matt
Speaker 1: Frederick and Alexander Williams and is a production of I
Speaker 1: Heeart three D Audio, Blumhouse Television and Grim and Mild
Speaker 1: from Aaron Maankeey. Learn more about the show at Grim
Speaker 1: and Mild dot com, slash thirteen Days and find more
Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio by visiting the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows