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b'Episode Notes
On a camping trip Adam learns that bears and wolves aren\'t the most dangerous creatures in the woods, something else is coming and it\'s hungry for blood!
Adam\'s Tale by Joe Solmo
http://pennedinblood.com
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Music by Ray Mattis http://raymattispresents.bandcamp.com
Produced by Daniel Wilder
This episode sponsored by HenFlix.com
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Transcript:
In another time, the cool, damp, night air would have felt good on Adam\\u2019s drunk face. The moonlight shone between the thick branches of an ancient maple tree only feet away. It might have been a mile away as far as Adam was concerned. It was the pine tree he worried about. The pine tree that he could smell but not see. Its rough bark dug into his back as he struggled with the bonds that held him in place.
How he got here was some sort of mystery. The woods he remembered. A party he remembered. Camping with friends was the last thing that he remembered. Where were they now? Did one of them do this? Where was Felicia? He tried again to turn his head to get a better view of his surroundings, but he still couldn\\u2019t move. Something was around his forehead keeping him against the hard, rough bark of the tree.\\xa0
He strained his ears, listening for some clue that could give him answers, but the only sounds he heard were a rustling in the branches above him in the trees. At first, he was alarmed but relaxed after realizing that whatever was up there, was too small to give him trouble. It was the animal that tied him up, that he was most interested in, anyway.\\xa0
\\u201cAre you out there?\\u201d he asked the night and listened. No response. He knew the man had to be out there somewhere.\\xa0
\\u201cHello?\\u201d Adam called out to his captor. Frustrated, he kicked his feet, disturbing the bed of pine needles. That was when he heard the snicker. In the shadows of the maple in front of him something moved. A flash of orange light illuminated a face Adam had never seen before as it lit his cigarette. Who was this guy?\\xa0
\\u201cWho are you?\\u201d Adam asked, straining to see in the dark.
\\u201cLet\\u2019s not worry about that now. You won\\u2019t be around long enough for us to get acquainted. It\\u2019s near midnight. The witching hour and all that,\\u201d the stranger said, waving his cigarette around as he talked.\\xa0
\\u201cWhere are my friends?\\u201d Adam asked. \\u201cWhat did you do to them?\\u201d
\\u201cI didn\\u2019t do anything. All I did was set the plate. Everything has to eat,\\u201d the stranger mumbled.
\\u201cWhat the fuck does that mean? Untie me!\\u201d Adam said.\\xa0
\\u201cWhy would I do that. Today has been going great so far. The best in a long time. They will be pleased.\\u201d
Adam struggled against the bonds that held his arms behind his back, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process. He grunted with the effort, which made the stranger laugh. He approached Adam and kneeled down, making intense eye contact with Adam. He got so close Adam could smell the man, a combination of cigarette smoke, sweat and halitosis, but the man\\u2019s icy stare kept him from retching from the smell. There was a timelessness in those eyes. He was only two inches from Adam\\u2019s face now. Too close for Adam.
\\u201cSave your strength for the screaming, there will be lots of screaming,\\u201d he said and cracked a smile. He touched Adam\\u2019s cheek with his lit cigarette.\\xa0
Adam yelled out and tried to twist out from under the burning cigarette, but the iron clad grip on his head wouldn\\u2019t let go. He cried out into the chilly night again and again as the man burned him. Each touch a shock of pain on his cheek.
\\u201cYeah, like that. I think you will do fine,\\u201d the stranger said and laughed. In the distance a wolf howled, followed by another. Adam\\u2019s eyes widened.
\\u201cDon\\u2019t you worry about them, now. Even they won\\u2019t come here,\\u201d the stranger said and flicked the rest of his cigarette at Adam. \\u201cThis here is a special place. It\\u2019s time I head on out. They don\\u2019t like to be watched. This should buy my farm some time. They oughta leave me alone for a year at least.\\u201d
\\u201cWho?\\u201d Adam said, but the man wandered off into the darkness without giving him an answer. He heard the wolves again and wondered if that was going to be how he died, torn to pieces by wolves. What was it the stranger said? The wolves won\\u2019t come here? Why not, he thought. He could smell the cigarette still burning and thought about it catching the bed of pine needles all over the ground on fire. He had a morbid question cross his mind. Would he rather die in a fire, or eaten by wolves? He almost laughed at the idea of getting a choice. He wondered if the wolves like Bar-B-Que.
A half hour passed, the cigarette burned out and the wolves didn\\u2019t get any closer. He could still hear them howling out there in the forest somewhere. His cheek hurt from the stranger\\u2019s cigarette burn barrage and he wished he could look at it in the mirror. He heard sound of a small animal rustling in the dead leaves somewhere in front of him, near the maple tree the man had been standing by.\\xa0
He wished he knew why this was happening to him. The maple tree reminded him that the path beyond it leads to an old natural chimney. A rock formation that leads down into the earth. He had found out about it on a hiking app and he convinced his friends to come out here to hike and camp, but where were they now? He hoped they were ok.
Adam thought his hand was going numb, the pins and needles sensation was beginning to set in, but then he realized it felt more like tiny little bites. He wiggled his fingers, and felt something furry run across his hands. What the fuck was that?
Another nibble on his fingertips. \\u201cOuch, you fucker!\\u201d he said and wriggled against his bonds as hard as he could, and to his surprise he freed his hands. He quickly worked on whatever was tying his head to the tree and wriggled free. He stood up and turned around to find a chipmunk sitting there, considering him with its black eyes.
\\u201cYou the one that bit me?\\u201d he called out and kicked at the rodent. It easily dodged his foot in the moonlight.\\xa0 Adam rubbed his cheeks and tried to get a good idea of his surroundings. If the large maple was there, then camp must be this way, he thought and headed off in that direction trying to work the cramps out of his muscles. The little chipmunk hopped after him on the forest trail, keeping its distance.
With all the roots and rocks, Adam stumbled through the woods while trying to make it back to camp, twice he almost fell, his hand was covered in mud and sticky pine pitch. He wiped them on his pants as he continued through the wood. He could just make out a fire ahead in the distance. It must be his friends!\\xa0
He called out to them. \\u201cFelicia! Jacob!\\u201d He got no response. He stumbled into the clearing, but he didn\\u2019t see anyone. His tent was on the other side of the dying fire, he went over to it and opened the flap. Felicia was inside, wrapped in her sleeping bag. They must have gone to sleep, he thought. He climbed into the tent and shook her, but she didn\\u2019t move. She was always a heavy sleeper. He poked her harder and lit the small battery powered lantern they use on camping trips.
\\u201cWake up! We have to get out of here!\\u201d he said. Finally, she was stirring he thought as he watched her swallow and turn her head.\\xa0 \\u201cCome on!\\u201d\\xa0
Her mouth opened and a chipmunk climbed out, his face a crimson mask of Felicia\\u2019s blood. It squeaked twice and ran past him to the tent opening where another one was sitting watching him with those cold black eyes.
\\u201cWhat the fuck is going on?\\u201d he called out and looked back down at Felicia. He shook her again, and got a better look at her. Her mouth was agape and he realized with horror that she had no tongue. He turned towards the doorway and saw that now there was about a dozen chipmunks standing there on hind legs watching him. The one with the bloody face took a step forward.
\\u201cWe are Tamias,\\u201d the bloody one squeaked.\\xa0
\\u201cTamias,\\u201d the rest chirped in high pitched unison.
\\u201cI\\u2019ve fucking lost it,\\u201d Adam whispered to himself and shook his head.
\\u201cWe demand payment for the transgression,\\u201d the chipmunk said. \\u201cPayment must be made. We demand it. The deal cannot be altered.\\u201d
\\u201cI have no idea what you are talking about. What did you do to Felicia and Jacob?\\u201d he asked. Then started to laugh as he realized he was having a conversation with a chipmunk in a tent next to his dead girlfriend. Did he forget that he ate a bunch of mushrooms?
\\u201cTwo hundred cycles ago the deal was made. This land, our land to be shared. For a price. The blood price must be paid. A life for each season that passes, and we would share our sacred forest with the man and his kin. The most fertile land for his food to grow. Waters that grant a long life,\\u201d the chipmunk squeaked. The moonlight lit the orbs that watched him above its chubby cheeks.
\\u201cI don\\u2019t understand,\\u201d Adam said and charged the entrance to the tent. The chipmunks scattered out of his way. He turned towards the tent and started to tear up as he glimpsed Felicia through the tent flap. The Tamias formed a circle around him, keeping out of kicking distance.
\\u201cHuman. You are the blood price. You and your friends must be given to the Tamias. The price must be paid!\\u201d the spokesperson for the chipmunks squeaked angerly.
\\u201cYou\\u2019re not going to get me. JACOB!\\u201d he yelled trying to get his friend to wake up. Maybe together they could escape this nightmare.
\\u201cYou friend is with the Dux Tamias. He cannot hear you,\\u201d the bloody chipmunk said calmly. \\u201cYou will meet him soon yourself. The time draws near. The price must be paid.\\u201d
\\u201cYou can\\u2019t have us!\\u201d Adam yelled and ran to his friend\\u2019s tent. He ripped open the tent flap and jumped back at the horrid scene he saw inside. There was a chipmunk the'