transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:03] National Emergency is a psychological horror audio drama that explores disturbing themes and intense moments. Some content may be unsettling for some listeners. Listener's discretion is advised.

Speaker 2:
[00:35] This is an emergency broadcast. If you are listening to this, stop what you are doing. Listen carefully. Your life may depend on it. It has been 15 months since the first documented national emergency event. We have recorded 643,891 confirmed incidents worldwide. The death and missing toll stands at zero for those who followed the instructions. For those who didn't, approximately 1.2 million and counting.

Speaker 3:
[01:11] The events begin without warning. They simply begin. When they do, you will receive instructions. These instructions must be followed exactly as stated. The instructions may seem impossible. They may ask you to do things that go against every instinct you have. Do them anyway. Your survival depends on it.

Speaker 2:
[01:33] When it happens, not if, but when. Remember only this. Listen. Obey. Survive.

Speaker 4:
[02:06] Who do we have here? Coleman, 13 months. Felt longer, didn't it? Felt like a lifetime. Yeah, they always do. You got someone picking you up? I'll figure it out.

Speaker 5:
[02:23] Okay. Take care of yourself, Coleman.

Speaker 4:
[02:27] Hope we don't see you back here. Yeah, me too. Ah, 13 months.

Speaker 6:
[02:55] Owen? Lisa.

Speaker 4:
[02:57] I didn't think you'd show.

Speaker 7:
[03:00] You look thin.

Speaker 4:
[03:03] Present food. Wouldn't recommend it.

Speaker 7:
[03:06] I, should we hug or? Come on, let's get out of here.

Speaker 2:
[03:29] This is an emergency broadcast from the National News Network. If you are listening to this, stop what you are doing. Listen carefully. Your life may depend on it.

Speaker 7:
[03:40] I wasn't sure what you'd want to listen to, so I just left it on news radio.

Speaker 2:
[03:44] Is that...?

Speaker 4:
[03:45] It's fine.

Speaker 2:
[03:49] Since then, we have recorded 643,891 confirmed incidents across all 56 and 93 countries worldwide. Actually, can we turn it off?

Speaker 7:
[04:03] I cleaned up the garage apartment above my place. It's not much. It's just a bed, kitchenette, small bathroom. But it's private. You won't have to deal with the neighbors staring or...

Speaker 4:
[04:14] Lisa, you didn't have to do any of this.

Speaker 7:
[04:16] Yes, I did.

Speaker 4:
[04:18] No, you really... I could have figured something out. The halfway house or...

Speaker 7:
[04:23] Stop. Okay, we've known each other since we were what? Seven? Eight?

Speaker 4:
[04:27] Seven? You threw mud at me on the playground.

Speaker 7:
[04:31] You said girls couldn't climb trees.

Speaker 4:
[04:35] You proved me wrong. How did you even... the job, I mean... Nobody wants to hire someone who's been where I've been.

Speaker 7:
[04:47] Principal Garrett owed me a favor. I've been covering for Janet Simmons' fourth grade class while she's on maternity leave. Working doubles, basically. And we're desperate for drivers.

Speaker 6:
[04:58] Why?

Speaker 7:
[04:59] Parents are too scared to let their kids walk after... You know. The emergencies. Everyone wants their kids on a bus with an adult. Someone who can follow the instructions if something happens.

Speaker 4:
[05:11] And they're okay with that adult being me?

Speaker 7:
[05:15] They don't all know, okay? Garrett does, obviously. The supervisor at the depot. But not everyone follows the news as closely as...

Speaker 4:
[05:23] Do people know? About me?

Speaker 6:
[05:26] About... Anna?

Speaker 7:
[05:31] Some do. Not everyone. Look, Owen, I need you to know... I never believed you heard her. Even before we knew about the emergencies. Even when the prosecutor was laying out all that evidence. I knew you. I know you. you loved her.

Speaker 4:
[05:50] The jury didn't see it that way.

Speaker 7:
[05:52] The jury didn't have all the facts. Nobody did back then. First week of the emergencies, everyone thought it was terrorism or mass hysteria or some viral marketing campaign gone wrong. Nobody believed you about hearing instructions. Now we know better. Now there's been 600,000 of those things.

Speaker 4:
[06:14] Thirteen months, Lisa. I was in there thirteen months while she's still out there somewhere or worse. Do you know how many times I've replayed that night? What I could have done differently?

Speaker 7:
[06:27] It wasn't your fault.

Speaker 4:
[06:29] I couldn't follow the instructions properly. I tried, but I couldn't.

Speaker 7:
[06:33] Nobody could have. Not that first week. Not when we didn't know what they were. So the news is on constantly now. Emergency updates every hour.

Speaker 4:
[06:45] They didn't tell us much inside. No emergency drills in prison. They figured we were contained.

Speaker 5:
[06:52] Safe.

Speaker 4:
[06:53] Ironic, right?

Speaker 7:
[06:54] They didn't prepare you at all?

Speaker 4:
[06:57] Just the basics. Follow instructions or die. They kept the details from us. Thought it might cause riots if inmates knew how random it all was.

Speaker 8:
[07:07] That's not safety. That's just keeping you in the dark while the world fell apart.

Speaker 7:
[07:14] I'm sorry, Owen. You deserved better than that.

Speaker 4:
[07:18] Yeah, maybe.

Speaker 7:
[07:21] The route starts at 7.15 tomorrow morning. 23 kids, all elementary. Maple Street to Riverside to Oak Canyon, and then the school. Should take about 40 minutes.

Speaker 4:
[07:33] 23 kids.

Speaker 7:
[07:34] They're good kids. Mostly. Just... try to have a normal day, okay?

Speaker 4:
[07:41] Heh. Normal. Right. Because my life has been so normal.

Speaker 7:
[07:48] Owen.

Speaker 4:
[07:49] I'm sorry. I'm grateful. I really am. For all of this. The apartment, the job. You visiting me those first few months before... before you stopped coming.

Speaker 7:
[08:03] I wanted to keep visiting. But my family, they thought... and the people at work started asking questions.

Speaker 4:
[08:10] I know. I understand. I do.

Speaker 7:
[08:14] I knew Anna since high school, Owen. She was my friend too. The emergency that took Anna, you never told me what the instructions were. Not the full thing.

Speaker 4:
[08:44] Does it matter?

Speaker 7:
[08:47] I guess not, I just, I keep thinking if we understood them better, the rules.

Speaker 4:
[08:52] There are no patterns. Trust me, I had 13 months to think about it. They're random, complete chaos. No way to predict them, no way to prepare.

Speaker 8:
[09:02] I guess I just needed to believe there was some kind of sense to it, but there isn't.

Speaker 7:
[09:11] Come on, let me show you the apartment. And Owen, people here, some of them are going to talk. Say things, just don't let them get to you.

Speaker 4:
[09:26] What kind of things?

Speaker 7:
[09:33] Just small-town gossip. You know how it is.

Speaker 4:
[09:39] Lisa, what are they saying?

Speaker 7:
[09:45] Some people think... Some people think you got Anna killed. That you should have protected her somehow. That if you couldn't save your own wife, how can you be trusted with their kids?

Speaker 4:
[10:01] Maybe they're right.

Speaker 7:
[10:03] Don't say that.

Speaker 4:
[10:04] I couldn't save her, Lisa. I couldn't follow the instructions, and now...

Speaker 7:
[10:09] Stop. Nobody could have followed them. Not that first week. You're just a man who went through something horrible and survived. That's all.

Speaker 6:
[10:23] Survived?

Speaker 4:
[10:25] Is that what this is?

Speaker 7:
[10:29] The apartment is this way, up the back stairs.

Speaker 4:
[10:59] Okay, okay, first day. Come on, come on, stop shaking.

Speaker 7:
[11:38] Owen, you awake? I made coffee.

Speaker 4:
[11:42] Yeah, just getting dressed.

Speaker 7:
[11:45] Can I come in?

Speaker 4:
[11:46] Yeah, you can come in.

Speaker 7:
[11:49] Hey, how do you sleep? Must be nice being in a real bed again.

Speaker 4:
[11:55] You have no idea. 13 months on a two inch mattress over metal. I've forgotten what actual springs felt like. Almost too soft now.

Speaker 7:
[12:04] You'll get used to it. Are you okay? Your hands.

Speaker 5:
[12:09] They'll stop.

Speaker 4:
[12:11] Just need a minute.

Speaker 7:
[12:13] Owen, listen. I've been thinking. Maybe you should wait a couple weeks. Just until things settle down a bit.

Speaker 4:
[12:22] Things aren't going to settle down, Lisa.

Speaker 6:
[12:28] Drink this.

Speaker 7:
[12:30] It'll help with the shakes.

Speaker 4:
[12:32] How many parents know about what happened to me?

Speaker 7:
[12:37] Most of them. It was in the paper, Owen. The Millbrook Gazette ran your photo when you were sentenced. Local man convicted and wife's disappearance.

Speaker 4:
[12:48] And when I was released?

Speaker 7:
[12:52] Smaller article, page six. Owen Coleman released after Emergency Evidence Review. They explained how Anna was taken during one of the first emergency broadcasts, back when nobody understood what they were.

Speaker 4:
[13:05] Page six. They wanted it buried.

Speaker 7:
[13:09] They feel terrible about it, Owen. The Hendersons, the Chens, even Ms. Patterson who led that petition against you. They all feel guilty for what they put you through. But guilty people don't always want reminders walking around.

Speaker 4:
[13:24] So they know I didn't, that I wasn't responsible? They just don't want to face it?

Speaker 7:
[13:29] Most of them, yes. And there are a few holdouts. You know how people are. Some think the emergency story is too convenient. And maybe you're using it as a cover. Jim Reeves is the worst. He's been vocal about not wanting you near the kids.

Speaker 4:
[13:47] Jim Reeves?

Speaker 7:
[13:49] Sales manager at the Ford dealership. His son Tyler is on your route. Just be careful with that one.

Speaker 4:
[14:00] I have to face this sometime. Might as well be now. I can't hide in this apartment forever, Lisa. I can't live off your charity.

Speaker 7:
[14:08] It's not charity.

Speaker 4:
[14:09] It is, and we both know it. I need this job. I need to do something normal. Drive the bus, follow a route, get kids safely to school. Something simple. Something I can't mess up.

Speaker 7:
[14:22] You didn't mess up with Anna. The instructions were impossible that first week. Nobody knew they were real.

Speaker 4:
[14:31] Tell that to Jim Reeves and his crowd. I should go. Don't want to be late on my first day.

Speaker 7:
[14:38] The depot's only ten minutes away.

Speaker 4:
[14:41] I want to be early. Make a good impression.

Speaker 7:
[14:45] Owen.

Speaker 4:
[14:46] Thank you. For the coffee. For everything.

Speaker 7:
[14:54] If anything happens, any trouble, you call me, okay? I'll come get you.

Speaker 4:
[15:00] I'll be fine. Thank you, Lisa.

Speaker 5:
[15:17] You must be Coleman.

Speaker 4:
[15:19] Yes, sir.

Speaker 5:
[15:21] I'm Ray. I run this depot. Lisa Parks speaks highly of you.

Speaker 4:
[15:28] She's been very kind.

Speaker 5:
[15:30] Kindness got nothing to do with it. Can you drive? Can you keep kids safe?

Speaker 4:
[15:37] Yes, sir.

Speaker 5:
[15:38] Good. That's all I care about. Come on. Let me show you your bus. Bus 47. She's old, but reliable. Steering pulls a little to the left, but you'll get used to it. Radio's been upgraded. New emergency system. Has to work at all times. That's protocol now. Can't have drivers missing instructions. See this? Emergency Broadcast Receiver. Hardwired. Battery backup. Works even if the main electrical fails. You lose this radio, you pull over immediately, and radio dispatch. No exceptions. Emergency protocols. Do you know them?

Speaker 4:
[16:46] Follow the instructions exactly.

Speaker 5:
[16:48] That's it. That's all. Don't try to be clever. Don't think you know better.

Speaker 4:
[16:57] What happened to the previous driver?

Speaker 5:
[17:03] Jenkins, good driver, 20 years on the job. But after four emergencies in two months, he'd had enough. Packed up his family last month, moved out to the forest. No electricity, no phones, no devices, nothing. Figured if emergencies come through electronics, he'd be safe off the grid.

Speaker 4:
[17:35] Makes sense.

Speaker 5:
[17:37] You'd think, but it's worse out there. So much worse.

Speaker 4:
[17:44] What do you mean?

Speaker 5:
[17:45] Without devices. The instructions. Look, I don't know what happens out there. Nobody who goes that deep off grid talks about it when they come back. If they come back.

Speaker 4:
[18:05] What do you mean, if?

Speaker 5:
[18:10] Jenkins lost his daughter, Sarah, to an emergency six months ago. She was at a sleepover, didn't follow the instructions correctly. After that, he couldn't risk it happening to his other two kids. Figured no electricity meant no emergencies. Took him out there to keep them safe. But he came back. Came back alone a week ago. Won't say where his kids are. Won't say what happened. Just sits in his house now with every radio and TV on. All the time.

Speaker 4:
[18:53] Jesus Christ.

Speaker 6:
[18:55] Yeah.

Speaker 5:
[18:56] So when I say follow the instructions, no matter what they ask.

Speaker 4:
[19:00] I understand.

Speaker 5:
[19:02] Good. You're out. Maple Street, Riverside, Oak Canyon, then the school. 23 kids total, most are good. The Brennan twins from Riverside can be a handful. They like to switch seats, cause chaos, just keep them separated.

Speaker 4:
[19:32] Anything else I should know?

Speaker 5:
[19:38] Morning drivers have been reporting more emergencies lately. Four in the last month, all during school runs. Keep your radio on, volume up.

Speaker 4:
[19:49] Four emergencies in a month?

Speaker 5:
[19:52] Don't worry about it, probably just coincidence. Everything's coincidence with these sayings. Well, she's all yours. First pick up's at 7.15. Don't be late. Parents get nervous when the bus is late now. They start imagining things.

Speaker 4:
[20:18] I'll be on time.

Speaker 5:
[20:20] Good man. And Coleman, I know about your situation, your history. I don't care. You show up. You do your job. We're square.

Speaker 6:
[20:38] Clear?

Speaker 4:
[20:40] Clear. Thank you.

Speaker 5:
[20:42] Don't you thank me just yet. Wait till you meet the kids.

Speaker 2:
[21:11] Bringing our total to 647,476 confirmed emergency incidents worldwide. Okay, just drive, pick up kids, drive off kids, they're simple. Here we go.

Speaker 4:
[21:37] 705, 10 minutes to first stop. Good morning, please take your seats. Good morning, please, nope, too formal. Hey, kids, no, too friendly. Don't think I'm trying too hard, just be normal, normal. Three kids waiting, two parents watching. Mrs. Henderson, she's waving, mouthing, sorry. First stop. Good morning, find a seat, please. Seat belts, please.

Speaker 7:
[23:00] Go on, sweetie, it's okay.

Speaker 9:
[23:02] Do I have to?

Speaker 1:
[23:04] It's fine. Mr. Coleman is, it's fine. Go on.

Speaker 4:
[23:12] Good morning.

Speaker 9:
[23:16] That's him, the one from the news. Morning, Mr. Bus Driver. Oh, you're...

Speaker 10:
[23:38] Please, take your seat.

Speaker 9:
[23:41] Yeah, okay. Guys, that's Owen Coleman. My dad told me about him.

Speaker 7:
[23:49] He's the one who... We know!

Speaker 10:
[24:01] Hey, no throwing things.

Speaker 4:
[24:04] Everyone stay in your seats, please.

Speaker 7:
[24:07] Can't catch me.

Speaker 9:
[24:09] Get back here.

Speaker 4:
[24:11] I said stay in your seats.

Speaker 9:
[24:15] My dad says we shouldn't even have to ride with him, that he's dangerous, that he's a killer. He's not a killer. My mom said it was an emergency thing. That's just what he wants people to think.

Speaker 4:
[24:31] Everyone needs to sit down, now.

Speaker 9:
[24:37] Hey, mister.

Speaker 4:
[24:39] What?

Speaker 9:
[24:40] Are you really a bus driver?

Speaker 4:
[24:42] I, yes, of course, I'm...

Speaker 9:
[24:44] Cause Tyler's dad says you're not supposed to be around kids.

Speaker 4:
[24:50] Tyler's dad doesn't know me, and that's not true.

Speaker 9:
[24:53] My dad doesn't lie.

Speaker 4:
[24:56] Didn't say he did, said he doesn't know me.

Speaker 9:
[24:59] So you weren't in prison.

Speaker 4:
[25:02] I was.

Speaker 9:
[25:02] I told you. Oh, my God.

Speaker 4:
[25:05] And now I drive a bus. That's the whole story you're getting. We've got about ten minutes to school, so if you want to keep whispering about me, that's fine. But I can hear you, just so you know.

Speaker 9:
[25:16] Will you tell us about prison?

Speaker 4:
[25:18] No.

Speaker 8:
[25:19] Was it scary?

Speaker 4:
[25:20] I said no. Everyone buckled?

Speaker 9:
[25:23] I'm telling my dad about this. Shut up, Tyler.

Speaker 4:
[25:30] No. No. Please. Please not now. Thank God.

Speaker 8:
[26:00] This is the National Emergency Alert System. Mandatory Directive 62, the knock at the door. This is a national emergency announcement. All citizens must follow these instructions exactly, or you will not be recovered.

Speaker 4:
[26:19] Nobody make a sound. I need to hear this.

Speaker 8:
[26:23] If you're inside a house or a vehicle, and knocking is heard at your door or window, you must stop immediately and remain silent. Do not turn toward the sound. Do not attempt to look. The knocking will occur in three sets, three knocks each time. After the third set of knocks, you are required to state clearly, you've been here before.

Speaker 6:
[26:51] No, quiet, please.

Speaker 8:
[26:53] Failure to speak these words will result in the door or window unlocking on its own.

Speaker 4:
[26:58] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 8:
[27:00] And can only be granted to the visitor.

Speaker 10:
[27:03] Please, quiet.

Speaker 8:
[27:05] They will remain inside until it has taken what it needs. If you are outside and observe a figure standing at a door facing away from you, you must not approach. Do not acknowledge them. This has been the Emergency Alert System. Have a great day.

Speaker 4:
[27:36] Oh God, oh God, what was it?

Speaker 10:
[27:38] You've been here before and, what, what was the rest?

Speaker 9:
[27:42] Mr. Bus Driver?

Speaker 10:
[27:44] What?

Speaker 4:
[27:50] You've been here before, and you... Did anyone hear it? The rest of the phrase, anyone!

Speaker 6:
[27:57] No, help, please! I wanna go home!

Speaker 4:
[28:05] You've been here before, and Dan, you can't come in!

Speaker 6:
[28:10] That's not right!

Speaker 10:
[28:19] Nobody move.

Speaker 6:
[28:21] Nobody speak.

Speaker 4:
[28:23] Nobody look.

Speaker 6:
[28:45] What is that? What is that?

Speaker 10:
[28:48] Tyler! Can I move?

Speaker 6:
[29:05] I want my mom!

Speaker 10:
[29:11] It's coming back, don't look, don't look! Oh, not again. Oh, please God, not again!

Speaker 6:
[29:56] Not again! I couldn't...

Speaker 10:
[30:01] I didn't hear the words. The child screamed, and I couldn't hear the words! 23 children, 23, just like... No, no, no, no, no! Come on!

Speaker 6:
[30:15] Come on!

Speaker 10:
[30:18] I can't get out! Sir, are you injured? 23. There were 23. Where are the children? God, they're all gone. I couldn't save them. Sir, can you open the door?

Speaker 6:
[30:48] What happened?

Speaker 10:
[30:49] Why didn't you say the words? I didn't know them. A child screamed, and I couldn't hear. You've been here before, and you know you can't stay. Hey, that's what you were supposed to say. You know you can't stay. I said, you can't come in, but it was, it was you know you can't stay.

Speaker 1:
[31:32] This has been National Emergency, a Midnight Mystery production, created and written by Dean Smythe. Before the credits, we've got a brief ad coming up. Back in a moment. National Emergency, starring Michael Ursu as Owen Coleman, Maganda Marie as Lisa Park, Brandon Barlow as Ray Henry, Katabelle Ansari as Tyler Reeves and additional school kids, Kaylen McPherran as News Reporter One, and Aiden Clarke as News Reporter Two. Soundtrack by Anna Landstrom, Daniella Lungsberg and Luba Hillman. National Emergency is a completely independent production, so if you're enjoying the show, it would mean a lot if you could subscribe, leave a five-star review and share it with a friend. We also have a Patreon for anyone who'd like to get episodes early and ad-free. Links in the description below. And don't forget to follow The Midnight Mystery for more.