Episode 11: The Beast Within

Published on August 27, 2018

Warning: This episode ends dealing with a really tough topic. If you have a hard time with anything involving mental illness and/or death, you should be prepared or perhaps skip this episode.

Please remember: You matter. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger because of thoughts of suicide, call 911.

If you are not in immediate danger, but are struggling with thoughts of suicide and need someone to talk with about your suicidal feelings, please do not hesitate to call one of the following national suicide prevention lines:

1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-273-TALK

Peace and game on, everyone.


Lemme tell ya, ol’ Jack isn't feeling the greatest. I don't know if it's the crap Burbie Bitch sprayed on everybody, or if it's just the effects of missing a few meals, but ol’ Jack feels like a pair of socks rinsed off in the sink, wrung out, and then hung out to dry.

It ain't just that. I feel like something is whispering in my mind and these new powers I've developed are scaring the shit outta me. My temper is on a very short leash right now. I don't know what the hell is happening to me but I don't like it one bit.

So we got out of the tunnel and outside Firetown. Ol’ Jack brought up the rear and brought down the roof of the tunnel with Brian’s party favors. Those weird-ass mages weren't coming out that way. I didn't think much of it at the time, but as I exited the tunnel I realized all the weeds were sick and dead.

We decided to split up. Doc and two of Magpie’s crew went to get Doc patched up. The rest of us looked for a place to hole up. We found an abandoned warehouse not too far away. Ol’ Jack wanted to find some wheels, but he was too tired, and too hungry to deal with it. So he bedded down for a few hours of shuteye.

Something woke ol' Jack up after only a couple of hours. Something wasn't right. I couldn't pick up any trace of Magpie or her crew. They were supposed to have set up a perimeter, but now it appeared they had decided to ghost us. I woke up Fer and Doc. Vic didn't stir, likely sleeping off whatever he was on. Brian was still asleep in the crane. I didn't bother waking up Velia or Charlotte. As I relayed my suspicions to Doc and Fer, I noticed it. More of the dead weeds. They'd been alive when we entered the warehouse and now they were gray and dead like the weeds outside the tunnel.

We confronted the Burbie Bitch over what she knew. She claimed to know nothing about the dying foliage. They had taken a disease that killed everyone and instead twisted it into a disease that was only supposed to wipe out d-bees. That's what happened when people try to play god. They ended up doing more harm than good. I should know. A similar "god" created something that killed my pack. 

I told Fer and Doc to sit tight while I took a look around outside. I kinda wished I hadn't - only a few dozen yards away were Coalition Skelebots. They wanted ol' Jack to stand down. Yeah right. I ducked behind the edge of a nearby shipping container and took a potshot at the closest with my gun. It didn't do much more than stop it from walking for a few seconds. The joker on top of the shipping container was a psi-stalker and tried his mumbo jumbo on me, but I was too strong for it. Meanwhile inside the warehouse a squad of dogboys appeared out of nowhere and began herding Fer and Doc outside. When I saw them I got pissed. How the hell had I not smelled them?

A lot of things happened really fast. First Doc went down to the lasers of the skelebots, then Fer fell too. Ol' Jack fought like a beast, but wound up in the clutches of the 'stalker, who drained ol' Jack dry of juice. Except ol' Jack wasn't going down like that. I fought out of the grip of the 'stalker only to get blasted by the 'bots.

Ummm...yeahhhh... this is Brian. I didn't want to tell the nice Doctor and his friends what happed, but the dog boy...he...my god...I'm scared. I know he's dead...I wish dad was here. The dog boy killed all those other dogs, even when they tried to run away. Then he tore the robots to pieces. I know I should have stayed inside the crane where it was safe. I think he saw me.  I ran back to the ladder and climbed up and into the crane. I watched as he carried in the bodies of the Doc and the one called Fer. I thought they were dead. The dog boy had been hurt bad too. He didn't even look like the dog boy anymore. He looked like a monster.  Some part of him must have beeen left because he whimpered as he laid down near them. Then I heard a loud sound like a gunshot and the dog boy didn't move anymore. I stayed where I was, too scared to move, but even from the crane I could see the gun in the hand of the dog boy. I'd never seen someone kill themselves before. I don't know why he did it, but I hate it. I hate the killing. I just want to go home. I want dad to come home, and tell me it'll be alright.

[ sounds of muffled crying on the voice recorder ]

Nothing will be alright ever again.


If you're still with us, thank you for reading. I know this was some pretty heavy stuff.