Episode 4: Calypso
SFX: Ignition. A van engine rumbles. The god radio hisses as someone turns the dial to tune into a station. The opening theme plays, at first distorted before clearing up.
THEME: (sings)
If there’s a stranger all alone
Set her back to walk the stone
TITLE:
Hearthbound
Episode 4
Calypso
THEME: (sings)
Will she find her way back home?
SFX: Odessa rumbles along the road in her van.
ODESSA: (cheerfully hums “Wayfarer Wanderer”) That’s the dune Uri said to keep an eye out for. Look at that, Mack. That’s a lot of sand.
SFX: Odessa flicks on her turn signal. She turns off-road.
ODESSA: (continues humming) That’s a lot of sand.
SFX: Mack whines, then yips.
ODESSA: We’re almost there. I think I can see her trailer.
SFX: The van rolls to a stop. The engine grumbles off.
ODSSESA: Okay.
SFX: Odessa unbuckles her seat belt and gets up to open the van door. Wind whistles eerily. And there’s moaning. A very deep hum of moaning. Odessa and Mack jump out. She slides the door shut.
ODESSA: What… the hell?
SFX: A lever action rifle cocks, then fires. Mack barks, then snarls.
ODESSA: Mack, no!
SFX: Odessa grabs Mack and pulls him down. Their bodies thump to the ground, prone.
CAL: Who the fuck are you?!
SFX: Cal recocks her rifle. Mack growls.
ODESSA: Cal?
CAL: Who’s asking, fuckface?
ODESSA: I—
SFX: A rifle shot breaks the van mirror.
CAL: Don’t you fucking move or I swear I’ll blow your fucking head off.
SFX: Cal recocks her rifle, again.
ODESSA: Okay, easy, easy. Uri sent me. My name’s Odessa.
CAL: Why the fuck would Uri send you?
ODESSA: He’s worried about you? Said you sounded off when you talked this morning.
CAL: Off? Do I sound fucking off to you?
ODESSA: Nope, you sound completely fine to me. Can I get up?
CAL: Slow.
ODESSA: Okay… okay. Mack, chill. Don’t get us shot.
SFX: Mack whines. Odessa and Mack get up off the ground. Mack sneezes twice, and Odessa dusts off her clothes.
ODESSA: Do you…um, hear that?
CAL: What?
ODESSA: The moaning.
CAL: It’s the dune.
ODESSA: Okay.
CAL: What do you want?
ODESSA: I just want to talk.
CAL: Talk? About fucking what?
ODESSA: I don’t know, man, I’m honestly having a hard time thinking while the giant sand mountain is moaning. Do you mind if we go inside?
CAL: You’re a friend of Uri’s?
ODESSA: Yeah.
SFX: Cal lowers her rifle.
CAL: Alright, fine.
ODESSA: Thank god.
SFX: Odessa, Mack, and Cal walk up to Cal’s trailer as the sand dune continues to groan. They climb up a few short metal steps. Cal opens the trailer door, and they all enter.
CAL: You can...uh... sit.
ODESSA: Thanks.
SFX: The door shuts, and the moaning and wind die down from inside. Cal shuffles around. She puts down the rifle.
CAL: Do you… want something to eat? I have… water.
ODESSA: I’m good.
CAL: Okay.
SFX: Mack whines. Cal goes to the sink and fills a bowl with water. She places it on the ground. Mack barks and bounds up, lapping at it happily.
CAL: So… Uri sent you.
ODESSA: Yeah.
CAL: Fucker. He should just mind his own goddamn business.
ODESSA: You should tell him that.
CAL: I…yeah!
SFX: Mack sneezes.
ODESSA: Nice set-up you’ve got here. I can barely turn around in my van, so this is… it’s nice.
CAL: Whatever.
ODESSA: How long have you been here?
CAL: Long enough.
ODESSA: Okay. …Do you want a hug?
CAL: What the fuck?! No!
ODESSA: Sorry! Sorry— it worked on me. I’ll just, um— do you have anyone? Friends, family?
CAL: What the fuck’s with the fucking third degree?
ODESSA: I’m sorry, I’m trying to get a sense of… you know.
CAL: No friends. Family’s gone. Happy?
ODESSA: No.
CAL: Whoopdedoo then.
ODESSA: Can I— can we take a sec? Take it one more time? You can ask me whatever you want.
SFX: Odessa taps her fingers on the trailer table uncomfortably.
CAL: Fine. What’s with the weird guitar?
ODESSA: Oh, I, uh. I use it to talk to my wife.
CAL: That’s weird.
ODESSA: Uh yup.
CAL: What do you talk about?
ODESSA: She… I mean… I don’t think she can hear me. I’ve been gone for a long time, and I’m sort of hoping that the closer to home I get, that we’ll somehow be on the same frequency one of these days, and she’ll pick up my signal.
CAL: That’s really fucking sad.
ODESSA: (chuckles) Yeah, it is, isn’t it?
CAL: Can I see it?
ODESSA: Sure.
SFX: Odessa passes the guitar over to Cal.
ODESSA: Do you know how to play?
CAL: Yeah.
SFX: Cal tentatively strums a C major, G major, then A minor chord. She tries an F major chord, but can’t hit it.
CAL: Fuck. How do you— how do you—
ODESSA: Here. I can show you. Look.
SFX: Odessa takes the guitar back.
ODESSA: If you use your index to hit the two bottom strings here, then use your middle and ring finger for the next two strings, just strum those four and you’ve got it.
SFX: Odessa plays a modified F major chord, brightly.
CAL: That’s cheating.
ODESSA: A friend of mine taught me that. He liked to cut corners.
CAL: Did he teach you anything else?
ODESSA: No. The next day, his husband died, and he went mad with grief.
CAL: Can you play something?
ODESSA: What are you feeling?
SFX: Odessa picks at her guitar casually.
CAL: I don’t know. Something good.
ODESSA: (sings)
Hey, friend of mine
The road goes on into the night
Hey, friend of mine
I'll walk with you ’til we meet the tide
It's hard to see, it's hard to know
The bottom's deep, the light is grey and slow
So steady, steady, steady as we go
SFX: Mack joins in.
ODESSA: (continues singing) Steady, steady, steady as we go.
CAL: That’s depressing.
ODESSA: Really? I was actually going for pensive, but hopeful.
CAL: And Uri sent you to cheer me up?
ODESSA: Is that what you wanted?
CAL: No— I just— Forget it. It’s not my fault Uri takes shit so fucking personally. I’m sorry I said it.
ODESSA: Said what?
CAL: That no one gives a flying fuck about me.
ODESSA: Do you believe that?
CAL: No. Yes. I don’t know! I mean Uri’s bleeding heart gave enough of a fuck to send you I guess?
ODESSA: That’s true.
CAL: But you don’t even know me.
ODESSA: You don’t have to know someone to give a fuck about them.
CAL: Whatever. I’m going out.
ODESSA: Can I come with you?
CAL: Fine. You drive.
SFX: The god radio hisses, then clicks off. The radio clicks on. Odessa’s van idles.
ODESSA: Where are we?
CAL: The Shoals.
ODESSA: Sure, that’s also what I’d call the maze of giant black stone blocks, because that’s not foreboding at all. I generally have a rule that I don’t go into scary-looking places with one noun for a name.
CAL: Whatever. Stay in the van, then.
SFX: The van door opens. Cal jumps out.
ODESSA: Fuck.
SFX: Odessa turns off the ignition. She and Mack exit the van.
ODESSA: Come on, boy. Let’s go into the craggy labyrinth in the middle of nowhere. Doesn’t that sound like a swell idea?
SFX: Odessa and Mack exit the van. They catch up to Cal. Wind whistles through the craggy labyrinth in the middle of nowhere. A large, hanging metal sign squeaks ominously.
ODESSA: So. We’re going in?
CAL: Yeah.
ODESSA: Looks like a tight fit.
CAL: Your mom’s a tight fit.
SFX: An awkward beat.
CAL: Just shut up and follow me.
ODESSA: Okay, wait, hold your horses. I want to read the huge, busted sign with the big yellow words in all caps. “This is not a place of honor.” Great. Cheery. Have you read this? “No deed…. is here. Nothing valued. The danger… increases… below us.”
CAL: Half the words are missing. Not a compelling fucking warning if you ask me.
ODESSA: (to herself) I dunno, I’m pretty compelled.
CAL: Keep up.
SFX: They enter the labyrinth.
ODESSA: What are we doing here?
CAL: I’m scavenging. You’re the fifth wheel.
ODESSA: So you... uh, come here often?
CAL: (sighs) There’s a bunker further in. It’s got some stuff I’ve been eyeing when I first scoped this place out.
ODESSA: Is that before or after we’re cooked alive by the heat?
CAL: You could use a good roasting.
ODESSA: Hilarious.
CAL: Turn here.
SFX: Mack growls.
ODESSA: Mack, what is it— uh, Mack?
SFX: Mack wom-wom-woms.
CAL: … Your dog’s... glowing.
ODESSA: Yeah, that’s new. Maaack?
SFX: Mack freaks out.
CAL: What the fuck! There’s nothing there you fucking glowstick.
ODESSA: Mack, what’s wrong?
SFX: Mack paces back and forth in front of them, barking at what lies ahead.
ODESSA: I don’t think he wants us to go that way.
CAL: Ugh. Fine, twinkletails. You win. I know a longer way around.
ODESSA: Alright, Mack. This way.
SFX: Mack whines a few more times, then pads back to join them as they head in a different direction.
CAL: Your dog is weird.
ODESSA: He’s… never done that before.
MACK: Mack stops glowing.
CAL: The glowing’s stopped.
ODESSA: Yeah. What do you think was down that way?
CAL: I don’t know. I’ve never noticed anything. I mean… I guess whenever I walk through that passageway, I get a little nauseous, but it always goes away after a few hours.
ODESSA: And you kept going back??
CAL: It’s faster. You didn’t have to come, you know.
ODESSA: I didn’t say anything.
CAL: I said what I said.
ODESSA: I wanted to.
CAL: Why?
ODESSA: Because no matter the shit you talk before and the shit you talk after, in between that shit sandwich you still said yes when I asked.
SFX: The wind intensifies.
CAL: Are we gonna talk about your glowing dog?
ODESSA: Nope.
SFX: Mack agrees.
CAL: Damn it. Wind’s picking up. Here. Put these goggles on. And stay close!
SFX: Cal pushes a pair of goggles at Odessa. She strides quickly forward.
ODESSA: Wait! Slow down!
CAL: (far away) Turn here!
SFX: Mack barks, also far away in a different direction.
ODESSA: Where? (to herself) Great. (louder) Cal?!
SFX: Odessa searches around blindly.
ODESSA: Cal! Hey, could you slow down a bit? I’m having some– (a sharp intake of breath) You’re not Cal. You’re—
SFX: A spoked wheel screeches, otherworldly.
CAL: (from behind) There you are! Didn’t I say keep the fuck up?
ODESSA: Did you see him?
CAL: See who?
ODESSA: The man with the scrap leg. It was made of bike parts.
CAL: What the fuck are you talking about?
ODESSA: He was right there! I saw him! I mean, I’ve seen him. Back when I was—
CAL: There’s no one else here. It’s just us. Come on.
SFX: They walk.
CAL: We’re here. Help me with the door.
SFX: They crank open a heavy metal door hatch. They pull it open with a thunk.
ODESSA: Really? “The. Danger. Increases. Below Us?”
CAL: It’s not even a full flight of stairs. It’s not that deep.
SFX: Mack barks and bounds down the stairs.
CAL: See, your glow dog seems fine with it.
SFX: Cal and Odessa take out flashlights and click them on. They walk down the stairs.
ODESSA: Ugh. I’ve got sand in my pants.
SFX: Odessa pulls up her pant legs as sand tumbles out. Cal hits a switch, and power whirs. She pulls a beaded metal string. A lightbulb clicks on with a light buzz. She opens a cabinet door.
CAL: Aha. Here we go.
SFX: Cal pulls off a tabbed can lid with a pop.
ODESSA: Canned peaches. You came all this way for canned peaches.
CAL: Mama needs her vitamins. There’s a whole pantry here that’s never been raided. And look, I brought two bags. Here.
SFX: Cal throws a bag at Odessa, who catches it. Cal starts shoving cans and other useful loot into her bag. Odessa walks off to explore the space.
ODESSA: Do you know what these monitors are for?
CAL: Nope. And honestly I don’t give one single shit.
ODESSA: There are tapes here.
CAL: Mm, knock yourself out.
SFX: Odessa slots a tape into a cassette player. She rewinds, then presses play. The recording starts garbled before clearing up. On the tape, a Geiger counter clicks and other devices chirp in the background.
MAN ON TAPE: (recorded) My people came from a place where water ran sweet from the tap. That’s what Gran told me. Sometimes she used words from the old language that I don’t understand. No one knows them but her anymore. She’d tell me about how we lived with this land— cared for it as it cared for us. I wonder what she’d think of me now. Taking care of death we buried as deep as memory would allow. They say it’ll take ten millennia of decay before the poison returns back to the earth. I don’t see how we’ll ever make it that long.
SFX: Odessa hits pause.
CAL: (snort) Me too, buddy.
ODESSA: I’ve heard of these sites. They were trying to generate power. Or build weapons and had to hide what was left underground. And just… hope for the best.
CAL: Lucky us.
SFX: Odessa presses fast forward and then plays. On the tape, sirens join the soundscape.
MAN ON TAPE: (recorded) The sky is red today. And the air smells like smoke. The fields of Fallon are on fire again. They’ve been burning all season. Just like last year. And the year before.
The pilots have evacuated the base. I don’t think they’re coming back.
SFX: Odessa stops the tape.
ODESSA: We really shouldn’t stay long.
CAL: Fine. Have it your way. At least grab some more cans to go, will ya?
SFX: They grab some cans. The god radio hisses, then clicks off. The radio clicks on. Cal’s dune moans outside as Odessa paces back and forth in Cal’s trailer. Heavy wind whips detritus against the trailer walls.
ODESSA: It’s not safe here.
CAL: Oh come on, just because you watched some sad sucker’s video doesn’t mean shit.
ODESSA: I mean it. You should come with me.
CAL: And why the fuck would I want to do that?
ODESSA: I know it was an old tape, and I know we can’t know what’s actually rotting away beneath us, but I can’t just let you stay here and let it eat you alive.
CAL: Give it a shot. Don’t tell me you’ve never left people behind before. It ain’t hard. We’re all good at it.
SFX: Mark, agitated by the arguing, barks and howls at the growing storm outside.
ODESSA: I don’t want to be.
CAL: Listen, I’m not gonna be just another fucking stray for you to take in. Your baggage is not my problem.
ODESSA: Cal, this isn’t about me. This place will kill you.
CAL: Then fucking let it! Then maybe I’ll finally have some fucking peace and quiet.
ODESSA: I can’t leave you here to die alone.
CAL: No, fuck you. You don’t get to just roll up and try to fix this. You don’t get to use me to feel better about the things you’ve fucked up—
ODESSA: Cal—
CAL: No. No, I’m done. I’m over it, and I’m over you. Get out. Just get the fuck out. Go back to your wife and leave me alone.
ODESSA: Okay. I’m sorry. I really am. I’ll leave. Come on, Mack, let’s go.
SFX: Odessa opens the trailer door to the deafening moan of the dune. Wind howls and sand rushes in.
ODESSA: Shit!
SFX: Glass shatters. Loose items fly. It’s havoc and chaos.
CAL: Fuck!
ODESSA: Shit shit shit shit.
CAL: Close it! Close the fucking door!
SFX: Cal rushes to help Odessa get the door back closed. They heave and heave, and finally it slams shut. They fall to the ground, exhausted. Breathing hard.
CAL: Well, fuck me.
SFX: Everything fades.
THEME: (sings)
If there’s a stranger all alone
CREDITS:
Hearthbound
Episode 4
Calypso
Features the voices of
Jo Chiang as Odessa
Manami Maxted as Cal
Francisco Alvidrez as Man on Tape
Odessa's Guitar by Pete Lanctot
Hearthbound is Created, Written, and Produced by Jo Chiang
Directed by Jack Towhey Calk
Music directed by Ginger Dolden
Sound design and editing by Levi Sharpe
Additional dialogue editing by Anna Kelly Rodriguez and Amadar L. Rodriguez
Music production, additional engineering, and mixing by Pete Lanctot
Production managed by Charlotte Muth & Neaco Fox
Special thanks to Multitude Studio and our illustrator, Anya Boz
Stay in touch with us on hearthboundpod.com
You get home safe now, you hear?
THEME: (sings)
Set her back to walk the stone
You may wonder, but never know
Will she find her way back home?
JO: Hi! Jo here. You can dive into the real history and questions touched on in this episode by reading about Project Shoal, which took place near Fallon, Nevada. Other related topics to look into: long-term nuclear waste warning messages, ray cats, and shunned land. One interesting place to start is wipp.info, where you can read excerpts from a report about designing a 10,000-year marking system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
And then there’s our fearless director, Jack Towhey Calk, who many of you may know as Static Man from Archive 81. When he’s not pulling new dimensions from my silly little pages, he’s working with The Motor Company’s Writers Lab to create free site-responsive plays for his neighborhood, Astoria, Queens. If you’re local to New York City, keep an eye out at jackcalk.com and themotorcompanynyc.com.
And if you like glowing dogs, how about a three-headed one? For that, check out Residents of Proserpina Park, a monster of the week anime-inspired audio drama by Angela Yih, about a secret park where mythological creatures live hidden away from society. Here’s a teaser.
SFX: Upbeat, driving electronic pop music.
NARRATOR: The park is now open for the new season!
DOG: Adventure ho!
ALINA: Oh, I’m so excited!
NARRATOR: New and old characters once again return to Proserpina Park with another mystery on hand.
JESSICA: Hi, I’m Jessica.
ALINA: I’m Alina. These are my friends, Drew and Jun. And you know Dog. We’re still new to the park. We wanna know everything!
JESSICA: Well, let’s see. The obvious things are: Stay away from the waters…
TERRY: He’s an Encantado. A were-dolphin known along the Amazon River. Stay on your guard.
DREW: A were-dolphin?! Ohh! Like a werewolf but dolphins??
JESSICA: Stay away from the mountains.
DOG: Anansi! Oh my god, I didn’t think we’d actually meet!
ANANSI: Child, you are dealing with not just any god, but a trickster. I am not always the hero in the stories.
JESSICA: And stay away from the woods.
DREW: Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!
ALINA: Okay, wait for me!
DREW: Just run!
JUN: Okay, so, even unicorns are mean creatures here?! What’s up with that?
JESSICA: Wow, this park is pretty dangerous isn’t it?
NARRATOR: The new season of Residents of Proserpina Park returns. The residents have been waiting.
JESSICA: Come on, you wanted to see how I survive in the park? I’ll show you.
JO: That’s all for now! And well, thank you for listening to Hearthbound.
