Let Me In

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When the two of them reached the end of the cape, Aldis stood for a moment and looked out at the ocean. He held his hand up to shade his eyes. The view was incredible, but the sunlight was abrasive. cast across the ocean's rippled surface like a thousand broken mirrors. He saw Korra walk over to the lighthouse, disappearing behind its broad, rounded edge.

As he listened to the roar of the waves crashing into the rocks hundreds of feet below, he kept waiting for Korra to come walking around the other side of the lighthouse, her hair whipping in the fierce ocean wind. but she never emerged. How long had he stood there, he would ask himself later. How long was it until he started to get worried? He wasn't sure.

But eventually he walked over and made his way around the old cylindrical structure. Cora? he called. As he navigated the lighthouse's exterior, he found himself looking up at it. It was tall, its surface coarsened by the constant onslaught of salt and sand. Korra? he called again. At first, he felt silly yelling for her.

still certain that she would soon appear and poke fun at him for so quickly assuming the worst. But as he circled the lighthouse and its attached living quarters, not once but twice, Still finding no sign of Cora, he began to think something truly terrible had happened. Cape Blanco was long and narrow. surrounded on three sides by treacherous ocean cliffs. There was only a single trail leading back to the mainland, all of it clearly in Aldous' view. There were no trees.

No other structures that she could have been concealed by. So, where, precisely, could she have gone? Aldous pulled out his phone and called her. But there was no answer. He wondered if perhaps she could have found a way inside the lighthouse. But when he tugged on its exterior doors, both of them were locked. He looked around at the place where the sheer edge of the earth gave way to the turbulent ocean below. Korra, he yelled again, now sounding a bit panicked.

He walked over to the cliffs and slowly made his way around the perimeter of the cape, crawling at points to get a look over the edge. The ground beneath him trembled as the waves collided with the rocky shore below. The view gave him vertigo, his palms slick with sweat. But he couldn't see any sign of Korra. Shaking slightly, he got to his feet. He pulled his phone out and called her again. But this time it went straight to voicemail.

His breathing grew frenzied and rapid as he jogged back along the trail to their car. He prayed that by chance he had missed her, that she had simply gone back to the car to grab her water bottle. and that the whole thing had been a big mix-up. But she wasn't at the car, either. Their little red Subaru sat alone in the gravel parking lot. Aldis paced around the trailhead.

trying to understand where she could have gone. He was nearly hyperventilating now, but his breathing wasn't something he could spare awareness for. Still holding his phone,

He dialed 911. The rest of the evening passed in a blur of adrenaline and flashing lights. Volunteer searchers combed the rough shoreline. and a Coast Guard vessel scoured the water, shining its massive searchlight over the quickly darkening tide. The police spent an hour and a half talking to Aldous. You two were married? One of the officers asked. Engaged, he told them. And was there any trouble at home? The officer inquired. No, Aldous insisted.

Nevertheless, he could tell they were suspicious of him. At the end of their chat, the officers asked to inspect his hands and arms, ostensibly searching for defense wounds. They asked if they could run a Q-tip under his fingernails. He obliged, confident he had nothing to hide. When it got late, he told the officers he was going home to get some sleep, that he would be back in the morning to resume searching. If he find anything in the meantime...

Will you call me? he asked. If we find anything, I promise you'll know about it, one of the officers said, seeming to suggest they'd be keeping a close eye on him. Aldous was still trembling as he got in his car and drove home. He was surprised neither of the officers told him not to leave town, as they so often did in the movies, though he supposed that part was implied.

He was a wreck when he got home, but somehow he was able to get some sleep. When he awoke the following morning, he had a moment of oblivious peace before the horror of Korra being missing rushed back to him. He took a shower and ate a protein bar, and then he drove back out to Cape Blanco and joined the search and rescue groups. He spent all morning searching the coastal terrain, before a jarring thought...

entered his mind. I need to tell her family, he realized. The thought was made even more harrowing by the fact that he had never even met her family. As he walked along the grassy hillside just south of the Cape, he pondered how he could get in touch with them. He couldn't look their phone number up on Cora's phone, as it had apparently been on her when she'd gone missing.

Had they ever sent an email to her parents? Not that he could remember. It struck him in that moment just how little he knew about her life before their relationship. He knew that she had grown up in northern Oregon, in a small religious community. He knew that she was an only child, that she had been homeschooled. But his knowledge of her upbringing essentially ended there.

It was odd to him because she had never seemed withdrawn. She never carried herself like someone who was purposely withholding something. And yet, through the entirety of their two-year relationship, She had adeptly avoided discussion of her family, only repeating certain key details to veil any sense of avoidance. There were times when he found himself questioning her silence on the topic.

But he always supposed that she would tell him about her family when she was ready. He could understand how a strict religious upbringing in a small, isolated town could make for a difficult childhood. If he'd grown up in those circumstances, he probably wouldn't want to talk about it either. And it wasn't as though he was going to try and pry things out of her. When he got back to their apartment that night...

After a long and fruitless day of searching, Aldous looked through Cora's things for information about her parents. There had to be something he could use to get in touch with them. Aldous knew they were still alive. Cora would have told him if they had passed. Wouldn't she? Several times in recent months, Aldous had mentioned inviting her parents to their wedding.

She had always seemed to agree with the suggestion, but when he thought back now, he realized how non-committal she had been. Saying things like, Our wedding wouldn't be the same without them. Or, I want everyone who's important to us to be there. When he'd search through her desk, through the drawers of her nightstand, and through the bundles of old pictures and greeting cards she kept in the closet,

He still hadn't found anything that would bring him any closer to finding her parents. But he had found things that had deepened his sense of unease. His suspicion that he didn't know Korra as well as he once thought he did. In one of her desk drawers, he'd come across a wrinkled piece of notebook paper. The top of the sheet was gone, had been hastily torn off. But in the space that remained, eight words were written.

But memories are things you cannot wash away, it said. Aldous could tell it was Korra's handwriting, but he had no idea what it was referring to. But memories are things... You cannot wash away. A few minutes later, he found an even more unnerving note tucked into the pages of one of Korra's books. It was a book about wellness and setting healthy boundaries.

and slid between the pages, as if to mark a spot, was a small, folded piece of paper. On it, Cora had written, If I could take it all away, I would. But this is the way things are. This is the way things have to be. Like the other note, it sent Aldous spinning. grasping for an understanding of this mysterious new side of Korra. What had she meant by the way things have to be? He wasn't sure if it was something she'd written recently.

but it was hard for him not to see it as being connected to her disappearance. When he laid down in bed that night, he felt like he was falling into an abyss. He didn't sleep.

but he laid there with his eyes closed anyway. Early the following morning, a phone call startled him out of his semi-conscious state. It was Detective Vargas, the officer that had taken his statement. Vargas told him that they had been in touch with Cora's cell phone provider, but that it hadn't uncovered any useful information. Her phone's last known location was at the Cape.

It had apparently shut off around the time she'd gone missing and never turned back on. Aldous asked if the Coast Guard or any of the searchers had found anything. Nothing of note, Detective Vargas told him. There was silence on the line for a few seconds, and then the detective said, Are you sure there isn't anything else you want to tell us, Aldous? No, Aldous told him.

trying his best to sound calm and authentic. Because if there is, Vargas went ahead, it's better that you tell us now. If you're honest with us, we can help you, Aldous. I am being honest, Aldous said. I've told you everything I know. For your own sake, I hope that's true, Vargas told him. We'll be in touch. he added, and abruptly hung up. Aldous clenched his jaw, gripped by a combination of horror and frustration. Never in his life had he felt so powerless.

He wanted to scream, and he probably would have if the walls of his apartment weren't paper thin. When he managed to gather himself and roll out of bed, he thought about how his time would best be spent that day. He wanted to go out to the Cape and keep searching, but he also felt increasingly obligated to find Korra's parents and deliver the news. Yet he was still at a loss about how to contact them.

All he really knew about them was that they lived in a small town in the Cascades. What was the name of the place? Windsell, he recalled. He pulled his phone out and searched for Wind Cell, Oregon. It's said that in the most recent census, the town had a population of only 26 people. In a town that small... He could probably find Korra's parents just by asking around. Surely he'd run into someone that knew them. It was a long drive, but if he set off soon, he could be there by nightfall.

He spent some time thinking about it, ultimately deciding he would go, believing it the right thing to do. He showered and got dressed, and by noon he was out on the road.

An exceptionally heavy rain had begun to fall, and sleep-deprived as he was, he wasn't exactly comfortable being behind the wheel. But he kept it slow and managed to stay between the lines. As he drove, he thought incessantly about Korra. He scrutinized every memory, searching for hidden cues, anything that would explain her vanishing. The notes he'd found the night before still haunted him. If I could take it all away, I would. But this is the way things are. This is the way things have to be.

It had always seemed like he had been the one who had struggled to open up. The one who tended to isolate. But now he realized just how reticent she was. Perhaps that was how she shifted the focus away from her own surreptitiousness, by concentrating on his failure to divulge things. It was true that he was uncomfortable talking about himself. He had been since he was a child. He'd always felt like a burden when he discussed his feelings with people, even when it was someone close to him.

Cora could always tell when something was weighing on him, though. There were days when he felt down, so low that he didn't know what to do about it other than lay in bed and wait for it to be over. Cora would lay down with him, and after a while, she'd gently ask him if he wanted to talk. Sometimes he would tell her what was bothering him.

Sometimes he couldn't summon the words even when asked. The issue usually lay somewhere between not knowing how to describe his feelings and stubbornly believing that they didn't merit discussion. But even when words were too much for him, she would lay there at his side, her head resting on his chest, offering support simply through her physical presence. Every so often,

She would draw a fist and knock softly on his chest. Let me in, she would say. Let me in. He had tried in their time together. to let her in. He became despondent and uncommunicative when he was going through a depressive episode, but in time those became less frequent as he grew more comfortable with opening up to her. The question now was, had she let him in? There was obviously a sizable chunk of her life that he knew nothing about, but what had been her reason for concealing that from him?

Was she trying to deceive him? Or did she have a more benign reason? Perhaps simply feeling uncomfortable discussing the topic? As he drove... Aldous watched the rain streak across the windshield. But memories are things you cannot wash away, he said to himself. In the late afternoon, the rain let up. and the clouds broke slightly. He passed through Portland and drove east. Soon, his car was swallowed by the shadow of Mount Hood, stretched across the forest by the setting sun.

It was dark out when he turned off the highway and headed down the narrow two-lane road to Windsell. Towering cedar trees sprouted up on either side. Up ahead. Aldous caught a glimpse of a small animal scurrying across the road. There were no buildings, no homes, no streetlights. The only illumination was provided by his headlights. which imbued the area with a distinct sense of seclusion. After a half hour of winding his way through the trees, the woods parted to reveal a small gas station.

followed by an assortment of houses. The sign above the gas station said, Rubex Fuel and General Store. Luckily, it still appeared to be open. Aldis pulled up to one of the pumps and shut off his car. He walked inside, where a bare-bones selection of food was displayed beneath the glow of fluorescent ceiling lights. In the corner...

A row of refrigerators buzzed softly. Three of them were labeled food, while a fourth had a paper sign on it that read, Bait, above a clipart picture of a nightcrawler. Aldous looked around, but didn't see anyone. A rusty old cash register sat on the counter, but the wooden bar stool behind it was empty. He was about to call out,

when a man stepped out from the store's back room, as if materializing from the shadows. Aldous took a step back, startled by the man's sudden appearance. Can I help you? the man asked. I hope so, Aldous said. I'm looking for the Lofton family. Do you know if they still live here? The man frowned slightly, as if taken off guard by the question.

Yes, he said. If you mean Dick and Emma Lofton, they live just up the road. He pointed a narrow finger at the window to indicate the direction they lived in. What kind of business you got with them? It's a family matter, Aldous said, looking out the window in the direction the man had pointed. I'm sorry, which house did you say was theirs?

The man leaned over the counter and pointed at a small, single-story house, barely visible between the trees. That one there, he said, tucked back in the small woods at the end of the road. So, a family matter, then, the man added after a brief pause. But Aldous was already inching toward the door. That's right, he said, but thanks for your help.

He hurried back out to his car and made his way up Windsell's main strip. From what he could see, there were hardly more than a dozen houses in the town. Most of them were dark, showing no signs of habitation. But a few of the homes were lit from within, the Lofton House being one of them. It was a small place with a faded blue exterior. A dim porch light hung above the front door.

flickering occasionally. When he came to a stop out front, Aldous shut off his engine. He inhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. And then he stepped out of his car.

and approached the house. He rang the bell and then stepped back from the door. He couldn't hear any movement inside, but after a few seconds, the door swung open. A tall woman emerged and stood before him. Aldous could see immediately that her face resembled Korra's. She had narrow cheeks and a pointed chin, her eyes a deep shade of brown. Long, dark hair lay draped over her shoulders, its shining texture reminding Aldous of a raven's wings. Her expression wasn't one of aggravation.

but it wasn't exactly welcoming either. Is there something I can do for you? she asked. As she did, a man appeared from behind her and hovered at her side. His hair wasn't gray, nor was his face wrinkled enough to say he looked old. Yet, he didn't at all look young, either. His face was a strange confluence of traits, contoured yet smooth, bright and lucid, but at the same time emotionless. The two of them stood there.

staring at Aldous, keenly awaiting an explanation for his presence. For a moment, he froze. I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Lofton. He said, finally. You found us, the woman said. As in, the parents of Korra, Lofton? Aldous asked. Yes, she replied. What is it? It was cold outside, and seemed to Aldous like it was growing colder with each passing second. My name is Aldous Backstrom. I'm Cora's fiancé.

He swallowed dryly. She's... She went missing two days ago, he said. Mrs. Lofton looked at her husband and then back at Aldous.

Maybe you should come inside, she said. The Loftons led Aldous to their kitchen table, above which hung a dim spotlight. The kitchen was filled with decor from the 1970s. The wooden cabinets were richly stained, the wallpaper a faded flower pattern. I'm very sorry to be telling you this. Aldis said, I wish we could have met under different circumstances. I'd be out searching for her right now, but I thought it was important that I came and told you what happened. And...

What did happen? Mr. Lofton asked. Well, we were visiting Cape Blanco. There's a lighthouse there that Cora loves. We had walked out to the Cape? And she just vanished. I called 911 right away. The Coast Guard has been looking for her, but nothing yet. Oh dear. Mrs. Lofton said. Her husband nodded solemnly. I know. I'm so sorry. Aldous told them. His heart was still racing.

He had expected them to scream and cry, to scold him with rage. But they seemed to have taken the news well. Almost too well, Aldous thought. They seemed saddened by the news, but not nearly as destitute as he'd expected parents to be after hearing that their child had gone missing. They just sat in silence, vaguely grimacing. There was no shock or surprise. Are you all right? Aldous asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. I know that's a stupid question.

Considering the circumstances, it's just you both seem quiet. Mr. Lofton looked down at the table, his expression vacant. Mrs. Lofton shook her head. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but couldn't let it out. A thought dawned on Aldous. Have I been had? he wondered. Perhaps Cora had gotten cold feet. and left him hanging. Nothing like this has ever happened before, has it? he asked. Well, no, Mrs. Lofton said. Not exactly.

What do you mean? asked Aldous. Mrs. Lofton looked at her husband warily, and then back at Aldous. Nothing, she said. It's just... Cora is a very special girl. You can't control a girl like Cora. Aldous's mouth fell open in shock. I apologize, he said. Are you accusing me of something? Oh, no, Mrs. Lofton said. Heavens, no. Then what are you trying to say? What is it that I'm missing here? Because...

Neither of you seem all that concerned about finding her. He tried to keep the aggression out of his words, but he could hear it bleeding through. We are concerned. Believe me, we are, Mrs. Lofton said. Well, do you want to come back to Coos Bay with me? Aldous asked. I don't want to be away from the search for long. He paused, resting his elbows on the table. Or...

Do you have some reason to believe we're searching in the wrong place? No. We don't know where Cora is, Mrs. Lofton said. We haven't spoken to her in years. But of course we want to be involved in the search. She glanced at her husband, who nodded in agreement. We'll come with you, but we should leave in the morning. We need rest. as I'm sure you do after your long drive up here. Aldous pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. How much rest do you need? he asked. It's 6 p.m.

It only took me six hours to get here. If we leave now, we can be back in Coos Bay by midnight. We can be at the Cape and searching by tomorrow morning. Mr. Backstrom, we need our rest. Mr. Lofton said. We'll leave in the morning. We'll still be there in the early afternoon. You should get some sleep, Mrs. Lofton added as she and her husband rose from the table.

You're welcome to stay in our guest room if you'd like. Sleep? Aldis asked. I just told you that your daughter is missing, and you want me to go to sleep? Maybe I should just head home. and you can meet up with me when you arrive. Ah, Mrs. Lofton said reproachfully. Well, we don't have a car of our own, but I'm sure we could arrange for transportation to get down there.

We don't have a lot of money, but... No, it's okay, Aldous said, regretting his sternness. We can leave in the morning. Would you like us to show you the guest room, then? Mrs. Lofton asked. No, it's all right, Aldous said. I can sleep in my car. I don't want to put you out. He smiled kindly, but he wasn't just being polite.

He didn't entirely feel comfortable sleeping in the house with Cora's parents. Something about them unsettled him, and he couldn't escape the feeling that they knew something he didn't. Oh, nonsense. Mrs. Lofton said, You can't sleep in your car after a day of driving. Take the guest room. She gestured down the hall to where Aldous assumed the bedrooms were located. Um, okay.

He conceded. Thank you. Already wearing their slippers and flannel pajamas, Mr. and Mrs. Lofton shuffled down the hall ahead of him. They led him to a small bedroom at the end of the hall. It held a twin-size bed with a frilly bedskirt and an excessive number of pillows. Above the bed was a large window looking out at the forest. The bathroom is two doors down.

Mrs. Lofton said. There's towels in the closet if you want to take a shower. Thanks, Aldis said. For a few long seconds, Mrs. Lofton stood there in the doorway. Her sterile gaze fixed on him. You know, Aldous, there's some things you can't find by searching, she said. You can only find them when they're ready to be found.

With that, she and her husband disappeared into their bedroom, shutting the door behind them. For a while after, Aldous stood there, still trying to understand what had just happened. And not just Mrs. Lofton's bizarre parting statement, but everything that preceded it as well. Exactly what kind of hell had he fallen into?

He quietly walked outside to retrieve a backpack from his car, containing a toothbrush and a spare change of clothes. When he got back to the bedroom, he shut the door and was relieved to see that it locked from the inside. He turned the old brass key and pulled it out of the handle. Then he lowered himself into a rocking chair in the corner of the room and looked out the window at the inky black forest.

He was more forceful than he'd expected to be with Cora's parents, but the situation was so horrendously unbelievable, it was hard for him to keep manners in mind. It didn't make a lick of sense to him. How they could be so calm in the face of their daughters vanishing. Were they really that detached? That indifferent about what happened to her? Or, he thought,

Was it possible he was simply the most recent groom-to-be that Korra had disappeared on? From her parents' reaction, it almost seemed like this was a pattern of sorts for her. It would have been a difficult vanishing act to pull off, but not impossible, he supposed. The cape was narrow and exposed, but if she had moved quickly and kept low...

She could have gotten away and disappeared into the nearby forest without him seeing her. The only question was, why? He thought back on her parents' insistence that he couldn't control a girl like her. What exactly was that supposed to mean? Did they take him for some kind of manipulative asshole? He rocked restlessly in the chair, his eyes drawn to the far wall of the room.

where a framed cross-stitch hung. He watches over us, it read in bold gothic letters. Aldous wondered if the room he was sitting in had ever been Korra's room. Eventually, he got up and walked over to the bed. He tossed some of the excess pillows on the ground and flopped down on the mattress, kicking off his shoes and stretching his legs. Despite how early it was,

Aldous was exhausted. The drive had taken it out of him, and he had been sleep-deprived to begin with. He reached over and shut off the lamp on the nightstand, and then he laid there on his side. Moonlight shone through the crooked pines, filling the room with jagged shadows. He felt himself drifting, his frenzied thoughts beginning to slow. As he lingered near the edge of sleep,

He noticed a vague movement outside. He couldn't tell what it was or where exactly it had originated, but he was nearly certain he'd seen something move among the trees. A second later, the shadows were broken by another blur of pale movement. Aldous held his breath, eyes wide. And then, a figure emerged from the darkness. It was a woman, completely unclothed, stepping gracefully through the brush. Before she even reached the window, Aldous already knew who it was.

He knew Korra's figure, her posture, her gait. He knew the way her hair parted to reveal her angular face. And yet, he knew it couldn't be her. He knew that the nude, expressionless woman, gazing through the window at him, was surely nothing more than an apparition. But she looks so real, he thought. Her hair swam in the silver moonlight as she watched him with cold eyes. Her skin was pale, but she didn't look unwell. There was a certain vitality.

in the way she held herself. As she came near, Aldous could see her breath fog up the window. He wanted to shout her name, to reach out to her. But something was subduing him. He felt like an invisible weighted blanket had been draped over him, and he could do nothing to get out from under it. Despite his best efforts,

He couldn't move an inch, couldn't make a sound. He clenched his jaw, squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to break his paralysis. When he opened his eyes, he found that he could move again. But Koro was gone. The only thing he could see out the window was the first hint of morning light glowing through the trees. Was it a dream? He wondered.

It had seemed so real, but dreams were sometimes like that, he knew. He got out of bed and grabbed a towel out of the closet, and then he crept down the hall to the bathroom.

The water wasn't all that warm, but it felt good to shower. It woke him up and helped him clear his mind from the eerie dream. When he got out of the shower, he changed into fresh clothes. stuffing his dirty clothes into his backpack and setting it on the bed. He checked his phone to see if anyone had reached out to him, but there were no notifications. As the sun broke the horizon,

Aldous went out to the kitchen, where he found Mr. Lofton seated at the table. Good morning, Aldous said. Mr. Lofton nodded. There's some eggs on the stove if you're hungry, he said. That's all right, Aldis replied. Should we get going? Emma stepped out for a moment, Mr. Lofton said. When she gets back, we'll head out. Oh, Aldis said.

He took another look at the skillet of eggs still sitting on the burner. I guess maybe I will have a bite then. He scooped himself a plate and sat down across from Mr. Lofton. So, I have the phone number for the officer handling Cora's case. His name is Detective Vargas. He also put me in touch with the Coast Guard officer leading the search. I can introduce you to them when we get down there.

Good, Mr. Lofton said, that peculiar hint of indifference still present in his voice. Aldous took a bite of eggs and looked out the kitchen window. So... What made you guys want to move all the way out here? he asked. Mr. Lofton folded his hands and rested them on the table. We came out here to find God, he said. Aldous took another bite, still gazing out the window. Did you find him? he asked. Mr. Lofton paused, watching Aldous carefully. Yes. Yes, we did.

he said. The answer took all this off guard. He hadn't expected such a direct reply. He looked cautiously into Mr. Lofton's eyes. They were dark green, a shade of seaweed. or moss. His features were still void of any sign of emotion. Without another word, Mr. Lofton rose and walked over to the living room, plopping himself down on an old quilted sofa.

He picked up a newspaper and began to flip through it. When Aldous finished eating, he remained seated at the table, alternating between looking out the window for a sign of Mrs. Lofton. and checking his phone for messages. Nearly an hour passed before he got up, washed his plate, and placed it in the sink. Each minute that crawled by added to his discomfort.

What were they still doing there? So, is Mrs. Lofton coming? Aldous asked tentatively. He heard Mr. Lofton sigh quietly. She'll be back shortly. the man said assertively. Anyway, we don't want to leave too soon, just in case Cora shows up. Aldous squinted, still leaning over the sink. Why would she show up here? He said. She hated it here. Did you know she never even talked about you guys? Mr. Lofton set the newspaper down, eyeing Aldous resentfully.

He opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it. I'm sorry, Aldous muttered. I shouldn't have said that. He stumbled over to the entryway and opened the front door.

I'm just going to get some fresh air, he said, disappearing through the door and closing it behind him. He walked through the towering trees that stood between Windsell's houses. A few dozen yards beyond the Lofton's front door was a small creek. Aldous walked along the soggy creek bed, watching the water trickle over rocks, carrying silt and fallen leaves downstream.

He was frustrated with himself for lashing out at Cora's father, but he didn't know what else to do. Her parents had pushed him to his limit. If Mrs. Lofton wasn't back soon, he would be forced to leave without them. he decided. Just then he heard a rustling sound among the foliage on the far side of the creek. He lifted his gaze, spotting a large elk.

possibly the largest he'd ever seen, not twenty feet away. It had a hefty rack, five points or more, and a bristly brown coat, growing shaggy and dark around the main. Its head hung low as it inspected a cluster of shrubs, heavy black hooves stamping at the earth. As he looked at it, Aldis got the distinct sense that something wasn't right about the animal.

But it wasn't until the elk lifted its massive head and looked at him that he realized what it was. The eyes, he thought. There were too many of them. It had no fewer than four pairs of eyes, scattered randomly around its face. Eyes sprouted from its cheeks, from its forehead, its snout. each of them seeming to stare mindlessly in a different direction. Aldous wondered what could have caused such a horrendous deformation. The elk almost looked like an arachnid of some kind.

He stared at its many unblinking eyes, lost in the insanity of its gaze, until he realized his phone was vibrating. He lifted it slowly from his pocket and answered it. It was Detective Vargas. Hello, Aldis said shakily. Mr. Backstrom, we'd like for you to come into the station, the detective said. We have some news to share with you. It might take me a while to get down there, Aldis said. I'm a few hours away from home right now. Can you just tell me if you found her?

There was silence over the line. A few long seconds passed before Aldous asked, Is she okay? I'm sorry, Mr. Backstrom. She's dead. Aldous fell to his knees. Can I ask why you decided to leave town? Detective Vargas asked. I wanted to find her parents, Aldous said. I wanted them to know she was missing. But her... Parents have also passed, Mr. Backstrom, Detective Vargas said. Our records show they died in a car accident outside Portland six years ago. Were you not aware of that?

The phone nearly slipped out of Aldous' hand. He felt a surge of vomit climb up his throat, and he spit it into the creek. He cupped his hands in the water and rinsed out his mouth. Are you there? Mr. Backstrom? He could hear the detective asking. I'd still like for you to come into the station. But Aldis didn't reply. He just hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket.

When he got to his feet, he noticed the monstrous elk was gone. I have to get out of here, he thought to himself. There's something wrong with this place. He patted his pockets, feeling for his car keys, but quickly realized they were still in the jeans he'd been wearing the day before. The ones that were in his backpack, still inside the Lofton house.

Is that really even the Lofton's house? he wondered. As he approached it, he moved quietly, hoping he could get in, get his keys, and get back out without running into either of them. whoever they were. When he reached the front door, he turned the knob and slowly pushed it open. The floor creaked beneath his feet as he moved down the hallway. He reached the bedroom

Barely breathing, listening for the slightest noise. As he reached for the backpack, he heard footsteps in the other room. He quickly pushed the door shut and locked it. The footsteps paused for a moment, and then they continued. It sounded like they were coming closer. Whoever it was, they were moving down the hallway toward him.

Aldis stood back from the door. As he watched, the doorknob shook. He gripped the little brass key in his palm, feeling sweat beginning to accumulate around it. Aldis... came a voice through the door. It was the man claiming to be Korra's father. Are you still going to take us with you? Emma is back now. We're ready. I want to go alone. Aldous said. I know. I know you're not really Korra's parents. There was silence. And then Korra's supposed mother spoke up. Just open the door, she said.

Let us explain. Explain? Aldous asked. Did you hear what I said? Korra's parents are dead. You lied to me. Dead is just a word. Mr. Lofton said. Dead doesn't encompass what we are. His voice sounded so close, as if his face was pressed right up against the door. Aldous took another step back. What did you do to Korra? he asked. What did we do? Mrs. Lofton asked. We didn't do anything. Why...

Korra's here now. She can't be, Aldous said. Korra is dead. It wasn't until he said the words out loud that he fully realized she was gone. Korra... is dead. The woman I love is dead. It seemed impossible, absurd. But then, defying any sense of logic or reason that remained in him, Korra's voice came through the door as well. Hello, Aldous, she said. When he heard her voice, the fine hairs on his neck rose on end.

Open the door, Korra said. He took another step back and sat down on the bed clumsily. Tears began to fill his eyes. Please, Korra said. Please, Aldous, open up. He imagined her head resting gently on his chest. Let me in, he heard her say. He could almost feel her knuckles. wrapping against his ribcage.

Hey, thanks so much for listening. If you like the show, I just want to make sure you know I have a Patreon. It's $3 per new episode. You get early access to new releases and you get to listen without ads. You also get access to my audiobook, Solace. It's over eight hours long, sort of a mystery story with some cosmic horror elements wrapped in.

It's about a struggling journalist who sort of becomes obsessed with this strange missing persons case he's investigating. The Patreon also has its own RSS feed, so you can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcast or whatever podcasting app you like. And there's a link for that in the episode description as well as in the bio for the show. But if you can't see it, it's patreon.com slash A-C-E-P-H-A-L-E. I've also got t-shirts for sale.

There's a few different colors, some pretty awesome designs. And you can find the link for that in the description as well. You can also follow me on social media. I'll include links for that. And if you feel so inclined, please feel free to leave a rating or review wherever you listen. I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to leave one of those. And that's all I've got for now, so thanks again for listening.

Till next time. As a raider scavenging a derelict world, you settle into an underground settlement. But now you must return to the surface. Ark machines roam. If you're brave enough, who knows what you might find. Ark Raiders, a multiplayer extraction adventure video game. Buy now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Rated T for Teen.

Welcome and enter if you dare. Hi, I'm Hallie Keeper. And I'm Allison Leiby. And together, we're the hosts of Ruined, a scary movie podcast where Hallie tells me the grisly details of a haunting new horror film each week. Whether you're a terror hound like me or a sca- Marity can't like Allison. We've got so many thrills, chills, and obviously kills to share with you in every episode. It's the podcast that'll have you saying, that was so funny.

I should not have listened to it at night with all the lights off. From the greats like The Exorcist and Poltergeist to modern classics such as Hereditary and Get Out to the freakiest new releases like A Quiet Place and Terrifier, we ruin them all and we'll leave you howling, mostly from laughter.

Sometimes because you're turning into a werewolf. Ooh. Listen along as I try and guess the movie's twist, predict who will survive, and answer the hardest question of all. What would you do? So please listen to new episodes of Ruined every... Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And whatever you do, we're begging you, please keep it spooky.