Chapter 15: The Seekers

wanted to lead you in her stead. But unfortunately we don't. Celeste, as much as she tried her best, has left us with a less than ideal situation. What the children started back in the seven Needs she tried to finish. But as I'm sure you all know by now, that's not what happened. Despite all her best laid plans, Celeste didn't succeed. She didn't get all the way through the portal. The

liminal has been left wanting. Perhaps if she had finished the ritual properly, we wouldn't be facing the situation we are. But there are things that need to be dealt with. Doors that need to be opened and closed protections that need to be put in place. Things here in this region were They were unbalanced long before Celeste's death. They've been unbalanced for decades. But I think we all know it's now worse than ever. It's up to us now to fix it, to do whatever we can to put

things back into balance. There is a rift in the bridgewater. Try I angle a tear big enough to let things out, but too small to let us in. That has to change. Hey, are you sure you're feeling okay? Because I can get stuff for dinner on my own. I'm fine, Jerry, fine that you collapse, I collapse. I got a little loozy. It's no big deal. Um, So you've been in a lot of earthquakes, Olivia explained a bit about climate change

to me. Does Massachusetts get a lot of earthquakes? Now? Uh? No, No, it's that's not climate change is serious, but it's Uh, there were some earthquakes when I was in California for college, and my mom is still out there. Like I said, so, I've I've been out to a visit a bit. Right, come right, California r very exciting. What made you want to come back? Uh? Here, it just seemed like a

good place. For folklore academics. Um, I don't know. I never really felt right staying away too long for some reason. I guess part of me knew that I had unfinished business here. It must have been hard, you know, growing up with what happened to me. I imagine it was pretty big news at the time. Oh yeah, yeah, everyone had their theories. Um, but you know, people lost interest eventually, No sense. Mom did a pretty good job of shielding me from it. Is she Her husband is a he's

a good man, he says, she happy. Um, yeah, I think so. I don't know. I don't know. We're not that close. Actually, uh right, I think that's good for Vinci's. Let's get some pasta. Do you cook a lot? Not as much as I should. Probably. I never really got off my thesis diet, to be honest, Well, lots of fast food and too much coffee. Oh so you're familiar. I always worried steak out heals we're gonna put me in an early grave. Well sorry, speaking of food, you

ate earlier, right with vipen in Olivia. Yeah, but that was hours ago. By the time we get home, I'll definitely be hungry for dinner. No, no no, no, I mean, do you feel how did you feel afterwards? You didn't get sick again? Did you? Oh? No, no, I'm fine. You were fine, like you didn't get sick or you felt okay, I didn't get sick. And have you been sleeping? Jeremy? What is this? I know you think you're fine, but I'm worried. Look if this is the pay round, then

they're not known for their fair deals. And if we have accidentally broken some rule, I know. This is why we need to get Olden out and make sure the gate is cleared. Can you I'm just more focused on keeping you alive and here for right now. Can we just forget Alden and whatever monsters are rowing around out there? You are now my responsibility, and if the in between is really seeping out into our world, then I need

to make sure that it can't hurt you. I understand your concerned, Jeremy, but this is bigger than just me, and maybe if we focus on fixing things, whatever is going on with me will just resolve itself. Okay, so you're admitting that there is something going on with you. I think I spent a long time in a very strange place and maybe that put my body through a lot. I think it's not your job to worry about it. Hey,

focus on what you're good at. You spent your life understanding all of this stuff, and you're going to figure it out. I know you will. Dad. I feel like I'm going crazy. I don't know where to put my focus. I don't know what to worry about. I had to I had to go to my job yesterday, and I had to get up in front of a group of college students and pretend like everything was normal. No, it's

it's like seeing a natural disaster on the news. You know, it's terrifying and it's awful, and you want to help people affected by it, but there's really nothing that you can do, not at the moment, because you can't stop a storm, and you can't protect all those people because you're just a single person thousands of miles away. Right But in this situation, the natural disaster is in the next town over, So maybe I do have to worry

about the tornado hitting me, except for right now. My house is also on fire, so it also feels like I should focus on that first. But while all that is going on, I have been handed this winning lottery to get you I don't know if I'm making any sense. Yeah, it's a lot. Yeah, it's a lot. It's a fucking lot. And I don't know how you'reself fucking calm. I've had at least forty years to come to terms with magic or whatever. This is being real. It's not just about

all of this has to be overwhelming for you. I mean you you last saw your son when he was five, and now I'm a middle aged man, and your girlfriend is an old woman, and you have a daughter that you haven't even matt, and I don't know how you're not freaking out every second. I actually did meet Shelly earlier today. What I haven't told Anne yet, Olivia brought me. Oh Christ, I don't even know how to react to this. She did not react. Well, Olivia is going to work

on her. Jesus. It's not that I'm unaffected, but I'm gooding a crisis. I always have been. Well. I guess that's the cop in you. Huh, it's dad in me. You can't fall apart when you've got a kid to take care of. Yeah, well, you don't need to worry about me. I'm not a kid anymore. No, you're not. But I'm still going to worry, especially since, especially since I am having a breakdown in the middle of the dry goods aisle. Look, you'll buck up. You're just not

used to all this high stress stuff. I get it. What do you mean by that? But you're not alone in this all right. We've got a real brain trust. You've got all the folklore stuff and the best investigator I've ever met, and Hippin and Olivia are going to that weird group you found tonight. We've got it all covered. You don't have to put out the fire and prepare for the tornado all by yourself. You just have to stay tough. Mhm. Okay, but come on, let's get out

of here. Let's get the pasta go home. Are we sure this is the right place? Pretty sure? They said they'd be in the back, right, Maybe there's another room, right? Should we order something? It feels rude to come to a bar and non order something fried. Well, it's not like we're taking up seats that could go to paying customers, right, I mean, this place is dead. I'm telling you something is different. But what could have changed? There's been no

full moon, no planet movement. Always think it's the planets. This is why I think we should revisit the ley Line theory. I'm just saying, why would can we help you? Yeah? Is this the paranormal seekers? Who's asking? Oh my god, so dramatic. Yes, we are some of them, at least he always wants to act like we're some secret ghost hunting squad. I'm Cindy, this is Kevin and Spencer, and you guys are totally welcome to join. Just pull up a chair. I'm Olivia. This is Vippin. Nice to meet

you guys. We're pretty new to the whole legend tripping thing, so when we saw that you guys were actually meeting in person. Yeah, it's exciting, isn't it. This is actually the first time we are meeting face to face. So you guys aren't all from here. I live here, but Cindy's up in Vermont and Kevin's out in Indianapolis and you came to Bridgewater just because what weird stuff is happening? Something's changing. Besides, I had some vacation days to use.

We've been talking about getting together for some group legend tripping for a while now. So did you all go and see the cows? The cows, the ones at Oakley Farms. What happened? Oh weird? I thought one of your members went to look into it. It's possible. I know some of the other folks are Boston based, so we're not all in regular touch with each other. The three of us have just been talking online for a long time. We bonded over our shared obsession with the Bridgewater Triangle.

So the cows, Oh right, Well, these cows were viscerated, totally torn apart by something. Yeah, it was really rough. You saw them. Yeah. Here, if you're squeamish, you might not want to look. Oh my god, are those teeth marks on its ribs? What the actual hell? It's exactly our question. So you guys are real believers, then whoa what constitutes a real believer? I mean, we've all got our different perspectives, things we agree on and don't agree on.

I just think if you read a little bit more about planet alignment and moon phases, it's astrology, Cindy, It's the same thing. It's not ignore them. This argument is ancient and it will never be resolved. But that's not the point. Regardless of what we believe, we all think there's something unexplainable out there, not just in the world in general, but specifically here in the Bridgewater Triangle. In that case, then yeah, I think you could call us

true believers. There's definitely something more here. So what what exactly do you both believe? We're still figuring that out, or at least I am. I think that monsters are real, like the big teeth, supernatural strength beasts of myth monsters. As to where they come from or what exactly they are, I'm still figuring that bit out. And what about you, Vivien? Do you believe in monsters? Uh? Yeah, I think I do. I think I was attacked by one. Why what? What kind?

It was about a week ago? See this scratch here? Holy shit. The doctor told me it was an owl, but you were the owl attack? Yeah? How do you? I'm a nurse at the hospital. I'd heard we had an owl attack come in and I thought it was weird that it it might be something else. You didn't tell us that. Well, it's not exactly ethical to share information from my job. It's not like you would have told us anything about who it was. We don't even live here. Still a gray area. You said this was

a week ago. So do you guys have also had encounters? Well, no, none of us have ever actually seen anything, but there's been lots of report, just never any hard proof, which doesn't mean those things didn't happen, but it can be hard to weed out the drug trips from the genuinely paranormal. And there have been more reports overall recently, big time like what it'd almost be faster to list the things

that haven't happened in the last few weeks. At least three bigfoot sidings, a thunderbird siding which hasn't happened in years, a bunch of reports of either UFOs or willow whisps or some kind of hovering lights all over the place, freetown hawk mock the net, and and and the return of a bunch of the classics ghost laughter at Melrose Cemetery, the red Headed Hitchhiker, even spotting of the dover demon.

The three of us puts a they're an official submission forum on the forum for just the Bridgewater Triangle and it has been blowing up. Yeah, and now and owl attack and animal of asceration. We were right, things are definitely escalating. Okay, But what does that all mean let's say all of it is true, the sidings, the hauntings, the monster attacks, all in the last month. What would that mean that we're n I don't see how it could mean anything else. Something's pissed and ready to get

its revenge. Revenge the big Foot settings are would tipped me off. A lot of people think Bigfoot is this like gentle giant, but that's not based in anything. What we do know is that most human interactions with Bigfoot have been bad, and there's a growing suspicion among people like us that Bigfoot is actually an apex predator who functions as a kind of queen bee for other monsters. He's overstating it. There is Kevin and a few of his friends who think that, think about it's Cindy big

Foot Star attacking because we've encroached on his territory. But it's not enough. We still stick around, so he starts to send other creatures after except a lot of what's happened is definitely ghost related, which can't be explained by big Foot at all. But if stuff has gotten misaligned in the cosmos as a whole, it would make sense for ghosts to be more visible than they have been previously. Okay, Cindy, but then you have to admit that lay lines could

provide the exact same kind of explanation. No, I don't, Spencer, because there's no proof that lay lines exist, whereas the planets actually doing, but no one has proven that their orbits can cause spiritual activity. Wait wait, wait, wait, okay, back up. What are lay lines invisible lines drawn across the world that contain earth energies. They connect different historical structures, and we're supposedly used by different ancient civilizations. Yeah exactly. Wow,

you know your stuff, study mythology, so see mythology. Okay, but there's so much evidence of this supernatural in texts from ancient civilizations, So wouldn't it make sense that they figured out what was causing all of it before we got so bogged down in empirical science. You say that like it's a bad thing. Look, I still want hard proof for things, but just because something doesn't have proof

doesn't mean I'm not going to believe it. Can't that logic be used to excuse a whole lot of dangerous pseudo science though, Sure, But I mean anything can be used for evil. That feels like a weak justification. Spencer's right, Yeah, maybe other people will use the whole You can't prove a negative argument to support bad ideas. But people throughout history have also used the trappings of real hard science to justify their shitty pseudo sciences. There are assholes everywhere.

I guess that's true. If you guys are so skeptical, does that mean you have proof of what you believe? Whoa we we're in the woods the other night and and saw something odd, right, odd? Yeah, like um enormous ferreal monster dog odd? Oh my god? And this this is the thing that attacked you. We don't know. We were hoping you maybe had some ideas. The giant dog. Was it black? Yeah, yeah it was. I mean that

could be anything. Black dogs are all over myths. Yeah, no, I know, hell hound's guard dogs, ghost dogs, fairy dogs. That's why we need your help narrowing it down. Where did you say you were? Freetown State Forest. The last black dog siding that I know of was the one in Abington in Oh god, yeah, when's that seventy six? I don't know, it was a while ago. Abington' that's not that close to Freetown, No, but it was also forty years ago. I'm sure the dog moved. It might

not be the same one. Did anyone have a guess what the one in the seventies was like? What specific brand of mythic old black dog? Something impervious to bullets? Apparently someone shot it and it just walked away and disappeared. How did we miss this? Avington was included in a research right, I've only been looking at see. I didn't think anything more than a year out would be relevant. Year out from what? Oh, We've just we've been doing

our own collecting of incidents. It seems like there was another high concentration in and around, so we're just trying to find patterns. Well, consider us your data collectors. Seems you guys are more tapped in than the usual newcomers. So we can all help each other. Sure, and who knows, maybe we'll actually find some real proof. Mm hmm. Jeremy side side, where are you? Dad? Where are you? Daddad? I'm here? Never come here, Dad, Dad? Ain't Jeremy come here?

Who are you? I'm a friend, Jeremy, come on, m jesus. Mm hmmm mm hmm h um. Okay, going for a walk, be back soon, Jeremy, m M, Jeremy, pull it together, um and stop talking to yourself. What is that? Maybe I should just get out of here. Why did I think coming out here was a good idea? Hello? Hello? Is somebody there? Who you? Well? This is a weird coincidence, No kidding. Come here often you'd be surprised. What are you? What are you doing here? It's the lake in Freetown Forest.

I couldn't make a trip to the Bridgewater Triangle without coming here, right, What about you? I am a friend, uh, well a woman that I knew, not a friend. Really. Um, she died here? Oh god, Oh I'm so sorry. I no, thank you, thank you. It's okay, I think, Um, I know what happened, and I know why she did what she did, and I know why she would say it's okay. But it's I don't know what it is. I don't know if that doesn't make any sense, But I think I was hoping that by coming back here become okay

with it. I guess, yeah, I don't know, something like that. Um. Did you just hear a sound? A sound? What kind of sounds it was like? Um, like a humming sound. I've heard it before. Anyway, you didn't hear anything? No, I didn't, But um, did it sound anything like this? Yep, yes it did. What what is that? It's an e n F detector? Oh? I mean it's great for tracking down disturbances in the electromagnetic field, but not so much for being able to hear anything while you're doing it.

They don't all sound like this, but I made some of my own modifications. Oh so it's a bespoke e m F detector. Wow? Are you sure this is just a hobby? Okay? If I could turn it into a career, I would, but not a lot of demand for paranormal investigators. Yeah, maybe not, but you could think out of the box on this one. That I basically made it into a career, right, the cool professor, Your words, not mine. Hey, I stand by it. I would have been front row of your

class if you were taught at my college. Though, running into the woods is just as good. Okay, So what are you hoping to find with that? I never really know. That's kind of the point. Just let the MF tell me where to look. What have you found with it in the past, Nothing super definitive yet, but it's been going haywire since I got to Bridgewater, so I haven't given up. Hope, how did you How did you get into all this stuff that, the legend tripping and the

E M F detector modifying. It doesn't seem like something you just fall into. Yeah, definitely not. I mean, how does anyone become interested in this stuff? Right? We have an encounter with something we can't explain. So you you had an encounter? Yeah? So, Um, I may not have been totally honest when I said I was making the pilgrimage to Bridgewater. Oh, I actually used to live here. We moved away when I was a kid. Yeah, because

something happened right here in Freetown Forest. I just got sound crazy, but I was hearing these voices and I thought I saw someone, but I could never catch up to them. I actually got lost for like an entire night, wandering, just wandering through the woods. I never found anything. Yikes. That probably sounds like a whole lot of nothing. Huh, A kid's overactive imagination that I've I'm now turned into a lifelong obsession. Um, no, not at all. I have

the chills right now. I actually, um really get it. Really yeah, I don't really remember it that clearly. But when I was a kid, I got lost here too. No, you're kidding, I'm not. No, Like I said, I it's very foggy. I don't remember it much. But um, it's funny. I've spent a lot of time in this forest in the last few weeks, and none of it has brought back memories of that time. But then I had this dream last night, and when I woke up, I just

I just knew I had to come here. That this sounds so strange, but it's it's like I'm I'm I'm seeing it differently. Somehow are you remembering stuff? I don't know it. It all just feels more familiar, like I can. Okay, you know there was a voice for me too, Yeah yeah, but it wasn't. Um. You know, I've I've heard voices here, uh, but but this one was it was it was friendly. God, this is so weird. I I have barely been able to remember that time at all, but now it's it's

all just rushing back. Maybe it just took someone saying the same thing happened to them to make you feel not crazy. I know it's certainly helping me. Yeah, I can't believe we got lost in the same forest as kids. Well, I guess it's an easy place to get lost. Yeah, but maybe not such a bad place to find something either, right, sure? Sorry? Yeah? Where? Uh yeah I can. I can be there in twenty probably. No, I'm just in Freetown, yeah, by the lake. No no,

no, no no, I'm gonna be fine. I just yeah, okay, all right, see you soon by Cryptic Hunting our over Um no, actually, just just changing locations. It seems like there was a potential bigfoot sighting in hawk a Mock. So I'm I'm meeting some folks there. Wow, busy day. Hey, would you like to join me? The The people that I'm meeting there are into this stuff too. I think you like them. Oh that's okay. I would love to, but um, I've got some more stuff to take care

of here. Okay, Well, it was really great running into you. You too. Oh and hey, listen, um if you hear when we're should iding. If you need him one st Hunting Warner, Uh, this is my number here there, or if you just want to talk about weirdly overlapping childood trauma. Um, that's good too. Thanks. I'm going to take you up on that. I just don't know what you were thinking going back to the lake. I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing anything about what happened to Celeste.

But you said you didn't find anything, So now we know we weren't missing anything. It was still reckless going there by yourself. You really going to talk to me about recklessly going off on your own? Okay? Do you think you could have this argument some other time. Remember we're supposed to be looking for signs and big foot A sentence that's totally normal to me. Now, big footprints, claw marks, you know? Yeah, right, know the drill. I just don't understand what was so urgent? O my god, Dad,

can you give it a rest? We called you right away after Vippen Olivia told us about the big foot siding, but you couldn't be bothered to wake either of us up. Look, I wake up earlier. Okay. I had celest on my mind, and it just seemed like the thing to do. I understand wanting to get a better look at the area they found her body, But you should have brought me, brought you back to the place where you disappeared the first time. I really don't think so, can't you understand.

That's exactly why I wouldn't want you going there alone. Thomas, Come on, Jeremy is fine, s commrections. No, I don't think you get to be mad about this. I was trying to keep you safe. That I'm your father. It's my job to protect you. I am a grown man. But you're not built for this kind of thing. What's that supposed to me? You're the book guy. I'm the guy that goes out there and faces the monsters. Yeah, and look how that turned out. I survived, didn't I?

And you think I wouldn't. I think you've spent your life behind the desk, So what that makes me soft? Boys? No? And I think we need to have this out quiet. What holy hell be second, Jesus, what are we telling? What are we telling? What is he doing? What's out ship? And we're in its territory? We have to Jeremy, we need to run. Dad, Oh Dad, Jeremy, Jeremy, Hell was it? Oh my god? Where did it go? And are you okay? Yeah? I think you're fine. I'm fine. Come on, Sun, stand up, Jesus,

holl the hell? How the hell did it vanish like that? You can thank me for that Peton Blake, we need to talk. This episode of Bridgewater was written by Lauren Shippen and directed by Brendan Patrick Hughes Assistant director Sarah Klein.

Sound designed by Vincent de Johnny rema Il Kayali, Josh Thayne, and Trevor Young, with music by Chad Lawson, Starring Misha Collins as Jeremy Bradshaw, Melissa Ponzio as Anne Becker, Alan Tutick as Thomas Bradshaw, Karen Sony as Vipen Corona, Sabra May as Olivia Hoskins, Cheryl Umania as Officer Bautista, Will Wheaton as Captain Haddock, Tricia Helfer as the Legend Tripper, Stephen Guarino as Dr Edwards Nandamisu Dembe as Peyton Blake,

Hilary Burton Morgan as Shelley Hoskins, Nicki McCauley as Celeste, Then Victoria Grace as Katie Frank's, with additional voice acting by Greta Gould, Alb Young, Adam oh Burn, Monty Markham, Charlie Bergman and Tern Westbrook. Executive producers Aaron Mankey, Misha Collins, Lauren Shippin, Matt Frederick and Alexander Williams, supervising producers Josh Thane and Trevor Young. Bridgewater was created by me Aaron Mankey and is a production of Grim and Mild and

i Heeart three D Audio. Learn more about the show over at Grimm and Mild dot com, slash Bridgewater and find more podcasts from I Heart Radio on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows, and as always, thanks for listening.