Ground Pressure | Episode 3

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No smoke. No vapor. Just the good habit. Previously on carrier you ever driven a reefer what a refrigerated trailer do you know how to handle one oh uh yeah yeah of course what is it it's not a farm Not exactly. It's a tight schedule. You'll have to pulp the air and keep an eye on the temp gauge with this heat wave and just don't let it get above 32. 32. Once Shep finishes loading, he'll get you the SLC info in your outbound way. Hold up, I don't get to expect it first?

I default seal all our trailers. Novanto's policy. That's not going to be a problem, is it? Hey, I hope you know what you're doing. Sealed trailer. Now that could be anything. Drugs, plutonium, aliens. Mr. Carlwell. I'm a little concerned about what I might be transporting. Terrell? Terrell, you need to calm down. What happened? I don't know. No one knows. He just blacked out and they can't get him back.

What am I supposed to do? It's okay, it's okay, Shook. It's gonna be okay. I'm on the road. I'll be there in a few hours. Good. This is not a podcast. This is not an audio book. This is a dimensional experience set in the unseen realms to your left, your right. and all that lingers between between between we ask that you put on headphones if possible use caution during your journey and always listen carefully Q-Code presents Carrier, starring Cynthia Erivo. Written and directed by Dan Blank.

before the days of GPS. So here I am, tilling off my road map while juggling a footlong. And I'm so focused on deciphering my map through this mess of beef and beans that I fail to notice. the big bold low clearance sign rushing oh I hear some screech of metal like a T-Rex passing a kidney stone. Somehow, I scrape my way through and once I'm in the clear, I look back in my rearview mirror and I realize...

I've sheared off the entire roof of my trailer. Oh, my God. Come on. Well, it didn't take long for the local lawman to find me, and I could just see him yucking it up as he saunters up. my window and he says son any idea why i stopped you possess me but i say yes sir i know I'm not supposed to be driving with no open container. Oh man. I so want that one to be true. Two shifts for the company that day, my first and my last. Well, how about you? What was your worst day on the road?

I think I'm going to have to pass on that one. Oh, hey, no problemo. Sorry about that. If you need a chaser, I can always tell you about the poor half of gasoline out of my septic car. You know something, Hutch? You're alright. Oh, back at you, driver. You remind me a lot of my daughter. How's that? That's like pulling teeth to get either one of you to laugh. Yeah, a girl and a boy.

We do a family dinner every night over the phone, but I haven't squeezed them or tucked them in in three weeks. It's been a tough stretch. Yeah, it ain't easy in this business. this job take priority over family. Or else one day you might come home and find there's no family left to come home to. I'm sorry I'm sounding like a bad country song right now, aren't I? No. It's okay. I feel you. When's the last time you've been home?

That's my turn to take a pass. My dad would have liked you. He was an owner operator too. Yeah He had this tricked-out 87 cab over Pete all purple and turquoise White Mustangs airbrushed on the doors My mama couldn't stand it because he'd skip meals so he could spend his lunch money on more lights for the damn thing. But when he'd roll up on our street, he'd look so damn cool and he knew it.

First black driver to get into Jackknife magazine. How about that? You know where Cancer Alley is? Cancer Alley, sure. That run between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Yeah. All the petrochemical plants along the river. A real skid mark on this country. Yeah. My dad and I used to run loads down there. They paid more than anyone, so...

We'd do it until we couldn't take the fumes any longer. But one time, we get down there and we find out hurricane season got a jump on us. And we've been through all sorts of storms together, you know? But this... this this is something else like they were starting to evacuate new orleans again but the the shippers kept pushing us to to make our delivery so

So I'm behind the wheel at one point, and the I-10 turns into a parking lot. And all I want to do is be done so we can go home. But my dad's asleep in the back, so... I make the decision to get off the highway. Which is probably the dumbest thing I could have done. What happened? Flash flood. I was on some local road. It all happened so fast. I lost control. I just remember grabbing my dad out of the sleeper, half awake.

He was still in his damn underpants. We were okay, though. They got us out. And the truck? Gone. Washed away. Probably a shipwreck somewhere. I know. Insurance found some bullshit reason not to cover my dad's claims, so he couldn't keep the business going. After that, we never drove together again. I went back to school. He got roped into getting a fleet truck with financing from the carrier. Never make enough to get out of the hole again. So...

Did I win? Sorry. I could really use that septic tank story right about now. What? Oh shit.

Probably training new cadets or the troopers just need to get their jollies out at someone. Evening. How you boys doing tonight? God damn it. Just what I need right now. Don't set your parking brake. Just leave it in neutral and turn it off. How you doing officer? Need my license? I'll take that. Bill of lading? Uh, yeah, let me grab it. Where the... I don't... I know it's... Is that it? I know it's here somewhere. Your cash? Uh, oh, yeah. How's your evening going?

Let's hope it doesn't get worse. I'm just going to open your door real quick, grab a number off the inside. Okay, just sit tight while I enter this in the system and then I'll come back. Thanks. Hey, hang on. You already got inspected this month? Uh, yeah, last week. Great. You just made my night a lot easier. This'll be quick. Cool. Thank you. Rocky, come on.

Ma'am, has the trailer been opened or tampered with for any reason since you left the shipper? No, why? The reported weight on your BOL says it's about 200 pounds over what our scale's reading. You see that? Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to have to take a peek back there. Really? It's all sealed up. It's not a problem. Wait, wait, is that really necessary?

We'll document everything and we'll put a fresh seal on it. I know shippers can be a pain in the ass about it. Here you go. Yeah, thanks, Doug. Just give us a sec here. Deandre, now is not a good time. Mom, do we own life jackets? Jamil, I can't talk right now, sweetie. I need you to go back to bed. Tell your sister Chicago is not going to get flooded. We'll just get droughts. Uh, nothing. I gotta go. Good news. I figured out the discrepancy. Yeah? Yeah, we don't have to break your seal.

Bad news is you're leaking water like crazy back there. Are you serious? There's probably something going on with your reefer unit. You might want to get that looked at as soon as you can. Uh, okay. Oh, not here. There's a rest area just up the road. Now keep it moving. I'll try that again.

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Oh, boy. Hey, hey, uh... You know anything about reefer units? Nope. No worries. Have a good night. Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system. Mr. Caldwell, it's Raylene again. I'm just letting you know there's a slight problem with the trailer. The thermostat's saying 28, but I'm pulping the air and it's... reading 37 also I'm looking at the defrost tubes and there's a lot more water draining out than there should be so I don't know what is going on here but

Also, um, I'm looking through the inspection panel on the back. Is there any chance an animal climbs under the load? Hello? Hey. Oh, oh my god. Uh, Wayne said you got a problem with your reefer unit? Yeah, uh, you mind? Temperature's out of whack, and my drains are dumping water. See? Huh. Could be your evaporator coils plugged up. Or a blockage in the bulkhead. You had that unit calibrated recently? I'm not sure. I just picked it up. Let's take a look.

Sometimes the defrost cycle on these gets stuck. Especially if it's fighting outside temperature like tonight. Are you all alone out here? Uh, yeah. place to break down like this. All kinds of lowlifes around here. Hey, you know what? I'm fine. Uh, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna get it to a garage. Whoa, whoa, shh, shh. You hear that? Hear what? Your problem. Sounds like you got rats. Rats?

Probably chewed right through them sensor wires. Huh. That... That must be what it is. goes down and I'm alone on this pitch black canyon road. I swear I start to hear this child crying somewhere like it's in pain. then i hear more children shrieking a whole gaggle of them and i realize they're surrounding it i check my side mirror and i can make out

These shadowy figures are sprinting and banging on my rig, but no matter how much I speed up, they're keeping pace with me. Ain't you versed in Native American lore? But I heard about shapeshifters and skinwalkers on the road, and I'm convinced these spirits have come to claim my soul. I'm so spooked that I had a bolt out in front of me, and I swerved to miss it.

I nearly jackknife and I skid to a stop and steadily all those creatures that go scampering off into the darkness. And I finally realize what they are.

I swear, I nearly pissed my britches. I lose you again. Hey. Sorry, I'm here. I was just... I was just thinking about something. Have you... Have you ever heard of Navanto? Oh, yeah, sure. Monsters. Huh? I listen to a lot of public radio for having us bloodsuckers swoop into farm communities, gobble up resources, and poison the land with their toxic swill. Probably the most destructive agro company out there. And that's A.

Hell of a distinction. Does this have anything to do with that story you heard earlier on the CB? About the vault sealed produce? Yeah. Who do you think that driver should contact if he suspected he were transporting something questionable? dispatcher right what if that's not really an option probably just have to grit my teeth and notify the state State police? There isn't anyone else? Look, I trust the deeps. I trust a dog with a ham sandwich. But reporting it...

will get you in a lot less trouble than getting caught for ditching the trailer outright. Miss, if you're in the water, I can call somebody for you. Hutch? Hey, can you hear me? Hello? Monitor the temperature and keep it below 32. I did. But you wouldn't let me inspect your nasty trailer before it got sealed up, so apparently rats chewed through the wires to the thermostat.

You've got rats all over that trailer. I could hear him scratching against the walls. Mr. Caldwell, I need to know what the hell I'm transporting here. It isn't just corn back there, is it? Alright, change of plans. I need you to get to the next certified scale. I already went through the weigh station. It was 200 pounds under from all the ice that melted. How long ago was that? I don't know. An hour and a half? I need you to check it again. How about this?

I'm gonna drive to the next safe haven, I'm gonna unhook this trailer, and you can have someone else come and claim it and finish the job. We cannot have you compromising the delivery like that. Just drive to the next scale. There aren't any. I'm in the middle of nowhere. There's a cat scale at the pilot about eight miles up the road. How do you know where I am? Are you following me?

Just get us the updated weight and report back. Uh, yeah, I need to get weighed. Of course they did. Uh, first weigh? 68306. All right, come off the scale. Bring your truck and trailer license plate numbers to the fuel desk for your certificate. Well, uh, okay. Thanks. Drive axle 18385. This can't be right. Please, Grundy, what's your emergency? I heard something moving back there earlier, and when I weighed the trailer, the gross weight jumped...

about 320 pounds in the last few hours. So whatever is back there, I think it's growing. Yeah, boy, that certainly does sound peculiar. I'm not making this up, man. I can't submit a report to my... commander like this are you driving right now yeah I got nervous someone might be following me well if you can just pull over and take a look back I told you it's all sealed up

on those trailers? Uh, yeah, right, um, there is. The inspection panel. Okay, then. You want to take a look and call us back? No, no, no, no. Stay with me. Miss, this line is... Just please don't hang up. I'm looking. The trailer is feeling warm. Hang on, hang on. I'm walking, walking to the back. Looking through the inspection door.

a pallet tipped over and and it's blocking the view but it smells funky like like moldy so your malfunctioning refrigerated trailer full of produce is warm and smells bad Yeah, well, sounds like you solved your mystery all on your own. Wait, wait. There's something big moving around behind the pilot. It's glowing. Kind of greenish. Not that bright. Ma'am? You okay? I'm gonna... I'm gonna put you on speaker. I need to get my camera phone in there to get a better angle. Are you still with me?

Almost... see... Oh, fuck! Uh, yeah, uh... I dropped the phone in there. A tail. Carrier Starring Cynthia Erivo as Raylene Watts Written, directed, and edited by Dan Blank. Produced by Rob Herding, David Enning, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, and Cynthia Erivo. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Salt Audio. With performances by...

Original music and score by Jamie Sheffman and Noah Gersh for Salt Audio. Dimensional audio designed by Salt Audio and Dan Blank. Sound design by Sam Plattner. Associate producer Tess Ryan. Script supervision by Sam Beasley. Casting by Chelsea Block and Marisol Roncalli at Atomic Honey. Additional country music by Mr. Paradise. Recorded at Todd A.O. Studios.