Transcontinental Terror 2025 #1: Cube Mentality

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Let me say up front, we have a terrific lineup of podcasts for our first 2025 Transcontinental Terror Express trip, as well as for the rest of October 2025. So stay ready to ride the express every Sunday. Lightning Bolt Theater of the Mind, always good for edgy horror tales, gets our adrenaline flowing with their skin-crawling, improvisational nightmare, cute mentality, rated ADPG 13 for strong language.

kidnappers can find a young woman in a room with nothing but a phone. Then she receives calls from a mysterious man who tells her he's trapped in another locked room. As time goes on without her kidnapper's return, Will the unrelenting and unexplained isolation drive her mad? Following that, let's rapid reverse our timepieces to Halloween 1937. That night, Mutual Broadcasting Network aired The Three Ghosts, a spectral mystery to be solved by one of old-time radio's favorite...

Heroes, rated ADPG. A mysterious series of hauntings sets the shadow on the trail of a vengeful killer who cloaks his crimes in ghostly illusion. Aided by Margot Lane, the Shadow risks its life to unmask the true evil behind The Three Ghosts. On the final leg of our grim whistle stop tonight, we launch a new tradition by featuring a selected classic TTE tale. From the series' first run in October 2012, we bring you now another lightning bolt sci-fi thriller, Sky People, rated ADPG.

Establishing a colony on an alien world is hard enough, especially when the planet yields its bounty reluctantly. Without their wreath portal, the colony would come to naught. Yet because of it, the colony prospers. Now, a threat to the fledgling off-world civilization emerges. Who is the Sky Tribe? And why are so many abandoning the colony to join them? Can't wait to hear these. So let's all kick back in our Christian Audiodrome listening recliners and get to our shows.

Lightning Bolt Theater of the Mind presents Cube Mentality Improved and recorded on location Hello? Hello? Is this the police? No. Who is this? Who are you? June? I don't know where I am, and can you? Can you call somebody? Can you? You don't know where you are either? No. I tried. I tried pressing buttons on here. I tried calling outside, but nothing happens. It's just like silence. I don't even know. There's only one button. Who are you? My name's Nate. I woke up in this room.

And this phone only has one button on it. I pressed it and got you. What is going on here? I mean... I, um... I was going home from work. I was... I was taking my dog out for a walk after work and a car just stopped and some guy was asking for directions and I don't even know what happened. Like, he just... He just like came at me, got out of the car and he was like, oh, give me directions to this street here nearby this intersection. I was like, oh, you're headed the right way. And then boom.

all i remember is just like him grabbing my my my hair and like pulling my face forward and i think i slammed into the door or something i don't even know but i don't know where i am and i really i just need some answers because there are no windows in this room i'm telling you there are no windows There's like one painting on the... There's like a couch. There's a coffee table. The walls are like all... They're all white. Except for the one painting and it's these trees and...

Depending on where you're standing the trees change color. It's like a seasons painting or something and I've looked behind it I was trying to figure out how to get out of here and the door is sealed. There's a metal door There's a metal door and there's a bathroom that's attached to this room. It's not natural. It looks like there's no windows. It looks like a cell or something. I mean, there's like food or whatever. Cans of food. Speakers? No. No.

I was just in Portland, and I don't even know if I'm still in Portland. I don't know. I was headed just home. I live in... the Boston area and I was just leaving the parking garage area because I was taking my dog for a walk and... You're in Boston and I'm in Portland. Do you think it's a hospital? Do you think it's some kind of a...

Because I have this like wristband, but it doesn't look like a hospital wristband to me. It's like, here. Here, can you hear this? No. It's like a metal wristband. It's kind of like a watchband, but I can't... i can't take it off there's no clasp or anything and i don't get it i don't i don't i don't understand there's no nothing no markings or anything and i've like yelled and i've called like for someone to let me out and nothing

There's you and you have no idea how to help me and I don't know how I'm going to get out of here. Are there any doors or any... Oh yeah, there's doors. Is there anything? Iron or metal or something. I don't know. There's no getting out of them.

There's no handles on the door. Are there any hinges? Are there hinges or anything on them? Hinges of any kind? Not on this side. Maybe on the outside. I don't even know if I'm still in Portland. For all I know, I'm in Boston with you. I don't... Is this... Is this the government? But why? I don't do anything that interesting. I just work at a casino. I'm a dealer. I'm just a guy. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Wait, you're a researcher? Yeah. What kind of research do you do? Wide range of different things. Do you know something about this? Like is this some kind of a... No, it's the same. There's a bathroom with no shower. It's just like a toilet. Is it clean? Or is it dirty where you are? Disgusting. Really? It's not too bad in here, but...

The mirror is cracked. It's broken. I don't understand. I don't even have one. Maybe, maybe there's a way to get out of here. You know what's weird is the lights are on. I've been here for a while. I don't know how long I've been here. There's no clock or anything in here. And there's these lights and they're just on all the time. I can't tell what...

I don't know if it's day or if it's night. This kind of reminds me of that movie, you know, Saw, right? Oh God. What's on your coffee table? What do you see? There's like a book. um so there are some pages that are folded over like corners but but it looks like it It's like empty. There's nothing in it. Is there a pen? Do they want you to write something? No, I don't see a pen. I haven't found a pen. There's...

Nothing besides the coffee table the couch that I'm sitting on now. It's like a black couch It's like a sectional so it's got two sections It's got pillows on it

But there's no bed or anything you would expect, right? If you're going to be in here for a while. I don't have. And, like, all the food and stuff is just sitting on the floor. It's just been stacked up. And if I were to ration, like... eating just enough how much i would need i would think maybe for um maybe for 15 days there would be enough stuff in here but that's it and um oh

Besides this book here, which I'm randomly flipping through for no reason. There's nothing in it. What is this? A cell phone. A phone? I tried to turn it on, but there's nothing, no signal. Can you scroll through it and see? I don't know if there's any information. Maybe it belongs to whoever took us.

Took you anyway. For all I know, you and I are in rooms side by side. Smack the wall. I want to see if I can hear you. Okay. See. Can you hear me? Great. There's a dog? I think so. Oh my god. I hope whoever they are, they don't have my dog. You don't think they have my dog, do you? I don't know. Oh my god. No, no, no, no, no, no. I was just hoping she would run away.

There's nothing... I mean, are we supposed to... Are we supposed to get to know each other? What are we supposed to do? What is this? This is not... This is not okay. This is not... I have a paper dune. because my professor made me a TA. I don't have time for this. I don't know what to do. I mean, I've tried opening the door. I've tried pounding. I've tried yelling. I've tried

I've tried moving the table. I've tried taking shards of glass and looking behind them to see if there's anything behind the mirror. There's nothing. I just cut the crap out of my fingers. I don't even have a mirror. There aren't any speakers here, but once in a while I hear like Maybe car sounds, but I don't know if I'm actually if that's Doesn't make any sense

Have you heard any talking over the speakers? Anyone talking? Yeah, but I can't decipher what they're saying. Sounds like it's far away. Do you think someone's listening to our conversation right now? Oh, I'm sure.

You guys need to get us out of here. Listen if you just let us go We won't tell anybody what's going on or who it is or anything if you just open the door and you just let us go I hear it again. I hear it again. It sounds like a motorcycle or something. Hello?

How can I hear it if there aren't speakers in here? We're meant to do something. We're meant to figure something out. I just don't know what. I don't want to figure anything out. I have to go to work. I don't even know what time it is. I don't either. I said you have a wristband on. I don't. Are there buttons on it? Does anything light up on it? Can you take it off? I can't. It's too tight on my wrist. That didn't help. I'm trying to take it off. Hello?

my hand I would stop trying because apparently you're supposed to have it on you know I could always cut the crap out of my my my hand if I have to and take it off I'm moving off my... Maybe wherever you are is near a highway. What does it smell like where you are? Does it smell? Does it give you any clue? Smell. Is it a warehouse maybe somewhere? That's worse than where I'm at. It doesn't smell dirty in here. It smells like... Like nothing.

why would they i don't know want to keep track i have no idea but why else would you have Did you have stuff and it was taken away from you? Hello? Hello? Hello? This thing is shocking me. This thing is shocking me. What? What's shocking you? It shocked the crap out of my wrist. The wristband? Yeah. Why? I don't know what's going on with it. It's just like...

No, no. No, I was just laying here. I don't even know how long I've been here. I can't get this off now. Fuck. I can't have this going off again. Do you know what this... Hurt? Like, I can't feel my thumb. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, my God. Calm down.

It shocks me again, and only it's worse. I can't do this. I've got to take it off. Just listen to me. Listen. No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to... There's got to be a way to take it off. Maybe if I take it off the shards and I cut it or something? Hello? Listen to me. Okay? Freaking out is not going to help you. There's got to be a way to take it off. There has to be. There has to be something that I can do.

I've been here for such a long time and... Panicking is not going to help you, okay? What were you doing when the wristband went off? Just a little... I was just laying here and I think I was going to go to sleep. You were trying to fall asleep. I was so tired. Oh my god, what if it goes off again? What if it's not that? What if it's trying to kill me or something?

how can it shock me like what is in it how is it so thin and it can shock me where are the sensors i don't feel anything on the other and you know what else you know what else it it it it constricted it like you like got really tight like a blood pressure cuff or something on my on my wrist oh my god that's why it's got the little groove thing he's like a watch metal watch uh band you know

And then it like loosened up and now I can't take it off again. Maybe I should have, I should have taken it off quick when it was loosening up. Maybe next time I need to do that.

I hear, I hear, it sounds like there's outside, like there should be a window or something, you know? But you don't have any speakers like me? Up near the ceiling? No, nothing near the ceiling. It's stuck on the wristband. I'm trying to get it off. It's gotta come off. It has to. No, no. It has to. No. I can't do it. What if it goes off again? Do you understand that that shit hurts? Of course I understand. I can get my thumb. June. Thumb. Listen to me. It's not working. Listen.

Yeah. Hey, pick it up. Hold on. Maybe there are speakers in there. Maybe I miss them. Speakers. Because I hear cars. Let me see. Do you think if I touch the wall it's gonna go off? No, I don't. There's like a, there's like a, um, it's like a fabric thingy on the corner. Yeah, lift it up. Lift it up, yep, you found it. Hold on, I'm gonna have to cut it because it's like not moving. I can't lift it or anything. I wouldn't do that. Maybe. I wouldn't do that. Why? What if it's a way out? It's not.

And I can't take the fabric off? No. I've already tried. Yeah, the sound is coming from the corner. I think they're in every corner. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Yeah, they're in all four corners and it... How does it sound like it's happening everywhere? That doesn't make any sense. I don't know. Are they... Okay, the cell phone. Hold on. Okay, so I guess that's the same we both have the we both have the Speakers and things. Oh my god. I'm so tired. Okay

So the cell phone has like a pink case and it has some letters on it. It says, it says AL. It's not a company name. It looks like it's personalized. It might give you some kind of clue as to who it belongs to, and if you can figure that out. Oh my god. There's a picture of a yellow lab with brown ears. It looks similar to my dog, but it's not. That's cute. All right, let's see. I'm gonna go to pictures Whoa It's like a somebody like some girl and some guy

It looks like they're at a birthday party or something. She's got like brown hair and it's kind of shoulder length. Like yours? Yeah. Oh, there's like selfies, I guess, of her. Looks like she likes to take selfies. Does she look like you, other than the hair? Kinda. I've got brown hair and stuff. Blue eyes. She looks like she's my height. What does that tell you? I don't know why this is here. It's there because they want you to see it.

It's freaking me out. Fear. Okay, that's something. All right. I'm going to look at the text messages and see if there's anything. Okay, so some contact here. Bobby. And then Abby. It looks like it says my phone number Abby. So that must be her name. on the case, that makes sense. Yeah, A, L. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I think my wristband is getting tighter.

no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no this isn't happening nope nope nope i don't want it to shock me again it's not going to what do i do how do i get it off what i have to do something it's like i what if like you said it's supposed to happen if i get tired right but it's it seems like it's getting

Okay, it's not doing anything now. It just let go. What if they know that I'm trying to figure out this? What if I'm not supposed to be doing this? Maybe I shouldn't be looking at the phone. But why is it getting, like, tightening? And if they're listening to the conversation... Were you getting tired? Were you getting tired by chance? I haven't, like, really eaten anything, and I'm just getting nauseous. I've been here for a while now.

I don't know. I don't know what to do. They must want something. Should I just? They've got to want. I'm going to read these. What? I said they must want something from us. Otherwise, there wouldn't be phones. We must need to use the clues in your room, otherwise they wouldn't be there. And since there's no clues in my room, your room's always got to come.

Wow. Okay, so... Excuse me. Um... yeah i'm good i feel like i'm gonna throw up but i'm okay i'm good okay so the first message says um it's like a picture of a park bench and it goes okay so then bobby says meet me here I'll be dot dot dot. Okay. Let's see. So he sent this at 11.05 p.m. And she responded, dude, I'm still at the party. I'll meet you there when I can. Just give me a little while.

And then she put like a face with heart-shaped eyes emoticon. And then he responded at like 11, 11, 11. And he says, pay attention to the numbers. You said you would be here on time. I'm still waiting. And she responded at 1125 and said, dot, dot, dot. You'll just have to wait. I'm trying to get. something's done and I will be there soon. Our patience is a virtue. That's it. And then he responded with a picture and just it looks like the bench legs of the same bench.

And there's like a hat on the ground underneath the bench. Like dead leaves around it. Like a fall maybe. I don't get it. And then she responded with. I'll see you soon. And let's see, when did she send that at 2 a.m.? Now it's at the bottom. It's a picture that he sent her. It's both of them sitting on the bench. It looks like they have some kind of drinks. Maybe like soda cups. With the straws coming out of them. And the covers. Yeah, exactly. And she's wearing like...

Like a jacket over her clothes. I can't tell what she's wearing under it. But it looks like she has some kind of a necklace. Wizard on... What is that? Is that... One, two... Looks like a wizard on a pentagram or something. Does that mean anything to you? I mean, I used to wear pentagrams when I was in high school just for the fun of it. Do you still? Not really. I'm kind of out of that phase now.

Looks like like she came back from some kind of party because her hair is like all done up and so she's probably younger Somebody's laughing. Oh my god. I hear like laughter coming out of the speakers. What the fuck? I don't want to be here by myself. You're not. You're not. 29. 29. How old would you say Abby is by the pictures? Like my age? There goes that theory. Okay. What theory?

Wait, so there's some more messages. So the selfie and then she responds with, that was a fun time and I'll see you round. That was like the last message she sent to him. so if i go back there's like an unknown like a number that's not in the contacts list let me see It looks like a weird message. It's just like a bunch of dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot message ellipses. Okay. June, are you there? Yeah. Hello? Hello? Hello?

Yeah, I can hear you. Hello? If you can hear me, I can't hear you anymore. Are you there? Oh no. Yeah, I'm here. Hello? Hello? Hello? Shit. Oh, shit. Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Yeah, I hear you. Can you hear me? Yeah. Why did you hang up on me last time? I didn't hang up. it just you couldn't hear me what happened where where why didn't you call me back i tried it just it wouldn't work no so i just i went to sleep for a little while not a whole lot else to do here and if i can't

What else did you find on that phone? Look. June? I need to drink some water. Hold on. Oh, I got up too fast. Watch out for this. Tried to eat stuff, but uh... Doesn't really taste that great. It's really cold in here. Do you have a blanket? Nope. I have pillows. Pillows don't do much. You could always take the couch cushions off, get under them, and put them over you. I tried that. It doesn't really do much. You did. When did you do that? I don't really remember. It was like...