Frozen Frights #17- The Estates

It's time for Tales of Terror only on the Mutual Audio Network. The following audio drama is rated PG for parental guidance recommended. Hey, this is Jeff from the Icebox Radio Theater and we'll get on with the show in just a second, but I wanted to come on first and very briefly let you know about our brand new Patreon page. Now Patreon is a relatively new crowdfunding source.

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My name is Peter Williams, and I'm sane. I know that I am completely, utterly, totally sane. But what's happening to me defies sanity itself. It's it's not me that's crazy. It's this place. I live in a very small town having moved here for my wife, Wendy. She has a a severe condition, a stress disorder, they call it. Got so bad when we were living in the city, moving was the only way we could stay together. So we packed up our life and came to this idyllic little town in the middle of nowhere.

Yeah. Think I was enjoying the peace and quiet as much as she was. Then one morning, that hot June morning, Here we are. Oh Peter. That new oven we bought was worth it. Look at these scones. You're you're spoiling me. Oh, me spoiling you, don't be silly. We're having breakfast on the beautiful sunshine on our very own deck, and it's all because of you. I just wish you wouldn't joke like that. And I wish you'd accept that I really am very grateful.

You're grateful that I dragged you away from your job, our home You took us away from that one bedroom flea trap we've been thinking about leaving for years and I brought work with me, remember? Telecommuting the wave of the future. Well you still need to drive back to the city three times a month. Maybe last week. And it's a four hour drive. Wendy, Wendy, when we lived in the city, I was out of bed at six and on the bus by seven. Down here I work when I want. Now eat. But I don't.

Own doctor's orders. What a perfect day, isn't it? Wendy? I'm sorry. What's wrong? Well wh why would anything be wrong? The doctor said we had to keep uh open lines of communication, remember? Now tell me what is You won't like it, but Now let me be the judge of that. Well have you seen our backyard neighbors? Well it's just Ugh, this is silly, but no one ever seems to be over there. It's not right. Oh, you know, that's probably Roger. Hang on, I should take this.

Is that fence on our property or theirs? Uh it was ours, I think. Hang on a sec. Hello? Yeah, hi Roger. Such a big fence. No, I don't think so. But you can barely see what's on the other side. Well, I want to see that house. Uh that's fine, Derek. Well what is what does Pearson say? Yeah. Look, I know that, but there isn't much we can do at this point, is there? That's not even our department. That's marketing. Listen, I'm gonna come up uh day after tomorrow. Why don't we just have a chat then?

Wendy. Wendy! Wendy, what happened? I don't know where it came from! What? My leg! God It was a cat a huge hideous cat by the fence. I didn't see it until We we we we we need to get that blood cleaned off. We have to leave! Sell the house. Get out of here. Now Wendy I Get out of here No Easy, easy. It was just a cat. It just startled you. Those houses. I'm afraid. No, it has nothing to do with the houses. It was just a cat. They're coming to get me Peter they're coming Who?

Should have listened. I should have listened to my crazy wife right then and got out. But she had a longtime fear of Cat. Along with everything else. Maybe I just got to the point where I believe anything except what she told me. Or maybe it was just those houses. They were so bland, so normal.

There were big with no yards, most of them still smelled of paint they were so new. Not tract houses exactly, but with a certain sameness about them, a similarity of architecture that appeals to people with more money than imagination. Kind of people you might, you know, invite over for a barbecue. Ask to feed the dog when you went away on vacation. Nice, boring, safe people. Safe.

I took Wendy inside and gave her one of her sedatives. By that evening the incident with the cat had been forgotten. Two days later I had to head north to the city for a few days' work. I drove at night to avoid the traffic, and well, you know,'cause I like driving then. Driving through those long, empty stretches of highway, you you feel like the only person on earth.

I was feeling good. Good to be on the road and okay, I'll say it, good to be away from her. I was just ninety minutes from home when Hello? Peter Wendy? Peter! What's wrong? They're coming over the fence. They're coming for me right away. Help me!

Had assured me that she was stable, but they'd been wrong before. I made up my mind then and there that the only expert I'd ever trust again when it came to my wife's health was me. I was expecting the worst when I got home. I was expecting to find her dead and the house in shambles. Police sirens and nosy neighbors peeking at us through their curtains. I was expecting anything except what I found. The house was empty.

Our little pickup truck, the one Wendy used to drive when she was still able, it was missing. Inside the house was closed. Cleaner than I'd ever seen it. Everything was neatly put down. Every hard surface shined with a fresh polishing. It was perfect. The only thing I didn't see was Wendy. She was gone. And what time did you say you got the call? Uh i uh it's about nine I I was on the road. And she sounded upset.

You don't understand. My wife is sick. If she gets upset, she ha she has to be watched. She could she could harm herself. Now you say you have a second car a a small pickup. Uh huh. Yeah. And that's missing? Yes, but she couldn't have driven it away. You mean she doesn't drop? Well, okay, she she used to, but sh she still has a license, I guess. But you don't understand. My wife just isn't

Listen, mister Williams, I I don't mean to go against anything you say here, but you gotta look at it from my side. You find your house neat as a pin, your truck is missing, and no signs of Any trouble. Isn't it just possible your wife popped out for some milk or something? Say, there's a small pickup. Is that yours? I uh Peter? Yeah. Yeah. Of course I'm all right. What are you doing home? What do you mean what am I doing home? Well, why are the police here? Uh officer, is there anything wrong?

No ma'am, I don't think so. Your husband was concerned about you. Oh Peter, it's about that phone call, isn't it? Wendy? I just said I missed you. I I didn't mean for you to turn around and fly home. What are you talking about? Ma'am, are you going to be okay? Of course. My husband's just tired. Thank you, officer. That's all right. Is there anything else? No. Uh good night officer and uh thank you. Uh-huh. Take care now. Okay, what happened? Nothing, dear.

But on the phone, you sounded so upset. Don't worry about that. Come inside now, to bed. Wendy? Yes? Nothing. I swear. On a stack of Bibles. I went inside in a kind of trance. Couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked, I don't know, illuminated somehow, as if a light had gone on inside. But it wasn't attractive. The light was showing me things I didn't want to see.

The next few days were a tremendous strain. with no jobs to go to, it was just her and I in that house day after day, night after night, her watching me. I'd feel a cold tickle on the back of my neck like the sharp point of an icicle only to turn and catch a glimpse of her walking away. I couldn't do anything without hearing her near. Through the walls.

I had to get out of there. There was still work to do at my job in the city, but after my performance on the road that night our car needed work. It was late one night. I thought she was in bed. I was working at the garage when I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, watching. Is everything all right, Peter? I heard the car running. Yeah, I uh I was getting the e oil heated up before I drained it. Planning on going somewhere? Oil changes routine. Uh but you are going somewhere.

You knew I was going to have to go to town sometimes when we moved here. I know. Are you leaving soon? Tomorrow. I don't know. Maybe I'm not sure. No. No? Yes. I I I I guess. Wha what's with all this cross examination? Ow damn it! Peter. But why? What do you mean why? There's oil all over the floor. Hmm. The oil it's it's just evaporating. Isn't it supposed to do that? Course it's of course it's not supposed to do that. Oh, there must be a hole in the floor or a crack or something.

Yeah. All clean now. Wait a minute, let me let me pour some more and see. There it just disappears. That's the craziest thing I ever saw. Whoever heard of motor oil just evaporating? Haven't you noticed, Peter? Haven't you noticed really? Our house, our wonderful magical house, the towels are always hung on the towel rack, the carpet always clean. Your desk is even straightened. So So you don't really think I'm doing all that, do you? I hate to clean. Well Who's doing it then? The house?

Yeah, from your mouth to God's ear. Then she took a quart of fresh oil from my hand. and poured it right on to my feet. As I watched it just disappeared, evaporated just like before. I stood there not knowing what to say. Well this was s a a stupid magic trick it had to be, but her reaction, the way she looked at me and and that laugh.

That unnatural laugh. They all came together like a vice slowly pressing down on my chest. I I had to face facts. I couldn't ignore it any more. Something had happened to her the night I was gone. And if I didn't act quickly, The same thing was gonna happen to me. Peter. Peter. What are you doing out here by the fence? Is it so strange just to want to stand in your own backyard? And just stare at a fence. About what? Do you remember that day last month when the cats scratched you here?

Yes, of course. Yeah. We were talking about how frightened I was of the houses next door. Yes. 'Surprised, I remember? Of course I remember, Peter. I was quite afraid of the estates because no one ever seemed to be a You told me I was silly, but What did you call them? The estates that's their name. Silly, silly little Wendy, the frightened mouse. What's going on? I don't know what you mean. Yes, yes you do. What happened, Wendy? What changed? You don't like it. Do you?

I want you to get better, of course, but it's it's all happening so fast. Poor baby. You want the old Wendy back, don't you? Wendy, the silly mouse, the one so afraid of not pleasing you What? So afraid of It nearly drove her insane. Don't feel guilty. I know now it wasn't your fault. I was afraid. I was warped and misshapen with fear. But they they showed me. Who showed you? They showed me a way, a way to make me free, and they'll show you too.

I stood there, dumb and deaf, staring at my wife for a very long time. Her eyes were like a cat's eyes, a cat that sees a fat mouse. And she was crouched slightly almost like an animal. I didn't know what to do. turned and walked away without saying a word. Free. Why did that sound so horrible? I had to get out of there, I had to think. I walked across the patio and through the back door.

Then I wander the house like a sleepwalker, moving in and out of rooms, listening to the mid afternoon quiet. It was also clear. Only one room was barely tolerable. I went to my office and logged on to the internet. No email, as if that had been clean too. I opened up a browser and just started clicking on random sites I'd visited before. After a while I calmed down enough to start thinking again and I realized I was at city dot com, the information site for our old hometown.

You could do all kinds of things there, including look up addresses, search public records. I wondered if you couldn't search public records in our little town. Quick look around the web told me. I worked hard for two straight hours looking up information on what Wendy had called the estates. I checked phone directories, real estate offices, I found nothing. Then I hung hung up the computer, called the County Hall of Records, got a sympathetic clerk, and received the shock of my life.

According to the plot map, the water map, the power grid, according to every map they had, there was no housing development called the estates. And there never had been. I felt another one of those icy stings at the base of my neck. I turned, expecting to see her standing there, but I was alone. I became aware that the house was unnaturally quiet.

Went outside and walked around. Night was coming and by reflex I grew concerned. I walked into the backyard and returned to the spot along the fence where I'd last seen her. Nothing. was about to turn away. when I noticed something I hadn't before. A piece of the fence was off, out of alignment, I went up for a closer look and grabbed the boards firmly. It was a gate without hinges, uh just a section of fence that was leaned into the place and was freestanding.

But it had been moved recently, and as I pulled it over and peered through to the other side, I saw something lying there on the grass. Something small and dark and shaped vaguely like a sleeping kitten. It was Wendy's shoe. I pushed through the gate. And slipped into the neighbor's backyard. The grass there was perfect, like carpet under my feet. A five-piece lawn furniture set and a brand new gas grill, all of it looking like it had just come out of the box, sat on a patio nearby.

And beyond that loomed the house itself, three stories tall with a dozen dark windows like sleeping eyes. It was also an oculus so normal and expected I couldn't explain why the sight of it chilled me. I walk past the furniture to the side of the house, trying to avoid detection from any of the windows. I don't know why I bothered.

I came to the front of the house and the driveway. The view was more or the same. A block of houses more or less exactly like this one. Every porch light was lit. But something was missing. Cars. None of the houses had cars in front, not on the driveways, not even on the street. There were just porchlights and footlights along the front walks. And a street light way down at the corner. There were lights, but no sign of people. Hello Peter. No. Did I scare you? How did you get up here?

Yeah. The same way you did through the fence. What are you doing? I'm sitting on a porch swing. What does it look like? It's a beautiful night out. No moon. Oh without these lights it Itch black. Wendy we don't even know whose house this is. They don't mind. Well how do you know that? They don't mind. They want us to be here. They want us to be here with them always. Wendy, you're frightening me. I know. Ironic, isn't it?

Let's let's let's get out of here. Let's leave now and never come back. We can go back to the city. But all we need is right here. I don't know what you mean by that. Don't you Don't you really? You must see it, Peter. You'd be blind not to. I was a mouse, a pathetic little girl. All right. came and took all my fears away, every last one of them. That's what these houses are for. They keep your fears locked up tight. And everything you ever worried about starts taking care of itself.

The house, the the way all the dirt disappears. I knew you understood. What are you afraid of, Peter? What are you doing? Really afraid of. Because whatever it is, they'll take it away. They'll make it all better. They'll lock it up in one of these houses so it can't get you ever again. At the end of your life there there is a small price to pay. It's really so simple. Wendy, we need to get you to a doctor. You need help. I have all the help I need, Peter. All I need to know is what you fear.

They wanted me to ask you. They want to know what you're afraid of. Because you've got to face them, Peter. You've got to face them before you can be free. That's what it's all about. Facing your fears. Seeing them up close. So close you can smell them. Wendy. Like I saw them that night you were gone. All of them, all at once, breaking in around me, trying to get me. It was only when they finally caught up. That I understood.

Wendy stop walking toward me. You wanna know a little secret. He already knows what you're afraid of. It's just better if you can admit it. He who, what are you talking about? You know who I'm talking about, Peter Come on. Give the devil his due. Then I turned and I ran up the street. And as I went garage doors started rising up. Front doors open. Even windows. Out of the doors there came there came things. Thank you. We would have got divorced. You were a rotten kid!

People from my past, from my present. Dreams, nightmares, memories, everything I'd ever been afraid of was there. You little pig! I'm telling your mother. I'm telling everyone! Your wife's condition. But you already knew that. I had to get out of there. I had to get out of there now. I got inside and locked every door. I can hear them now. You can hear them out there, somewhere.

I wonder if they'll come for me, if they'll leave the estates and come for me, if they'll come over the fence or around the streets. I wonder if they came after Wendy. Or did she go to them? Did she go willingly? Did she have a choice? Do I does anyone know if there's a way to keep them out? Do you?

Scott Roberts. Yeah. Karen Chickle as Wendy. And Jeffrey Adams as Peter. Your sound effects crew? Pierre and Irwin on Computer Sound Effects Daily. Drömmer du om en strand villa på Maldivarna? Ett butikhotell på Maritius. Eller en gömd ö i greklapp. Globrotter tar dig till exklusiva resmål och handplockade hotell. Värden över. Boka digitalt.

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