In "Constant Horror at the Midnight Station," a routine visit by a weary cop to a desolate gas station at night becomes a nightmarish descent into an otherworldly realm of supernatural terror. As the gas station transforms into an eerie portal, mysterious and malevolent figures emerge from the shadows, setting off a harrowing journey of dread, guilt, and redemption. With each step deeper into this surreal nightmare, the officer must confront their own past sins and face an insidious force that holds them captive in a relentless cycle of horror.
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(upbeat music) This episode is brought to you by Experian. Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use, but can't find the time or energy to cancel them? Experian could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you, saving you an average of $270 per year, and plenty of time. Download the Experian app. Results will vary, not all subscriptions are eligible. Savings are not guaranteed. Paid membership with connected payment account required. It's time for Tales of Terror, only on the mutual audio network. The following audio drama is rated R and is recommended restricted for anyone under the age of 17. (upbeat music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) Still sitting on the interstate dispatch. Only thing out of this hour are trucks and some cars here and there. I'm about to close up my shift. What's going on? Do you know where the midnight station is about a mile or two from you? 10-4 dispatch, it's on the way home. What's going on? We got more than one call from there, or what seems to be from there. It's not been cleared. I'm always sending you that way due to there being a more than one call. It seems to be traced back to that location. Check it out before you at home. 10-4 dispatch, heading that way now. I flipped my lights on, but not my siren, driving toward the midnight station. Around here at this hour, you have to be cautious, watching out for people or deer. With it being two in the morning, there are more deer than people. I patrol this area. Things seem pretty dull. But it beats having to deal with any of the other stuff that goes on in town. Yeah, I've had to arrest Tays and even shoot some people, but it's a rare occasion. For the most part, my time is spent handing out speeding tickets. It's nice to have this type of authority and be the law of people. Even when I'm not on duty, I carry my gun. You never know when one of these individuals is going to go nuts and start shooting the place up anymore. I pulled up to the gas station, not a sole insight, just one car, the cashiers. Flipping my lights off, I got out of my car, making my way into the station. Officer? The cashiers disheveled appearance and vacant stare caught my attention. I couldn't help but get a sense of deja vu but let it go. I strolled around the store, picking up a couple of snacks at a few bottles of water. My shift was coming to an end and there didn't seem to be anything or anyone here. My radio crackled softly, but I turned the volume down, continuing to gather items, placing the snacks and the bottles of water on the counter. I struck up a conversation. You called 911? No. The cashier scanned my items. Is that what brings you insulate? Got a call from dispatch, needed to check it out. My shift was ending. They said someone called from here more than once, but it was fuzzy and they couldn't make it out. Is anyone else here besides you? Just me and my shift started about an hour ago, but nothing out of the ordinary has happened. That'll be 25 bucks. I grabbed my wallet and threw a 20 into five at the cashier, grabbing my items. Would you like a bag? Keep it. Mind if I take a look around before I leave? Not at all. Damn pedestrians. I muttered to myself, leaning against the cruiser and gazing out into the night, always bothering me before the end of my shift. If they only knew what we did to protect them, maybe they'd have a little bit more respect for us. My grumbling was cut short by the radio and the cruiser crackling to life, the voice of dispatch pulling me back to the present. I jumped a bit, not expecting the sudden noise. Officer Blackwood, what's your status? I grabbed the radio and replied. This is Officer Blackwood. Just checked out the midnight station. Everything seems quiet so far. Copy that, Officer Blackwood. Stay there and keep it updated. As I placed the radio on my belt, I glanced out into the distance. In the shadowy woods beyond the station, something caught my eye. At first, it was just a faint glimmer, like distant unsteady light. I narrowed my eyes and focused on the source, feeling a growing sense of unease. There amidst the trees, something moved. It was too far to make out clearly, but it didn't look like an animal. It was more like a silhouette, a shape shifting into the darkness, and it was steadily approaching the gas station. My hand instinctively went to my sidearm as the sense of dread washed over me. Whatever it was, it felt deeply unnatural, and I couldn't shake the feeling that my visit to the midnight station was far from over. Police are yelled. Come out with your hands up. Only the sound of the night bugs answered me. Not even a foot beside me I heard rustling. I turned to the side, shining my flashlight to see a man with long hair and two scars on the side of his face. - Whoa, easy, Officer. Do you mind not pointing that thing at me? - Why the hell did you not come out earlier when I called? Were you the one that's been calling 911? - What? - I shined the light and the victim's face to get a better look at his features. - You're blind to me with that, can you not? - I, I know you. You were a pullover before that drew a gun and shot at me. A demonic-looking smile came over the man's face as it turned inside out. Fear overcame me, and I drew my weapon back out firing off two rounds. That's when I got blind in my right light. I found myself back at the gas station, staring at the bright light inside. - Hey, you gonna buy anything or just stand there with your gun out? I've tried to get your attention now five other times. I'm about to call 911 on you. - I snapped back to reality, holstering my gun. The sudden shift from the dark woods to the fluorescent-lit interior of the gas station disoriented me. The memory of the man with the long hair and scars on his face is sudden transformation and the fear that had caused the room we still lingered like a haunting echo. I shook my head, tried to clear the disconcerting image from my mind, and it felt so real. Yet here I was, back at the gas station with no trace of the man or the woods. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead and the shelves of snacks and drinks surrounded me. I stammered. - I, I'm sorry, man. I thought I saw something outside. That must have been my imagination. I felt foolish and out of sorts. My nerves still on edge. - Yeah, well, you've been staring at that light with your gun out for about 10 minutes now. Why don't you go home and get some rest, officer? - I, I think I'll do that. These long nights I think are starting to get to me. I'll just drink some water on my way out that I got earlier. Maybe it'll keep me coherent. - Earlier, honey. You've been in here for at least an hour now. And I don't know what you're talking about when you say water, unless you were here before my shift or something about water. This is the first time I've seen you in here tonight. - Fear overtook me. What did I witness? Did I really go to the woods behind the station? Another way I was fixing to get the hell out of there. Ah, sorry about that. Just ignore I was ever here. I'm going home. It's been a long night. - We've all had those days. - We exited the station, making my way back to my cruiser. A radio dispatch. - Dispatch, this is Officer Blackwood car 413. Do you copy? - Tip four, Officer, what's your status? - Did you get a check-in from me earlier? 1024, dispatch, this is Officer Blackwood car 413. I'm heading home now. No sign of any disturbance at the midnight station. - Indeed, Officer Blackwood, proceed with caution. - The response came swiftly, but the voice on the other end was distorted and eerie. Something about the response sent a shiver down my spine, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Shaking the feeling off, I pulled onto Route 50. The familiar road led me away from the gas station. At this hour, the road was empty, and I could finally put some distance between myself and the unsettling place. The thought of my warm bed waiting at home provided some comfort. But as the minutes passed, I couldn't shake the nagging sensation that something was amiss. The road seemed to stretch on endlessly. The gas station nowhere in sight. The frowned, dripping the steering wheel tighter. I knew the way home, and I shouldn't have been driving for this long. Anxiety clawed at me as I watched the road signs, expecting to see the familiar landmarks that would lead me back to town, but they never appeared. Instead, the road ahead seems to loop and twist in a disorienting manner. Panic started to rise within me. I slowed the cruiser and pulled over to the side of the road, turning my blinkers on and tried to make sense of the situation. I grabbed the radio, my voice trembling, as I called dispatch once more. Dispatch, this is all of us at Blackwood again. I seem to be lost. I can't find my way back to town. Can you guide me? The radio remained silent, except for the static that filled the airwaves. No response came from dispatch and a deep sense of dread settled over me. Something was very wrong. I turned my blinkers off and proceeded to jump back onto Route 50. Finally, I came to a hill with a nearby exit. I took the turn and taking a left, pulling my cruiser into the gas station. Now this couldn't be possible. I had been driving for hours and still no response from dispatch. I turned the cruiser off and made my way back into the station. The cashier looked surprised to see me. Instead of browsing goods and made my way up to the counter, looking the woman dead in the eyes, I need you to tell me. Have I been here before? - Are you feeling okay, officer? You don't look so good. - No, I need you to tell me. Have I been here before? - This is the first time. - I altered my firearm and pointed it at her head. Have I been here before? I need you to be honest with me. Enough of these fucking games. - Whoa, whoa, easy. Just put the gun away, please. I don't wanna die. I don't know what you're talking about, but please, just put it down. - Wait a minute, I know you too. My lord, my weapon, I remember you. You were involved in a traffic stop. It was a few years back, but I remember now. I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on with me. Her eyes widened in recognition as she lowered her hands from up in the air. Her face transformed from guilt and fear to an evil grin. As the cashier's face transformed to a grotesque distorted figure, I stumbled back in shock and fear. My heart pounded in my chest, and I realized that I had walked right into a nightmare and I'd marished a loop of guilt and remorse. - That's right, officer Blackwood. I do remember you now. I'm so glad you could join us. - Fear surged through me as I took angry with my gun and fired a radio. Before I could react further, I'd reach through my radio, desperate to call for backup. Dispatch, come in, dispatch. I shouted into the radio. My voice tinged with panic. All I had received in response was a deafening noise, a piercing, overwhelming sound that sent shock waves through my body. I yanked the radio off my belt and threw it across the room. You'll be here with all of us. - The cashier's distorted voice echoed. Her hand outstretched. The man with the scars on his face, the victim of a controversial incident that had cost him his life materialized before me. Confusion swirled in my mind. How was I seeing both of them now? What was happening? Their presence and their words filled me with dread. - Go ahead. - The cashier's voice continued, the distortion drawing more unsettling. You can try to leave, but you won't be going anywhere. You're doomed to relive everything you've done forever. Each sin, one by one. You won't be able to run, hide, or ever go back to your precious home again. - As our words echoed in the eerie silence of the gas station, I felt a wave of realization wash over me. The supernatural forces that had trapped me in this endless nightmare were forcing me to confront the darkest moments of my past. The incidents I have tried to bury deep within my conscience, then it hit me. A flood of memories, the controversial traffic stop, the violent confrontation, the guilt and shame. I couldn't escape my own past and the horror of it all left me paralyzed. I struggled to make sense of the surreal nightmare. My sleep deprived state finally caught up with me. The exhaustion weighed me down, my vision blurred, and my body gave way to fatigue. Without warning, I stumbled backward, crashing into a shelf. As I fell to the floor, my world descended into darkness and the gas station, the cashier, and the distorted figures faded away. The nightmare that had held me captive finally released its grin. When I awoke, it was morning. The sun streamed through the cruiser's windshield and the gas station was nothing more than a memory in the rear view mirror. I had driven my cruiser into a tree during a moment of exhaustion induced delirium. Luckily, it wasn't totaled, and I was able to get back. The events of the night, the haunting memories, and the bizarre encounters all seemed like fragments of a terrible dream, I realized that the only way to escape the endless nightmare was to confront my past. To seek redemption for the sins that had haunted me. The next day at the office, I did my paperwork and resigned from the force. I felt it was the right thing to do. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] (piano music)
