Episode 15 The Strangers

Transcript

0:31

This is Ed Falco on the air, reading The Strangers, a novel in 19 episodes. In episode 14. Severn saved Red, a young stranger woman, from the pack. At the end of the episode, Red, who hasn't spoken, acknowledged with a nod of her head that she understands Severn. He is in the process of escorting her back to the farmhouse to tend to her wounds when we pick up episode 15. When they reached the farmhouse, Severn led her to the porch and had her sit in one of the rocking chairs while he went to the kitchen for the first aid kit. Once back out on the porch, he found her examining her wound. Her face was pale. Come here. Severn pulled off his rifle and leaned it against the house before he took her hand and led her to the porch steps. The clouds were lifting and the day growing lighter, promising sun. They sat on the steps, and Severn lifted her top clear of the cut, which was long but not deep. He wet a gauze pad with alcohol. Before he began to clean the wound, he warned Red that it would sting. She looked away in gritter teeth, and still when he touched the jagged cut she stiffened, and a high trill of bird like notes, pained but nonetheless musical, issued from someplace beyond her, like a ventriloquist throwing her voice. It startled Severn, and he realized that, for a moment, he had stopped thinking of her as an alien. That she sounded so exactly like a bird came as a vivid reminder. Sorry if this hurts, he said, and he continued washing the dried blood away from the wound. If there was any difference between her skin and her body, and a human girl's skin and body, he couldn't feel it. He concentrated on cleaning out the cut, ignoring Red's occasional trills and marbles. Do you have a name? He asked, without looking up from his work. The thought of asking coming to him suddenly. When he glanced at her in response to the silence, she looked away. I have an idea, he said, and then didn't go on to explain. He finished cleaning the wound, smeared an antibiotic ointment over it, and then covered it with a gauze bandage and taped it in place. When he was done, he said, He put the alcohol and ointment and bandages back in the plastic blue and white first aid kit, put it back in place over the kitchen sink, and returned carrying a yellow pad and pencil. He sat beside Red on the stoop, where she was waiting for him with her hands folded in her lap. She had a solemn look about her as she watched the thinning clouds tumble past, pushed by the same wind that gusted now and then and stirred up dust and dirt and leaves. Severn placed the pad and pencil in her lap. There are so many things I want to know, he said. I'm hoping you can help me. Red looked to the pad and pencil, then back to Severn. She shook her head. No, you can't help me. Red stiffened, and that blank gaze she had worn through much of the walk from the cave returned. Do you not know how to write, he asked. That doesn't seem possible. Red glanced at him, her expression suddenly taciturn. She said nothing. Let's try this, Severn said. He took the pad and pencil from her, went back to the house, and returned with one of the laptops. He handed it to her. Perhaps you can type, he said, if you can't write. Red put the laptop down on the porch behind her and looked back out to the fields. When a spurt of anger shot through Severn, Red slid away from him until she was pushed up against the railing. He reached out to touch her leg, meaning to reassure her, but she issued a high, tight trill of notes and leaned away from his touch. Severn picked up the laptop and carried it back to the table. Inside, in the quiet of the house, protected from the gusting wind, he leaned back against a chair and watched Red through the screen door. A gust of wind ruffled her hair, and she patted it down with both hands. She leaned forward over her knees, clasped her hands together, and pulled them back over her head, holding her hair in place. He saw her face in profile, her eyes cast down to the dirt as if she were looking through it and beyond it, seeing things only she could see. He felt the urge to sit beside her and comfort her, and so he turned away and stared at the polished wood at the tabletop until the feeling passed. When a low, worried warble floated up through the closed screen door, Severn turned to see the others approaching the porch. Matthew and Tommy were in the lead, walking side by side. Well, Vi and A'isha followed several feet behind. They were all armed with assault rifles and pistols. When they neared the porch, Red stood and looked at Severn through the screen door. A hint of panic in her eyes. Severn went out to the porch and stood at Red's side. Matthew stopped short of the steps. Let's get this over with, he said, his eyes fixed on Red a moment and then moving to Severn. We can caravan to Millersville. You can take her and the spider and we'll follow in the jeep. What jeep, Tommy said. In the garage, Matthew said. Tommy followed Matthew as he headed toward the garage. Vi and A'isha waited, waiting to see what Severn would do. Severn strapped on his rifle. When he took Red's arm and followed Tommy, they joined him. How's she been? Vi asked Severn, talking about Red as if she weren't there. Severn glanced at Red before he answered, as if hoping she might suddenly speak. She's been fine. She's scared. Guess she would be, Vi said. If it weren't for us, she'd have been the pack's breakfast. I think it's us she's scared of. Vi glanced past Severn, looking at Red directly for the first time. Why would you be scared of us? she asked. Didn't we just save you from the dogs? She's young, A'isha said. Probably younger than us. She's not younger than me, Vi said, drawing a laugh from Severn I met me and Matthew, A'isha said. She gestured toward Red. I think our weapons scare her. She's not used to being around guns. Vi touched the big bowie knife strapped to Severn's side. It looked like Davy Crockett or something. Severn had forgotten that he was wearing the knife. He looked down at it and then back to Red, wondering if Vi might not be right. If they all might not look especially dangerous to Red, given the weapons they were carrying. Vi said to Red, If it weren't for these weapons, you'd be dead. At that, Red tensed up again. The bowie knife made Severn think of Sage. I meant to bury Sage this morning. Vi said, We can do that when we get back. A'isha put her arm round Vi's waist. She looks like she's lying in state there in the cave. She's got a regal look about her up on that ledge. In front of them, Matthew threw open the garage door. The red spider was parked alongside a silver jeep with the word BOYER painted in black along the side of its hood in bold black letters. The Jeep looked like it should be able to drive over mountains and through rivers. It was tricked out with brush guards, frame covers, rocker panels, a light bar with an array of six spotlights, and a deep water exhaust kit. The accessories were set off in black against the metallic silver of the body. Matthew said, keys are in the ignition. Vi hovered nearby as Severn opened the Ferrari's passenger door for Red. Be careful, she said to Severn, after Red was in the car and the door closed behind her. She wrapped up Severn in a tight hug. I don't trust strangers, she said. They look harmonious enough, but, still, Severn glanced at Red as she sat in the passenger seat with her hands in her lap. She's scared to death of us, he said to Vi. The biggest danger is that she'll jump out of the car to get away from me. Please, Vi said and rolled her eyes. She's like, obviously so into you. Severn gave her a look as if she might have temporarily lost her mind and then kissed her on the forehead. Go, he said, and he pointed to the jeep where the others were waiting. Once on the road, Red appeared to relax a bit. The interior of the Ferrari was close and intimate and surprisingly quiet. Severn touched the yellow circle in the center of the steering wheel, running his finger over the body of the rearing stallion pictured there, as it was on the red enamel key grip. In the rearview mirror, he saw Matthew at the wheel of the Jeep, and A'isha turned around in the passenger seat talking to Tommy and Vi in the back. As he watched, the three of them broke into laughter, while Matthew remained grim faced at the wheel. The blacktop highway was in good shape. It looked like it had been patched and repaved in places. Severn was tempted to open up the Ferrari. He guessed it was capable of 200 miles per hour. He drove at a steady 50, though, taking his sweet time. Beside him, Red noticed an iPhone between the seat and the console. She picked it up, turned it on, and began navigating through its programs. You know how to use one of those, Severn asked. Red nodded without looking at him. The sound of his voice seemed to make her anxious. She leaned against the passenger's door and held the iPhone in front of her like a shield as she continued doing whatever she was doing, her fingers poking at and sliding over the screen. Severn slowed down at the sight of a black bear on the side of the road. She was lying in a patch of sunlight nursing a litter of young who were squirming and pushing at her belly. One tiny cub was stretched out on her back and gazing dreamily at the road. Look at this. He touched Red's arm to get her attention. Red put the iPhone down and got up on her knees to see out the side window. Severn drove past the bear slowly. She looked up at him but didn't move. Behind him, he saw A'isha and the kids pushed up excitedly against the side window. When one of the cubs started to approach the car, he drove off and Matthew followed. Leaving the sow and her young to their sun warmed spot off the highway, Red settled back in her seat and picked up the iPhone again. A moment later, a woman's computerized voice issued from the phone's speakers. It said, Thank you, with a crisp British accent. Severn was too surprised to respond immediately. He glanced at Red and then turned back to the road. His heart was beating fast and his thoughts were jumping around chaotically. He wasn't sure why he was being thanked. For what, he asked. Red's fingers moved over the iPhone's screen and the British voice said, For saving me. You're welcome, Severn answered. The politeness of his response struck him as absurd. It occurred to him that he might be the only human being ever to talk to an alien. And his first words were, For what? And, You're welcome. Red, he asked, What's your name? When she didn't answer, he looked over at her and saw that she was tense. She looked as though she was doing something she knew she wasn't supposed to be doing. What is it? he asked. You're almost shaking. Why? You frighten me, the phone said. You frighten us. Severn glanced at the iPhone as if it was the gadget itself that was talking to him. He thought of Hal from the movie 2001. How can it be that we frighten you, he asked. You, your people, you exterminated our species as if we were bugs. How can it be that a few stragglers, how can it be that we frighten you? Red's eyes fell to the knife at Severn's hips. You are killers, the British voice said. You are dangerous. And you are not, Severn answered, his voice rising. Your people, he said, more calmly. You're not killers? We are not killers, the voice came back. Severn had no idea what to make of her response. Part of him wanted to tell her about Sarah and his family and Vi and her sisters. And another part of him wanted to reassure her. To tell her she had nothing to fear from him. He said, You killed billions of human beings. Your people did that. You destroyed us, our civilization. You Red's fingers flew to the screen. No, the voice said, we become you. Severn drove on in silence, letting Red's words sink in. You become us? he asked. Red nodded. She seemed to take a moment to think and then her fingers went to work tapping out words. All you were, the polite British voice said, we are. Through us, your culture is not lost. Your art is not lost. Your achievements are not lost. Through us, you continue. Severn waited. It was as if he had to replay her sentences several times before he could begin to understand them. You think you replace us, he said? You think you can pick a civilization, eliminate its people, and then become them? That's okay? That's not killing? Red shook her head in frustration, as if she knew she wasn't getting her meaning across. You were doomed, the iPhone said. Why were we doomed, Severn asked. You were doomed. He heard his own voice as if he were someone else listening in on a conversation. He sounded shocked. You were destroyers, the voice said. Your future was starvation, disease, disaster. Again, Severn asked why. You were destroyers, the voice repeated. Your world. You destroyed. We didn't, Severn said. And now he sounded like a defendant responding weakly to a prosecutor's questions. He understood what she meant. Hadn't Sarah made these arguments to him a thousand times? And We would have figured it out. Severn stopped speaking when a wave of fury threatened to overwhelm him. His breathing got shallow as he tried to control himself. He saw that Red was frightened, and he worked at speaking calmly, though his words came out rough and choked by the immensity of his anger. We would have figured out what to do, he said. In time, we would have changed what had to be changed. We would have found ways. We would have survived and prospered. At first, Red seemed too frightened to respond. Then he saw her swallow hard, as if stealing herself. Her fingers poked at the screen. Too late, the voice said. Natural disasters, wars, disease. This could no longer be averted. I don't believe you. Severn spit out the words and then returned to concentrating on his breathing, forcing himself toward calm. Outside, the road flew by and he realized he was speeding. When he checked the rear view, he didn't see the jeep. He slowed down to fifty and waited until a jeep reappeared on the road behind him. His eyes were wet with tears of frustration. He wiped the wetness away, took a deep breath, and turned to glance at Red, in whose green eyes he saw a look of concern mixed with fear. Even if what you say is true, Severn said, still, you didn't save us. You exterminated us. Red shook her head, and again the voice said, we become you. We are you. No, Severn said. And now his voice was filled with a sadness that seemed to have no end. You are not us. Red's fingers moved toward the iPhone's screen and then stopped. Her face reflected confusion rather than fear or concern. Are you mimics? Severn asked. Do you take on our form too? Our bodily form? Not mimic. Red typed out the words with hardly a glance at the screen. Become. Become. Severn repeated. What were you before? Become. Become. What were you before you became human in form? Red looked as if she didn't understand the question. The iPhone said, We aren't many forms. We have always been like you. I have no idea what that means, Severn said. Where are you from? What do you call the place you come from? Earth, the British voice said. Earth? This is Earth? Red tapped and typed at the screen, as if turning a page. We come from Earth. This is Earth, Severn repeated. You come from here? Not here, the phone said. There's one Earth, Severn said. This is it. No, the iPhone answered. Ahead of him, the exit sign from Millersville gleamed green and white in sunlight. You come from another planet, also called Earth? Colony. Space station. Severn glanced at the iPhone and saw that there were sometimes gaps and spaces between the words read typed, as if she sometimes had to search for the right word. There were several blank lines between the words colony and space station. 350 million of you on a space station? He asked. 400 million. A space station called Earth? Red nodded. How long were you on this space station? When she didn't answer right away, he added, Where were you before? Before you were on the space station. Red appeared to be confused. Her fingers hovered over the iPhone, as if she couldn't decide how to respond. Finally, the voice said, Always. Our people. Severn exited the highway and made a right turn. Where there used to be a gas station and a strip mall, there was only brush and saplings and wild grass. Is this where you were living? Severn asked. Are you from Millersville? Red nodded, and the iPhone said, Yes. Can you direct me to your home? Yes, the British voice answered. Keep going straight into town. A moment later it added, They won't take me back. Why not? Severn asked. Why won't they take you back? Red put the iPhone between the seat and the console and looked straight ahead, that blank, distant gaze returning. Severn picked up the phone and slipped it into his pants pocket. They were nearing the center of town, driving along a tree lined road bracketed by Victorian gingerbread houses, each set back on plots of an acre or more, with manicured lawns and elaborate landscaping. A brass American eagle hovered over the portico of one of the bigger homes. In a corner park, a dozen stranger kids were playing baseball on a carefully drawn diamond, with a chain link fence behind home plate. Do you have baseball? Severn asked Red. The possibility suddenly occurring to him. Do you have professional teams? he added, which was the question he meant to ask in the first place. The Dodgers, the Yankees, the Red Sox? When Red nodded in response, an image came to Severn of crowds of strangers lining up at the gates of Yankee Stadium to watch a ball game. He turned to look at Red. His stomach was queasy. Something about the notion of strangers rooting for the Yankees or the Dodgers or the Red Sox left him breathless. You can't, he said, and he didn't know how to continue. He was thinking that they couldn't do that, that it was unspeakable after what they had done. But he couldn't find the words and he wound up gawking at Red with his mouth open. Red pointed to another gingerbread Victorian on the left side of the road, an off white clapboard house with blue shutters and a bluish shingled roof. It was big enough for a dozen people to live in comfortably. Severn pulled up in front of the house. And Matthew parked behind him. A young stranger couple walking alongside the sidewalk saw the vehicles and watched as first Matthew and the others exited the jeep and then Severn and Red got out of the spider. The couple stopped at the sight of the six of them gathering on the sidewalk. They hesitated and then changed direction and walked off hurriedly toward the park where the kids were playing baseball. While Severn watched, the couples gathered the children together. They know we're here, Matthew said. He put his foot on the jeep's black brush guard and tied his shoelace. Hard to miss us, A'isha said, and she tugged at the assault rifle strapped to her chest. Have you been here before, Vi asked? She was watching the strangers as the couple and the kids disappeared into the houses lining the street. One by one the doors closed until the street was empty. Many times, Matthew answered Vi, we come here and take what we want. When they see us, they leave. He gestured toward the empty street. No one ever tries to stop you, Tom, he asked. From taking whatever you want? Nope, Matthew said. He turned to Red. This is where you live? This is it, Severn said when Red didn't answer. What now? Matthew asked Severn. Do you want to walk her to the door? Severn was about to say yes he did when the front door of the house opened and a middle aged man stepped out onto the porch under a portico. He was tall and physically impressive with a powerful chest and arms dressed in army green slacks with cargo pockets and a soft blue knit shirt. After a moment a woman joined him. She looked to be a little younger than the man but not much. She had on a yellow t shirt that pictured a red heart shape over the words, Virginia is for lovers. Tommy said, They don't look especially happy to see her. Probably because she's with us, Vi said. Matthew looked to Severn, and his look said something was off and be careful. Severn said, I'll go with her. He took Red by the arm and led her along a brick path to the portico, where the couple was waiting. The man with his arms crossed, the woman with her hands clasped together at her waist. Red kept her eyes on her feet. Severn could feel a slight resistance with every step, as if he was pulling her as much as walking alongside her. At the portico, Severn stood in front of the man and said, I think you lost someone. The man looked first to Severn and then to Red. He was handsome, with a boyish face that made his age hard to guess. He opened his mouth and issued a complex music of whistles and clicks. Red remained silent but Severn felt the muscles in her arms tense. Severn said firmly, We have to go. She belongs here, right? The man ignored him and the woman stepped forward to embrace Red. Red returned the embrace with an enthusiasm that Severn read as close to desperation. The woman kissed Red on the cheek and Red kissed her in return and when they pulled apart their faces were wet with tears. The woman wiped her tears away, and then the man took her by the arm and they both went back into the house and closed the door. Matthew's voice called from the sidewalk, What's going on? Red, Severn asked, Is this your home? Red nodded without looking at him. She wiped away her tears and gazed at the door directly in front of her as if it were a million miles away. When Matthew started up the path, Severn waved him off. Wait out here, he said. And he asked Red again. This is your home. And when she nodded again, he opened the front door and walked into the house, pulling Red along behind him. The luxury of the house surprised him, and he hesitated a second as he took it all in. He had stepped through the front door into a large foyer with limestone floors and a pair of soft white stuffed chairs on either side of a round polished wood table with a glass top. Beyond the foyer, a floating staircase with what looked like a hand forged wrought iron railing bisected a back wall of wood and glass that led out to a courtyard. The walls were decorated with watercolors of nature paintings. Men in boats on secluded rivers, seabirds flying over waves. Before Severn could speak, two little girls in matching blue dresses started down the staircase. They descended the stairs casually at first, then, as if unable to control themselves, charged down the final steps and across the stone floor to Red, who had knelt and opened her arms to them. The older of the two girls looked like she couldn't be more than seven or eight, and the other looked maybe a year or two younger. They were clearly sisters. They shared the woman's blonde hair and the man's brown eyes. Neither of them looked anything like Red, or their crimson hair and green eyes. Both girls were chirping and singing their voices like birdsong in the morning until the man whistled a low pitched warning sound. The girls backed away from Red in silence. The mother took them by the hand and led them up the stairs and out of sight. Severn asked Red, Are these your parents? Is this your family? Red didn't answer. The man took a seat in one of the white chairs and folded his hands in his lap. He gazed straight ahead at nothing. He appeared to be waiting for Severn to leave. Beyond the foyer, a pair of watercolors hanging on a wall caught Severn's attention. He went into the living room to examine them. One of them, a picture of a girl carrying a wicker basket and descending a sand dune toward the sea, was familiar to him. He realized that he had seen it before in one of Sarah's art books. It was a Winslow Homer. He was sure of it. He turned to the man to ask if it was an original because at closer inspection it didn't appear to be a reproduction. But he didn't bother asking. He knew he'd get no answer. Instead, he leaned in closer to the painting, examining the colors and the canvas and the frame. When he found Homer's childish hand printed signature in the bottom left hand corner of the painting, he decided it was an original. He took it down from the wall, approached the man, stood in front of him and showed him the painting. This isn't yours, he said. I'm taking it. He pointed to Red. She's yours. I'm leaving her with you. Before he walked out the door, he turned to Red. I'll need to talk to you more, he said. I'll be back to talk to you. He let his gaze linger on the man, who turned to him and met his eyes with an absence of emotion, as if he were looking at a brick wall. Outside, Matthew waited on the walkway while the others leaned against the jeep and talked among each other. The street behind them deserted. Severn pulled the front door closed and started toward the sidewalk. He realized that he was walking fast and that he was angry, though his thoughts and feelings were too chaotic to pin down. What's that? Matthew asked. A painting. Severn brushed by Matthew and went to the Jeep and stood the painting in the cargo space. Vi, Tommy and A'isha were all staring at him. Vi said, You took one of their paintings? It's not their painting, Severn said. It doesn't belong to them. They stole it, like they stole everything else. His face was red and his words were clipped. He looked back to the house briefly and then walked past the kids without a word and got into the Ferrari. Severn caught A'isha and Matthew exchanging a look on the sidewalk before they got into the Jeep with the kids. He knew that he was acting like a jerk. Throwing off waves of uncontrolled anger, but he didn't know what to do about it. He thought he might calm down on the ride back to the farmhouse. He glanced at the rearing stallion on the red ignition key and then back to the house one more time. He was resisting starting the car. And then the front door opened and Red stepped out onto the portico. She found Severn and fixed her eyes on him. Severn was out of the car and beside her on the portico in an instant. He tried the front door and found it locked. Is that your father? And there he asked. Umrad nodded. He said, Why? Why won't they take you back? Red looked at them with eyes that, so unlike her father's, were full of emotion. They seemed to be pleading with him. From the sidewalk, Severn heard the jeep doors open and then Matthew joined him on the portico. Severn, he said, his tone of voice announcing that he was trying to be reasonable. What are we doing? They won't take her back. This is the right place? This is her family? This is the right place? Severn said. Matthew looked at the locked doors as if he might be able to see what was happening on the other side. He seemed both surprised and confused. Finally, he said, well, leave her. What's it to us? Can't do that. Why not? We'll talk later. He said to Matthew and his tone of voice said there was a reason they couldn't leave her. He took red by the arm and led her back to the car, leaving Matthew on the portico, staring after him once in the Ferrari with red. Seven waited for Matthew to make his way back to the others. When he heard the Jeep engine start up, his hands dropped to the ignition key and they were back on the road again and headed to Millersville. Red sat rigidly in her seat. Her back straight and her hands clasped in her lap. She was looking straight ahead with that million mile stare. Severn settled back into his seat for the ride. Why? He asked Red again. Why won't they take you back? When Red didn't answer, he retrieved the iPhone from his pocket, tossed it into her lap and asked again. Red took her time working the phone. Finally, the British woman's voice returned and said, I don't know. Really? You have no idea why they won't take you back? Did they put you out in the first place or did you leave? Red's hand jumped to the phone. My family put me out. When? Last night. And you don't know why? Severn said. Then quickly he asked, Where did they put you out? Did they just shove you out the door? Beyond our homes. The iPhone said. In the woods. They took you to the woods outside of town and left you there? At night. The voice added. Late. How did you get to us then? Severn asked. How did you get all the way to the caves? Ran hesitated. Then typed. Beasts. The beasts? Severn asked. You mean the pack? The dogs? Yes. Beasts. What did they do? Severn asked. Put you in a car and drive you to the caves? Red turned to Severn, and he saw an unmistakable flash of anger in her eyes. They carried me, the phone said, with its even, polite, British voice. They ran. That doesn't add up, Severn said. The pack found her in Millersville, carried her to the caves, let her go in the woods, and then came after her again, only to be turned away when he showed up to save her. He was beginning to wonder if the pack was more interested in playing with their victims than they were in killing them. Your people, Severn asked. Does this happen often? Do they put others in the woods for the beasts to carry away? Red shook her head. Did you do something, Severn asked? Did they have a reason? The iPhone said no. Then after a moment, it said, I don't know. You don't know why they put you out in the woods for the pack to carry away? You become us, Severn went on. But you don't know who you were before you became us. Am I getting all this right? Red held the phone in front of her a moment before hesitantly tapping out the words. We are many, the voice said, before we become one. You are many before you become one, Severn said, his voice rising. And I'm supposed to make some sense out of that. When Red didn't respond, he said, let me try to be more specific. What did you and your people look like before you looked like us? Our people, the iPhone said. We always looked like you. And you came from a place called Earth. Red nodded. Tell me this, Severn said. Did you have wars on your Earth? Red shook her head. Did you have poverty? No. Did you have disease? No. Severn took a second to think back over all the strangers he had seen so far. Do your people grow old and infirm? Do you have old people? Red answered quickly, No. What happens to you, Severn asked. Why don't you grow old? We cease to be at the end of our sixth decade, the iPhone said. Severn took his eyes off the road and turned to Red. You all die when you turn sixty? Red nodded. The iPhone said, How old are you now? Severn asked. Twenty four. Approaching middle age, Severn said. Red gave him an uncomprehending look. She pointed the iPhone at Severn, and the British woman asked, Are you angry at me because I have no one? Severn was taken aback by the question. The Kambir voice spoke the words politely, without emotion. But Red, in the way she held the phone in her expression, appeared hurt. Severn heard in the question a note of pleading. I am not angry with you, he said. The end. I'm angry at your people. I'm angry at what they've done. Red stared at the phone a long moment, then hesitantly typed, We saved him. Severn tried hard not to sound angry. He didn't save us, he said. You have not become us, no matter what you think. You are not us, not nearly. What you did, what your people did, was a monstrous wrong. It was evil. Now Red's hands moved quickly. No, the phone said. You would have suffered and died. Without us, all would have been lost. I already told you, Severn said. I don't believe that. But even if it's true, you didn't prevent it. You took everything that we, that humans, had made and accomplished. You took it all for yourselves. You may look like us, but you are not us. You are nothing like us. Red said nothing after that, though she looked stricken. She fell back in her seat and watched the road in silence, her eyes no longer glazed and distant. She looked instead like she was busy working out a problem. Occasionally she touched her hands to her forehead, as if she might have a headache. Severn tried to concentrate on the road and the surrounding hillside. The redbuds were blooming, and their gorgeous bursts of purple against the lush greenery were as stunning and beautiful as they ever were. Even now, without thousands of humans locally to appreciate them, the sky roiled with clouds in every shade of white and grey. They were thick in places and thin in others so that sunlight and shade were intermittent. The clouds tumbled overhead as the lighting moved from sunny to dark and everything in between. A blustery wind shook the tall grass and swayed the treetops. Severn tried hard to concentrate on the beauty around him but found it impossible. His thoughts kept coming back to Red sitting quietly beside him looking troubled. He could see that she was upset and he couldn't help wanting to comfort her. I noticed, he said, when they were nearing the farm, that no one else in your family has red hair and green eyes. Red shook her head and tapped at the iPhone. Brown eyes, the voice said. Severn didn't know what she meant. What about brown eyes? I have brown eyes, the iPhone said. Severn pulled down her windshield visor and flipped open the mirror. Red glanced at her reflection and then leaned in close. She leaned back, flipped the mirror closed, and put up the visor. She appeared to be moving in spurts, as if she had to think about a reaction. She tapped at the phone's screen. Always brown, the voice said. Changed. When? You didn't know your eyes had changed color? Red shook her head. Didn't know, the voice said. Do you think there could be a connection between your eyes changing color and your family putting you out? I don't know, the phone said. A second later added, Sorry. What about the dogs? The packs? Severn asked. What can you tell me about them? Red thought a while, then typed, They are always with us. Always? How many packs are there? Are they everywhere? They are everywhere, the voice said. Their numbers are very small. Very few. How small? Very small. Very few. Really? Severn was amazed at that and showed her in his voice. Why haven't you gotten rid of them? Red looked like she didn't quite comprehend the question. It took her a while before she could answer. We are not killers, she typed. They do not harm us. They harmed you, Severn said. Red responded quickly this time. I don't understand that. Then repeated. I don't understand. Severn slowed down and checked the rearview mirror. Matthew and A'isha were grim faced side by side in the front of the jeep. In the back seat, Vi was asleep on Tommy's shoulder. Tommy looked like he might be sleeping too. Severn glanced at Red. When he found that her eyes were closed, he allowed himself a moment to observe her closely. She appeared young to him, younger than her 24 years. He found it hard to comprehend that she was nearing the halfway mark in her preordained lifespan. Her complexion was clear, the kind of skin Severn associated with the rich, with people who could afford to spend great deals of money and time on caring for their appearance. He wondered if this was a natural gift, or if she spent hours applying creams and lotions. It was a fleeting thought, and mostly he allowed himself to look closely at her. With her lustrous red hair and red lips and pinkish white skin, there was a touch of idealized beauty about her. When he went back to watching the road, his thoughts turned to Sarah. She had never been an especially beautiful woman, but that had ceased mattering as soon as he got to know her. Sarah was smart and funny and capable. He could always turn to her, and she would usually be there with exactly what he needed. He missed that so deeply. Having a partner, someone he could turn to for help and comfort, that the missing was a constant ache. He reached into his pocket and held his own iPhone, the one with the last remaining pictures of Sarah. He held it as if he were holding Sarah, and in his mind he pulled up some of the pictures and looked at them again. When he saw the entrance to the farm approaching, he turned to Red again and found that she had been watching him. Mysteries, he said. Endless mysteries. He was thinking back to Red and the pack and why her family had abandoned her. Red seemed not to hear him. She worked the phone and it said, I am frightened of the others. She added, What will they do to me now? Severn put his hand over Red's, where it was resting on her knee. They won't hurt you, he said. We are not so terrible, we humans. Red looked like she wanted to speak but said nothing. Severn slowed down as he approached the drive to the farmhouse. We're here, he said. He pulled his hand away from Red's and parked the Ferrari in the garage. That was episode 15 of The Strangers. New episodes will be available twice a week on Mondays and Fridays until the novel is completed. If you want to read ahead, an inexpensive digital edition of The Strangers is available from Amazon, Barnes Noble, and other online bookstores. This podcast is an experiment in alternatives to traditional publishing. If you'd like to support it, and more like it in the future, please consider becoming a subscriber or supporter. If enough listeners choose to do so, that will go a long way to help ensuring the podcast's success and continuation. In any event, I'm Ed Falco, I wrote The Strangers, and I hope you'll come back for the next episode.