[Listen]

 

[Static] 

 

THE REPORTER: 

 

I wasn't quick enough. I... I failed. I... I think I should... I... I tried.

 

I promise, I tried. I thought... I thought I had more time. The new moon  was last week.

 

I thought... I swear I thought I could stop it. Before something else.. I'm sorry.

 

[Theme Music]

 

I... I... I apologize if I'm emotional. I just heard what happened to Athena. Right before I went on air.

 

I wasn't going to do this, actually. I was going to sit this one out, but I figured... Y'all deserve to hear about Athena. And what I found, let's talk about Athena first. Athena Brun was... Was a track athlete. A theater star and... and a grade A student. She was in anything and everything. And everyone knew her. And everyone talked to her, and she was signed with NYU for musical theater.

 

And... I don't know. Sorry, I'm all over the place .I'm usually able to write something down before this and... Talk coherently. It's the least they deserve. I'm... I'm sorry.

 

Let's get back on track. Athena was kind, and she had drive, and she could really sing. She stole the show in every musical. And it wasn't just our little town that noticed her either.

 

I remember when she got the email from NYU. She opened it at her lunch table and... The whole cafeteria cheered for her. I mean, she earned it.

 

Anyone was going to become a star, it was Athena. And she wasn't just the typical theater kid either.

 

I remember watching her make tea for castmates. She would literally pack a kettle for rehearsals and make tea for everyone. And she would practically force you to drink it too.

Because she was scared about people losing their voices. Everyone loved her, and everyone was always rooting for her. People said she kept the theater department together. 

 

She excelled at track too, she specifically loved the 800 race. She would always joke that she was crazy for running and getting up early to train. And doing exercises most people would define as torturous. She loved it though.

 

She said there was something freeing about it. She said she'd let her mind go blank and just focus on going forward. On the track she was laser focused. But on the sidelines she was loudly cheering on her teammates, she was a team player through and through. If a person was getting faster she encouraged them.

 

If they were falling behind in practice she encouraged them. She didn't care about her wins. Just the fact that everyone on her team was trying their best.

 

You know, yesterday I actually had a story about Athena. There was a rumor she was dating Kennedy Golder or it was hearsay. There wasn't any evidence for it but it got me thinking about why I started this.

 

It was to entertain people and talk about stupid high school gossip. I just wanted to talk about who likes who and who wants to make the football team and tell them dum,b things like that. 

 

But who likes who just seems so obsolete now. Those normal teenage things, they feel so far away, so useless. It's sad, isn't it? This is supposed to be the best years of my life. I'm supposed to be making stupid mistakes, go to parties and have late night drives.

 

And yet I stayed up late last night looking at satellite pictures trying to find a fucking cabin. Not that I would have been going out late at night anyways. That almost  feels like a death sentence at this point.

 

Yippee, our entire town has been robbed of the teenage experience. How fun,Athena, Athena was kind. And she was well liked. And people outside of Witherburn noticed when she was gone. And she,....she didn't match the other missing people.

 

The others were outcasts or loners or whatever else but not her. They got taken near the new moon but not her. 

 

Maybe it is random. No, no, it can't be random. That, that doesn't make sense. If it's just random, then why did Eva leave those messages on people's lockers? Why would they all be photographed in the same clothes? No, no, I'm not gonna accept that.

 

I just, I have to work harder. There is some sort of reasonable explanation, listeners. I, I know it.

 

I'm gonna figure it out, I promise. I swear. One of the things to note is that Athena was seen at the Spanish Moss Diner right before she went missing.

 

Paige was part of the missing persons report. She says that Athena came to grab some food after practice. It was raining and she was soaked.

 

Paige remembers giving her a hot chocolate to warm her up. She ate and chatted with Paige for a bit. And then Paige watched her prep herself to go back into the rain.

 

As she was standing on the porch, a car pulled up. A gray truck. Its headlights shining right into the diner windows.

 

The car door opened and the person inside seemed to offer her a ride. Paige couldn't see who was driving the car. The rain was too thick.

 

She saw Athena shake her head at first and almost went out to check up on her. She didn't want to make a scene, but with everything going on, she would rather be safe than sorry. Yet after a moment of talking with the person in the car, she looked around and got in. Paige decided not to dwell on it, Athena was a popular girl.

 

She knew most people at school and she probably rejected the ride at first, so she wouldn't seem like a bother. It could all have an innocent explanation. Except that's the last time anyone saw Athena.

 

Let's move on to something else. I think I found something. I was looking at satellite photos and trying to find a roof that matched the kind of rusty tin one that was in the photo.

 

And it turns out that there's a lot of tin-roofed cabins and barns in the Witherburn area. I guess I should have seen that one coming. But I looked at the Clark's secret property and I saw a lone cabin right in the middle of it.

 

Then when I looked closer, I noticed it had red walls. Just like the one in the picture. Which, if that's really the cabin from the pictures, then that means the Clark's have something to do with the disappearances.

 

Which makes so much sense now that I look back at it. I mean, they have a secret property in the middle of the woods. They are constantly paying people off and Hunter is... Hunter.

 

I just can't figure out why , this isn't the movies where there's some evil group of rich people and they get all their money and power from the devil and all they need is a virgin sacrifice. So what? Is it darker than that? Is it like black market organ theft or something? God, I sound like a conspiracy theorist.

 

Do I? Do I sound crazy to you? Because I'll be honest, I only ever really get to talk to Birdie about this stuff and I sometimes wonder if I make any sense at all. I mean, I have been staring at books and string boards all day and that tends to mess with you a bit. Here I am claiming that the Clark's are in the woods secretly killing people.

 

Which, I know, it sounds insane, but I don't know. I think I'm onto something. The only thing is, why would Eva know? And how do the police tie into all of this? Did Hunter try to show her something and she freaked out? But then again, she's been doing the graffiti for a while so this wasn't a spur of the moment decision and why wouldn't she tell her dad if she knew the Clarks were up to something? It only makes sense if he knew as well.

 

So then how many people would have to be in on this? You know, there's this theory that in order to keep a secret for more than 50 years you need less than 100 people involved. But if the Clark's are running a black market operation then they would need people to know about it. But then that risks them being found out, unless there is mutually assured destruction or something.

 

But even then, it's always one step forward and two steps back. I see something clearly, like the new moon for instance, and then it turns out I was wrong about that. And then I find a cabin on the Clark's property, but what does that even mean? Is this whole town in on one big conspiracy? It just doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. And I'm just... I'm just tired. I haven't slept all week.

 

I haven't even done my homework in three weeks. Teachers, I haven't really made a fuss about it though. It's surprising that you can get away with when your friends are disappearing on a monthly basis.

 

I'm not the only one either. No one stays after school anymore. All the clubs have practically shut down.

 

Everyone is scared or grieving or both. It just seems pointless. How do you even move on from something like this? Let's say this all ends.

 

What do we do? Go back to promposals and calculus? It feels wrong. Let's just move on. I mean, my parents keep telling me to act like normal because that will help with the grieving process, but... I don't know.

 

What do you do with a town full of traumatized teens? Probably nothing. No one cares about a poor town in the south where most people are going to be farmers or fishermen. It's why I'm the only one reporting on this.

 

No one cares about Witherburn, except Witherburn.

 

[Knock at the Door]

 

Sorry listeners, I think someone's at the door.

 

So if you hear noises in the background, it's probably my parents.  Where was I? I was probably just rambling. 

 

MOM:

 

Honey, there's a letter for you!

 

THE REPORTER:

 

What?

​
 

MOM:

 

Someone just knocked on our door to drop it off.

They left before I could catch their name though. 

 

THE REPORTER:

 

Hold on a second. 

 

MOM:

 

Who was that? And why is someone dropping off letters this late? 

 

THE REPORTER:

 

It's probably just Robin.

 

MOM:

 

Well, tell her she needs to be staying at home.

 

THE REPORTER:

 

Yeah, yeah, I will. 

 

What. The. Hell. So, I just got this letter, and it has my full name on it. Apparently someone dropped it off at my door. Which is weird and scary. 

 

Dear, um, my full name. We have noticed your growing concerns.

 

Your dedication to the truth is truly admirable. We are impressed with the lengths you are willing to go to in order to solve the disappearances. The world will benefit from having driven young people like you in.

 

That drive has served you well. In fact, it has protected you from a lot of harm. Should you like to avoid any future harm, we suggest you drop your investigation now.

 

Consider this a gift. We will handle this little situation the town has found itself in. We think you will be happy with how this ends.

 

We understand that this passion project of yours is important to you. And we would never want to stand in the way of your impeccable reporting. But should you choose to investigate this further, then we will have no choice but to retaliate.

 

You will have your answer soon. And hopefully in the future we can be on more friendly terms. Put your mind at ease.

 

It will all be over soon. I don't... I don't know what to say. What does it even mean? Is this... Is this a threat? No.

 

It's definitely a threat. I'm gonna scream. I'm not the hero, Witherburn.

 

I'm just a girl with a microphone. I just... I hear stories of these amazing reporters changing lives because they fearlessly searched for the truth. But... I don't think I'm brave enough to do that.

 

I don't want to get hurt, or go missing, or whatever these people are threatening. I just wanted to talk about whatever gossip the church ladies had. Now it just feels like it's tragedy after tragedy.

 

This broadcast is just an absolute mess. I'm so unprofessional, I'm sorry. Maybe that just proves my point, though.

 

Am I... Am I just as bad as the police if I give up now? Am I giving up on all those people? Do you think they'd be mad at me? I just don't want this to be all on me. I don't know how I can make things better. I keep trying, but things just keep getting worse.

 

Now, they know where I live. They know my full name. I'm scared.

 

I'm not one of those brave reporters that can go undercover or go into a war zone. I keep acting like I am, but I'm not. I'm just a kid.

 

I'm just a stupid kid who has gotten way in over her head. I'm sorry. I couldn't help more, but... I don't think I can do this.

 

I just... I can't do this. 

 

[Phone Ping]

 

Hunter Clark was just arrested on Gravesfield Road. I cannot make this up right now.

 

He was just arrested because they found the body... Oh my god, they found the body of Athena Brun. They pulled him over for suspicious behavior, and they decided to search his car. And that's when... That's when they found Athena's body! Her... Her head was found in a cooler, and the rest of her body was found in... A spare wheel condorted. And mangled. He started to scream after being caught.

 

He kept screaming that he didn't put her there. His parents just asked him to go and grab something from the store. He said he was told to do this, and that it wasn't his fault.

 

He asked if this was a setup. He asked so many times if this was a setup. They had to forcefully put him in cuffs.

 

And then he pulled at the cuffs so hard that his wrists started to bleed. Then he started to scream for his dad. Crying for him to come and save him.

 

And that's when the police car drove off. They believe he is behind the disappearance of all the missing people. All of them.

 

They are going back on their runaway theory for every single one. Even Jonathan and Eva. They say they have reason to believe he has been systematically killing other children as some... Weird form of revenge.

 

They apparently have journal entries with detailed accounts of the murders. This evidence was turned in to the police earlier today by... Richard Clark. Dear God.

 

His parents are the ones that found out about this. They have DNA evidence that the scar on his face was caused by Eva Sinanger. They believe he was going to dump Athena's body into the river.

 

As they suspect he did with the other bodies. Jesus Christ. Currently he is being taken to county jail for questioning.

 

Sheriff Sinanger says they are going to prosecute him to the full extent of the law. And that's it. That's all the information we have.

 

Is this... Handling the situation? Is this... The end? What's the catch here? Why do I need to stop investigating? People will stop going missing, right? I don't care what else they're hiding as long as this nightmare ends. As long as things go back to normal, I just want time to grieve and rest.

 

I'm going to end this here, listeners. I just... I need time to think about everything. Good night.