Episode 9 - Beaufort, North Carolina Podcast By cover art

Episode 9 - Beaufort, North Carolina

Episode 9 - Beaufort, North Carolina

Listen for free

View show details
Wondercraft narrates this Episode. Please provide feedback via the comments. Monday, June 9, 2028The pre-dawn darkness clung to Beaufort like a shroud as Lillibeth McDonald's car crept through the empty streets. At 5:45 AM, she was one of the few souls stirring in the coastal town, the humid June air already promising another sweltering day. Her headlights caught the swirling tendrils of fog rolling in from Taylor's Creek, creating ghostly shapes that seemed to dance across the road.Her fingers drummed against the steering wheel as she approached Beaufort Middle School, the rhythm matching her heightened pulse. Arriving two hours before the first bell had become her new normal, though her colleagues assumed it was just dedication to her special education students. Only she knew the real reason – the need to sweep her classroom for any signs of tampering, to check on her animal charges before anyone else arrived, and most importantly, to observe who else might be watching the school in these quiet morning hours.The parking lot was empty save for the overnight security guard's aging Crown Victoria. Todd would be finishing his shift soon, shuffling out bleary-eyed with his thermos of cold coffee. He barely glanced at her car anymore, used to her early arrivals. But this morning, something was different. His vehicle was gone."Get it together, Lilli," she muttered to herself, adjusting her rearview mirror out of habit – a habit her father had drilled into her since she first learned to drive. Bryan's voice echoed in her head, clear as if he were sitting beside her: "Always check your surroundings. Routine is the enemy of security, but awareness is your best friend." At the time, she'd rolled her eyes at what seemed like excessive caution. Now, those words carried the weight of prophecy.The school building loomed before her, its brick facade painted in shadows by the security lights. In the pre-dawn gloom, it looked less like a place of learning and more like a fortress – which, in many ways, it had become. Hurricane Helene's devastation had forced the district to retrofit the building as an emergency shelter, adding reinforced windows and backup generators. But it wasn't just natural disasters they were preparing for anymore.Lillibeth pulled into her usual spot, positioned for a quick exit – another of her father's lessons. As she gathered her things, movement near the building's entrance caught her eye. A figure stood in the shadows, too tall to be Todd. Her heart rate spiked, and her hand instinctively moved toward her Go-Bag.noted details automatically – male, probably six feet tall, wearing what appeared to be casual business attire rather than the typical maintenance worker's uniform. Not school staff, then. Her father's voice whispered in her mind: "If something feels wrong, it probably is."She kept her engine running, another habit that had once seemed paranoid but now felt prescient. The morning fog provided some cover, but it also meant limited visibility – a double-edged sword in situations like this. Through her partially fogged windows, she could see the man hadn't moved, as if waiting for something. Or someone.Her phone buzzed in her pocket – a text from Claire: "Running late, won't make our usual coffee meeting." Lillibeth frowned. Claire never texted this early, and they didn't have a regular coffee meeting. It was a warning, their pre-arranged signal that something was wrong.The school's security cameras swept the parking lot in their usual pattern, red lights blinking in the darkness. But today, those electronic eyes felt less like protection and more like surveillance. Jacob's words from Friday echoed in her mind: "They're everywhere now, watching, listening, learning."Making a decision, Lillibeth put the car in reverse. The figure by the door suddenly moved, starting toward her vehicle. In her rearview mirror, she caught movement at the parking lot entrance – a dark SUV pulling in, its headlights off."Not today," she muttered, shifting quickly into drive and accelerating toward the secondary exit. Her tires caught on the wet pavement, throwing up a spray as she maneuvered around the empty parking spaces. The SUV accelerated, trying to cut her off, but Lillibeth had practiced this escape route countless times. She knew exactly where the exit's chain-link gate had a gap wide enough for a car – another hurricane casualty that had never been properly repaired.Her Wrangler squeezed through the gap, scraping paint but maintaining momentum. In her mirror, the SUV was too wide to follow. She allowed herself a small smile – her father's insistence on practicing escape routes in various vehicles suddenly made perfect sense.But her relief was short-lived. As she turned onto Front Street, another vehicle pulled out behind her – a black sedan that hadn't been there moments before. The pre-dawn streets were still empty, making it impossible for the car to hide its ...
No reviews yet