SHADOW LAUGHTER
You have found yourself lost again. It is dark. Fog swirls around your vision. You are driving the long road. Cut off from civilization. You cannot picture the faces of your friends. Something is wrong. But only if you knew what. You twist the knob on your radio, balancing perfectly between two static channels. And then you hear it. A strained whisper. A comfort to your ear.
Grace the teeth with shadow laughter.
You’re listening…to the Brink.
The Brink is a relatively newer podcast broadcasting live each night from the top of the satellite tower at Metro Research Facility, based in Southern Moon. Run by one lab intern and her clown-obsessed roommate, it has blessed our ears with strange murmurs over the airwaves. This week, a Golden Report operative spoke with Reeda Moru (the lab intern) to get the inside scoop. We also reached out to Flan Obum (the clown obsessed roommate) for an interview, but he firmly declined.
GE026 - Hello, Reeda. I know this was done on short notice, thank you for accommodating us in the uhhh…
MORU - Old janitor’s storage closet? Oh it’s no problem, they won’t be able to hear us in here.
GE026 - Right, so why don’t we begin with…what is the Brink and why did you start it?
MORU - Oh I didn’t start it, that was all Flan. I just provided the equipment.
GE026 - And that’s why you broadcast from the satellite tower?
MORU - Of course, no one’s used the rusty radio equipment in years. My boss has no idea.
GE026 - So why did Flan start it? I’m aware he’s a bit of a character.
MORU - Certainly, there’s a certain charm about him. Lovely guy, really. I suppose he started it because he…needed to. There was an itch he couldn’t scratch, a myriad of mystery life events cascading on top of each other. We live together. And during that time, he sat behind closed doors, mulling around in the dark with a sheet of his eyes. He was lost, but he started speaking about it. It didn’t make sense to me. I listened anyway and tried to understand. I asked him if he’d like to keep a record of all he said. He said yes. And so we recorded our first episode last night. And so now the Brink is a podcast which discusses those things that don’t make sense. The things that make you feel like you could fall off the deep end if you didn’t say it out loud.
GE026 - So why the creepy clown makeup?
MORU - I don’t know…that’s just his thing. Pre-episode ritual I guess. He’ll layer up his face with greasepaint, we’ll go get snacks at Walmart, and of course, say hello to the naked clay figure outside, then go to the tower and record. He also insists on wearing this thick, black cloak, but it works well for me when I have to smuggle him back out after hours.
GE026 - Are you at all concern of the legal implications here?
MORU - Not sure what you mean, it’s a podcast.
GE026 - Are you registered with the DCA?
MORU - No, we broadcast between radio frequencies. We don’t get any revenue from streams. We technically don’t exist.
GE026 - Well, considering…
MORU - Have you guys considered what happened to the Kids’ Mystery exhibit at Scarline Airport? Like it was there and then just…disappeared. Weird, right? I think we’re gonna talk about it on the podcast tonight.
GE026 - I’m not supposed to say this, but please be careful.
MORU - Dr. Sykes said she talked to you.
GE026 - You’re getting off topic.
MORU - She’s my supervisor, said you asked her about the satellite tower.
GE026 - And?
MORU - There’s nothing up there.
GE026 - I’m sure you understand the required formalities of jour–
MORU - There’s n o t h i n g u p t h e r e. I read your article. I know you asked about the screaming. The wandering eye is tracking your path. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S COMING!
GE026 - I think coming here was a mistake.
(Editor’s Note: GE026 was viciously attacked by Moru, consumed by some sort of blind frenzy and could not stop laughing. After narrowly escaping those twisting lab hallways and later treated at a nearby clinic for moderate lacerations to the face and neck, she was then able to produce this interview. In addition, she tells us that Moru had a very intricate tattoo of a eye crossed out with an “X” on her right forearm. Cross examination with the writer of issue fifteen reveals that, to his memory, so did Dr. Sykes. There’s something deeper here. More as it develops.)