New Weekly Feature!

Each Friday I'll be adding an original short work or portion of a current project. Here's the first one from a collection called "Zoom"

Zoom: a collection of short features

Radio Play

Copyright 2021

by Michael Yoder

Derek turned on his laptop and opened the browser. The connection was good which wasn't always the case the wifi in the apartment was iffy sometimes. At least today it was working well. He pressed his Zoom options and opened the meeting.

Soon, Jerry, Ken and Amanda all showed up. It was strange, Derek thought to not be doing this in studio, but the project was due by the end of the semester and with the lock-down in place, they all had to think outside the box.

They'd settled on a radio play and Derek, as the director had chosen to adapt his favorite Poe story as a radio play.

"Hi, All!" he said with a tiny wave to the camera. "Are we all wearing pants today?"

Amanda spat out a mouthful of coffee and laughed. "You'll never know," she said with a grin. "Well, pants of some kind."

They all chuckled at this.

"Are we ready to do this?" Derek asked.

Jerry spoke. "I think I have everything, You emailed me the music files right?"

"Yeah, didn't you get them?"

It took Jerry a minute, but after checking his email he found the files and downloaded them. "Yep," he said. "They're in my folder now - just hope this all works."

Ken responded. "It'll be fine. It's Amanda that has all the work on this one."

"I know!" she replied. "Why did you pick the Tell Tale Heart, anyway? It's all narration. How much work does Jerry have? A few creaking doors and footsteps."

"I have a lot more than that!" Jerry was abrupt." I also have various muffled noises, door knocking, all the music and, well, other things. And I've never been trained in Foley work, so this is new to me."

"Okay kids!" Derek interrupted. "Let's get this thing going. Ken you're the announcer, so I hope you've been practicing your voice."

Ken put on a deep resonant tone. "Why of course, Mr. de Mille! I'm ready for my close up."

More laughter.

"Sweet!" Derek was feeling pleased. "Okay we've practiced for this, shortly it'll be cameras off and audio only. There are no visual cues, so here's hoping we can manage this in one take. We can always edit later if we have to. Once I give the word, cameras off and I'll start recording the session. Places everyone! Ken I'll give you a quick verbal cure once we're dark and Jerry, you get the music ready."

"We're not on stage, Derek," Amanda moaned.

"Humor me."

Amanda picked up her script, Jerry opened the music files and Ken leaned into his microphone. Derek counted down. "Three, two, one. Cameras off."

One by one the cameras went dark and there was silence.

Derek sighed to himself, hit record and then whispered into his camera, "Action."

The resonance from Ken's voice was wonderful."Good even ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this evening's radio play. Tonight we'll be presenting you with a well known tale of old by that great Gothic fiction writer Edgar Allan Poe, a short story entitled 'The Tell Tale Heart', most certain to cause you fear. This evening's presentation features Amanda Cross as our story teller, Jerry Lentz assisting with sound and directed by Derek Swanson."

Jerry pressed play and eerie music played. He knew that to slowly turn down the music within 30 seconds and Amanda would begin. As the music faded, Amanda began:

"True! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.

Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --with what caution --with what foresight --with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it --oh so gently!"

Jerry made the sound of a latch opening and the quiet creaking of a door opening slowly.

Amanda continued:

"...So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.

Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers --of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back --but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening,

Jerry made a small clicking sound and Amanda read "and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out --"

"Who's there?" called Ken in a different voice. Jerry played eerie music.

Amanda continued "I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; --just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.

"Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror.

Ken made a groaning sound.

Amanda kept reading.

"It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me."

Jerry started playing the sound of a heart beat getting louder and louder.

Then there was silence. Amanda had stopped reading. Ten seconds seemed like an hour.

"What's she doing?" Ken whispered.

"I don't know Derek whispered. "Amanda? Amanda? It's your line now."

Silence.

They waited.

From Amanda's dark, black screen came a small quiet sound like a sigh, and then the sound of a door closing in the background.

"Jerry!" said Derek. "Cut that out!"

"I didn't do anything!" called out Jerry and he turned on his camera. "Amanda?! Are you there?"

Her screen was dark and there was no sound.

"What the hell is going on?" Derek said turning on his camera. "Ken?"

His screen was still dark. Jerry's audio was still playing the sound of the heartbeat. It was louder now.

"Jerry," said Derek. "Turn that off!"

"I can't -- it won't turn off!"

Ken's camera was still dark.

"Ken?" Derek pleaded. "Turn your camera on for god's sake!"

Silence.

"Ken - turn your goddamned camera on! This isn't funny!"

Silence.

Only the sound of the beating heart getting louder and louder from Jerry's cam.

"Can't you unplug that?!" cried Derek. "Please turn that thing off!"

Derek watched as Jerry tried to unplug the sound cord and then Jerry's camera went dark.

But the sound continued. Louder and louder the heart beat. Louder and louder and Derek pulled off his headphones and then tried to turn off the sound from his computer.

The heart beat louder and louder. Derek covered his ears and shook his head to make the sound go away.

And then his camera went dark.

Silence.

Only silence now and the beating of his hideous heart...