Escape Artists
PseudoPod => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Bdoomed on July 21, 2022, 07:53:48 PM
-
PseudoPod 819: Balloon Season (https://pseudopod.org/2022/07/20/pseudopod-819-balloon-season/)
Author: Thomas Ha (https://pseudopod.org/people/thomas-ha/)
Narrator: Scott Campbell (https://pseudopod.org/people/scott-campbell/)
Host: Kat Day (https://pseudopod.org/people/kat-day/)
Audio Producer: Marty Perrett (https://pseudopod.org/people/marty-perrett/)
“Balloon Season” has previously been featured in Fusion Fragment and Dark Matter Magazine.
I’ve never gotten used to the sense of urgency of summer afternoons, that feeling of being drenched in the thickness of that still, blanketed heat, and trying to think of anything I’ve missed while checking the outside of the house. I make sure to test the plywood boards over each of the windows, and when I feel one by the kitchen shift an inch, I reach for the hammer tucked into my waistband and a few extra nails in my pocket. The banging of my hammer echoes through the neighborhood, joining others tapping away during the preparation for sundown.
It’s still early, but with every lock to check and entryway to reinforce, the hours evaporate faster than any of us like. It feels like I’ve only just started, and Jean calls from inside the house, telling me that it’s almost four, and that the kids are in their pajamas.
I pick up the false door and lean it against the detached garage, positioning it until it is firmly front and center, then I bolt the side gate and go to the other end of the house. Jean holds the metal dog door up as I crawl back into the kitchen, winking at me as I wriggle onto the tile, and she slides the door down behind me.
Listen to this week's PseudoPod. (https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/pseudopod/Pseudo819_BalloonSeason.mp3)
Follow us on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLeMuTcFDtF2C3MiF6GPfQ) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/7ahtswbjEhqKQifCwMX8o1?si=GMgBgLFHRsCzJ8xlvf9nOw)!