Characters

The Son. Rudy Lockenverde has returned home from four years in loud, bright New York City carrying a radio under his arm, and exciting ideas about the brave new world under the progression of technology. He finds it difficult to reintegrate into a household that seems to have functioned just fine in his absence. As he converses with his possessed radio and attempts to cohabitate with his mother and a thing from the forest, Rudy realizes that not all is as it seems within the isolated rural home. Secrets are hidden, both in the walls and the trees, and they are hungry for blood. Perhaps he will still have the time to find out what they are, before fate catches up to him against a kitchen floor.

Redford… how to describe Redford? After its mother dies, Redford ingratiates itself into the Lockenverde household by hunting and dragging in dead things to eat. A rebellious punk with a sharp tongue, Redford clashes with Rudy upon his return — but not in an unfriendly way. Redford tunes out Rudy’s fascination with the modern world and instead, focuses on scavenging for its next meal, contemplating the universe, and teasing the stink-thing that watches them through the window. After all, what use is technology to the cold bite of hunger?

The Unholy Spirit. Nobody except for Rudy engages with the voice in the radio — and even he runs away when he first hears it. But Salavar can see their futures and he is scared. He sees the intricate workings of the family, his own impending demise, and the dreaded Y2K. His life is a resurrection cut short. He crossed the boundary between nature and technology and became something he was not supposed to. This is the price. Now he can only hope someone will listen before it is too late. Is there a curse more terrible than being ignored by the very people you could save? Well. Compulsively reciting Reagan speeches might be a close second, but such is life when you are a doomsday prophet trapped inside a talking box.

The Mother. Liliana has spent her whole life in the forest. When she was a young girl, she and her friend searched for footprints in the mud outside, trying to identify the mark of the beasts they lived among… until that friend vanished. Now, she has become the Lockenverde matriarch, existing in quiet harmony with the monsters that lurk outside. She does what it takes to survive, and to keep her children safe. But what do you do when a child seems destined to put himself in harm’s way? Her son has returned from the city, and he brings change. His presence stirs fear in her, at the thought of losing him to the creatures outside. Perhaps Liliana should be more afraid of what of what lingers beneath her own skin… of what she is capable of when she becomes desperate. The time has come. Her ancestors survived, and so will she. 

The Stranger. Lukas Miller is a trucker, and a damn fine one, thank you very much. After a storm blows him into the Lockenverde household, he finds himself indebted to the kindness of the very odd folk living within. They ask him all sorts of bizarre questions about the world outside, and a confused man with a head wound is all too willing to tell them about his experiences traveling the long road. He knows something unnatural is happening in these woods, though. He’s in danger. One wrong move and he’ll end up driving down that great highway in the sky. Or do all highways lead to Hell? Even still, he’s content to enjoy some apple brandy while he waits for help. Or the end. Nobody in this house can be sure anymore.