Beneath the Skin

22 THE BEGINNING OF THE END

OVER THE AIRWAVES

March 26

MIKE CARR:

What is going on in Damascus, Oregon? For those listeners in the area, I hope you’ll phone in your observations. For the rest of you, I’ll fill you in on the government’s latest misdeed.

JILL CARR:

We’re counting on you to give us the true-blue scoop as always, Mike.

MIKE CARR:

Well, here it is. Yesterday, state and federal authorities announced that due to a natural disaster—a sinkhole emitting toxic fumes—a large area outside Damascus is now off-limits to the public while the fumes are being contained and the sinkhole filled in or repaired or what have you.

The official word is that an entire family died when the sinkhole swallowed up their home. Word is that a couple of neighbors perished from the fumes as well. I also learned that a handful of nearby residents went through the whole

Silkwood

-showerand-scrubbed-raw scenario. They also had to endure all kinds of blood tests and lab work.

JILL CARR:

Scary, that.

MIKE CARR:

It gets scarier, Jill. When I was reading the

Oregonian

yesterday, I caught a small article tucked away in the back pages.

JILL CARR:

And what was this article about? Please enlighten us.

MIKE CARR:

Well, it was about the shimmering light seen in the sky before dawn on day one of the sinkhole, waves of color like the aurora borealis—the northern lights, for our more down-to-earth listeners.

JILL CARR:

And is that unusual for Oregon, Mike?

MIKE CARR:

Thanks for asking, and the answer’s hell, yes. Even though the northern lights can

sometimes

be glimpsed from Oregon if the conditions are right and the clouds don’t block the view, this wasn’t one of those times.

JILL CARR:

What made it different?

MIKE CARR:

It was raining, for one thing. The sky was full of clouds that early morning. So this “light anomaly” wasn’t an atmospheric magnification of the aurora borealis. It was a

new

aurora borealis.

JILL CARR:

New? Is that possible?

MIKE CARR:

Anything is possible, I suppose. But if it was simply a “light anomaly caused by toxic fumes rising into the air” as the authorities claim, then why have they turned the area outside Damascus into a forbidden zone? I even tried to access the area through Google Earth and it’s blocked off. D’ya hear that, people? The satellite image is

blocked off

!

JILL CARR:

Sounds like we have a new Area 51, Mike. What are they hiding? Could the lights have been caused by a spaceship landing or crashing?

MIKE CARR:

Or a new military weapon? Who knows, Jill? But whatever it is, both the Oregon state government and the federal government don’t want

you

to know!

JILL CARR:

I’ve heard rumors that the SB—the supposedly nonexistent Shadow Branch of the U.S. government—is behind the cover-up taking place

right now

in Damascus, Oregon, in the US of A! A part of this great nation!

MIKE CARR:

You said it, Jill. And if the secretive SB is behind something, you know it’s gotta be shady. In Nazi Germany, the SB might’ve been called the SS.

JILL CARR:

The SS in our own country, making people disappear, making entire events disappear. Turns my blood to ice.

MIKE CARR:

So let’s open up the phone lines and see what our callers have to say about the Damascus mystery. Go ahead, Caller Number One, you’re on the air and speaking to Mike Carr.

CALLER ONE:

Hey, Mike, a big fan here. You always tell it like it is!

JILL CARR:

Thanks, it’s a dirty job, but some-one’s gotta do it. Am I right?

CALLER ONE:

Damned straight, man! I live in Portland, but a good buddy of mine lives just outside Damascus and he saw them northern lights just before dawn on March 25. He grabbed his digital camera and took pictures too!

MIKE CARR:

Fantastic! Is there any way your buddy can send us the photos?

CALLER ONE:

I’m sure he wouldn’t have a problem with it, Mike. I think he’d be honored! As soon as he gets back from his vacation, I’ll let him know you’d like him to e-mail the pictures.

MIKE CARR:

Vacation? In March?

CALLER ONE:

Yeah, well, he and his family usually take their vacation the end of summer so as to avoid the crowds, y’know? But I guess they decided to go early this year.

MIKE CARR:

Did your buddy tell you this?

CALLER ONE:

(

hesitates

) No, not exactly. He had a message on his answering machine saying they were all on vacation.

JILL CARR:

I have another caller on the line.

MIKE CARR:

Stay on the line there, partner, okay?

CALLER ONE:

Okay …

MIKE CARR:

Let’s see what Caller Two has to say. Go ahead, Caller Two, you’re on the air and speaking with Mike Carr.

CALLER TWO:

I saw what was going on that night, Mike. It wasn’t a UFO or a secret weapon. It was a rip in time.

MIKE CARR:

A rip in time? How many beers didja have tonight?

CALLER TWO:

I ain’t drunk, man, that’s kinda mean, y’know? I’m not a whacko like a lot of your callers.

JILL CARR:

Now who’s being mean?

CALLER TWO:

Sorry, ma’am. I saw things flying in the sky during that aurora borealis. Things too big to be birds. Unless they were a flock of condors, maybe. They were big and they were singing. I think they were pterodactyls.

MIKE CARR:

Ah, the rip-in-time factor. Everyone knows that ancient pterodactyls sang and chirped and flew in flocks. Caller One, did your friend mention birds or anything else flying in his pictures?

CALLER ONE:

He did, Mike—wow, I forgot about that! He didn’t say they was pterodactyls or anything like that. He thought it was birds attracted by the northern lights. Big birds, he said.

MIKE CARR:

Very interesting. Thank you for joining us, Caller Two.

JILL CARR:

We’ve another caller, Mike.

MIKE CARR:

Stay on the line, Caller One. Caller Three, you’re on the air and speaking with Mike Carr.

CALLER THREE:

They was angels flying and singing, not pterodactyls. Christ! Sounds like someone needs to get back on their meds.

MIKE CARR:

Sounds like he isn’t the only one. Angels? Seriously?

CALLER THREE:

I’ve taken my pills tonight, so it ain’t that. I saw the lights and I saw the angels flying and singing. I also saw blue lightning bolts zip up from the ground and knock them outta the sky.

MIKE CARR:

Blue lightning bolts? Whatcha you taking, partner? I sure could use some!

CALLER ONE:

My buddy mentioned blue fire too, Mike. And he said whatever was flying plummeted to the ground like ducks blasted with shotgun pellets.

MIKE CARR:

And you

just

remembered these little bits of info, Caller One?

CALLER ONE:

Well, I didn’t want you to think I was nuts, y’know?

CALLER THREE:

I’ve heard that all pictures of the lights and angels from that night are being seized and destroyed by the government. I also heard that people are disappearing too. Evacuated because of the toxic fumes.

CALLER ONE:

Maybe that’s why my buddy took an early vacation.

MIKE CARR:

What else have you heard, Caller Three?

CALLER THREE:

They ain’t being evacuated. Some are getting their minds wiped—

MIKE CARR:

Like in

Men in Black

? With the flashy-thingie?

CALLER THREE:

Haven’t seen the movie, Mike. But some are getting their minds wiped and others are being snuffed altogether. That’s what’s happened to your buddy, Caller One.

CALLER ONE:

Oh, Jesus! You’re fucking nuts! My buddy’s on vacation!

MIKE CARR:

You just earned me an FCC fine, Caller One.

CALLER ONE:

Sorry about that, but this guy’s a loon!

CALLER THREE:

I’m not crazy, but I wish I was. Your buddy and his entire family are getting their minds wiped or they’re being dumped in unmarked graves. Hell, maybe they’ll make it look like a car accident or something.

CALLER ONE:

You can just go to hell!

MIKE CARR:

Can you back up your claims, Caller Three?

CALLER THREE:

Just visit Damascus, Mike. Take a look around. Homes near the sinkhole are empty.

MIKE CARR:

Do you have friends who’ve disappeared, Caller Three?

CALLER THREE:

No, no friends. Safer not to have any.

MIKE CARR:

So let’s say for argument’s sake that angels fell from the sky. Are you saying this is the end of days?

CALLER THREE:

Naw. That happened a long time ago. We’re all living in the thousand-year span before the final battle.

MIKE CARR:

Of course, silly me.

CALLER THREE:

You can make fun of me all you want, Mike. Fact is, angels fell from the sky—no, they was

knocked

from the sky and the government is

using

them.

MIKE CARR:

Wait, hold on. You saying the government

lured

angels with a manufactured aurora borealis? Lured them, then

captured

them?

CALLER THREE:

I ain’t saying that, you are.

JILL CARR:

I have another caller.

MIKE CARR:

Hold a moment, Jill. Maybe I

am

saying that, for argument’s sake. You said the government is using the angels. What would it use them

for

?

CALLER THREE:

Any number of things, from using them to communicate with God, to using their powers against their enemies.

MIKE CARR:

Why wouldn’t God rescue them? Just smite the government?

CALLER THREE:

Because God doesn’t realize He’s God yet, of course. He’s still growing up.

MIKE CARR:

(

laughs

) Of course. When do you think God’ll realize He’s God?

CALLER THREE:

How the hell would I know?

MIKE CARR:

Sounds like you know everything else that’s going on, just figured you’d know that too. Hold on there, Caller Three, we’ve got another caller. Caller Four, you’re on the air and speaking with Mike Carr.

CALLER FOUR:

(

Woman’s voice

) My sister disappeared. She lived in the area near the sinkhole and I’ve been trying to reach her to see if she’s all right, but I haven’t had any contact with her.

MIKE CARR:

Maybe she was evacuated.

CALLER FOUR:

That’s what I thought too. But she doesn’t answer her cell phone.

JILL CARR:

Maybe she left it behind.

CALLER FOUR:

That’s what I’ve been hoping. I contacted the emergency number listed online for information about my sister and I was told she was in a secure site and not to worry.

MIKE CARR:

So evacuees aren’t being allowed to contact their families?

CALLER FOUR:

That’s the way it sounds to me. My question is why? If it’s just a sinkhole, why are people being taken away and not allowed to contact anyone?

MIKE CARR:

Maybe the toxic fumes are actually radioactive waste.

CALLER FOUR:

But that wouldn’t be a reason to block all communication!

MIKE CARR:

It would be if people had been exposed. Especially if some of those exposed died or are dying.

CALLER FOUR:

Oh my God.

CALLER THREE:

He doesn’t know that He’s God yet. Give Him time.

MIKE CARR:

Keep trying to reach your sister, Caller Four, okay? Contact the media, raise a big, stinking fuss over her whereabouts.

CALLER FOUR:

But … if I draw too much attention, will I disappear too?

MIKE CARR:

No, not if you draw public attention. They wouldn’t dare touch you then. They’d be forced into answering your questions.

CALLER FOUR:

Okay. Thank you.

CALLER THREE:

You know they’ll come for each of us now.

MIKE CARR:

Thanks for all your … insights, Caller Three. Good night.

CALLER THREE:

I wish you well, Mike and Jill. I’m going underground. I advise you to do the same.

MIKE CARR:

That’s all we have time for this early morning edition. Until tomorrow at the same time, same place, keep digging for the truth!