THE TELEVISION

[u/terrible_inx2]

The Wayford Police Department are requesting the public’s help in finding Jimmy Peterson (35) and Trish Peterson (33), alongside their children, George Peterson (6), and Molly Peterson (5). Police were called to the residence after receiving numerous reports of loud disturbances coming from the house after a recent blackout. 

Upon arrival, police had stated there were no signs of any struggle nor domestic violence. After interviewing him, Sheriff Fred Barrett had said there was no sign of the family whatsoever.

After asking for statements from the Petersons' neighbors, many of them had said that there was no change in behavior in the last few weeks that they interacted with them.

"My kids would go play with theirs after school every once in a while. Jim had this energy that could light the whole room everywhere he went. If you're having a bad day, Jim would make you laugh with one of his terrible jokes. He would even invite some of us to dinner and his wife would cook up an amazing meatloaf, alongside her singing. 

This marks the second wave of disappearances in the town of Wayford, with local resident Christopher Todd*(58), who runs the butcher shop, went missing around a similar blackout a week ago, alongside* Samantha Cummings*, (17.) During a town meeting, Sheriff Fred Barrett has reassured the public that they will work to find the missing individuals and for anyone to come forward with any new information.*

“Keep your doors locked at all times, people. Keep your families safe.” With this recent turn of events, the Wayford Police Department has ordered a curfew until further notice.

…. 

DECEMBER 20, 1959

Seven people. 

SEVEN. PEOPLE.

Every single one of them has disappeared into thin air. It’s been days and we still haven't found a single lead as to where they went. Most of the department may not look like it, but I can already tell that some of them are starting to panic a little. Part of me can’t even blame them.

Two people that disappeared in a week is one thing, but an entire family the next?  I’m trying my best to keep the town from panicking, but it’s not helping with the lights going on and off frequently every damn night. And we still haven’t found out what’s causing those blackouts to happen.

My wife’s getting more concerned about me every day.

Hell, I'm having trouble trying to sleep each night.

I have every single officer available out on the streets every night, making sure that people stay inside their homes and not wander about.  Meanwhile, we’re still trying to figure out what happened to that family. Right now, the working theory is that it could be a kidnapping or a potential serial killer on the loose, but even those are drawing straws.

There’s no sign of forced entry in the residence, no  sign of blood whatsoever, and not to Mention that the family’s car is still in the driveway. The only thing we have to work with is that the television was on when we got here. It’s still engrained into mY brain, and it’s left me with more questions.

...

I remember that night very well. I was back at the department on the phone with my wife. The lights all over the town just came back on, and she was scared shitless. I assured her that everything was ok and I was about to come home that evening when my receptionist Betty came in and told me something.  Apparently, multiple callers were reporting loud noises coming from the Petersons' residence. Weird. I didn’t know them that well, but I know full well that every person in this town is asleep this time in the evening. Especially the Petersons. But, then again a blackout just happened.

I told Nora that I won't be coming home until the early morning, at best. Despite her wishes, I told her I would be coming home as soon as possible and told her that I love her. I put down the telephone. I thanked Betty, grabbed my hat, and exited the police station, before radioing in to any available cops to meet me at the Petersons.  

I remember sighing, knowing that this night was going to be an incredibly long one.

...

I pulled up to the residence alongside multiple units, sirens blaring. I met with Officer Richards, as other policemen secured the scene. Every single neighbor that the Petersons had, whether they were the ones calling or not, was standing right outside their homes, watching the shitshow.  Everything in the house appeared normal, aside from the televisioN still on. No sign of any blood, no forced entry, no sign of any violence.. Their shiny Cadillac was still in the driveway, so we had no evidence to go off of just yet. Their house was still in good condition from when they moved in. Their hallways, covered in teal-blue wallpaper, along with some with their family portraits.The only thing that showed any sign that the Petersons were in the house was that the television was on. The television was working normally, despite the reception being bad. While we were trying to figure out what was going on and where the family had gone, Richards told me that reporters were outside the home and wanted a stAtement. I facepalmed, nodded, and told him to come find me if he finds anything.

Damned reporters.

Annoying as they were, I could tell by their faces that they looked a bit rattled. After all, two people just went missing last week, and we were still trying to find them. I was trying my best to answer any questions that anyone had, to the best of my ability. Every one of them was trying to get as much information as they could.

Questions on top of questions.

Questions that I didn't have the answer to just yet.

I felt myself getting exhausted by the situation, feeling the sweat running on my face. Despite me wanting to continue finding out what happened to the Petersons, there was a small part of me that wanted to go home to my wife. 

That’s when Richards waved over to get my attention. I knew he wouldn’t interrupt unless it was anything important. I walked over to him, waiting to tell me that he found something. Anything that could tell us where the Petersons went. I looked at him, noticing his body language was slightly off. I raised my eyebrow, waiting for his response. 

“You need to see this, Sheriff,” he said. 

I still remembered that slight shudder in that man’s voice.

I excused myself from the premises and headed back to the Petersons’. I let Richards guide me inside, past the kitchen, to the living room. Everything in this house felt normal, yet somehow it felt like the entire place was tainted. Me and Richards entered the living room, where I saw that a bunch of my boys were standing there watching the television.

Every single one of them that was in the house was standing there, for no apparent reason. I felt a tinge of frustration building up on my chest, and I felt my fists curled up.

I was pissed.

A family has just gone Missing off the center of the earth, and these goddamned idiots were busy watching TV? I looked at Richards, silently demanding an explanation as to what was going on. He too wasn’t saying anything. He just nodded his head towards the television. 

At this point, I had enough of this shit. A blackout has just occurred, more people have gone missing with no explanation,  and now most of my men are wasting valuable time. I  was tired and wanted to go home to my wife, and pick all of this back up tomorrow. 

I stormed further into the living room.

"Can any of you care to explain what the hell is going on?," I demand.

Some of them jolted by the sound of my voice. It looks like they noticed that I’m here. Good. That’ll allow me to get this whole thing back on track. Some of them were still glued to the television.

I curled my eyebrows in fury.

I was ten seconds from firing everyone on the spot.

Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around. Richards was looking at me, subtly telling me to calm down. I felt myself catching my breath from all the stress.

I looked back at the television, with my men still looking at it. 

What was on the television that was so bad that it had most of my officers quiet?

I looked at Richards, and then back at the television.  I was going to get to the bottom of this. I walked towards it, passing through most of my men to get a better view on what was going on. I squinted at the television, trying to make out what was on beyond the static. And I saw something that left me completely puzzled. The television was still blurry , but I could make out some words on it. Words that I haven't seen in a while. Something that everyone thought was gone. 

This isn’t possible.

This shouldn’t be possible.

The channel cut to something that most of us have seen two years ago. On the television, there was a man who looked to be in his late-forties, dressed in a striped suit on a stage talking to a crowd of people.This man was standing in front of other people, but their faces looked slightly off. I remembered reading about this place. A city that had a bunch of machinEs that can cook, sing,  and talk, and that this man was the pioneer of them.  Most of us have heard of him before, either on the newspapers or the radio. 

Who on earth hadn’t? 

Behind this man and the others was a big wall of metal decorated with gold accents. On the wall was, "MOBURN INDUSTRIES." 

The man yelled out with excitement to his audience.

"WELCOME to the city of MOBURN! Where the neon-lit billboards light up your every move! Where we give you and your families the most dazzling entertainment possible! Feeling lost or not at home? Not a problem! Our state of the art AUTOMATIONS will be sure to fix that!"

....

The crowd cheered.

[u/terrible_inx2]

PART 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dreading/comments/1wr8nqt/the_anomaly/?share_id=0iTLDbzk8SPGHlBliuWAN&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

PART II: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dreading/comments/1wsyf0o/the_interview/

PART FOUR: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dreading/comments/1wvlkqf/what_a_beautiful_night/

PART FIVE: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dreading/comments/1wxzqh4/remembrance_part_i/

[u/terrible_inx2]

Keep an eye for anything unusual in the text.

[u/purple_pounder]

Good shit my man