The End of the Road | Episode 10

Observe the North American dad, 50s, great polo collection. He enters his vehicle information on Carvana and offers appears in minutes, remarkable. He squints, reads it again, smiles and says, "Dang, that's a good offer." The highest form of approval, no haggling, no hassle, no one called him boss. He's still on that couch, astonishing. Sell your car today on Carvana.com. Pick up, these may apply. Sonos speakers are designed from the inside out for incredibly detailed sound and rich bass. Then fine-tuned by Oscar and Grammy-winning producers, mixers and artists. Go to sonos.com to learn more. Hello listeners. Be advised, this show is an immersive audio experience. Please use caution if you're operating a motor vehicle, as it may seem like sounds are coming from the sides and behind you. The left-right game is brought to you in this dimension by Sonos. Experience brilliant otherworldly sound with Sonos. (Music) Well then, here we are. (Music) It's so good to finally meet you. Yeah, you too. Do you? Oh, oh, sorry. I'm sorry. I, um, I made that offer. No, no, no, no, that was, we don't hug in England, so I was just shocked. Well, welcome to America. Um, cool. Uh, shall we go inside? Sure. This place is quieter than it looks. Wait, so, um, is it on? Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry, it's been on the whole time. Oh, no, really? Sorry, yeah, yeah, it's, you know, I record everything. Is that okay or? No, it's fine, it's, when I listen to my voice, play back, I'm always just like, up hold. Uh, yeah, I get that. Well, we can be a pool together. All right, so it's 11.34 p.m. on my second night in Phoenix, Arizona. The woman I'm meeting with is, uh, if you want to just. Hi, I'm Mira Simmons. I'm a bartender here in Phoenix, and I also run a paranormal message board. Usually UFOs. Is that okay? Yeah, that's great. So I contacted Mara a while ago when I was first trying to track down. Robert J. Gutherr, of course, we never managed to find him, but Mara was thankfully willing to keep in touch. We've been talking on and off for a few weeks now. And when she learned I was visiting the United States, she suggested we discuss my story in person, which I have to say, it makes for a nice change from being called crazy. Oh, but, though, you know, maybe I'm crazy too. Well, I would have been one to judge. Anyway, let's get back to what you were saying. Yes, so non-judgment would be a good rule right now, because so I had some time to kill yesterday and I, I may have gone a little overboard. I, um, made you something. Okay. Wow, I know it's extra. No, no, it's great. What exactly am I looking at here? So this is the map of Phoenix, um, the whole city and a little bad side as well. The red stickers, those are mirror stores or antique stores that might sell that sort of stuff. We don't know much, but we know there's a mirror store on the 34th turn from Rob's house. So yeah, and the lines are, I map the roads out from those stores, you know. Left, right, left, right, kept going in either direction until I hit a dead end. So low dead ends? I mean, yeah, they all hit dead ends. All the roads had to stop sometime and all of them do, but this one. Which one? This is amazing, by the way. Um, here, this one. See, it's one of the longest unbroken lines, which makes sense and look, one way leads through a residential neighborhood and the other way ends in an alley just before an intersection. Well, I mean, that's gotta be it, right? Right? Yeah. Wow. So, can I ask you something? Sure. I was wondering, what are you gonna do now? I mean, Alice, you wanted to find her, you found her. You know where she is, where she'll be. What now? I mean, you must have thought about it before, right? Um, honestly, I didn't think I'd make it this far. Well, you did, and so. Find a way to bring her home? Yeah? Yeah. But, uh, have you. Yeah, you have to go out there. Yeah, yeah, I know. And you know how dangerous it is. Yeah, I know. And you're hardly in the condition to drive. I know. Trust me, I know. I have, I've thought about it. But I mean, even if I hadn't it, it doesn't matter. It's just what I have to do. You know, otherwise what's the point? And are you sure? I'm sure. Are you sure that she wants to come home? What do you mean? I mean, everything she's seen. Everything she's gone through, it's horrifying. I'm getting anxious, even thinking about you going out there. But she went through it all. Did she ever ask to go back? What happens if you reach her and. She just keeps going. No, no, no, no, no, no. She sent me these locks. I mean, yeah, that's true. I'm just saying you're going to a whole lot of trouble risking your life for someone who never said they were coming home. She did say she was coming home. That was her plan. She said. She hasn't said it to me. Did she say it in any of the logs so far? Maybe she's not done. Yeah, exactly. Maybe she isn't. You don't know her. I think I have. No, you don't know her. You don't. No one else even thinks she existed. I've talked to everyone who knows. No one knows her. Literally no one. Just me. Don't even think that means something. She wants to come home. That's why she brought me here. You seem pretty sure. I'm sure. Look, I appreciate your concern, but. I'm the one who remembers her. I'm the one who, like, I know my friend. I was doing some work on the timings, you know, putting the events in order. Okay. The first log Alice posted. The day she went on the road was February 7th. But when she left London, it was the anniversary of your graduation. July 29th. The year before, right? Right, so? She stopped responding to you a month after leaving. Before I mapped it out, I thought it was because she went missing. Went on the road, but. She had caught you out of her life. Caught all of your friends out of her life for half a year. Before she even arrived in Phoenix. Are you sure she was planning to come home? Look, I appreciate the map. And I appreciate it. I just, like, so I just. No, come on. Stay for one more drink. I'm sorry, I still. No, no, don't be sorry. It's just. Thank you for your help. Where are you going to go? Hey, what are you going to do? The traffic really things are off the midnight. It's about 1.30 a.m. Sorry for kind out. I've been driving for a while longer than I needed to really. I'm following the map Myra gave me in a roundabout way. Y'know, she really did her homework. I really hoped I'd meet him with a f**k on differently. I know I shouldn't have. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I should have handled it better. I know it's a little, but still, I stand by what I said, she didn't. I should have to justify myself. Alice was planning to come back. She told all of us. I'm not gonna waste time with theories, but we've seen what the road can do to people's mind. How can carry them away against their better judgment? Or. This just. this isn't the time for doubt. Okay. I'm coming up to it now. I'm at the intersection, so that must be the alleyway. No tunnel, but. there wouldn't be. I've not exactly been sticking to the rules. If this turns out to be a prank, I don't know if I'll be relieved or. now I'll. I'll be relieved. I'll be really relieved. But if this is the place, that means I can trace the route back to the mere shop, then it's 34 turns until I'm at Robbgothan Street. Okay. Back to where we came. It's, um. it's about 3am. I'm coming up to what should be Robbgothan Street. Like I said, in Alice's record there were 34 turns between Robb's house and the mere shop. I've lost the mere shop 32 turns ago, so. 33 turns ago. I looked for that woman, Marjorie. I guess I should call her now. I looked, but. I couldn't find her anywhere. Maybe she was around and I just didn't see her. Maybe. pay for. It looks nice. It's kind of funny to me this long, just to get to the place where you. started. I don't know, that just feels very us. You know, I only realised once I started driving, I took her right out of the alleyway and then I left, and then I've actually been playing the game. In fact, at this rate the tunnel should be one street ahead, just around that corner. Or maybe not. I guess it isn't. It's not the until I look for it, right? Right, so there's this joke. An old woman is sitting in a house when a news report comes on the radio. The house says that a car is driving the wrong way down the road. Suddenly, the old woman realises my husband's on that road and maybe he's in danger. So, fearing for a safety, she gives McCall and she says. [Motor] [Motor] [Motor] [Motor] [Motor] [Motor] It might be hard to believe, but the left-right game was once nothing more than a 14-page document, lying in a manila envelope on my desk. I remember reading it on my lunch break. I remember it made me laugh. Rob's submission arrived with the first post, slowly making its way around the office, treated by everyone as a short-lived novelty of little journalistic value. It was easy to dismiss all too similar to the rambling ghost stories and blurred UFO sightings that filled our mailbox on a daily basis. I was given it to recycle. Instead, I took it with me to a coffee shop with a bunch of other rejects. I glanced over page 1, page 2, 3, 5, 10. I was almost late back, but I returned in the knowledge that I'd found a story I wanted to tell. Later that day, I was in the editor's office making a case for it. There didn't quite see what I saw, but I managed to win them over. I told them the story would be characterful, colorful, thought-provoking, and at the very least, that I wouldn't be gone long. It's been two weeks since then. Fourteen days exactly since I entered the truck in Phoenix, Arizona. Nine, since I commandeered it myself, leaving Rob behind in the silent city. I haven't updated much recently. There's no one to hear it, and the story I intended to tell, the story of my time with Rob J. Guthrrd ended when I left the city behind. Despite this, there are some things I need to say. So please consider this the prologue to the envelope, or perhaps I should be the other way around. This is the story of my 14th night on the road. We're sorry, but. Rob J. Guthrrd? Can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the tone. But yeah, you were right about the car. It's growing on me. This almost works, you know. You never replied off the time anyway. I mean, I know it's not the same, but. So the moon started breaking. I can see it now, three huge, unequal pieces cracking apart like. I don't know. Like Old Porcelain? I only noticed a few days ago, it's too gradual to actually watch it happen, but every night they've drifted slightly further apart. Never to meet again. The constellations they're falling into are different, too. I've been trying, but I can't find a single one I recognize. They don't even feel like stars anymore. I know that's a strange thing to say, that stars have a certain. But then I thought about it, and you know, how would we know? I can even feel it in the daytime, which makes sense. I suppose that they're still out there somewhere. The worst thing is sometimes I swear I can hear them, but they don't sound like. Your message has reached its limit. Please press Wanted Elite and re-record a new message, or hang out to. Message deleted. The lake hasn't changed, though. It's been on both sides of the road for the past three days. No sign of an opposite shore in either direction. I don't know how far it goes on for. Even in the daytime I can't tell where the water ends and the sky begins. At night, it might as well be the same thing. I know what you would have said. You would have said, "Who knows? Maybe they are." You should be here. Before the city everything looked not normal but the landscapes at least imitated the world we left now it's not even trying we're somewhere new I just I wish you were around your message reach this limit please we're sorry but the rock jay gathered can't come to the phone right now please leave a message after the tool hello Marjorie what happened to you help me help please Marjorie the water I'm stuck how are you even alive trapped in the water please we never really met Marjorie wouldn't know my name she warned me not to trust you I'm stuck please Marjorie died a long time ago you're done using her now Alice please I'm sorry you wouldn't have done this for me you know this is going to take a while hey this is Rachel from the QCode production team we hope you've been enjoying the left right game on Sonos we take pride in creating premium audio experiences which is why we love listening on Sonos Sonos creates technology that celebrates sound like we do continuously refining the listening experience so that we can connect listeners and creators when our team listened to the finished product on Sonos speakers we felt like we were riding along with the left right game convoi the bass of the trucks engine everyone's voices coming in on the CB and other mysteries along the road it felt like we were there none of the effort we put into the sound design and mix got lost in translation from the studio to the speaker Sonos speakers are designed from the inside out for incredibly detailed sound and rich bass then fine tuned by Oscar and Grammy winning producers mixers and artists go to Sonos.com to learn more observe the North American dad 50s great polo collection he enters his vehicle information on Carvana and offer appears in minutes remarkable he squints reads it again smiles and says dang that's a good offer the highest form of approval no haggling no hassle no one called him boss he's still on the couch astonishing sell your car today on Carvana dot com pick up these may apply I'm Scott Weinberger investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff I'm Anna Siga Nikolasi former New York City homicide prosecutor and we're back together with a brand new podcast homicide 360 it's a show that examines every angle because the impact of murder goes far beyond the headlines I looked up and there was a gun in my face we did a large grid search of that area what do we miss what went wrong you'll hear from the people who lived it loved ones survivors investigators and prosecutors the pain and the strength I did it we got them these are real victims real families they centered the victim always every angle every life this is homicide 360 subscribe now on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts hey this is Joe button you may know me from music or from podcasting but what you might not know is that I'm obsessed with your crime I've been watching it reading it and following cases for years those shows made me look at crime stories differently and now I get to partner with Wolf Entertainment the minds behind law and order headline studio and advanced local to bring you something brand new call crime in America every week I'm talking to advanced locals reporters on the ground across the country the people closest to the facts closest to the community they're the first people breaking these stories before they become national news Joe I'm here at the scene where police have been investigating throughout the evening I'm bringing you true crime in real time from the people closest to the facts crime in America with Joe button is available now everywhere join us on Patreon or watch and listen on YouTube Apple or wherever you get your podcasts okay I'll do it I hope this means something I hope this means something to me I hope this means something to me I hope this means something to me thank you Audrey for burying me oh sure anytime it was you what I was chasing you running to you I gave him up for you Audrey wait what are you the things I saw they were so beautiful and I saw her walking alone through new worlds but she I gave up everything for you Audrey I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't mean you to oh yes you did yes you did and now now you're here I couldn't stop you we can't stop anything and now what death didn't end anything nowhere wanted me no one came for me there's nothing nowhere else and what did I do what do I do there's someone Audrey there is okay still looking for you Audrey I saw him what's left of him walking on the road he didn't stop he was never going to stop. He was looking for you. He already found me. He found me. So many. I heard him every time, but I looked past him because I was looking for someone else. There's so many roads. It'll take such a long time. Maybe, yeah. But you're both looking for each other, so I guess you're headed to the same place. I see why it wanted you. I know you regret it. Leaving them behind. If you had to choose again, no way in what you know now. If you could get further, would you turn back? [Birds chirping] [Birds chirping] It's you, isn't it? You're the one I've been hearing. You're the one who brought me here. Yes, you're popular today. What do you want? Nothing. What do you want? Right now, in interview, we don't have much time. Okay, well, I'll only ask the important questions. Why did Marjorie Gutherr do what she did? The important questions. She saw an echo of the future, dreamed of the road, of the things that it passes through in between, like whatever's through there, wherever you came from. Hmm. She glimpsed alone, woman walking a path. Over time, the vision became everything to her, but it wasn't her. Was it she thought she was seeing her own future, but it was, it was you. She didn't see it unprompted, though, did she? You showed it to her, you let her see it. The same way you let Rob see me in Aoki Gara. Pushed, and you brought it wherever you needed. Why? So I'd end up here? Yes. But to what end? You played with people's lives across decades. Why me? What does it matter that I travel the road? It doesn't matter, it simply is. As long as the road exists, there's a chance people will travel it. As long as people travel it, it's inevitable that someone will travel the furthest. You made your way here, through skill and through tenacity and through luck. Those qualities brought you to this point and they will carry you further along the road than any other across all humanity. Across every conceivable fermentation, no one travels further than you. And everyone else? Ace? Apollo? Eve? Bonnie? Events transpired as they needed to. As they needed to? People died. Everyone, they're all gone. Do you not care about that at all? You don't know what caring is. You don't know anything. My actions are guided by a higher standard of knowledge just as your protests are predicated upon false and incomplete understanding. I hear saying I don't understand death you don't. That doesn't make it right, regardless it is. And that which is must be. And what are you? I can't answer that question in any way you'll understand. Then what's the point? You won't tell me what you are, why you, at the very least, tell me why you're here. As an observer. An observer to what? The end and the beginning. The moment you chose to travel the road by here. And what if I don't? What if you brought me here and I just turned around? What if I don't want any part of it? You've already noticed the effects. And those who settled the road, those who were lost to it. And you've seen it in yourself. Energy without consumption. Knowledge without requisite experience. The laws you once considered universal are simply local, idiosyncratic. The further you travel, the less hope they'll have on you. You'll shed entropy and causality and in time you will reach realms of understanding and cannot currently fathom. You'll witness dangers that can whisper your old world to ash. You'll face terrors and wonders its man beyond time. You will find answers to questions you never thought to ask. You will discover absolute truths. But beyond all this, beyond all of it, the road goes the one place that matters most to you. Where? For? That's the only reason. Do you need another? People are waiting for me. I made promises. Your promises don't matter. They matter to me. But not to those you made them too. Your existence, as you would define it, is a localized phenomenon. It travels with you and it cannot spend two worlds simultaneously. You'll choose one and fade from the other. And what does that entail? What will it do to them? Nothing. You'll become an unobservable element in their memory. One they'll quickly be able to look past. A part of their existence that was retrospectively ever there. Most will forget. Many have already started. They just don't know it. What do you mean most? You can't exist in two places. Some individuals will spend both, however briefly. They'll see you. So that covers what? Rob? But not my parents. My friends? Not. This is what you came to tell me, isn't it? This is why I make the choice here. Reasons to turn back. Reasons to keep going. I mean, this is a story. I was always meant to go back. I have. I can't just leave everyone behind. I just can't. I've watched you on every turn across every moment of your journey. I've watched you questioning. Does anyone still happen? I've watched you struggle. No, no, please don't go. I've watched you fight to make your way here. I've watched you. Despite everything that's happened, everything that's behind you, you won't turn around. You said this is where I make a choice, but you make it sound like I don't have one. You do have a choice, Alice. You've just already made it. Is that it? I don't trust you. I remember. I don't know if anyone. everyone will ever hear this. But if you've been listening from the beginning, you've finally caught up with me. It's getting late. I've been working to put this all into some kind of structure. I hope you'll allow me a few personal messages. Rob, I'm sending you everything I have. Hopefully it'll serve as the proof you need. I hope you're able to listen to it, and I am so. so sorry for everything I've done, for everything I may do. I hope you understand that I didn't know and that none of this was your fault. It wasn't her fault either. You did the best you could. And the days I spent with you are some of the most significant of my life. It was an honor to know you, and I hope that among these pages, you find the answers, the peace you deserve. I'm sorry I can't tell you what's at the end of the road. Or if there even is one, but if I can let you know, if I can save you, I will. Whatever that thing was, it. knows me well enough. It knows I'm not turning back. And I. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't get it, what. *Screams* *Screams* Why did you. You brought me here, you made me come, you made me. be the only person, what am I meant to do now? What's I meant to fucking do in the first place? Why could you. Why could you just let me forget you? *Gasps* *Gasps* *Gasps* *Gasps* *Gasps* *Gasps* Hello? *Gasps* If that's the hitch I could don't, don't try to talk. Fuck, I'm not. I take the back, I take the. *Gasps* Oh my god. Wait. Rob. What is it? What is it made? She sent them to you. Okay, so something like. They say great stories to people who can't help it. No, she sent them to me too. An exception to that world. As I said it is table in the small house. We can take them back together, okay? Come on, if. Come on, come on. I can help you. *Gasps* Come on. Come on. Come on. *Gasps* I can't just be a moment, alright? I promise. *Gasps* If you could save him, you would. That's what this is all about. You brought me here just to. Just. Just for him. *Gasps* *Gasps* Please. Please! I don't understand. Why are you showing me this? Why are you. *Gasps* I didn't remember you did I? I forgot. I forgot you ever existed before I received that first message. And the message from. Men, I'd come here. And coming here, men, I'd remember. You didn't bring me here, did you? You're giving me the choice. So I could bring myself. So what happens if I don't send it? If I don't bring myself here, fuck. I didn't need to do any of this. If I'd never got that message, I wouldn't even know you'd left. I wouldn't have tracked halfway around the world. I wouldn't have gotten hit by a fucking car. That's a big plus. I wouldn't miss you at all, Alice. I would have just. Come home. And I never would have left. Oh. This is going to happen. I'm sorry I can't tell you what's at the end of the road, or if there even is one. But if I can let you know, if I can save you, I will. Whatever that thing was, it knows me well enough. And I know exactly what that means as awful as it is. To my mom and dad. I'm sorry I won't be sending this to you. In the end, I was. carried along this road by a profound selfishness. Knowing what I'm about to do, I just can't bring myself to face you. I can't imagine the pain I'll be putting you through, and. I won't try to justify my actions. All I can say is that I love you. And. I'm sorry that my last act towards you was one of. cowardists. Last of all. to you. Tom. How's your mom? Though you may not remember my name, I'm sorry. I know you made plans. I made promises. I convinced myself the roads I took would eventually leave me home, but that doesn't look so likely now. I could say a lot to you, and I'm. not going to, but. I wish we could have been friends for longer. It feels like a lifetime since I first arrived at Rob J. Guthrins' house. I remember the uncertainty as I waited for him to open his door. With no idea what was about to transpire. Like so many other things that's changed now. Despite being an entirely new world further from home than anyone's ever been, I know exactly what's going to happen next. I'm going to take a drive. Take a left, then the next possible road on the right, and then the next possible left. And I'll keep going. I'll keep driving beyond worlds, beyond time, beyond everything, to a place where the lake runs dry, where the broken moon drifts away, and the stars disappear in the rearview mirror. A place where everything else has fallen away. And the road is all there is. From American stories, I'm Alice Sharman. Thank you for joining us. ♪♪ The left-right game stars Tessa Thompson as Alice. Amel Amin as Tom Rebekah Field as Marjorie and Ellery Spraybury as Myra. Created and written by Jack Anderson, directed by Emma Tammy, produced by QCode, Automatic and Tessa Thompson, production executive, Tess Ryan, recorded by Alvin Wee and Jorrell Corpus, edited by Ryan Walsh, sound design and mixed by Matt Yohkamp, sound effects editing by Ryan Sullivan, sound design consulting by Will Files, original score and composition by Darren Johnson, script supervisor Sam Beasley, post coordinator Rachel Yannover, talent coordinator Shay Donovan, special thanks to Joaquin Archridge. The left-right game is a QCode production. Experience brilliant room-filling sound with Sonos. Spend your audio verse at sonos.com. Go to sonos.com to learn more.