Ep 11 – Return to the Park – Residents of Proserpina Park – A Mythology Audio Drama
INTRO: (Mirai is waiting at the bus stop, there are other people waiting around as the buses are being prepped to go. She speaks through her earpods.)
MIRAI: So, I’m all packed, audio files backed up a billion times, and directions printed because service is going to be spotty. Seriously, I’ve never even heard of the town Jun-nii said he was going to.
Ah! Wait, just to explain, Junpei is the brother that sent me the audio files from home. Junichi, or I like to call him Jun-nii, is the other brother that went to Japan with me, but then kinda disappeared… Seeing as he’s had no service for most of his travels, I guess I’m also going in blind…
Anyways, I’m waiting for the bus right now and I’m hoping I can still record my thoughts on the ride. It’s kinda super rude to do that, but I’m hoping since I’m speaking in English, they’ll just think I’m a rude American. It also seems like there’s only a few other people boarding this bus so whatever, it’ll be fine!
I still don’t know if this is a story or some weird convoluted plot to get Jun-nii to come home, but apparently my dog is an alien, Alina is a real person that I’ve talked to, and Sam, well, Sam had some kind of episode while I was packing, so regardless at least this story is interesting.
I’m pretty sure Junpei made all this up since ya know, it would totally be his dream for our dog to be an alien. But what does that have anything to do with Sam and Alina? Oh, there’s my bus driving in now! Let’s hope I can do this.
SOUND: (Announcement on the speaker signals it’s time to go, the bus goes off to the distance, and we’re back to Alina.)
SCENE STARTS: (Alina walks into an outside cafe, seeing Drew, Dog and Jun already there. “Proserpina Bops” plays in the background.)
DREW: Alina! Hey!
ALINA: Hey guys, thanks for making it out here.
DREW: I’m almost done with my shift so we can head out right after.
JUN: No way we wouldn’t come! I was just telling Drew what happened when we ran into that Sam guy, it was so crazy.
DREW: Here, sit. I got you your favorite.
ALINA: Ooh an extra sweet cold brew?
DREW: Yup! Made it myself.
ALINA: Thanks. Jun, what exactly did you tell Drew?
JUN: Well, so we were like, looking for a nice dragon, only we bumped into a mean dragon instead. We tried to get away from it, which was pretty awesome. Alina had a great plan, but it didn’t work so this three-headed dog saved us, which I now know is THE Cerberus, thanks Alina by the way, and then this guy shows up out of nowhere, starts freaking out on Alina and kept trying to get close to me, so we bounced before he got even more creepy.
ALINA: …Close enough. Sam isn’t usually like that. At all. He’s calm, always reading, and easy to talk to. He probably just freaked out because I broke the rule… But there were a few things I didn’t understand: the black shadow creeping up around him. Dog, you said that was his cousin coming?
DOG: Yes, I thought you might have known, but Sam has ties to Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld. It’s why he’s Cerberus’ dog walker. There’s no way he would have trusted just anybody with that job.
ALINA: Ugh, of course, that should have been obvious. He must be able to control Cerberus or something, he’s always listening to Sam.
DOG: Oh no, he’s a normal human being. Just happens to be great with dogs. It’s his cousin’s side that’s… mythical.
JUN: The demigod, right? Can’t believe they actually exist.
ALINA: Yes, how can they… exist? Like a real superhuman…
DOG: The Greek Gods are pretty memorable people. They have much more strength and hold over the world due to that and can exist without interfering with reality. Most of the time they stay in their lane, forever satisfied watching us like a TV show.
But every now and then, they can wander to the surface and… play. Still, this happens on such rare occasions now that it’s possible to keep track of Demigods and make sure they don’t stick out too much.
Terry, the demigod cousin, is close friends with Sam. They put a distressor on Sam to keep a close eye on him since he goes to the park every day. That’s what that shadow was.
ALINA: I see… so what now?
DOG: We go apologize.
JUN: Ugh, hate to say it, but I agree as well. But don’t let the guy get too close to me again!
ALINA: But if Sam meets Drew, he’s going to be even more mad knowing that I brought way more people to the park!
DOG: You got caught once, you’re going to get caught again. We have to come clean.
ALINA: But Drew was going to be my secret weapon!
DREW: Come on Alina, you broke this guy’s trust, we gotta be nice.
ALINA: All right, all right, I know when I’m defeated. Let’s go.
NEXT SCENE: (The four of them arrive at the park and immediately go to the bench Sam is usually at.)
ALINA: Well, he’s not here… What do we do now?
DREW: Did you message him at all? You have his number right?
ALINA: Yeah… no response, it’s— it’s not even left on read…
DREW: Well, we’ll have to come by often to see if he shows up. The park seems important to him. We just gotta give him some time.
DOG: I agree… Sam will bounce back. We just have to be ready when he is.
JUN: Well, we might as well wander the park since we’re already here!
SOUND: (They all start to walk, kinda aimlessly, wondering what to do next.)
ALINA: Sooo, is there anything anyone wants to see? Drew, mermaids? (Drew: haha) Or Jun, we can look for the correct dragon this time I guess.
DOG: I actually have someone I’d like to meet—
STRANGER: Oh my, what a surprise. It’s rare to meet people here.
ALINA: Oh, hello. We also weren’t expecting to see anyone today. Uh I didn’t realize other people can come to the park.
STRANGER: Oh yes, of course. But it is still a public park. I’ve learned anyone can wander in and out if they’re in the right moment.
ALINA: Well, I’m Alina, these are my friends, Drew (Drew: Hey), Jun (Jun: Hello), and Dog (Dog: Woof).
TITA PEACHIE: You can call me Tita Peachie. It’s nice to meet all of you.
ALINA: Oh, do you know someone named Sam? He’s kinda a… friend.
TITA PEACHIE: Oh yes, I am very familiar with the boy. Seems like something happened recently, usually he and that giant mutt of his is always around.
DREW: Yeah… we were hoping to find him here today, but I guess he’s not here.
JUN: Do you come to the park often? We’re still pretty new.
TITA PEACHIE: Truth be told, I don’t really come out here too often either, it can be pretty dangerous.
ALINA: Yeah, we’ve learned firsthand what happens if we let our guard down.
TITA PEACHIE: Well, since we’re all aware of the situation, would you mind if I joined you on this evening walk? Strength in numbers after all.
DREW: Yeah, let’s do it.
SOUND: (Everyone starts walking again. Alina pulls Dog to the side.)
ALINA: Everything okay, Dog? It sounded like you were going to say something before, but you’re quiet now.
DOG: (Pauses, and then whispers) Alina… have you heard any stories about creatures of the night? Because I believe we are in the presence of a very dangerous creature.
SOUND: (From a distance, Drew and Jun small talk with Tita Peachie.)
JUN: So Tita Peachie, have you met any creatures while you visited the park?
DREW: I like your parasol, do you use it for protection? That’s what my bat here is for.
TITA PEACHIE: Oh no (laughs) the sun was just quite strong today. I’m glad it’s finally setting. But concerning creatures, I’ve… (continues talking)
SOUND: (We return back to Dog and Alina.)
MUSIC: (“Resorting to Violence” plays.)
ALINA: A creature of the night?? What does that mean?
DOG: Shhhh! We can’t let her know we’ve caught on. But, look at her shoe prints… Alina they’re backwards…
ALINA: What on!.. Do you know what kind of creature this is?
DOG: No… I’m kinda worried, if we don’t figure out what she is, I don’t know how to protect us.
ALINA: Okay, well shoot, I don’t know… What does your gut say?
DOG: My gut?… (thinks for a sec) My gut tells me I need to open up her mouth.
ALINA: Uh, oh okay…
SOUND: (Dog starts running towards the Tita Peaches, goes and bites her. Tita Peaches screams.)
ASWANG: How dare you bite me?
JUN: Dog! What are you doing? I’m so sorry, I never should have— oh my god your tongue.
DOG: I knew it. There’s no way there could be another human in the park after what happened. You, you’re an Aswang.
ASWANG: (Hisses) And so what if I am you annoying little bug. It’s not like your friends here seem to know what that means anyways.
ALINA: Why is your tongue so long and thin?
DREW: It’s like a dagger almost…
ASWANG: Well, now that you know my secret, don’t you dare move! I’m in charge of what’s going to happen now.
DREW: Careful lady, any closer to us and I will resort to violence.
ASWANG: Please, this useless stick can’t harm anyone here in the park.
SOUND: (The Aswang grabs Drew’s bat and crushes it, rendering the weapon useless.)
DREW: Hey! My bat! You could have just thrown it away, you didn’t need to break it!
ASWANG: Quiet, dinner shouldn’t talk back.
SOUND: (Sounds of a tussle occurs, but ultimately the Aswang grabs Jun, everyone freaks out.)
ASWANG: Ah silence. Hmm it’s been awhile since I’ve had the blood of a boy.
JUN: No, please don’t— Don’t touch me!
ASWANG: Now, now hold still child, it’s time for me to eat.
ALINA: Dog, what do we do?
DOG: L-Let go of Jun, I already know who you are. Don’t think you can get away with anything!
ASWANG: Please, you think you can hurt me like I can hurt you?
SOUND: (The Aswang stabs Jun with her tongue, drawing out blood like what vampires do.)
JUN: Ah! She’s biting me! Please let me go, please—
DOG: Aswang, look what I have.
SOUND: (Dog holds up a water bottle, shaking to let everyone know its content.)
DOG: I think you know exactly what this is. If you think I’m not prepared for you creatures of the night, you’re abysmally naive. Do not forget who I am.
ASWANG: All right, little pet. Today we’ll play it by your rules. But if you think this is the last time you’ll see me, you’re mistaken.
SOUND: (The Aswang then transforms even more, sprouting wings, and shoots up into the sky, slowly disappearing. Everyone holds their breath for a moment, before rushing to Jun.)
ALINA: Oh my god, Jun.
JUN: What am I supposed to tell my parents? She just had to get my neck of all places.
ALINA: You need to shut up. We need to get you out of here. Dog, we don’t need to worry about anything like poison or is Jun turning into a vampire?
JUN: Can vampires go to space?
DREW: Well, he’s still obsessed with aliens, so it doesn’t look too bad at least…
DOG: No, Aswangs are just shapeshifting human predators.
JUN: Honestly, I’m fine. Probably in shock right now, so let’s get out of here before my body catches up as to WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!
DREW: Looks like it caught up.
DOG: Jun, drink the water, slowly.
JUN: I didn’t even realize you took that from my bag… How come she’s afraid of the water?
DOG: Not water, holy water. Night creatures like her usually have an affinity with the Christian church. There are a few differences, seeing as she’s a creature from Filipino mythology, but she follows a lot of the same guidelines as a regular vampire: salt, garlic, the cross, you know.
ALINA: And she saw the bottle and just thought immediately it was holy water…oh my god, good job, Dog.
DOG: I’m so sorry, I should have warned you all sooner. This was a topic we haven’t really discussed, but I think you all already know about them; vampires, werewolves, zombies, the creatures of the night. What’s worse is that they’re stronger than most creatures as well since everybody knows about them. Every country has them and not all of them can be stopped with a water bottle. The Philippines alone has quite a concerning number of night creatures…
ALINA: It’s okay. I should have known as well. It’s funny, the entire time when I was with Sam, he kept warning me and warning me that there are dangerous creatures out here, but he only showed me nice ones. I should have known this was what he was talking about.
DREW: C’mon lets get out of here. We need to get you checked out, neck wounds always freak me out. Can you stand?
JUN: I think so… Can I stay over someone’s place tonight? I don’t think I can go home like this.
ALINA: Yeah, not a problem.
DREW: Hey, let’s go… it got dark real fast all of a sudden…
OUTRO: (We return to Mirai. “Proserpina Bop” plays as the sound of the bus comes back in.)
MIRAI: Okay, I’m on the bus now. No one seems to be glaring at me for talking at least, so far so good. Anyways, they’re now in my expertise of creatures I might know! I’m all about that supernatural YA, I got you! This has to be a story because there’s no way there’d be any vampires out there that would willingly want to eat Junpei. I need to talk to him again, like vampire bites of all things? And he made so much fun of me for reading all the vampire manga in high school. He probably did all this on purpose. Hmph!
Residents of Proserpina Park 