Abernathy Rec Center
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We are the Watchers, observers of the strange, paranormal, and dormant. The spiritual, mystical, and magic. The horrifying, appalling, and gruesome. The unseen and secret. The revealed. Welcome to the Mayfair Watchers Society.

You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Hey, James. It's Lawrence, the new guy. I know you said last night was our last training and I'd be solo today, but, um... Well, God, I'm dumb. I don't think you ever gave me the keys, so I'm outside the south entrance. Could you come by and let me in? Um, thanks.

You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Hey James, it's Lawrence again. Leaving an end-of-shift message for you. Thanks for showing me where the lockbox is. Promise I won't forget the code. Anyways, on to business. I checked the pool levels. It's still a little high. Looks like the water should be about an inch or two lower than it is.

There's still some space before overflowing starts to be a risk. Did you say the pool guy was coming by tomorrow to look at it? What else? What else? Uh, sprinkler, uh... Oh, uh, sprinklers came on. No problem there. I swept and mopped the West Halls. You... you said West Halls, right? Shit. It was the East Halls. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore.

Please leave your message after the tone. Hey James, sorry about the East Hall/West Hall thing. I know you said it wasn't a big deal, but anyways... I did the West Halls tonight. Otherwise, pretty easy night. I completed everything on your lists. Oh, and I did notice the snack machine in the lounge is getting a little low. Do I just call the number on the side or... eh... otherwise... well... yeah, nothing else.

I'm off tomorrow, I think, so I'll see you on Thursday. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. James! Sorry, again, about the schedule mix-up. I swear I know how to read the schedule. I must have just put it in my phone wrong. Anyways...

And a shift report. Let's see. I put up posters for the end of school year celebration, and I set up the book fair area for the kids. I found some streamers in storage too, and put those up. Let me know if you think they're too much. I kind of went overboard, but I think the kids will like it. Otherwise, I went through your list again. Mostly no problems. But I hit a snag on two things. First... End of message.

You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Hey, sorry for the double voicemail. Anyways, as I was saying, no problems with the list except I think we're out of window spray? I got most of the smudges on the windows in the gym with what was left, but I didn't have enough for the pool windows, so I just wiped them down with some soap and water and that seemed to have done the trick.

Speaking of the pool, it's still looking a little full. It's not that much higher than it was when I measured it the other night, but whatever the pool guy did, I don't think it fixed the issue. I did a walkthrough of the basement just to see if I could spot anything, and I heard some weird gurgling from the pipes. Sounds like there's a clog somewhere. You can hear that some water is still getting through, but not much. Probably best to leave it to the experts. But I still put some red tape on the pipe I think is clogged. Could you take a look at it when you're in?

Anyways, that's all I got. I'm actually off tomorrow, so I'll see you Saturday. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Good morning. I gotta tell you, I can't get used to these morning shifts. A lot easier staying awake when you can see the sun. Ah, no, that's a lie. I need coffee.

Anyways, I got your voicemail and your list. Just wanted to let you know that the pool is still a few inches too high. I know you said you fixed the pipe last night. Not sure if maybe it just takes a few hours to drain. I don't know. You said it was just hair blocking the drain? Do you think we'll still be opening up the pool next week? Looks like the book fair went well.

I boxed up the rest of the books like you asked. They just need shipping labels. I started packing up the decorations too. Glad to hear the kids like the streamers, even if they destroyed a lot of them. Maybe we can get some more for the summer science fair? Okay. I think that's all I got. I'm gonna take a nap. I'll see you tomorrow. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Good evening. I can't believe I'm saying this.

But I actually miss the night shift. It's significantly calmer around here when there aren't kids or adults running around. Guess I never realized how eager everyone was to have this old rec center open again. Say what you will about Pancontinental and their fracking bullshit, the renovations were much needed, and I suppose their donations pay our salaries, so who am I to complain? Anyways, I've locked up the center for the night and I've just been going through your list.

Uh, that third new guy we hired... What'd you say his name was? Gary? Greg? Anyways, the new guy should be here in a bit. He's in charge of mopping the East Halls and tidying the pool area tonight. I'll be back for the afternoon shift tomorrow, so I'll see you then. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please, leave your message after the tone. Hey, James. Uh, sorry to be calling you so early. I know you, like, just left, but...

You know how we still had a few swimmers left in the pool? Mostly our... more elderly clientele? I don't know if you're familiar with a Mrs. Hendricks, but she has a complaint. She told me there was a kid in the pool who kept grabbing at her leg. She doesn't wear her glasses during lane swim, said she shouldn't need to as long as everybody sticks to their lanes like they're supposed to. So, she wasn't able to describe the person she saw to me, but according to her, there was definitely somebody. There was a kid...

I'll just tell you what she told me. Uh, she said she didn't really think much of it the first time it happened. Said she felt something brush up against her leg and thought maybe she'd gotten too close to the lane markers. Then about five minutes later, when she was back in the deep end, she said she felt that same thing again, but this time her foot got tangled up in something at the end of the lane. Her words, not mine. So she stopped, trying to figure out what it was that had a hold of her,

Only, nothing was there. And that's nothing crazy, right? Wouldn't be the first time somebody lost a pair of goggles in the pool, and maybe she kicked them, and they got wrapped around her foot. You know how it is. And if that was where it ended, I think I would have thought that was what happened. Unfortunately, it gets worse. It happened a third time.

She says she's in the middle of her cool down when she feels something, and at first she just figures it's another swimmer maybe doing a dive at the end of a lap who came up in the wrong lane, brushing her ankle to make sure she doesn't kick them on the way up. But this time, when she reached down, she says she felt something, and then she got pulled under the water. I'm not quite sure what happened next. I heard splashing, so I came out to check, and then she was scrambling out of the pool and unloading this story on me, and here's the thing, boss.

The only other person in the pool was an older gentleman a couple of lanes over. One sec, I got his name too. Uh, I'm Mr. Loomis. Kurt Loomis. So, just to be safe, I got both of them out of the pool and did two full circuits around the edges, looking to see if there was anybody or anything floating around in there. I know the lighting is pretty bad. That glare is something else.

But I sure as heck didn't see a kid in or under the water. No matter what Mrs. Hendricks thinks, I double-checked... End of message. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Sorry. Voicemail's right. Anyways, I was saying I double-checked the lanes next. I thought maybe one of the markers came loose and she got tangled up in it, but they're all secure.

There's a bit of loose cord hanging off the knots, sure, but I'm not entirely sure how she could have gotten herself wrapped up in something like that, much less pulled down under the water. But I told her it was probably that just a bit of loose cord hanging off one of the lane markers, and we'd make extra sure to properly fasten any slack in the future.

She took it better than I thought she would. I think she was a bit embarrassed because I made her and Mr. Loomis get out of the pool, and it was so close to closing that it didn't make sense to let either of them back in again, so she figured she'd cut his swim time short by complaining. I guess the moral of the story is... I don't know. Let's knot up the loose ends on the markers so that they're not hanging in the water. I know the lanes need to be adjusted sometimes, but maybe we can knot up the ends in a way that it isn't too hard to undo?

I'm gonna get back to cleaning. Oh, more bad news. I checked and the pool is still too high. Actually, and I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, I think the water level has actually risen since the last time we checked. After I finish my cleaning, I'm gonna go do a walk through the basement again to see if I can't find another pipe to mess with. I know you and the pool guy have already done this like 50 times, but I don't know, maybe I'll find something.

I found something last time after all. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Good evening, James. Uh, guess what? I think I fucking found it. Okay, so remember like a month ago when I first started and we were getting the pool ready to open and I put some tape on that gurgling pipe? Well, I spent some time following it through the basement to the drainage room and guess what I found? Hair.

There's literally hair sticking out of the pipe that empties into the sump pit. It's also leaking a lot. That's going to be a you problem. I have no idea how to fix that. Sorry. I guess this must be that clog you said was blocking up the drain. You figured it got flushed further down the pipe and just got stuck again. It's definitely the same clog. It's that exact same gurgling sound as I heard last time. Here, listen.

I marked the leaky parts of the pipe with the same red tape I used last time, but honestly, I doubt you'd miss them. I cleaned up the water on the floor and put buckets down to collect the drips. It's not a lot, but we should definitely have this checked out before it gets worse. I tried pulling the clog out, but it's really stuck in there. I don't think I could get it to give without tearing it somehow. And it kind of feels like there's some sort of suction...

Maybe I was imagining it, but I don't think we'd want this thing flying back up through the pipe into the pool if I wasn't, so I stopped messing with it. Fair warning, it stinks. Like sewage and eggs. You'll see. The hairs I did manage to pull out are really slimy, like dead fish slimy. You don't think something crawled into the pipe and died, do you? I know I'm off tomorrow, but give me a call if you need any help or anything. I won't say no to some extra hours. Hey everyone, it's Trevor here with a quick ad break.

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Thanks for listening, and now, back to the show. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Good evening, James. Thanks for talking to me yesterday. I like the game plan you laid out, and I feel a lot better about letting people into the pool now. I have some good news to report on that topic. The smell is gone, and the pool grates all look like they're firmly in place. By the way, did you see Gary's report from yesterday? Yes.

Probably not, since you're off until tomorrow. I'll give you the spark notes. Gary was working the front desk. He says it was a pretty busy day, so he spent most of his shift just checking people in. Lots of folks coming to the pool to beat the heat, you know? Well, I guess it was going pretty smooth for him up until about 4:00 p.m. A lot of the families had headed home for dinner. The pool was down to maybe 10, 15 people, mostly teens and tweens, right? What you'd expect.

It all gets a bit fuzzy here, because Gary was being, you know, Gary. But from what I can figure out, the kids were all taking it easy, splashing each other and being noisy. And at some point, it goes from the fun type of splashing and screaming to the not fun type of splashing and screaming.

Gary rushes in and sees all the kids huddled up in one corner of the deep end, pressed against the pool like a bunch of sardines, and apparently they were all staring down into the water like they were expecting a shark to pop out in the middle of the Mayfair Rec Center. So Gary asks them what's going on, and one of the kids pipes up, says something grabbed one of them. And at first, they thought it was just one of the other kids, but then whoever was doing the grabbing kept pulling down until that kid was on the bottom of the pool.

That was when some of the older kids went under and pulled the other kid up. At first, they thought it was a prank, but then they saw something coming out of the vent the kid had been pulled down on top of. Said it looked like a big arm, and it chased them all over the pool. Pulled them off the ladders when they tried to get out, and that's how they ended up cornered like this. Now, we both know Gary isn't exactly a believer. And at this point, he thinks the kids are fucking with him.

But there's one thing that seems to have stuck with them. The entire time those kids were telling him their story, none of them looked up from the water. But Gary wasn't having any of this, so he tells them all to get out now, and at first, only one of them goes for the ladder, even though he keeps telling them all they need to get out. But the second that one kid gets out, the rest of them make a break for it, like they really thought something was out to get them. Gary still thinks it was just a prank.

If it was, they were really committing to the bit, huh? Should we hire a lifeguard or something? You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Hey James, I got your note about the lifeguard. I know we don't really have the funds for it, but could we do some sort of volunteer program? Would they still have to be licensed or whatever? I don't know, just an idea.

Not much to report tonight. Pretty calm. Locked up the pool after the last few visitors left. No complaints of the pool puller. Great name, by the way. You did your list. Uh, guess that's it. Seems kind of anticlimactic. I'll see you tomorrow. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore.

Please leave your message after the tone. Hey, James. Unfortunately, I have another incident to report. You know that toddler swimming class we had tonight? Well, I cleared out the pool an hour beforehand, like you asked. I cleaned up the area around the stairs and ladder, and I took down all the swimming lanes. I spent most of the hour before the class in the pool room. James, there was no one.

The pool was empty. The grates were secure. So right at 6 p.m., I opened up the doors and let everybody in. I decided to stick around for a bit, just in case something happened. And as soon as people started getting in the pool, I heard it. That gurgling sound. Just like on the voicemail I left you last week. And that's not it. There was also that stench.

I could see some of the toddlers getting fussy, so I told the instructor I'd check it out and report back. So I go down to the basement to check on that pipe. Guess what? Cog's gone, and it's taken the smell with it. So I'm thinking the worst has happened, that it got sucked back up the pipe and ended up in the pool, just like I was afraid of. I rush back upstairs, and God, it's chaos. The kids are crying, the parents are shouting, and the instructor is trying to calm everybody down.

I ask what happened, and she tells me that one of the three-year-olds got pulled under. But that shouldn't have happened. All the kids have life jackets and arm floaties. Apparently, when it happened, one of the parents snapped into action, started swimming after the kid, chased him all the way to the deep end of the pool. And when he comes back up, this guy swears he saw something moving in the water. He swims the kid back to the shallow end, and the parents all started freaking out. End of message.

You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please, leave your message after the tone. James, I know you're probably asleep, but I really wish you weren't. These voicemails are killing me. Anyway, the parents are freaking out, but the kid's okay. That's when I arrive. The parent that saved the kid walks me over to where the kid got pulled, and sure as shit, I think I see something moving. But it's night, and the overhead lights shine directly onto the water. So, it's...

Kind of hard to tell what I'm seeing, but that smell is getting stronger, and all the parents have huddled together in the shallow end. So, I tell everybody to get out of the pool, and that class will have to be cancelled. I'm pretty upset, by the way. Should we offer them, I don't know, some free snacks or something? It's not like they paid for the class, but still. Anyways, after everyone gets out, I change into some trunks and hop into the pool.

Yes, I have trunks in my locker. We can talk about it later. I also took some goggles from the desk, so I owe you $8.50 for those. I swim down to the deep end, and I'm looking around, trying to see if I can figure out what happened. I don't find the shadow I saw, but I do see that the drainage grate at the bottom has been moved out of place. I swim down to fix it, and guess what? Fucking lights go out.

I'm panicking. I start splashing and flailing my way to the edge of the pool and pull myself out with what feels like a half of a full lung of water. Turns out, fucking Gary turned off the lights. Let's talk about this more tomorrow. Whatever's going on, I think it's getting worse. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone.

I'm closing the fucking pool. Not like it matters. There's been no one in to swim for almost two weeks. And why would they? Word's gotten out about our little aquatic friend. But guess what happened today, James? I almost got pulled in. I was walking the pool perimeter and I guess I got too close to the edge because next thing I knew I was being dragged across the floor. I'm almost at the edge and I grab onto the equipment rack.

Thank God that thing's heavy enough to hold my weight, because I was seriously worried I'd drag it on top of me. But even though I've got something to hang on to, the pool puller doesn't stop pool pulling. In fact, it adjusts its grip on me and starts trying to drag me in by the waist. At this point, I'm thinking it's over.

The rec center is closed. Gary won't show up for another five hours, and once my arms give out, this thing is going to drag me in and hold me at the bottom until I drown. And that's when the craziest thing happens. I hear a, like, a gurgling pop, and then the pool starts draining, like a clog cleared. Because it did. The fingers around my waist go limp. I'm still hanging onto the rack, sure that this thing is just going to try and grab me again, but it doesn't.

So, after a while I get up and take a look at the pool, from a safe distance mind you. And that's when I see it. A fucking clog is splashing around the pool, swimming like a dog you just let off the leash. I got a good look at it when it started splashing around in the shallow end. It's like an arm connected to a hairy jellyfish. I'm not doing it justice, you'll see what I mean. I think maybe it was stuck in the pipe and couldn't get itself out. How do you think it ended up in there? Anyways, I think we have a new, uh, pool pet?

I've been calling him Cloggy, but if you have a better name, I'm all ears. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Hey James, so I called that number you gave me and they had no idea what I was talking about, but I sent them some photos and they suggested maybe replanting Cloggy in a lake or something. Can we do that?

My cousin has one of those big fish tanks for his turtles. I bet we could borrow it, fill it up with water and put Cloggy in it. And maybe we can take him down to the reservoir. You have reached the voicemail of... James Molitore. Please leave your message after the tone. Hey, James. Thanks for driving me and Cloggy down to the reservoir today. I feel like we did a really good thing. Anyways, I'll see you on Monday for the pool cleaning. I'm not looking forward to scrubbing that thing out.

Thank you for listening, neighbor. Mayfair Watchers Society is based on the works of Trevor Henderson. Created by Trevor Henderson and Pacific S. Obadiah. Abernathy Rec Center was written by Pacific S. Obadiah. Lawrence was played by Russ Moore. James was played by Nate Dufort. Voicemail was played by Rissa Montanez. The dialogue editor was Jesse Hall. The sound designer was Brad Colebrook. The music was by Matt Royberger. The showrunner was Cale Brown.

The creative director was me, Trevor Henderson. The producer was Pacific S. Obadiah. And the executive producers were Tom Mullen and Brad Miska. The Bloody FM Show. For more information, visit bloody.fm.