Campaign Chronicles

KMEL-13: THE STATION Location:  Fairview, Illinois Building:  Single-story, gray cinderblock television and radio station Primary Function: Independent local television broadcasting and community-produced programming. Operating Hours: KMEL-TV operates on a variable production and broadcast schedule. KMEL 96.9 FM broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An overnight radio announcer is normally present even after the television studios close. Broadcast Services: KMEL-TV, Channel 13; KMEL 96.9 FM, “The Camel” — Where Every Day Is Hump Day! Radio format: Classic Rock and the Hits of Today! Transmission Tower: 300 feet. Television Broadcast Range: Approximately 35 miles under normal conditions, with fringe reception extending to 50 miles. FM reception varies with terrain and receiving equipment. APPROACHING THE STATION      The county road climbs steadily through the surrounding countryside, passing cornfields, scattered farmhouses, and stands of tree...

Episode 1 - not mentioned by name, had something to do with radioactive slime Episode 2 - Iron Snout - The Behemoth with the Tongue of Doom ; a kaiju film about an anteater told from the perspective of a termite mound Episode 3 - The Three Little Pigs Meet the Wolfman ; a monster-movie spin on a childhood story. Each of the Pigs is a variation on one of the Three Stooges with the Wolfman destroying their houses, one after another. Episode 4 - It Came from Beneath the Bleachers ; an ancient spirit possesses a high school football mascot costume and begins slaying the "popular kids" in increasingly comical and outlandish ways. Episode 5 - Laser Lobster vs. the Subterranean Horde , a cold war experiment is Maine's last defense against Mole-folk invading from the depths of the earth. Episode 6 - The Blood Fog of Black Harbor , a red mist drains blood from inhabitants of a small fishing town. The mist is made up of microscopic deep-sea parasites that have been disturbe...

THE BUS STOP Dusty pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward town. The tension in the air was thick. The only sounds were those of the tires on asphalt and the purr of the engine. Greta sat up front in the passenger seat, giving Dusty directions and in less than five minutes, the van pulled up to the bus stop and its shelter. He parked and killed the engine. Everyone sat quietly for a moment. Then Greta threw open her door and stepped out of the van. She grabbed the handle of the sliding door and pulled it open, allowing everyone else to get out. The streetlight buzzed overhead, casting a harsh yellow-white glare. The glass shelter reflected everyone's movements as they piled out. Professor Avery switched on his EMF scanner and was sweeping the area. Max placed the oscilloscope on the front passenger seat and got it started before digging out a rugged-looking camcorder and hitting the "RECORD" button. Greta pointed at the shelter. "That's where it was,...

SATURDAY MORNING Greta arrived at the television station early and went inside, still shaken be what she saw on her ride home. She found Dusty smoking in the breakroom, a cup of coffee sitting in front of him. Lionel stood by the counter, getting another pot started. Chet walked in behind her, his dog, Ralph at his side. The golden retriever slid his nose under Greta's hand, prompting her to pet him. She obliged, feeling slightly more normal. "Guys, I want to ask you something," she started. "Have you ever seen anything that wasn't really there?" Dusty blume out a long plume of smoke. "Kid, I toured with Pink Floyd in the 60s. I have seen lots of $^%@ that wasn't there." Chet huffed a laugh. Lionel cracked a smile. Greta rolled her eyes. "I'm serious." Dusty stopped and looked at Greta, studied her. His humor drained away but his tone was still warm, soft. “Yeah,” he says finally. “I’ve seen things that weren’t there.” Avery ...

PROFESSOR AVERY AND MADAME CELESTINE Early Friday evening. Lionel Avery was sitting in the station breakroom having a cup of coffee, having just finished setting up the experiment he was planning to tape for his show the next morning. Madame Celestine was seated across from him. The two, scientist and psychic, had been talking. "Correlation is not causation, Celestine. Humans are pattern-seeking creatures. We find meaning whether it exists or not." He passed her a mug filled with coffee that had been sitting for an unknowable amount of time. Celestine smiled faintly, reaching for a packet of creamer. "And scientists are certainty-seeking creatures, Lionel. You reject meaning if you can't see it under a microscope." The professor stirred his coffee. "Be that as it may, if psychic divination were valid, it would produce measurable, repeatable outcomes." "Not everything meaningful is mechanical, Professor." She drew her tarot deck from a poc...

  CHEF  CHET Another week goes by. Greta doesn't see anything unusual, no hazy figures in doorways, no lurking shadows looming in the cornfields on her way home. There was still tension between her and her mother, Margaret, but there had been no further mention of Greta's hair, fashion sense, or television show. As Friday rolled around, Greta, with a homemade tesla coil, an octopus puppet dressed in a lab coat, and her notebook tucked carefully into her backpack, rode out to the station. As she pulled into the gravel parking lot, she spotted "Chef Chet" unloading some plastic bins from the back of his station wagon. His dog, a golden retriever named Ralph, stood off to one side, sniffing the gravel along the building. Chet nodded in her direction, and she rode over, leaning her bike against the side of the building. "Morning, Goblin Queen." "Climate Goblin," she corrected automatically. "You're here on a Friday?" "Yeah, Lione...