"Andy's Place"

"Andy's Place" is the third tale in the third episode of the fifteenth season of The Nosleep Podcast. It concerns a boy who makes a friend with a playground in the woods. Written by Meghan Hotz, it has a running time of 24:30 and was originally performed by Matthew Bradford, Jeff Clement, and Nichole Goodnight. It is the 1864th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy explains that since his parents travel for work, he moves around a lot. Due to this, he finds it difficult to make friends. When he is 12, his family moves to a Northwestern town, lush with forests. Often bored, the boy frequently explores the thick forests around his house. One day, while in the woods, he encounters another boy his age named Andy. Andy says he knows a place where they can find large slugs, but the boy has to keep the place secret. Deep into the woods, they come across a clearing with an abandoned looking playground. All of the equipment is disheveled and broken, almost like someone had used the area as a junkyard. The centerpiece of the playground is a massive wooden play structure with 3 levels.

The boy's parents never knew about the playground, always returning home before they got back from work. He realizes he finally has a friend, playing in Andy's place often. Every time he goes, there seems to be another piece of playground equipment or mushroom to investigate. The boy almost tells his parents about the playground, but keeps his promise to Andy to keep it secret. Andy strikes him as both intelligent and ignorant, knowing specific scientific facts about plant and animals in the forest but asking the boy if Canada is a real place or who the current president is.

One day, Andy and the boy are laying in the grass when he pulls out some comic books. Andy asks what it is, and he answers with the name of the comic book. When Andy asks what that is, the boy realizes that he doesn't know what a comic book is. He concludes Andy must have strict parents that don't allow him to read comic books or anything deemed to have subliminal messaging. The comics become part of their daily routine, the boy even giving one to Andy to keep, which he cherishes greatly.

Some time later, the boy goes to meet Andy but doesn't find him. He attempts to go to the clearing to see if Andy went there without him. However, he is unable to locate it, walking for 15 minutes when it normally only takes 5. He becomes completely lost, although sure that he didn't take a wrong turn. He eventually stumbles upon Andy, with him explaining that only he can find it. It takes only two minutes to arrive at the playground. The boy tries to find the place without Andy again, although gets lost again.

He decides to stay home for a few days, not talking to Andy. When he returns, Andy seems concerned but doesn't bring it up. Things return to normal, the boy almost forgetting about the strange occurrences. While drawing in the mud with sticks, they both declare each other as best friends.

While playing pretend one day, the boy falls off of the wooden play structure and hurts his arm. Andy quickly jumps to the boy's aid, helping him out of the hole he fell into. The boy says they need to call his mom, Andy giving him a confused look. He stands up, body full of adrenaline and preparing to leave. Andy seems shocked that he's leaving, with the boy explaining he needs to get home.

His arm is fractured, causing him to stay in the hospital for a few days. He laments that he has to explain what happened to his mom, although instead of break his promise to Andy he says nothing. His mom then assumes that he was attacked by bullies or a hit and run driver, or something else that the boy may be too afraid to tell her. Her worry guilts the boy into telling the truth, causing his mother to be confused about the playset and Andy. He explains that they've been playing all summer at an old playset. His mother asks why he kept it a secret, the boy only shrugs.

She returns to the hospital a few days later, explaining to him that she went to all the neighbors looking for Andy's parents and explaining the dangers of playing on old playground equipment. None of the neighbors know what she's talking about, no one knowing a kid named Andy. No one in the neighborhood even has a boy Andy's age. The boy brushes this off, saying he must live on the street over and that he'll ask Andy the next time he sees him.

His parents then break the news that they're moving soon, for good this time. The boy is disappointed, although understands that it was inevitable. He feels guilt that they are moving soon, but decides to go out to the woods to find Andy. Upon finding him, they go back to the clearing. He tells Andy that he's moving again, Andy becoming upset. The boy says it's not far, although Andy doesn't listen to reason. Andy becomes angry, the boy considering going home. He gets the same anxiety that he felt upon getting lost in the woods. The playground begins to change, although in a subtle way. The plastic animals look at the boy, the slugs crawling everywhere, more fog sets in, among other things. The boy begins to back away while Andy sobs, crying out that they're supposed to be friends. His voice becomes more and more unsettling, his voice sounding like he's speaking through a metal drum. The pity the boy feels morphs into fear, noticing Andy's reflection off of a metal slide. It appears painted and propped up. Andy continues to cry out that they're best friends, the boy fleeing as he begs him to stay.

He never sees Andy again. He laments that fact that he never went back, saying Andy was his friend. Years later, he tries to find evidence of Andy online but nothing turns up. Upon getting his first car, he drives to the small town he used to live. He finds that the massive forest outside his house was so thin that he can see the next street over, realizing that it had always been that way. The boy says that Andy and his place had to have been real, but is puzzled as to where he actually spent his summer. He wonders what would have happened if he had stayed that day, his guilt over what happened keeping him up some nights. The boy then wonders if Andy ever found another best friend.

## Cast

Matthew Bradford as the boy

Jeff Clement as Andy

Nichole Goodnight as the mom