"A Helping Hand"

**"A Helping Hand"** is the third tale in the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man has a strange encounter at a gas station. Written by Ryan Schwartz, it has a runtime of 21:55 and was performed by Alex Beal, David Cummings, and Jessica McEvoy. It is the 437th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Nathan goes on a long night drive, flipping through radio stations after learning that his girlfriend, Melanie, has been cheating on him with his best friend Travis. He stops to get gas at a station. As he pumps, he looks over and sees a man in a wide-brimmed hat suddenly appear at a pump down from his and begin spilling fuel onto the pavement. Nathan tries to tell him this, but the man simply turns to him and says he won't survive the night. He then pulls out a lighter and ignites the gas before disappearing.

The manager runs out of the store, yelling at Nathan for destroying the station. He jumps in his car and drives away just as he sees the rest of the pumps become engulfed in flames. Arriving at home, a UPS driver waiting there angrily hands him a package before speeding off.

Nathan takes the package inside, noticing that it's from Resting Rock Industries. He remembers where he heard that name before: a fire engulfed the large factory where the company had its headquarters, killing over fifty people including the three owners, who were found dead in the basement. A janitor suspected of the crime later committed suicide by drinking muscle relaxers and burning himself alive in his bathtub. His hands later went missing from the morgue.

Nathan opens the package to find a bottle of scotch and two glasses. Accompanying it is a note, asking to be let into the house. The man from earlier's voice suddenly comes from behind the front door, asking to be let in. The voice suddenly changes to Nathan's own before he begins pounding furiously on the door for over half an hour.

The TV suddenly blinks on by itself, showing Melanie and Travis sitting in a diner talking about how they are going to edge him out of their lives. Nathan goes to open the door before he stops himself. He suddenly receives a call from his mother, who says that her and his father are getting a divorce and that it's his fault.

Nathan gives in and drinks from the bottle, growing woozy and passing out on the couch. When he wakes up in the morning, he calls his mother, who doesn't know anything about a divorce. He goes out onto the front porch, only to see four pairs of severed hands sitting on the top step. He calls the police, who arrive shortly after. A cop takes them away and informs him that when the owners of Resting Rock Industries died in the fire, their hands were missing. He also takes the bottle of scotch.

A few days later, Nathan gets two letters in the mail. One is a toxicology report saying that the bottle of scotch was spiked with muscle relaxers. The other is a note from the man, who says he hopes he helped Nathan and that he may need some help of his own in the future. It is signed with his own name.

## Cast

Alex Beal as Nathan

David Cummings as man in the wide-brimmed hat/station owner/UPS driver/Travis/cop/voice on radio

Jessica McEvoy as Melanie/Nathan's mother