"The Crawlers"

**"The Crawlers"** is the sixth tale in the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a boy wonders if a legend his friend told him is true. Written by Jimmy Juliano under the pseudonym "Chance Patrick", it has a runtime of 29:50 and was performed by David Cummings. It is the 404th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy, Chance, is hanging out on a summer afternoon with his two friends Mike and Tommy. Tommy is the tallest kid in their class while Mike is short and gangly. Mike asks if any of them have heard of "the crawlers", to which both reply no. He says that the crawlers are creatures that crawl through your backyard at night. There are three rules you must follow. One, don't shine a light on a crawler or it will sneak into your house and kill you. Second, if you go outside to meet a crawler but open your eyes to see it, it will kill you and take over your life, mimicking you. Third, if you meet a crawler but keep your eyes shut the whole time, you will be granted a wish.

Mike pedals home, his leather sneakers gleaming in the sun. Chance is enthralled by the story but Tommy thinks it's untrue and claims that Mike made it up to get attention. That night, Chance stays up to try and spot a crawler. He thinks he sees one crawling along the treeline behind his house, with pale skin and long limbs. It turns its head to look at him and he ducks below the window before falling asleep.

He tells Tommy the next day what he saw, but he thinks that Mike faked the crawler to get a reaction. He explains that Mike's parents have been fighting a lot and that he's starved for attention. That night, Chance sleeps in the backyard with the hopes of getting a wish. He hears the crawler coming towards him and squeezes his eyes shut. The crawler begins poking at him before he suddenly blurts out that he wants a dog. He hears the crawler leave and falls asleep. The next morning, Chance finds a puppy waiting on his back porch, which his parents let him keep.

Tommy is skeptical the next day, claiming that Mike can't stand his parents fighting and crawls around in the garden to cope. He says that Mike must have faked the whole thing and found a dog somewhere to give to him. Unsure, Chance decides to try again.

That night, he again sleeps in the backyard, waiting for the crawler to arrive. When it does, his wish is that his friend Mike's parents will stop fighting. Though he doesn't open his eyes, he think he hears Mike sobbing before crawling away.

A few days later, Mike's parents divorce. No one mentions the crawlers again. Three years pass and he gets better, growing in height and becoming more confident. Chance drifts apart from Tommy. One night, he has Mike over to watch a movie. Mike falls asleep and Chance goes into the kitchen to get some water only to see a crawler in his yard.

He remembers the first rule and turns off the kitchen lights. The crawler turns to look at him and Chance realizes it looks like Mike. It wears a pair of leather sneakers on its feet. Chance drops below the window for a few minutes, thinking. He looks back out just in time to see the crawler disappear into the woods.

Years pass. Mike graduates at the top of his class and marries the love of his life. Chance remains good friends with him. He often thinks back to that night and wonders if what he saw was real, that the true Mike and a crawler switched places, the creature becoming a better version of him and him becoming a crawler. He concludes that he will never know the true answer.