PseudoPod 64: Connecting Door
Connecting Door
by Richard E. Dansky
They weren’t even trying to be quiet now. The idea of keeping it down had become a joke, a sort of high-decibel sotto voce. Ian felt red rage bubbling up within him, and hammered on the door with the flat of his hand. “Come on, you assholes, cut it out! I need to get some sleep here.” More pounding, hard enough to hurt now. “Would you please just keep it down, or so help me God, I’m coming in there and I’m going to kick your asses!”
There was no laughter now. No noise. No profanity. Just silence. Ian hit the door once more, mainly out of momentum. His hand made a weak, wet noise, a soft slapping sound. He drew it back, suddenly unsure of what to do next. Keep pounding? Go back to bed? Wait?
A sound came from the other side of the door then, a quiet, rasping noise accompanied by whispers and titters. It took Ian a moment to realize that it was the sound of the chain being pulled off the door on the other side of the wall. The noise from the street seemed to vanish. The door in front of him loomed larger, brighter, and more threatening. Suddenly, he was acutely aware of the weakness of his situation, of why a middle-aged man in his underwear should not threaten multiple obnoxious drunks in the middle of the night.
About the Author
Richard E. Dansky
Widely regarded as a leading expert on video game writing and narrative, Richard Dansky has worked on franchises such as The Division, Far Cry, Splinter Cell, Assassins Creed, and more. He is the author of The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You, and co-authored the upcoming horror graphic novel Bridgewater with French comics legend Matz. Richard has published 8 novels and 2 short story collections, with his next novel, Nightmare Logic, scheduled for release in 2026. He has worked extensively in tabletop RPG writing as well, having been a core contributor to White Wolf’s classic setting The World of Darkness. Richard is also pretty sure he is the only working horror writer to have won PC Gamer Magazine’s coveted “Mission Pack of the Year” award, and he was briefly the world’s leading expert on Denebian Slime Devils.
About the Narrator
George Hrab
Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer, and heliocentrist George Hrab has written and produced six independent CDs and a concert DVD; published two books; and has recorded hundreds of episodes of The Geologic Podcast. He’s traveled to four continents promoting critical thinking, science, and skepticism through story and song. George is considered one of the preeminent skeptic/science/atheist/geek-culture music icons currently living in his apartment.
The New York City premiere of George’s composition for string quartet and voice called “The Broad Street Score” will be on May 12th, 2016 at NECSS, the North East Conference for Science and Skepticism.
