S03E01: The Starting Point

Summary

Bunker 8 - Season 3, Episode 1: "The Starting Point"

Overview

In the premiere episode of Season 3 of Bunker 8, titled "The Starting Point," listeners are reintroduced to Jack, a hardened Australian ex-soldier grappling with his past while embarking on a new, enigmatic mission. Set against a backdrop of unsettling global anomalies, the episode delves deep into themes of loyalty, trauma, and the quest for redemption. Through intense dialogues and atmospheric storytelling, Bunker 8 continues to build its reputation as a gripping horror and sci-fi audio drama.

---

Reunion at the Bar

The episode opens with Jack seeking solace in a local bar, where he unexpectedly reunites with Frank, a fellow soldier and old friend. Their interaction is laden with unspoken history and mutual understanding of their shared past.

• Frank: "Well, I'll be damned. Jack. It's good to see you." [03:52]

• Jack: "Hey, Frank. Yeah. Yeah, it's been a long time." [03:58]

Their conversation quickly reveals the deep bond forged through their military service, hinting at past missions that have left lasting scars on both men.

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Personal Struggles and Lingering Trauma

As the night progresses, Jack and Frank discuss their current lives, each wrestling with personal demons and the aftermath of their experiences. The dialogue poignantly captures their struggles with PTSD and the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian life.

• Frank: "Yeah, I've been trying, Jack. Therapy, breathing exercises, but the dreams still come. The smells, the screams." [09:44]

• Jack: "Just every damn day." [09:38]

Frank expresses a desperate yearning for peace, while Jack reflects on the haunting silence that now fills his life, a stark contrast to the chaos they once navigated together.

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Mysterious Global Anomalies

Amidst their personal conversations, the episode interjects a news reporter's segment detailing a series of unexplained global phenomena. These events add a layer of suspense and foreshadow potential threats that may intertwine with Jack's new mission.

• News Reporter: "Authorities are still investigating the disappearance of Red Hollow, a remote Canadian town that, according to aerial scans, no longer exists." [07:57]

• News Reporter: "In Montana, livestock were found gathered in perfect spirals across multiple farms. No sign of disturbance. No footprints. Just motionless animals, eyes wide open, as if frozen in place." [07:57]

These unsettling reports create a pervasive sense of unease, suggesting that the world is on the brink of inexplicable changes.

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Jack's New Assignment

The crux of the episode revolves around Jack receiving a clandestine assignment from Colonel Maddox, a figure shrouded in mystery and distrust. This mission propels Jack back into the depths of covert operations, hinting at connections to the enigmatic Bunker 8 facility.

• Jack: "I've got something coming up. It's nothing steady. Just one of those jobs, you know." [05:18]

• Frank: "You remember what he did? You remember the orders he gave? Who we left behind?" [11:26]

Jack reveals that Colonel Maddox has provided him with coordinates for this new mission, signifying a leap of faith into unknown dangers. His decision to collaborate with Maddox underscores the desperation and limited options available to him.

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Emotional Bonds and Unwavering Loyalty

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to exploring the unwavering loyalty between Jack and Frank. Their past is marked by life-threatening missions where Jack's actions saved Frank, fostering a sense of indebtedness and mutual dependence.

• Frank: "But I know you did. Sometimes I think that night was the last good thing anyone ever did for me." [15:01]

• Jack: "Have. You... You would have done the same if I was in your situation, you would have done the exact same thing." [14:43]

This heartfelt exchange emphasizes the profound impact of their shared history, highlighting themes of sacrifice and the lingering effects of war.

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Departure and Foreshadowing

As the night winds down, Jack makes preparations to leave, signifying the beginning of his new journey and the uncertainties that lie ahead. Frank's warnings about the potential personal cost of Jack's mission add a layer of foreboding to the narrative.

• Frank: "Whatever this job is, don't let it take what's left of you." [16:10]

• Jack: "Yeah. Yeah, I think it's. I think it's a little too late for that." [16:15]

The episode concludes with Jack boarding a taxi to his new assignment, setting the stage for the unfolding mystery surrounding Bunker 8 and the broader cosmological disturbances hinted at in the news reports.

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Production and Credits

Bunker 8 continues to impress with its independent production values. The episode is written and edited by Dean Smyth, featuring voices from Brendan Berg as Frank, Phil Ho as David, and Dean Smyth himself as Jack. The show's commitment to high-quality storytelling is evident in its detailed character development and immersive soundscapes.

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Conclusion

"The Starting Point" effectively bridges the personal turmoil of its protagonists with a larger, enigmatic plot that promises to unravel the secrets of Bunker 8. Through rich dialogue and suspenseful storytelling, the episode lays a strong foundation for the season, inviting listeners to delve deeper into Jack's journey and the mysteries that await him.

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Notable Quotes

• Frank: "We don't get to... You always had a way with words." [12:53]

• Jack: "It's like breathing underwater. You forget what it's like until you finally come up for air." [12:45]

• Frank: "You never had a way with words." [12:53]

These quotes encapsulate the emotional depth and complexity of the characters, highlighting their internal battles and the fragile threads holding their bond together.

---

Bunker 8 Season 3, Episode 1 sets the stage for a season filled with psychological tension, mysterious phenomena, and the enduring struggle of its protagonists to find peace amidst chaos. As Jack embarks on his new mission, listeners are left anticipating the revelations and challenges that lie ahead in this enthralling audio drama.

Transcript

[Jack]

Hey everyone, it's the Midnight Mystery here. Just popping in to check if you've ever thought. Wow. I love this show but these ads are slowly destroying my will to live. Well, we have some good news. The Midnight Mystery has officially started a Patreon. By joining, you'll get early access to ad free episodes, exclusive miniseries and behind the scenes extras. Plus you'll be supporting independent creatives who pour everything they've got into making these stories. Every bit of support helps us keep the lights on, the mics recording and the weirdness flowing. The link to the Patreon is in the description below. So thank you so much for being here. We seriously couldn't do this without you. Let's get into the episode.

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[Jack]

Recovery.

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[Jack]

Bunker 8 is a horror and Sci fi Audio Drama that explores disturbing themes and intense moments. Some content may be unsettling for certain listeners. Listener discretion is advised. The Midnight Mystery Presents Bunker 8 Season 3 Episode 1 the Starting Point.

[Frank]

Well, I'll be damned. Jack. It's good to see you.

[Jack]

Hey, Frank. Yeah. Yeah, it's. It's been a long time. Hey.

[Frank]

You look like hell.

[Jack]

Yeah, well, you're not really glowing yourself.

[Frank]

Still got that charming attitude, huh?

[Jack]

Yeah, it's. It's good to see you, Frank.

[Frank]

How long's it been?

[Jack]

Shit, it's. It's been a while, hasn't it?

[Frank]

Yeah. Probably better we don't say.

[Bartender]

Hi there. What'll it be tonight?

[Jack]

Hey, can I get your cheapest, strongest whiskey that you got, please? That'd be great.

[Bartender]

No problem. Coming right up.

[Jack]

Thank you.

[Frank]

Still hate bars?

[Jack]

Ah, the bars are fine. It's. It's the crowds that I can't stand.

[Frank]

Some things don't change.

[Bartender]

Here we are.

[Jack]

Thanks.

[Frank]

You drink this stuff?

[Jack]

Yeah, it's cheap and, well, it does the trick. Cheers.

[Frank]

So, have you been really?

[Jack]

Well, I'm trying to keep a roof over my head. That's. That's about it.

[Frank]

Are you out here alone?

[Jack]

Yeah. Yeah, it's. It's easier that way.

[Frank]

You working?

[Jack]

I've got something coming up. It's nothing steady. Just one of those jobs, you know. And what about you?

[Frank]

Well, it's better than nothing. I've been applying to anything that'll take me. Office buildings, construction, even a damn shipping yard. Either I'm overqualified or they think I'm gonna snap.

[Jack]

They think that about all of us, huh?

[Frank]

Well, they're not wrong. Well, not always.

[Jack]

Yeah. Yeah, I hear that. How you sleeping these days? You sleeping all right?

[Frank]

Nope. You?

[Jack]

Not really.

[Frank]

Still get the dreams?

[Jack]

Sometimes. Mostly it's. It's just silence now. Feels worse somehow.

[Frank]

Yeah. You ever miss it?

[Jack]

Miss what?

[Frank]

I don't know. The noise, the structure. Knowing what each day is gonna be.

[Jack]

Yeah. I mean, I miss knowing where I fit, even if it was in hell.

[Frank]

Yeah. Everyone says it gets easier, right? You get out, you start over.

[Jack]

Yeah. Yeah, that was the plan, right? But I think we missed the part where it's supposed to get easier.

[Frank]

We sound like old men.

[Jack]

Yeah, I guess we are old men. Just wearing younger skin.

[Frank]

You heading somewhere after this?

[Jack]

Yeah. Yeah, that job, it's down south, but I. I don't really know much about it yet.

[Frank]

Dangerous?

[Jack]

Probably, but when is it not?

[Frank]

Yeah.

[Jack]

You need another one? Yeah. Thanks. I'll also grab another one for my friend here. Please.

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[News Reporter]

Authorities are still investigating the disappearance of Red Hollow, a remote Canadian town that, according to aerial scans, no longer exists. The region where the town once stood is now dense forest with no visible sign of roads, buildings, or human activity. Satellite footage from three days ago shows the town intact by the next morning, gone. This marks the third unexplained incident this month. Last week, an unseasonal cyclone tore through parts of the Mediterranean coastline. No warning, no buildup. Local residents described the sky turning black in seconds, followed by torrential rain that lasted precisely 13 minutes before vanishing two days later. Seismic activity was recorded in regions of Siberia, Sudan, and Nebraska, none of which sit on active fault lines. Scientists have yet to find a common cause. In Montana, livestock were found gathered in perfect spirals across multiple farms. No sign of disturbance. No footprints. Just motionless animals, eyes wide open, as if frozen in place. And this morning, a transatlantic flight lost contact for six minutes. When communications resumed, the pilots claimed they had flown into a stretch of sky with no stars. The FAA has not issued a statement so far. Government agencies are calling the events of unrelated, but growing numbers of researchers and citizens aren't so sure. Some believe we're seeing the early signs of something bigger. Something we don't have words for yet.

[Verizon Ad]

It's all.

[Frank]

You ever want. To just disappear. Not run, not hide.

[Jack]

Just every damn day.

[Frank]

Yeah, I've been trying, Jack. Therapy, breathing exercises, but the dreams still come. The smells, the screams.

[Jack]

Yeah.

[Frank]

It's like there's a part of me still out there in the dirt, still bleeding.

[Jack]

Yeah. It never really comes home, does it?

[Frank]

I do want peace. Just to sit on a porch somewhere, drinking a cup of crappy coffee with nothing on my mind, but I can't quiet my head long enough to even imagine it. It's like I'm rotting from the inside and nobody notices. Hell, I barely notice anymore.

[Jack]

Well, you ever think about getting out of the city? Finding some space, somewhere quieter? I mean, you really should. I mean it.

[Frank]

Sure. Then what? Live off canned beans and scream at the trees?

[Jack]

Yeah, maybe. Or maybe it'll just make you breathe that little bit easier.

[Frank]

Yeah, maybe. What about you? You said you've got something coming?

[Jack]

Yeah, it's. It's a quiet job Remote. I called in a favor from. From Colonel Maddox. He. He found something for me.

[Frank]

Maddox?

[Jack]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I reached out a few months back. Didn't think he'd return the call, but, yeah, he did. Gave me coordinates.

[Frank]

And you trust that bastard?

[Jack]

Listen, I don't trust any. Anyone. But I needed something and he was the only one who answered.

[Frank]

You remember what he did? You remember the orders he gave? Who we left behind?

[Jack]

Jesus, of course I remember. I remember every name, every face. God. I'm not saying I forgive him.

[Frank]

Why the hell are you working for him?

[Jack]

Because when no one else picks up the phone, sometimes you call the devil. You know, at least he'll pick up.

[Frank]

He's not the devil, Jack. The devil at least tells you when he's lying, Maddox. He makes you say thank you while he burns everything behind you.

[Jack]

Okay, I. I get it. You're not wrong. But right now, I've got nothing else.

[Frank]

Yeah.

[Jack]

Yeah, I've spent some so much time stuck in the past, replaying every mistake, every choice I should have made differently. But here, right now, it's. It's the first time in weeks I've actually stopped. Stopped moving, stopped thinking.

[Frank]

That's the closest thing to peace I've had in months. Sitting here, not thinking.

[Jack]

Yeah. You know, it feels like breathing underwater. You forget what it's like until you finally come up for air.

[Frank]

You always had a way with words.

[Jack]

Yeah. I guess that's what too much time alone does to you, eh?

[Frank]

Yeah.

[Jack]

Listen, if this job I'm doing works out, if. If I make it back, I'm. I'm gonna need a.

[Frank]

What do you need?

[Jack]

That's the thing. I. I don't know yet. But it won't be easy.

[Frank]

Doesn't matter. You call, I'm there. Doesn't matter what it is or where. I don't even have to understand it.

[Jack]

Appreciate that, Frank. But you do know, though, that kind of loyalty, it's. It's gonna get you killed one day, right?

[Frank]

Only if it's for the wrong person. You're not the wrong person. You know, I've never said it. That I owe you.

[Jack]

No. No, you don't.

[Frank]

I do. That convoy hit when the ridge lit up. Everyone else thought I was dead. Hell, I was dead.

[Jack]

Oh, come on. You are unconscious and just leaking a little bit of blood. It's not the same thing.

[Frank]

You dragged me three clicks under fire with a busted leg of your own.

[Jack]

Really? Three clicks? Damn, I didn't even count the distance.

[Frank]

I did. I remember waking up in that evac tent and thinking, no way I made it out of there. No way anyone came back for me. But you did.

[Jack]

If someone's in trouble, we don't leave them behind. That's the rule.

[Frank]

Plenty of people break the rules, Jack, especially when they're bleeding out themselves.

[Jack]

You would have done the same if I Was in your situation, you would have done the exact same thing.

[Frank]

Yeah, I don't know if I would.

[Jack]

Have.

[Frank]

But I know you did. Sometimes I think that night was the last good thing anyone ever did for me.

[Jack]

It wasn't about doing the right thing, though, Frank. I just couldn't watch another one of us get buried and forgotten.

[Frank]

Maybe. But still, thanks for dragging me back when I didn't know I wanted to come back.

[Jack]

You don't need to thank me, Frank. Just. Just don't let it be for nothing.

[Frank]

Yeah. That's why I said yes. By the way. The favor. You don't even need to ask.

[Jack]

You always were a stubborn bastard.

[Frank]

Takes one to know one.

[Jack]

All right, well, got something I need to take care of. But I really do appreciate this favor, though, Frank.

[Frank]

You're really going, huh?

[Jack]

Yeah. Yeah, I got to.

[Frank]

Just don't make a habit of walking out like this.

[Jack]

Yeah, well, I can't really promise anything.

[Frank]

Whatever this job is, don't let it take what's left of you.

[Jack]

Yeah. Yeah, I think it's. I think it's a little too late for that. Well, thanks, Frank. It was. It was really good to see you.

[Frank]

Anytime.

[Jack]

Taxi. Where are you heading? Yeah, can you take me to this address, please? Yeah, but it's going to cost you a little bit. Yeah, that's fine. Just. Just take me to that location. Okay? You got it.

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[Jack]

It's gonna be a pretty long drive. You mind if I put on the radio? Nah, nah, that's fine. Yeah, go for it.

[Bartender]

It's just past midnight here and strange reports continue to trickle in from around the country.

[Jack]

Country.

[Bartender]

We start in Maine, where multiple coastal towns reported a low humming noise last night around 2am the sound lasted roughly 12 minutes, shook windows and caused mild disorientation in residents. No official source has been found. Authorities are investigating reports of unexplained time gaps in the small town of Gundagai, New South Wales. Residents say they lost nearly six hours overnight, describing the experience as a sudden blast blackout. Witnesses report waking up in exactly the same positions they were in when the episode began, with no memory of what happened during the missing time. Local police have closed several roads in and out of the area while investigators and emergency services work to determine the cause. Officials are urging anyone who may have experienced similar blackouts to come forward. Meanwhile, a glacier in Patagonia is reportedly growing. Not receding, growing. Scientists say it advanced more in one day than it usually does in a decade. When asked, the lead researcher simply said, it's not melting, it's shifting. We'll keep following these stories as they develop. Stay with us.

[Jack]

Jesus Christ. World's falling apart. Can't even turn on the damn radio without hearing something worse than yesterday. Town vanishes. Cows doing crop circles. What the hell's next? Yeah, what's your World's going to shit. It sure is. Okay, it's just on the left here. All right, that will be $147.80. Here we are. Don't worry about the change, you can keep it. Great, thanks. Hello. It's good to see you again, David. Remember me? What? What the hell? You're gonna tell me where the hell violet is. Bunker 8 written and edited by Dean Smyth Story by Dean Smyth Starring Brendan Berg as Frank, Phil Ho as David and Dean Smyth as Jack Bunker 8 is made completely independently. So if you're enjoying the show, it would mean a lot if you would subscribe. Left a five star review and shared it with a friend. And don't forget to follow the Midnut mystery for more.

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[Bartender]

Yep.

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[Jack]

Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. Hey, folks. Looking for a whole new thing to be into?

[Frank]

Well, check this then. Check it out. We're the Sloppy Boys, and we're basically.

[Jack]

Like, pretty much the new classic guys.

[Frank]

We were in a comedy group called the Birthday Boys with Bob Odenkirk, and now we're an indie band. And we have a podcast about the drinks of the summer, like the Gator Bite or the Grape Gorilla.

[Jack]

And we have guests that are music people like Jeff Rosenstock or Stefan from the Band Pup or comedy people like Tom Sharply or Mitch from Doughboys.

[Frank]

Yeah, dude, we talk about TV and.

[Jack]

Movies and music like Turnstile or King Giz, and it's completely kind of cool. Ooh.

[Frank]

Give it a listen and check it out to see what you think. And don't forget that we're the new classic guys.

[Jack]

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