Below Threshold
Gideon Gale, Pt.4 — Thorson and Tailor test theories, and settle on a new course of action in their investigation
Welcome to my latest serial, There’s No Such Thing as Gideon Gale, where bereft Midwesterner Calder Thorson investigates an impossible phenomenon overtaking the airwaves in his small town.
Charismatic feature reporter Gideon Gale is a recent addition at KZMT Local. So why does everyone in Russet Lakes remember watching him as long as they’ve been alive? Well—maybe not everyone. For a select few, Gale’s reports appear only as static snow on the television. But something is interviewing these people, and Thorson intends to find out what it wants, before the whole town—and possibly the world beyond—falls under Gideon Gale’s spell.
Author’s note: apologies for the long break. I’ve spent the past several months rather busy in my personal life. I’ve also worked aggressively to finish my debut novel. I will publish an announcement a little later this summer.
Thank you all for your continued support!
—C
My elation faded quickly, as another thought nagged at me.
That couldn’t be right, I thought.
If Gideon Gale existed in sound, anyone who had their TV on mute would also see the static.
I thought back to my meal at Art’s Diner. Had the TV been on mute there? I was pretty sure I’d seen KZMT on with the subtitles. Someone would’ve noticed. Complained. Called.
Right?
I sank back into the chair.
Tailor folded his arms, sinking onto the edge of the mattress. “We have TVs all over the building down at the station. Most of ‘em are on mute, I think.” He had come to the same conclusion as me.
“We’re still missing something,” I said, shaking my head.
“This is still progress,” said Tailor. “We just need to tinker with the variables.”
Variables?
I stooped to pick up the remote from the well-worn carpet, then adjusted the volume so that it was a single tick mark above zero. Gale’s polished voice was barely a whisper. I turned back over my shoulder to face Tailor. “Do me a favor and crank the radio, would you? I want to see something.”
He reached over to the night stand, and switched on the combo clock radio, holding down the volume button until the song was so loud, some loose hardware began to buzz.
Satisfied that the noise had completely drowned out Gale’s voice, I turned back to the TV. Even though I couldn’t actually hear the news report, it kept right on playing. No static.
Rats. It wasn’t the sound then.
Or was it?
Curious, I double tapped the mute button. The program blipped in and out of existence like I was swapping over to a dead channel.
I frowned. Now things were getting weird.
I motioned for Tailor to shut off the radio. I did the same with the TV.
Gideon Gale’s smug face disappeared into a white starburst wink at the center of the tube, leaving me to look at my own reflection.
Despite the silence, my ears still rang from the radio.
No, I corrected myself, this wasn’t total silence. The room held a kind of background hum—blended together from the heater, mini-fridge, and fluorescent lights. I hadn’t even noticed it under the sounds of our conversation, or the TV—much like I hadn’t heard the TV beneath the blaring noise from the radio.
I faced Tailor with my back to the TV. “Do you think it has to be from the same screen?”
Tailor just frowned.
“The static, I mean. For instance—what if every screen in your station was on mute, except for one, somewhere in the building?”
“That’s for strange,” He said, stroking his chin. “If we had another tape, we could rent another room, and play them on two TVs at once. I could go make a copy, and come back.”
“No,” I said without hesitation. “We need to figure out how he works. Until then, I don’t think it’s smart to make copies.”
“Oh, well, we’ll have to wait for his next broadcast then. And that won’t be ‘till Monday.”
And what would mister Gideon Gale be up to in the meantime, I wondered. “I never like to sit on my hands. I wish we had a lead to run down in the meantime.”
“What about the Gulpin’ Gull?” Tailor asked.
“What about it?”
“Well, suppose this Mysterious Richard guy still does shows there. We could ask him how he met Gale, maybe even where to find him.”
“Now that sounds like a lead.”
Thank You for Reading
If you have any insight into the Gale investigation, please consider sharing in the comment section. Again, this is an ongoing process, and I will do my best to respond to your comments.
If you or a loved one has an encounter with Gideon Gale, or believe you have met a similar entity in your own locality, please reach out via email to calderthorson@gmail.com. Just throw SIGHTING in the subject line, so I know right away what you’re writing about.
Do make sure you’re subscribed to Cole’s Chapters. This is where you can expect updates on my little investigation. And remember, until we meet again: there is no such thing as Gideon Gale.