Chapter Text
Night Vale, ████, at first glance, is a hard-to-find, but friendly desert community somewhere inland of the American West coast. The sun is absolutely scorching, and going outside on a summer day is akin to stepping inside an oven, but its got its own kind of charm, and even if every heat wave seems worse than the last, it always comes out of it kicking. It seems like every other small, isolated town, with the only thing special about it being that it's located in the middle of a desert.
That's your mistake, though.
Don't worry, I thought that too. After my grandmother broke her hip, my Dad and I drove down here to take care of her and make sure she didn't die. But she ended up dying anyways, and we inherited the house. At that point we'd been settled for around half a year, and my dad was too lazy to go back to our old town (and maybe he missed his birthplace), so we just decided to stay (which really speaks levels about what kind of person he is).
After the first few times of driving around, I noticed that things weren't as normal as I'd thought. The houses, although kind on the eyes with all of the charm of a weathered heirloom, didn't fit together- like a puzzle of only corner pieces. I tried walking Cheddar (our Pomchi), but the local dog park was completely barred up. Sometimes I'd look in the mirror and I'd see apparitions appear behind me, or I'd look out my bedroom window at night and see lights in the sky.
See, Night Vale isn't like most towns. While the argument could be made that most small towns had to have a certain level of surreality or they couldn't really be called a small town, Night Vale's supernatural lore is off the charts- to the point where it's less urban legend and more urban fact. In the seven years I've been here I've seen Clouds that rain roadkill, Waitresses with fruit growing out of their bodies, been terrorized by a faceless old woman in my own home- I've even had to fight my double.
Night Vale could have been labelled as an anomaly, if anyone that wasn't born there had known of its existence. The only visitors we've had in the last 20 years are Carlos, the scientist,-
and me.
Hi, I'm Daniel, and you're reading my blog. I'm a senior at NVHS, and I just got into an internship with Night Vale Community Radio to knock my credits out of the way before college. I'm 17, I like Gardening (even if most of the stuff I grow ends up dying), Writing, and home-brew coffee. I'm hoping to be a journalist and to one day spread the word about the town I grew up in, but knowing Night Vale, whatever I write is probably going to be wiped off the face of the earth- like most of it's public records.
I moved here when I was around 9, and officially settled down at 10. Despite the initial (horrifying) culture shock, I soon got used to it. Over time, the faceless old woman became more of a flatmate who occasionally steals our sugar than a haunting specter, and the once-alien lights in the sky, when looked at from a different angle, morphed into an aurora borealis.
I guess there's some sort of mysterious spirit-bond or blood pact or something between the citizens and the town itself, because when I first came here it felt like I was returning somewhere. I wouldn't say it's like I finally found my place in the world, but more like how you don't realize how polluted the air you breathe is until you're on a mountain peak.
Or maybe it was that. I used to live in the city, so my respiratory system might have just been thanking me for not beating it into the ground.
Oh, also I'm biologically incapable of feeling fear, which probably played a part in why I'm so well-adjusted- but I'm running short on time at the moment so I'll explain that later.
I’ve never been a journal guy, but I wanted to start typing stuff out in case I ever go missing. I’ve heard of the high fatality rate of interns at NVCR specifically, and I want to be prepared- I’ve even got my will written down in the drafts. I’ve found myself genuinely enjoying it, too, so maybe I am a journal guy. Oh, hold on- someone wants coffee. I’ve got to go, but I promise I will update soon!
If I survive that long.