The second part of The AnxietyPilled Pod episode on Lady in Pink by u/tina_the_rose is here! We hope you enjoy the exciting conclusion to this creepy tale!

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After a deliberation period from the judges, the winners will be announced in a special episode of the Anxiety Pilled Podcast! We hope you’ll tune in!

The new Anxiety Pilled Pod episode is here! This time, Batking and Top cover “Lady in Pink” by u/tina_the_rose. Spotify link can be found here!

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I. THE LIONS

Renalia the Swift was the first to breach the castle’s fortifications, true to her name. Perhaps the feat belonged to Gormund the Strong, who had used his massive warhammer to force his way through the battlement. But Renalia had stepped onto enemy territory first, and her blade was the first to lick the throat of an adversary.

He fell to his knees, hands clutching his gushing neck. Renalia didn’t know whether his pleading eyes longed to cling to life or for a swift death. He received neither. 

The infantry had moved forward now, cutting through the enemy forces with ease. Gormund’s booming chuckles echoed in his lion helmet as he brought his warhammer down over and over again. A soldier tried to crawl away from the onslaught only for his torso to pull away from his legs. Once he was satisfied with the torture, the stout warrior ended his life by crushing his skull.

“At this rate, I’ll be at the tavern by sundown!” He chuckled again. His great stomach bobbing underneath his chestplate. 

Leonard the Brave spoke next, appearing from around a butcher’s shop covered in viscera. “The enemy slaughtered all their livestock before we arrived. Perhaps they expect the castle to fall.”

It was true, among the fighting and bloodshed there was pen after pen of mutilated animals. They looked as though they had been emptied of their blood and organs, dry husks.

The lion knights made their way towards the middle of the castle yard, countless opponents falling in their path. Renalia whipped around to block a sword strike from behind, teetering off balance for a moment. Regaining her stance she struck back. The man froze, not even attempting to guard against her attack. His head lopped off in one clean motion, but his body stayed standing. Puzzled, Renalia placed her palm on the body to push it over, and felt his chest swell with a drawn breath.

Suddenly, a pig's head burst outward from within the severed stump. It squealed and dribbled blood from its tusk filled maw, eyes wild and frightened. Without picking up its sword, the beast charged at Renalia. Her shock prevented her from assuming a stance, instead holding her sword out in front of her timidly. The pig headed man leapt at her, the sword entering its mouth. It charged until its lips reached her cross-guard, and then went limp.

The screaming began shortly after, the infantry was being killed in droves. There were men with cow udders exploding through their armor. Chicken beaks pulled eyes from men and plucked bleeding holes in helmets. Renalia, still panicking, struggled to pull her sword from the mouth of the pig beast. She felt a hot tongue lap at the back of her neck, and turned around only inches from the sideways pupils of a goat. Ribs crunched as she was rammed. The monster reared on its back legs, the only remnant of humanity left was a human face on its underside, frozen in fear.

Leonard was dragged to the middle of the castle yard, onto a great podium designed for entertainment. His helmet was missing, and so was his golden hair. He blinked the blood from his maimed scalp out of his eyes. A man lifted his head, forcing him to face the crowd. He had the eyes of a sheep, and the legs of lambs dangled from his body like a robe of flesh. Leonard’s throat was slit as the horrors spectating below lapped at the blood running down the podium with overgrown tongues.

Gormund swung his war hammer, but the bull horns jutting out at every angle from his opponent's body worked better than any armor. His back to a wall, he fought valiantly. With her dying breath Renalia watched the creature pin him to the wall, where they both became stuck. After a short bout of squirming, both bodies fell lifelessly to the ground.

II. THE CRESCENT MOONS

General Marinus approached the nameless exile’s dilapidated shack with trepidation. It took one knock on the door before it creaked open. Sitting around a collection of wet specimens and animal skin bound books, the exile was waiting.

“You’ve come to visit me, general?” The exile croaked. His throat inflated like a frog’s pouch under his cloak. “I presume three hungry lions are snarling at your doorstep?”

“The Castle of the Crescent Moon cannot fall.” The general's voice came out shaking. His eyes darted across the exile’s features. Two arms with leathery green skin had emerged from his oversized clothing.

“But it shall, you’re outnumbered and outclassed. So you came crawling back to me.” The fetid exile laughed, but it sounded more like a cricket’s chirp. He drummed his gnarled fingernails against his workbench, lined with tools encrusted with blood and mucus. Marinus let the pouch of gold pieces drop onto the table.

“Once you give me that gold, I’ll be true to your request. A spell cast cannot be undone. Make sure that’s what you truly desire.”

“Tell me what I must do.”

“Just before the battle, slaughter all your livestock, the more the better. Leave them to bleed and waste in the grass. The sorcery will do the rest, old friend.”

Marinus shuddered at being called a friend by the cursed being. He tried to remember his old compatriot's appearance, but could only conjure the image of the overgrown amphibian in front of him.

“All you require is our livestock? That can be done.”

The exile leaned forward, two golden beady eyes glinting in the light of the small cobwebbed windows. “That is the catalyst, yes.”

Marinus couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of relief. Losing the livestock would be well worth preventing the castle from falling. He left the gold and walked the way he arrived. Through the cracked window he could hear the exile’s gurgling, disgusting laugh.

I. THE LIONS

Renalia the Swift was the first to breach the castle’s fortifications, true to her name. Perhaps the feat belonged to Gormund the Strong, who had used his massive warhammer to force his way through the battlement. But Renalia had stepped onto enemy territory first, and her blade was the first to lick the throat of an adversary.

He fell to his knees, hands clutching his gushing neck. Renalia didn’t know whether his pleading eyes longed to cling to life or for a swift death. He received neither. 

The infantry had moved forward now, cutting through the enemy forces with ease. Gormund’s booming chuckles echoed in his lion helmet as he brought his warhammer down over and over again. A soldier tried to crawl away from the onslaught only for his torso to pull away from his legs. Once he was satisfied with the torture, the stout warrior ended his life by crushing his skull.

“At this rate, I’ll be at the tavern by sundown!” He chuckled again. His great stomach bobbing underneath his chestplate. 

Leonard the Brave spoke next, appearing from around a butcher’s shop covered in viscera. “The enemy slaughtered all their livestock before we arrived. Perhaps they expect the castle to fall.”

It was true, among the fighting and bloodshed there was pen after pen of mutilated animals. They looked as though they had been emptied of their blood and organs, dry husks.

The lion knights made their way towards the middle of the castle yard, countless opponents falling in their path. Renalia whipped around to block a sword strike from behind, teetering off balance for a moment. Regaining her stance she struck back. The man froze, not even attempting to guard against her attack. His head lopped off in one clean motion, but his body stayed standing. Puzzled, Renalia placed her palm on the body to push it over, and felt his chest swell with a drawn breath.

Suddenly, a pig's head burst outward from within the severed stump. It squealed and dribbled blood from its tusk filled maw, eyes wild and frightened. Without picking up its sword, the beast charged at Renalia. Her shock prevented her from assuming a stance, instead holding her sword out in front of her timidly. The pig headed man leapt at her, the sword entering its mouth. It charged until its lips reached her cross-guard, and then went limp.

The screaming began shortly after, the infantry was being killed in droves. There were men with cow udders exploding through their armor. Chicken beaks pulled eyes from men and plucked bleeding holes in helmets. Renalia, still panicking, struggled to pull her sword from the mouth of the pig beast. She felt a hot tongue lap at the back of her neck, and turned around only inches from the sideways pupils of a goat. Ribs crunched as she was rammed. The monster reared on its back legs, the only remnant of humanity left was a human face on its underside, frozen in fear.

Leonard was dragged to the middle of the castle yard, onto a great podium designed for entertainment. His helmet was missing, and so was his golden hair. He blinked the blood from his maimed scalp out of his eyes. A man lifted his head, forcing him to face the crowd. He had the eyes of a sheep, and the legs of lambs dangled from his body like a robe of flesh. Leonard’s throat was slit as the horrors spectating below lapped at the blood running down the podium with overgrown tongues.

Gormund swung his war hammer, but the bull horns jutting out at every angle from his opponent's body worked better than any armor. His back to a wall, he fought valiantly. With her dying breath Renalia watched the creature pin him to the wall, where they both became stuck. After a short bout of squirming, both bodies fell lifelessly to the ground.

II. THE CRESCENT MOONS

General Marinus approached the nameless exile’s dilapidated shack with trepidation. It took one knock on the door before it creaked open. Sitting around a collection of wet specimens and animal skin bound books, the exile was waiting.

“You’ve come to visit me, general?” The exile croaked. His throat inflated like a frog’s pouch under his cloak. “I presume three hungry lions are snarling at your doorstep?”

“The Castle of the Crescent Moon cannot fall.” The general's voice came out shaking. His eyes darted across the exile’s features. Two arms with leathery green skin had emerged from his oversized clothing.

“But it shall, you’re outnumbered and outclassed. So you came crawling back to me.” The fetid exile laughed, but it sounded more like a cricket’s chirp. He drummed his gnarled fingernails against his workbench, lined with tools encrusted with blood and mucus. Marinus let the pouch of gold pieces drop onto the table.

“Once you give me that gold, I’ll be true to your request. A spell cast cannot be undone. Make sure that’s what you truly desire.”

“Tell me what I must do.”

“Just before the battle, slaughter all your livestock, the more the better. Leave them to bleed and waste in the grass. The sorcery will do the rest, old friend.”

Marinus shuddered at being called a friend by the cursed being. He tried to remember his old compatriot's appearance, but could only conjure the image of the overgrown amphibian in front of him.

“All you require is our livestock? That can be done.”

The exile leaned forward, two golden beady eyes glinting in the light of the small cobwebbed windows. “That is the catalyst, yes.”

Marinus couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of relief. Losing the livestock would be well worth preventing the castle from falling. He left the gold and walked the way he arrived. Through the cracked window he could hear the exile’s gurgling, disgusting laugh.

**The following is a transcript from a scrapped documentary, titled “The Fascinating Planet of Balthronia” narrated by the great David Attenborough. The documentary was designed to introduce the general public to the newly discovered planet and its inhabitants. The documentary was eventually scrapped due to fears of negative public reaction, and any information regarding Balthronia was heavily classified.**

In the far reaches of space, beyond the edge of the known universe, there exists….

Life

[Shot over the surface of Balthronia, showing several examples of alien plant life. Fungal beings with large stilted legs can be seen moving above the tree tops.]

This is the planet Balthronia.

In the face of this discovery, how does one even begin to understand the vast biodiversity that exists here? So similar to our own planet, yet so vastly different?

We start small.

[In the Balthronian underbrush, a small rodent-like creature’s head emerges from a hole in the ground.]

This rodent is similar to those that exist back on Earth, but the conditions of this planet require a small mammal to adapt in surprising ways.

[The creature's eyes begin to boggle like a rat’s, before extending approximately 5 inches.]

When the surface of your planet is hostile and competitive, its meekest residents find ways to observe the situation from afar. This pole-eyed rat has developed an impressive set of built in telescopes. Not only do they move independently, but they adjust in real time to a large range of distances.

Capable and cunning, she has also developed large digging implements on her forepaws. She is a master at hiding.

And luckily so.

[The rat disappears into the hole it came from, the tips of the eye stalks still peeking above ground. The shot changes to a clump of bluegreen moss. It pulls itself along with a single arm. A tail drags behind it.]

On this planet, staying in one place for too long spells certain death. Even the fungi are on the move. If it doesn’t find a host to attach to soon, it will run out of energy and become inert.

Our little rat wasn’t willing to stick around, this job just became much more difficult. Thankfully for this parasitic fungus, not all animals here are quite as attentive.

[A swollen amphibious creature is rooting around in a puddle of muck with its front legs. The front and back legs sport one large claw each. Its sky blue bulbous eyes are focused entirely on digging.]

This amphibian is overstuffed with valuable energy, and appears to be distracted. There is one chance to get this right. The fungus turns around, and uses its powerful arm to release a final burst of energy.

[The fungus launches itself onto the back of the amphibian. The tail plunges into the creature's body just behind the head. It goes limp, but continues to breathe.]

A great victory for the fungus, a reliable energy source. As long as the amphibian survives, the fungus will siphon its energy for several days.

[Suddenly, a four winged bird swoops from the tree line and grabs the amphibian and attached fungus.]

But sometimes, nature has other ideas.

While many of the creatures here are much like those on Earth, there are several that are far stranger, and far more fearsome.

[The scene changes to a large animal lumbering through the underbrush. At first it is barely visible, slowly making its way into view. Its head looks like a massive closed flower, with a slender body with countless legs. Its footsteps are completely silent.]

This incredible creature has a unique way of catching its prey. It is unlike anything we can see on our home planet.

[A pole-eyed rat appears from a hole, eyes extended and waggling in different directions. Both eyes land on the creature and the rat goes still. It is suddenly lifted from its home by an unseen force. The flower-like head peels open one layer at a time, steam emanating from within. Inside is a glowing green ball with two massive eyes that rapidly change colors. The now levitating rat is pulled apart, and the remains are pulled into the glowing ball. The head closes up again and the creature returns to the wildnerness.]

**I believe at this point the special was scrapped, I couldn’t find any more information about it. I truly wish we had the footage. Many will say this is fake, but I think someone wrote this transcript out in such detail because they wanted someone to find it. Let me know what you think.**

Now that the podcast is out and the winners are revealed, the winning stories and honorable mentions will be pinned here in all their glory! Give them some well deserved attention!

Honorable Mentions:

[From the Files of Site B5-39: A Box of Beauty]

by u/kabre_3600

[The Promise]

by u/Teners1

[Fragmentation Bog]

by u/CVPlath

Winners:

[The Box]

by u/Savings-Cut-3465

[Six Faces, Twelve Edges, Eight Corners]

by u/benjamin4463

[I can still hear it from inside the box]

by u/jadegreen88

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