Unwell Season 3/Episode 10- The Sound of Her Voice
by Jessica Wright Buha
An uninvited guest
I miss you so, so much
We're not used to this here
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This episode features: Clarisa Cherie Rios as Lily, Joshua K. Harris as Rudy, Pat King as Chester, Kristen DiMercurio as Lulu, Miles Buha as Jamie, Michael Turrentine as Wes.
Written by Jessica Wright Buha, sound design by Eli Hamada McIlveen, directed by Jeffrey Nils Gardner, theme music composed by Stephen Poon, recording engineer Mel Ruder, associate producer Ani Enghdahl, Theme performed by Stephen Poon, Lauren Kelly, Gunnar Jebsen, Travis Elfers, Mel Ruder, and Betsey Palmer, Unwell lead sound designer Eli Hamada McIlveen, Executive Producers Eleanor Hyde and Jeffrey Nils Gardner, by HartLife NFP.
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INT. CAR - SUNSET
CAR RADIO PLAYS. RUMBLE OF ENGINE.
LILY: He was smart. She was smarter. He slows--
DISTANT CAR ENGINE SLOWS AND STOPS.
LILY: Oh, and stops. What's his plan. Who can say. Guess our hero is in for a stakeout, oooo. Taking this to the next level. Should've brought snacks.
Lily Harper, private eye, and snack-forgetter.
He's getting out, ah, shit.
CARDOOR SLAMS. FOOTSTEPS APPROACH THE CAR.
LILY OPENS HER CAR DOOR.
LILY: Hey, Rudy!
RUDY: Stay there.
DEEP SIGH. CAR DOOR OPENS. SQUEAK OF LEATHER AS RUDY GETS INTO THE CAR.
LILY: Wow. What are the odds, meeting you here? Very / random.
RUDY: You need to leave.
LILY: We need to talk. Your words, on the answering machine. Remember?
RUDY: Lily.
LILY: You remember.
RUDY: We can talk later.
LILY: Now's good.
RUDY: Look, I promise we can have dinner tomorrow and I'll explain what I can.
LILY: Explain everything, you mean.
RUDY: You know things are complicated.
LILY: Yeah. I get it. You're kinda in with the Delphics.
RUDY: Lily, I am trying to help you.
LILY: Which is why you lied to us about seeing Wes.
RUDY: No one was hurt.
LILY: So you did lie to us. Dammit.
RUDY: I needed some space to follow a theory.
LILY: We searched for three hours until Mom was in
hysterics. What is wrong with you?
RUDY: There are too many strings that need to be woven. together. I need to sort them, to parse them, to make sense / of it all.
LILY: Yeah, we're all trying to figure out this town, but it'll go faster if we work TOGETHER.
RUDY: PLEASE, just go. Right now, before you're seen.
LILY: By who.
CHESTER: (off) Rudy?
LILY: Oh dang.
RUDY: Too late.
LILY: A intimate dinner with Chester Warren, oooh. Am I
invited.
RUDY: It'll be too suspicious if you leave. I have to bring you as my date. But why would you be my date?
LILY: Because I have some questions that need answers.
RUDY: Because I'm in love with you.
LILY: Oh, Rudy. No.
RUDY: (to himself) Yes. That’ll justify any number of erratic
behaviors.
LILY: Well, you make up whatever story you want, cause I am gonna find out the who, and the what / and every single
where-when-why of this town.
RUDY: No. No. No, Lily, no. No questions.
LILY: Abbie's going to be so jealous they didn't come along.
RUDY: Listen to me! You're not curious, you are not at all interested in anything supernatural, or anything weird—you don’t even want to talk about it, it freaks you out.
Lily, okay?
LILY: So in return, I need... hm.
RUDY: I need an “okay.”
LILY: In return, you get me the whole story on Silas. Where he came from, what happened to his church, all that.
RUDY: Why don't you ask him yourself?
LILY: Cause I'm asking you.
RUDY: Sounds like you're in over your head.
LILY: Yeah, cause I'm the one shaking in my boots right now.
SHE OPENS HER DOOR.
LILY: Hey Chester!
(to Rudy) You coming?
RUDY: (sighs) Yeah.
INT. CHESTER'S LIVING ROOM - SUNSET
CHESTER: Well, welcome, welcome. Miss Harper, a drink?
LILY: I'm good for now.
RUDY: Apron looks lovely on you, Chester.
CHESTER: Kind of you, Rudy--I'm making spaghetti bolognese for the first time, and it is formidable. All the cookbooks say it is easy, and it is NOT. Forgive me, I have to go and stir it some more, always more and more...
RUDY: Chester! Allow me to assist you in the kitchen!
CHESTER AND RUDY EXIT TO THE KITCHEN. LILY IS ALONE.
RUDY: (off) Hey champ! Looking good, little man!
LILY: Should've taken that drink.
TINY FOOTSTEPS AS JAMIE ENTERS.
JAMIE: Hi.
LILY: Oh! Hello! I'm Lily. What's your name?
ADULT FOOTSTEPS ENTER.
LULU: Jamie, tell her your name.
JAMIE HIDES BEHIND LULU.
LILY: Jamie, got it. It's okay to be a little shy. Nice to meet you.
(to Lulu) I didn't know you all had a kid!
LULU: I'm sorry. I thought you two met at Dot's Halloween party.
LILY: Oh, no, uh distracted, I guess. And you're...
LULU: Lulu.
LILY: Right, sorry, Lulu. I'm Lily. Nice to meet you.
JAMIE: Yeah, we were just cleaning the house because we're having guests over.
LILY: And I'm the guest! You did it! It looks great.
This house is beautiful, Lulu.
LULU: Thanks.
LILY: What do they call this type? This 1920s style...
LULU: Craftsman style.
LILY: Yeah. Craftsman, lots of that warm wood. Really just.. lovely.
WHICH IS REALLY SURPRISING TO LILY. SHE HIDES IT WELL.
LULU: Thank you.
LILY: You're an architect, right? Did you design this?
LULU: Yep--planned it, designed it, even laid down some of
the foundation.
LILY: Here's a question. How do you resist just making the house look totally wild, just to make yourself laugh. Like, make the front look like a face--
JAMIE: Oh, yeah! That would be crazy.
LILY: Like where the windows look like eyes and the door is like a mouth--But then like, three hundred thousand dollars later, when it's all built, I'd be like, yeah, maybe not.
JAMIE: And if the house needed glasses, they could make really big ones.
LILY: And you could make the roof hang down to look like hair. / I guess I'm saying I admire your self-restraint.
JAMIE: Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me.
LULU: Thanks.
LILY: Yes, Jamie.
JAMIE: Would you like to see my maze?
LILY: Sure!
(to Lulu) That okay?
LULU: Do you mean the ones on paper or the one in the
backyard?
JAMIE: The backyard! It's gigantic.
LILY: Cool!
LULU: Lily, if you're sure--I don't mean to throw you to the wolves the moment you walk in the door.
LILY: No, I love it! I love kids--I was a camp counselor for a few summers. Best job I ever had--you just hang out all day.
LULU: Okay.
LILY: It's outside?
JAMIE: Yeah! It miiiiight be a little too snowy to see it, but maybe not.
LILY: Well, why don't we find out? Come on, get your coat!
JAMIE: Okay, Okay, I just have to---
SHUFFLE AS JAMIE GRABS HIS COAT AND PUTS IT ON.
JAMIE: There we go!
LILY: Which one do you like better, mittens or gloves.
JAMIE: I think I like gloves better.
RUSTLE AS JAMIE PUTS HIS GLOVES ON.
JAMIE: Because, as you can see, they have little tiny houses for my fingers.
LILY: Dinner's ready, in what, ten?
LULU: Maybe twenty.
LILY: Okay. We'll come in if we get too cold.
JAMIE ZIPS UP HIS COAT.
JAMIE: I won!
LILY: Ooooh, you beat me!
JAMIE: Okay, so the thing you have to remember about this
maze is that it's a little tricky.
LILY: I'm ready.
LULU: Hey, Lily. Thanks so much.
LILY: No prob! Kids rule!
BACK DOOR OPENS.
JAMIE: And you must be very careful because, as you can see, the giants like to throw rocks. And they go BOOM and hit us.
LILY: Gotcha, okay.
JAMIE AND LILY GO OUTSIDE. BACK DOOR CLOSES BEHIND THEM.
LILY: (d) I better put on my special helmet to protect me.
WE FOLLOW LULU AS SHE GOES INTO THE KITCHEN.
INT. CHESTER'S KITCHEN - SUNSET
CHESTER AND RUDY COOK.
CHESTER: Let me just taste it.
SLURP AS CHESTER TRIES THE SAUCE.
CHESTER: Hmmmm.
I'm adding more wine.
RUDY: May I?
SLURP AS RUDY TASTES IT.
RUDY: Chester! How dare you give this sauce a skeptical "hmmm." I think it's divine!
CHESTER: Does it need more basil?
RUDY: Ah-ah, not a fair question. Always more basil.
CHESTER: All right...
CHESTER SPRINKLES DRIED BASIL LEAVES INTO THE SAUCE.
CHESTER: Oh, Lulu, please don't leave Ms. Harper to wander all over the house!
LULU: Jamie's occupying her. I think we should begin.
CHESTER: I'm not sure Jamie should be left alone with Ms. Harper.
LULU: She wanted to see his maze. She was excited about it.
CHESTER: His maze is wonderful. I suppose it's technically a labyrinthos.
LULU: Chester, we must do it now.
CHESTER: But we don't normally leave Jamie alone with anyone unless they have extensive child care experience. It makes me nervous, Lou.
RUDY: Oh, bah. Lily's fine. Very trustworthy.
CHESTER: Is that true?
RUDY: Let me rephrase. Chester, she has a good heart. So good that it gets her into trouble. Jamie's fine.
LULU: He's fine. We need to begin.
CHESTER: Yes. Can you get the book?
LULU: I've got it in the room.
CHESTER: Good. Let's let this simmer...
Follow me.
RUDY, CHESTER AND LULU WALK.
CHESTER: Did you know that Lulu built this house?
RUDY: You did?
LULU: I did.
CHESTER: So when I asked for a few special features, she was able to accommodate them.
RUDY: Oooh. Like a secret room. One that holds its shape, preferably?
CHESTER: I should have asked for a secret room. I didn't think of it.
LULU: Well, we thought about it, but we wanted the closet space.
CHESTER: Right, no, that's right. I still go back and forth.
DOOR OPENS.
INT. CHESTER'S CLOSET - SUNSET
THEY'VE ARRIVED IN CHESTER'S CLOSET.
CHESTER: Anyway, this is the next best thing.
CHESTER CLOSES THE DOOR BEHIND HIM.
RUDY: Well, it's a lovely closet.
CHESTER: Ehhhhhhg...
CHESTER STRAINS AS HE LIFTS OFF A SQUARE FOOT OF THE FLOOR.
RUDY: We're going down?
CHESTER: Oh, no, I'm just--eeeh, let's get the second one--removing the subfloor...
SCRAPE. HEAVY CLUNK AS A SECOND SQUARE OF WOOD IS SET DOWN.
CHESTER: It's better if there's a connection to the ground.
RUDY: I see.
CHESTER CONSIDERS THE HOLE IN THE GROUND.
CHESTER: Rudy, do you know why we call ourselves the Delphics?
RUDY: Because you imagine yourselves as a forward-thinking institution, just as the Delphic Oracle of yore foresaw the future? Or is it because, just as with the Delphic Oracle, the ground tells you things?
CHESTER: The latter, Rudy. Because the ground tells us things. You underwent an orientation, before. Let us start with the initiation.
ZIP AS CLOTHES HANGERS ARE PUSHED ASIDE.
CHESTER: Where is it.
LULU: I hid it behind the action figures.
CHESTER: Yes!
A HEAVY BOX IS SHOVED ASIDE.
CHESTER: --I have a mint collection of Huey Blaster and the Doom Crew figurines. Every Saturday morning, nine am, there you'd find me, inches from the television, simply engrossed. Are you familiar?
RUDY: Didn't watch a lot of TV as a kid.
CHESTER SEARCHES IN THE DEPTHS OF THE CLOSET.
CHESTER: (d) Let me say that I watched a few clips the other day, and it holds up. Truly.
CHESTER EMERGES FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE CLOSET.
CHESTER: Here we are.
THE BOX IS SET GENTLY DOWN INTO THE HOLE [THE HOLE IS ONLY, LIKE, A FOOT AND A HALF DEEP]. THE BOX IS WOODEN, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A MILK CRATE.
RUDY: Nice box.
CHESTER SIGHS.
CHESTER: Not the most elegant setting for our most precious artifact.
RUDY: I think it's cozy.
CHESTER: I apologize for all the... irregularity, but Hazel and I could not agree on the timeline of showing you this. You see, typically, any interactions with the organ are saved until at least the bronze anniversary of one's ordination. So please, keep this under your hat for now.
RUDY: Got it.
Which organ's in the box, again?
CHESTER: Oh, not organ like human. Oh, dear me. Goodness me.
LULU: Rudy, like a steam organ.
RUDY: Oh, a calliope!
LULU: Very similar.
CHESTER: Unlock the lock and...
A CLICK AS CHESTER UNLOCKS THE LOCK.
CHESTER: Behold.
THE BOX IS OPENED, REVEALING THE CALLIOPE. TWENTY-FOUR BRASS STEAM WHISTLES GLEAM.
RUDY: Wow.
CHESTER: Invented in 1851 by Monsieur Tonnelier, given name unknown, who had, as do you, questions, that could not be answered. And so he found a way to communicate with the ones who came before. He designed it like a conventional steam organ except, of course, in miniature.
Twenty-five brass steam pipes, or whistles, here.
CHESTER GENTLY TAPS A FEW OF THE PIPES WITH HIS FINGERNAIL.
CHESTER: They're tuned to a chromatic scale. So Lulu tells me. I'm adrift when it comes to music theory.
RUDY: No keyboard.
LULU: We don't need one.
CHESTER: The first step is to light the firebox--I think traditionally they used seasoned hemlock, but we will use a Sterno can! Less smoky.
LULU: Crack the door.
CHESTER: Oh, yes! Sorry. Allow me.
CHESTER CRACKS THE DOOR OPEN.
CHESTER: That's all we need, to get asphyxiated.
RUDY: Then we wouldn't have to bother with the calliope.
CHESTER: Quite true. The next step is to pour in the water--I'll do it now. I have a little from the tank in Hazel's office.
CHESTER UNCORKS A GLASS JUG, AND POURS A FEW CUPS OF WATER IN.
CHESTER: Then we just wait for it to boil.
RUDY: That's not going to produce much steam.
CHESTER: Can't be helped. It needs aquam abyssi --"deep water"-- to function properly.
This is from the Old Well. It's been dried up for years.
RUDY: Which well?
CHESTER: It was under City Hall. What a blow when it went dry. So we must be judicious with what's left of our supply.
RUDY: A sad thing: the well that is no longer a well. What are you if you're not what you once were?
CHESTER: Things dry up. Bit of bad luck.
LULU: But we're not used to bad luck in Mount Absalom.
CHESTER: No, we're not.
THE WATER STARTS TO GENTLY BOIL/HISS.
LULU: Almost ready.
CHESTER: Should we start with Grandpa Warren?
LULU: I don't think that's necessary.
Rudy, what was her name?
RUDY: My mother? Julia Salvemini.
LULU: Salvenimi?
RUDY: SalveMINI, like tiny.
LULU: Salvemini.
RUDY: Yeah.
SOFT SOUND OF BOILING IN EARNEST.
CHESTER: It's ready.
LULU: All right. Let's turn the valve.
VALVE IS TURNED. SOME SORT OF NEUTRAL STEAM HISS/WHISTLE IS HEARD (THE DEFAULT SOUND OF THE CALLIOPE).
LULU: Greetings! I wish to speak to those who have gone before!
RUDY: That can't be necessary.
CHESTER: It's a formality.
STEAM SHRIEKS SOFTLY THROUGH THE D NOTE.
LULU: The request is granted. I summon the spirit of Julia Salvamini!
A FEW NOTES SOUND OUT.
LULU: Ask her something.
RUDY: What?
LULU: Go on.
RUDY: This is how I talk to her?
LULU: Yes.
RUDY: No.
CHESTER: Rudy, I don't know what you-- [were expecting.]
RUDY: Well, I wasn't expecting to get conned.
CHESTER BLUSHES DEEPLY.
CHESTER: The mechanics are of a steam organ... there are limitations...
RUDY LAUGHS QUIETLY TO HIMSELF.
RUDY: Oh, this is--[unadulterated bullshit.] Well, perhaps it's what I deserve.
LULU: Please. Ask her a question.
RUDY: All right, sure. Let's see how good you guys are.
Hey, "Mom"? So there's a thing that you kept a secret for many, many years, but one day I found out. What was it?
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS TWO SIMILAR CHORDS.
LULU: The secret from when you were young, or the one when you were grown-up?
RUDY: Young.
CALLIOPE PLAYS TWO NEW CHORDS.
LULU: Hm. Dawn water. Stone plant fire--that's probably a seed.
CHESTER: Dawn water...
LULU: Coffee?
Rudy, is it coffee?
SILENCE.
RUDY: How are you doing this?
LULU: I'm just listening to what she tells me.
RUDY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
RUDY: You did it.
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS SEVERAL NEW NOTES.
RUDY: What's she saying.
LULU CONSULTS A SMALL BOOK.
LULU: Verily, you are the sun-moon-stars to me.
RUDY: When I'm with you, my world is whole.
LULU: That's a better translation.
RUDY: She used to say that all the time.
Coffee. Yeah. Secret ingredient to her chocolate sheet
cake--adds a little somethin'.
CHESTER: Are you all right, Rudy?
RUDY: Is each note a word? Is that how it...[works?]
LULU: More like a concept.
CHESTER: Monsieur Tonnelier wrote a book explaining precisely
what each note means.
LULU: Well--[not exactly...]
RUDY: That's what that book is?
CHESTER: Yes.
LULU: I'll warn you, it's a guide, not a dictionary. There are so many things to take into consideration: the other notes
in the chord, the intensity, the context generally.
RUDY: Okay.
LULU: So this is Low C--
LULU TAPS THE LOW C STEAM PIPE GENTLY WITH HER FINGERNAIL.
LULU: It can mean stone or mountain or sturdy, depending on the context. C sharp is...
LULU TAPS THE LOW C SHARP STEAM PIPE GENTLY WITH HER FINGERNAIL.
LULU: This one's hard to describe, wilting, sunset, death, can also mean cold, Low D--
LULU TAPS THE LOW D STEAM PIPE GENTLY WITH HER FINGERNAIL.
LULU: --is house, home, structure,
RUDY: Mom, where are you?
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS A NEW CHORD.
RUDY: What'd she say.
LULU: Could you repeat that.
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS THE CHORD AGAIN.
CHESTER: That's a new one.
LULU: What is that, A, F, low C sharp, D, middle C? I need to write it down--needs more thought.
RUDY: What, is she in a different place than the others?
LULU: I've never asked where they are before.
CHESTER: Until they manifest themselves, surely, the ones who came before are nowhere. Or everywhere.
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS THE CHORD AGAIN
RUDY: What is she saying?
LULU: Sometimes, it’s best to take a holistic approach--what do I feel when I hear the chord.
RUDY: A, F, low C sharp, D, middle C. What do they mean.
LULU: A is growth--like a field or the act of rejuvenation. F is water. Low C sharp is dirt, or earth, or ground. D is tunnel, or under. Middle C is insect, or small--
RUDY: Under the water pipes, under the earth.
CHESTER: Well, that makes sense. She's here, underground.
RUDY: But her body is buried in Pennsylvania.
CHESTER: Their original bodies, surely, are inconsequential.
RUDY: Tell me where you are, Mom.
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS THE CHORD AGAIN AND AGAIN.
LULU: (translating) Underground. Underground.
CHESTER: I suppose it's a little strange that we never asked.
RUDY: What are you asking them, if not WHERE they are,
HOW they got there.
CHESTER: Rudy, the water is so precious--we must focus our questions on important information, about unknown events in the past, about the Revelator, about the weather.
RUDY: The weather?
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS A SIMPLER CHORD.
LULU: Through death comes enlightenment.
CHESTER: Exactly, Ms. Salvamini. By virtue of their existing in a... post-life state, their sphere of knowledge has been expanded. They become certainly what the ancients thought of as oracles.
RUDY: Like at Delphi, I see, I see.
CHESTER: They can warn us about events in the future. They've done so before.
RUDY: But how, Mom?
CHESTER: I'm so sorry, Rudy, but the water's running low and I must ask the standard questions.
RUDY: ... Okay...
LULU: I'm going to check on Jamie.
CHESTER: Thanks, hon.
DOOR OPENS AS LULU LEAVES.
CHESTER: Greetings, Ms. Salvamini! Chester Warren here, Grand Esteemed Leading Knight of the Delphic Order. And how is the Revelator today?
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS A SIMPLE CHORD.
CHESTER: The standard answer. Resting and waiting. And how do we protect our home?
THE CALLIOPE PLAYS TWO MORE CHORDS, LOWER.
CHESTER: Same as always. Protect the observatory.
RUDY: Which chord is observatory?
CALLIOPE PLAYS THE SECOND CHORD AGAIN.
RUDY: Thanks.
CHESTER: D, A, C. Home. ladder. Stone.
RUDY: How are you getting observatory out of that?
CHESTER: It's a building on a stone--a mountain, high up.
RUDY: Everywhere is high up if you're under ground.
CHESTER: "Observatory" is the standard translation of Home- ladder-stone.
RUDY: Let me see the book.
CHESTER: No.
RUDY: Just for a minute.
RUDY MAKES A LUNGE FOR THE BOOK.
CHESTER LEAPS UP, BOOK RUSTLING.
CHESTER: We are NOT TUSSLING OVER THE GUIDEBOOK.
THE NEUTRAL HUM/STEAM WHISTLE FADES. HISS OF THE LAST OF THE WATER EVAPORATING. THE CALLIOPE IS SILENT.
CHESTER: And now we're out of water. BLAST. Oh, I am very frustrated.
RUDY: If you let me see that notebook, you won't have to worry about sacred water.
CHESTER: How so?
RUDY: I'll promise you, I can get you as much as you want.
CHESTER: And where, exactly, are you getting all this aquam abyssi?
24.
RUDY: Fenwood House. There's some ritual Dot does with the tap water there--
CHESTER: The tap water?
RUDY: Yeah.
CHESTER: She uses the tap water for a ritual--you mean from the
sinks, like the kitchen sink?
RUDY: Yeah!
CHESTER: It couldn't be aquam abyssi.
RUDY: Why not? Fenwood is on well water. It's got that tang.
CHESTER: Oh, my mind is whirling.
Rudy, what was the ritual?
RUDY: It was, um...
MIGHT AS WELL BE HONEST.
RUDY: She asked me to pour some water on the floor of the observatory basement.
CHESTER: Over the seal.
RUDY: Oh, is there something sealed up under the observatory? Anyway, I'm sure that Fenwood House water is aquam abyssi enough for each of your intents and all of your purposes. The book, please?
CHESTER: You want the book, I want the house.
RUDY: Oh, you want the house? You want the house, I need the organ.
CHESTER IS SPEECHLESS. A WAY FORWARD.
CHESTER: That could be arranged.
(half to himself) Oh, I don't dare think of it. We could fortify it, protect it at last. Have to move fast with the Revelator on the loose. It boggles the mind to think he's been inside Fenwood House. And if he managed to slip past Dot twice, he'll do so again.
RUDY: Well, Thanksgiving was more Lily's fault than Dot's.
CHESTER: Why?
RUDY: She was the one who invited him.
CHESTER: She invited the Revelator into Fenwood House.
RUDY: Yeah.
CHESTER: That can't be.
RUDY: She likes him. She's always going into the woods to, I don't know, talk with him.
CHESTER: Oh, why, Rudy, why does she do that.
RUDY: She thinks he's lonely and she's nice. I guess.
CHESTER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.
CHESTER: Why did you bring her?
GOOD THING RUDY PRACTICED AN ANSWER.
RUDY: Because I'm in love with her. And I know it's not going to happen 'cause of several rock-solid reasons, but I guess I just like being in the same room as her. She's not a bad women, Chester, she--
CHESTER: She has a good heart and it gets her into trouble. You said that.
RUDY: Yeah.
CHESTER: She's so dangerous.
THE KITCHEN FIRE ALARM GOES OFF.
CHESTER: It's burning.
CHESTER RUNS OUT.
EXT. BACKYARD - DAY
STICK SCRAPES AS JAMIE DRAWS IN THE SNOW.
LILY: You ready, Jamie?
JAMIE: One second... okay! Now there's another three ways to choose.
LILY: This maze is getting wild.
LULU: Jamie, let Lily try it!
JAMIE: Okay, it's ready!
LILY: Great! I'm going in!
JAMIE: I'll give you just one warning: it's gonna be extra hard, because an enemy is blocking the finish, so you have to have a certain sword.
LILY: Okay. Where'm I getting the sword from.
JAMIE: You have to find it. It's hidden deep in the forest...
THE KITCHEN FIRE ALARM IS DISTANTLY HEARD.
JAMIE: What's that?
LULU: Is that the fire alarm.
LILY: Yeah, it's okay. Jamie, wait out here--it's probably just
the kitchen--
LILY AND LULU WALK TO THE BACK DOOR. LILY OPENS IT.
IN THE KITCHEN. A SMALL FIRE CRACKLES.
LILY: Oh, a fire. Perfect.
LULU: THERE'S A FIRE???
LILY: It's okay! Lulu, it's tiny.
LULU: CHESTER!
LILY: I got it. Okay, lid on this.
LILY SLAMS A LID DOWN ON THE POT.
LILY: Then turn off this--
CLICK OF BURNER BEING TURNED OFF.
LILY: Okay!
RUNNING FOOTSTEPS IN.
CHESTER: Is there truly a fire? Truly?
LILY: Well, it's out now. Think it's out. Don't lift that lid! Definitely contained to the pot.
CHESTER: There's so much smoke.
LILY: You know, there's a trick--you can use the back door to fan the kitchen. Lemme show you.
FOOTSTEPS TO THE BACK DOOR. DOOR SWINGS OPEN AND CLOSED.
LILY: Lulu, you want to get a broom and turn the fire alarm off?
LULU: A broom?
LILY: Yeah, just--booop!-- poke the button with the broom handle.
LULU GETS THE BROOM.
LULU: There didn't used to be fires in Mount Absalom.
CHESTER: That was before.
LULU TURNS OFF THE FIRE ALARM.
CHESTER: It's BURNT. I can't believe it's BURNT.
RUDY: It is burnt, or is it caramelized?
FOOTSTEPS AS JAMIE ENTERS. LILY STOPS FANNING THE DOOR TO LET HIM IN.
JAMIE: Why does it smell like rotten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?
LILY: Perfect solution! Think we can manage PBJs without burning the house down, Chester?
CHESTER IS TOO OVERWHELMED WITH ANGER TO SPEAK.
LULU: I think so!
JAMIE: I love PBJs!
LILY: They're great.
LULU: Chester, can you help me get these going?
JAMIE: We can make them into shapes...
LILY: Sure!
CHESTER: No.
I'm sorry, but dinner is canceled. Everything is too topsy-turvey upside-down. It's canceled.
LILY: What? Why? I love PBJs!
CHESTER: It's off. Ms. Harper, Rudy, I'm so sorry. it's best if you both go. Now. Please.
LILY: Okay...?
CHESTER: Please, forgive my abruptness. Merely a rain check, until things calm down.
LILY: Great. Maybe next time, you'll remember to stir the sauce.
CHESTER: THIS IS NOT MY FAULT.
LILY BREATHES.
LILY: You want us to leave? It's your house.
Bye, Jamie.
JAMIE: But I want to you to have PBJs with me.
LILY: Maybe later, buddy.
LILY WALKS TO THE DOOR. CHESTER OPENS IT.
CHESTER: Goodbye, Ms. Harper.
Rudy, we'll talk soon?
RUDY: (sighs) Yeah.
JAMIE: Lily, maybe you can just stay for a little bit longer?
LILY: I can't. I'm sorry.
JAMIE: Just a little longer.
LULU: Nice meeting you.
LILY: Yeah.
JAMIE: Lily, don’t LEAVE!
LILY: Bye.
DOOR CLOSES BEHIND LILY AND RUDY. WINTER NIGHT SOUNDS.
JAMIE: (D) LILY NO! LILY!
CHESTER: (D) Jamie, this is for the best.
JAMIE.
(D) It’s NOT for the best.
JAMIE BREATHES HYSTERICAL BREATHS.
CHESTER: (D) She is not on our side.
JAMIE: (D) YES SHE IS.
RUDY: Lily, let's go.
LILY: Shut up.
LILY STEPS CLOSER TO HEAR
CHESTER: (D) Jamie, please.
JAMIE: (D) AHHHHH.
CHESTER: (D) She is friends with the Man in the Woods.
JAMIE: (D) No she’s NOT! SHE'S MY FRIEND!
LILY: You told him about Silas?!
RUDY: I have to gain their trust.
LILY: Okay. And how're you gonna gain my trust.
RUDY: I don't think I can.
Have a good night.
RUDY'S FOOTSTEPS CRUNCH AWAY OVER THE ICY SNOW.
LILY: Oh yeah, sure, you too.
JAMIE: (D) LILY!
CHESTER: (D) All right, I’m going to pick you up now, and we’re going to your room where we will calm down.
JAMIE: (D) I AM CALMMMMMMMM!
LILY I NEED TO SEE LILY NOWWWWW!
LILYYYYYY!
JAMIE COLLAPSES INTO MUFFLED TEARS. (D)
Post-Credits: “Home Address”
By Bilal Dardai
THE GHOST HOUSE AT 1974 EAST OAK STREET, EVENING. A SINGLE CROW CAN BE HEARD CAWING FROM FAR OFF, KEEPING ITS DISTANCE. WES’S FOOTSTEPS ON THE FRONT STEPS AND PORCH BOARDS. THE WIND WHISTLES PAST AND WES EMITS A LOW WHISTLE, ALMOST HARMONIZING WITH IT.
WES: So: This is you. 1974 East Oak Street. What was it Detective Farrow always used to say? (IN A 1950s TOUGH-GUY DETECTIVE VOICE) “Hello, crime scene. Talk to me.”
(BEAT) I don’t...recall exactly...who that is. If that even is somebody.
(BEAT) It felt like I should come see you. Since this is where I told them I lived? Dot and Lily and them. You know, I thought for a moment you might not actually be here. I thought you might just be a vacant lot. Another, um, another place where something’s supposed to be and actually isn’t.
(BEAT) I went and visited my own grave before I came here, you know? It was right by Fenwood House. If I’d bothered to take a look before I would have stumbled right over it. “Theodore Wesley, 1937 to 1954.” Nothing fancy, what do you call it, no message or anything. “Here lies Theodore Wesley. He played a mean banjeaurine.”
(BEAT) That’s not fair. I think tombstones cost a lot. More if you carve extra stuff in them. My mom, my dad, they probably didn’t have...are you in there?
(A FEW TENTATIVE FOOTSTEPS TOWARDS THE FRONT DOOR) What did she call it? “Her haunting place.” Is that what you are? You’re my haunting place? Are you where I’m supposed to have been all this time except instead I’ve been wandering around Mt. Absalom helping old women run their boarding houses and making friends and exploring the...the observatory...when I should have been here?
(BEAT) Why did she tell me? What gave her the right to...I don’t want to haunt anything! That can’t be why I’m still here. I didn’t want to come back at all!
THROUGHOUT THE LATTER HALF OF THIS MONOLOGUE, MUFFLED SOUNDS FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE COULD BE HEARD -- MUSIC, FOOTSTEPS, LOW MURMURS. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE, THE WIND HAS PICKED UP AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE CROWS IN CONVERSATION, STILL AT A DISTANCE.
ON “I DIDN’T WANT TO COME BACK AT ALL” THE HOUSE VANISHES COMPLETELY. WES BACKS AWAY IN SURPRISE, BUT THE SOUND OF HIS FOOTSTEPS ARE IN GRASS AND SNOW.
WES: Oh. So you were a lie, too. Is anything about me true?
(BEAT) Maybe I’ll ask Norah. She seems to know so damn much.
THE WIND WHISTLES ONCE MORE. WES IS GONE.
END.