Haunted, A Love Story Part 3 of 4

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Impala Films presents Haunted the Audio Drum. Season 3. Episode 9. Haunted.

A Love Story.

Part 3 of 4. Written by Jamie Evans.

What are these, exactly?

These are how we keep the dogs leashed.

Wanna look me in the eyes when you say that.

Forgive her.

Elaine never learned how to talk to other people.

Well, I suppose that's why you're out babysitting contacts in the field. And I do the real research here, Eliza.

Stop it, both of you. Elaine, are both collars fitted?

Yes.

One for her, one for him.

Here, this is the trigger.

If either of them get out of line, you press the button.

And they both get zapped.

I'll take that. Thank you.

What if only one of us misbehaves?

You both still get shocked.

That doesn't seem fair.

Says you. You're the one more likely to misbehave.

Me? I'm an angel.

Enough.

Elaine, thank you for your help. You may return to work now.

Yes, ma'am.

Well, you heard for yourselves. I presume I don't need to tell you not to misbehave.

We got the picture.

Now tell us who you are.

You seem to be mistaken about which way round this works.

If you don't tell us, we won't cooperate.

James, you literally just heard her say that you'll be electrocuted if you don't do as you're told.

Yes, we did. We still won't cooperate until you tell us who you are. Will we, Cassandra?

Nope.

You see, the way we see it, we're your prisoners anyway. Out there where pawns in whatever evil scheme the Church of Unity are cooking up.

Either way, things look pretty bad for us.

Now, despite what you might think, I'm fairly certain that we're on the same side and that we have the same goal. But you've spent the last year sending Eliza to interfere with me and my friends, always holding us at arm's length and drip-feeding us clues only when it suits you, whilst taking much more from us than you give back. So until you answer our questions and tell us once and for all who you are, we're not getting up from these seats.

Very spirited of you, Mr Hunter. Did you practice that speech in your cell?

I made notes on my wrist.

This isn't time for games, James.

What are you so afraid of that you won't tell us anything? Haven't we proven enough that we're not with the Church of Unity?

It might not be a conscious choice.

What?

You've both had times where you weren't in control of yourselves, haven't you? Cassandra, did you not spend years helping Mother Marwood kidnap more candidates for Project Indigo? James, did you not lose control of yourself in Basford and kill Theo Harper, and the seal of an entire splintered dimension, effectively starving the whole bloodline of vampires to death?

Yes.

And by your own admissions, your mind is a complete mess, from repeated memory wipes carried out by Carl Trevino.

Yes.

That doesn't mean anything.

It means we must exercise caution around you both. If Trevino is able to manipulate memories that way, you two may not even know what you're doing. You might be secretly reporting to him and then forgetting it all. Or the shards of the beast in your hearts might allow the creature to see through your eyes.

Then how are we supposed to help you?

By doing exactly what I say and not asking questions.

Just trust you, blindly, without even knowing who you are.

We are the Sisterhood of Babylon, and our organization has existed upon this earth for centuries. We are both sworn and destined to fight Corazon and his followers. I can tell you that much, as it is nothing they don't know already. Now get up and come with us or I'll have Eliza pull the trigger.

Oh, okay then. But only because I want to see what it is you're working on.

I'm not getting anything on the EMF down here.

Oh, cool.

We have devices like this down in the base camp.

It might be useful if we can use them to help us monitor the house.

I can ask if they mind bringing some up.

Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble them at all.

Hey guys, I found something.

What is it?

They look like dog tags. Like what a soldier would wear.

Wow.

Corporal Henry Harris, 2nd Division. Where did you find these?

They were in the fireplace, buried under ash.

Like somebody tried to burn them?

Why would a soldier burn their dog tags?

I guess we don't know if he did it himself.

Upstairs we found a picture of a man, woman and a baby. The two adults had their faces scratched out though.

What the hell is that?

Do you think it's that radio again?

Maybe.

Does that set off the banging? Something terrible happened here, you guys, and the house is replaying it over and over again.

Or whatever it happened to is still here, and having to suffer it over and over.

John, can you try and make contact with the spirits?

I've been trying, but they seem reluctant to communicate.

Helpful.

The radio, then. Let's go get the radio from upstairs.

The one that isn't plugged in?

It's still picking up sound, though, isn't it? It can obviously pick up something. I think we should try it in different parts of the house.

Okay.

That sounds like a plan to me.

Okay, I'll go get it.

What are you looking for?

I don't know, but might as well check things out while standing around. Unless your psychic sense is giving you any hints?

No, it isn't.

I thought not.

And what exactly do you mean to imply?

Nothing. I'm not implying anything. How did you come to be part of this anyway?

Am I being interrogated for some reason?

I'm just making conversation, mate. Just wondering how a psychic like yourself ends up mixed up in this.

We reached out to John because of his books. Initial testing showed promising results for his ability to connect with spirits. He's helped us out on a few jobs now.

Right you are, Lauren. See? All above board.

I didn't say it wasn't. Hey, I might have found something.

What is it?

Looks like old letters and papers. Wow, this explains the dog tags. Look at this.

These are military orders. Telling a soldier they're being called up to duty. It's dated 1917.

It's over a hundred years old.

1917?

This guy fought in World War I.

It looks that way, yeah.

Corporal Henry Harris. A soldier in the First World War. Well, I guess even if we don't find anything supernatural going on, we found a piece of history. That's sort of cool, right?

Very cool.

Hmm.

So we've got Henry and Adelaide. I wonder what the baby's name was.

And what happened to them? Why is Adelaide buried in the basement?

And where is Harry buried?

I don't know.

Okay, it's kind of creepy up here without anybody else.

Okay, the radio.

Oh, here we go. Oh, bloody hell.

You almost gave me a heart attack.

Okay, okay.

Can you hear me?

I don't suppose it works this way. Shush, shush, little baby.

There, there.

Okay, okay. Hush little baby, don't say a word. Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns brass, Mama's gonna buy you a lurking glass. And if that lurking glass is broken, Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat. And if that billy goat won't pull.

What?

Oh my God, what?

Mama's gonna buy.

You a cart and bull. And if that cart and bull turn over, Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover. And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Mama's gonna buy you a horse and cart. And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town. So hush, little baby, don't you cry.

Daddy loves you and so do I. Shh, shh, don't cry.

Cry.

Mummy's nearby. Mummy's nearby.

Uh, hello?

What the hell?

Ab, are you okay?

Yeah, something's coming your way.

Something came down here.

We heard it.

Thumping, running this way.

Towards the basement.

I don't hear it anymore.

Me neither.

The K2 meter's gone.

What is that? John? John, what's wrong?

Please, leave us alone. Please, we just want to be left in peace.

Please.

What? No, no, stop!

Stop!

No!

No, Adelaide, no, no.

No. My darling, no, no, no. My God. Oh God, what have I done? Damn you. Damn you, foul witch. We didn't know. We didn't know.

John!

I'm okay.

The spirit. Such anguish. Such pain.

Was it Henry?

I think so. It's hard to think straight. I've never felt a motion like that before.

Could you describe it?

At first it was fear. The sharpest fear I've ever felt. Then it was despair. Darker than any I've ever known.

Whoa, whoa. Easy there, mate. Just rest for a moment.

Okay, I have some water and protein bars in my supply case. One second.

Are you okay?

Yeah.

I'll be fine. I just wasn't expecting... So intense.

Will you be alright with him, Dan?

I just want to go and check something.

Yeah, I guess. Hey man, listen. I'm... I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to imply that.

It doesn't matter, Mr. Cowell. I assure you, you're not the first to question my authenticity.

I'm sorry.

Don't be. I appreciate your help now. I'm sorry I was so standoffish. Listen, it's not my place to pry... but I sense something is troubling you. I don't know what. I can't read your mind or anything, don't worry. But I sense there's something weighing heavy in your mind.

What gave you that impression?

Because it's the same feeling I'm picking up all over this house. A secret demanding to be shared. Forgive me for the unsolicited advice, but In my experience, secrets between loved ones can never be buried. If you try, they rot and grow. Like a cancer.

Are you two okay?

What?

Yeah, yeah. Why wouldn't we be?

I don't know.

You just both look kind of intense.

Sorry for the delay. I struggled to find my case.

You had to check in with your superiors.

No, I.

Yeah.

Did they say how James was doing?

They didn't, actually.

Oh.

Okay.

Well, anyway, I've just been and checked that grandfather clock in the hallway. You know, the one that's somehow still ticking despite no one living here for a hundred years? Anyway, I made sure the clock on my phone is synced up with it.

Why?

Because I think this haunting, whatever it is, is repeating. When we first heard the gunshot, a few minutes later the clock struck the hour. Then, just now after John channelled the spirit, we heard the gun again and the clock struck the hour a few moments later. I think if we wait around for the approach of the next hour, we'll see the same event re-enact itself. A stone tape haunting.

So what do we do for the next 50 minutes or so then?

So how long have you been set up here? Why Georgia? Am I just asking these questions for no reason?

Yes. James, look at those monitors.

Abigail, Dan, you're watching them.

The whole house is wired with CCTV. Why?

Ah, great, my favorite game.

Why ask questions you know they're not going to answer?

Think about how awful the world would be if everybody did that. Sometimes it pays to be annoying.

Here we are. Need I remind you that you're both wearing powerful shock colors, and I will use them if you try anything?

How could we forget our new accessories?

Hmm.

What is this?

The room that Malverna and Eliza led us into was a relatively small chamber with a domed ceiling. On one side of the room I could see what looked to be an old-fashioned coal chute that had been boarded up. But beyond that, the only defining feature of the room was the large hole that had been excavated in the middle of the floor. The hole looked to be about five or six feet deep, and laying at its centre, dumped unceremoniously, was the body of a woman. Her long hair was matted in large clumps of dirt, and her face was twisted in an expression of rage. Her hands were frozen in claws, and I could see her fingernails were broken and splintered, like she'd been buried alive and tried to claw her way out.

Is horrible.

Although I suppose a place like this is the perfect dumping ground for a body.

Actually, we're fairly certain. We were the first people to open the bunker since it was sealed over a hundred years ago.

You're kidding me.

No.

All of our evidence shows that the bunker has remained sealed and undisturbed.

So you're saying this body is, what, a hundred years old?

That's not possible. There's no signs of decay at all. This body looks like it's been dead maybe ten hours, not a hundred years.

Hence why we knew it was interesting.

So you need me to, what, commune with her and tell you who she was?

You underestimate our research capabilities. We have already identified the woman. Her name is Cordelia Waltham. We were able to use her DNA to identify still-living relatives and then trace back the family tree.

No.

We want you to wake her up.

What?

Please don't pretend you didn't hear me. I do not like repeating myself.

I don't know what you heard, but I can't do that. I can talk to the dead. I can't bring them.

Stop!

Mom, maybe.

What?

Something to say, Eliza?

No, Mom.

I thought not.

Mr.

Angelo, I feel it prudent to advise you that that was the lowest setting on these collars. I won't use the lowest again.

You're not going to use any setting again, Malverna. I'm warning you.

Are you under the illusion that you have any power in this situation, Mr. Hunter? You don't. I am going to say this only one more time. We are the sworn enemies of the Church of Unity. They and everything associated with them are evil, which includes the two of you, whether you like it or not. I will stop at nothing to ensure this group fulfills its purpose. Now, I know that you've been able to revive people temporarily before.

How did you- Dan told Eliza.

Damn it, Deputy!

Now it occurs to me that I actually only need you to revive Cordelia, Mr. Angelo- Which means Mr. Hunter here is a wonderful bargaining chip. Do as I ask, Cassandra, or else we will find out exactly how much electricity it takes to kill Mr. Hunter here.

Cassandra, you can't.

Please, it would be easier if you just do as we asked.

Listen to Eliza, Cassandra. She's giving you good advice.

Cassandra, no. You can't put yourself in danger.

I'll do it.

No!

Very good, Mr. Angelo.

Let's... But.

I need to rest first.

What?

It takes a tremendous amount of energy to establish the connection. And I am tired and thirsty and hungry. I need to rest for a bit beforehand.

If this is a ploy, then I will.

Electrocute us both. Yes, I know. It's not a ploy.

Dan has told me that the process is very intensive and very exhausting, Mom.

Hmm. Very well.

I don't suppose it would hurt for us to do a final round of checks anyway. We'll put you back in your cell for an hour, and we'll ensure you have something to eat and drink. Eliza, take them to the cells. Here, you'll need the remote for the collars back. If they try anything, let them have it.

So this is what you've been all this time.

Shut up.

The sort of people who resort to torture and holding the lives of loved ones hostage to make people do your bidding.

I said shut up All these.

Months of using Dan for information How will he feel when he finds out you used it to kill two of his best friends?

Friends?

I was under the impression he hated you He'll see the bigger picture We're fighting the most ancient evil in the world The ends will justify the means.

You know, I think that's the most commonly used phrase in history for justifying acts of evil.

Evil would be sitting back and letting the Church of Unity achieve their goals. Now, start walking.

This is very frustrating. It feels like we're going round and round in circles. How many more times do I have to say it? We're on the same side.

I don't think that matters to them, James. They can't see past our association with Project Indigo. It doesn't matter what we might want for ourselves.

Do you think we'd have trusted you with the needle or Hell's Ember if we weren't on the same side?

That which comes from evil can only ever be evil. It's written in our texts.

Then it must be true.

Please, get in the cell. I don't understand why you're panicking so much anyway. We've still got the needle and Ember. They're part of what we're doing here today, in fact. All we're asking you to do is to use your indigo power. If you're really on the good side, then you shouldn't have a problem with that. It's not like we're killing you.

Actually, Eliza, that's where you're wrong. Using my power is killing me. Raising somebody from the dead, that could.

Be the final nail in my coffin.

But I.

We didn't... Excuse me a moment.

Do you think that will make them change their minds?

I doubt it. You heard them. The ends justify the means. They'll do anything if they think it stops the Church of Unity.

Then you can't do what they want. End of story.

That's not your choice, James.

No, it's yours. You can say no.

I don't have a choice.

Of course you do. I don't.

I'm not going to let them kill you, James.

I won't.

I can.

That's no choice at all.

Cassandra, if it means saving you from Caronzon, then I would rather you let me die.

And I told you that's not an option for me, James. I'm not losing anyone else.

I've lost enough in my life.

Then what do we do?

I guess we hope Eliza changes her mind. Or Dan and Abigail.

Come and help us.

Great. We're doomed.

Starring Jamie Evans as James Hunter, Isabella Barbieri as Abigail Corbin, Luke Hunter as Dan Cowell, and Cherie Hendry as Cassandra D'Angelo. Also featuring... Thank you for listening to this audio presentation. Haunted is a production of Impala Films and is directed by Jamie Evans and Benton Hodges. with audio engineering by Benton Hodges and Jamie Evans. Haunted theme by James Crow.

Haunted is recorded at Free Sprite Media Studios, with special thanks to Duncan Newham for equipment and support. Come back next week for the next exciting chapter of Haunted, the audio drama.

Haunted, A Love Story Part 3 of 4

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