Lord Of The Flies Part 1 of 6

Impala Films presents Haunted the Audio Drama Season 3 Episode 10 Lord of the Flies Part 1 of 6 Written by Jamie Evans.

Damn it!

Damn it, you idiot, Dan!

You shouldn't have told her like that.

You should have told her the truth.

To begin with.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

What is that? A helicopter?

Abigail!

What's going on?

Bloody hell!

The whole door's blocked!

Abigail! Abby, can you hear me?

Hey!

Hey, get away from her! Get away!

No. Shit!

Back door.

Shit!

The flames would go off the dry timber of the house rapidly.

Within 30 seconds, the entire building was aflame.

Thick, cloying smoke choked the air, and I could feel it burning my lungs. In the back of my mind, I half remembered reading something about half of fire-related deaths being due to smoke inhalation and not the actual flames. Panic flared in my chest and I battled to keep it under control.

Panic would get me nowhere. Perhaps I could jump from an upstairs window.

A beam plummeted from the ceiling and smashed through the wooden staircase, cutting off my access to the first floor.

The smoke was getting thicker. The heat was intense.

My mind kept flashing back to the burning church in Greenvale, back when I had first met Carl Trevino. I had to find a way out of here now, or else I wasn't going to make it. I crouched down, trying to keep my head below the smoke, which hung heavy in the air. I carried with me the curtain I'd torn from the railing and headed for the kitchen.

I knew I was pitching a Hail Mary with this plant. but it was all I could think of. Fucking thing is stiff!

Come on!

Yes!

Oh God, yes!

Thankfully the house still had a water supply. If the mains had been shut off, I may well have been out of luck. I soaked the torn curtain under the water until it was sopping wet. Then I wrapped it around myself and turned.

Towards the front door.

Okay here we go come on Dan do it.

I made it I made it.

I lay on my back half stunned with the shock of what I'd just done I sucked in great mouthfuls of night air which felt positively alive after the acrid air inside the house I lay on my back and watched the helicopter flying off into the distance and I knew immediately that the men I'd seen from the window had put Abigail in there.

I had to find her and get her back. What about the others? Were they in the chopper too? Oh, Jesus Christ!

Something beneath the ground exploded and the ground itself shifted from the force. Soil and stone rained down around me. And I raised the soaking curtain once again to try and protect myself from debris. For a moment, I wasn't sure what had happened. Then I worked it out. The underground bunker.

They'd blown it up. Were James and Cassandra still in there?

James?

Cassandra? Can you hear me? Oh, please don't be dead.

Please don't be dead.

No.

No, no, damn it, no!

Come on!

Huh?

Help!

Please!

Anybody!

Help!

Hello?

Dan!

Dan, is that you?

It's me.

What is this thing?

It's a coal chute. Please, it's not easy to climb up this thing. Can you open the lid at all?

Uh, it's got a padlock on it. It looks pretty rusted through. One second. Okay, here we go.

Third time's the charm.

Ah!

Oh my God.

Oh, fresh air.

Here, let me help you.

Ah!

Cassandra, here, give me your hand.

They burned down the house?

All of our stuff was in there.

Can someone give me a hand?

Here, I've got you.

Are you all okay?

Dan, there's something that I need to tell you. Here, have a drink. I'm okay.

Have the drink.

Eliza, she's dead.

What?

She saved our lives. We would have been killed in the explosion, but she locked us in the coal chamber. It managed to hold out through the explosion, for the most part. God, I can't believe she's gone.

I didn't think anything could get her.

What about up here?

What happened?

There were some men. They took Abigail. And there was a helicopter. They flew off. I... I couldn't stop them.

Neither could we. It was Carter Stone and Carl. Here?

That's not all.

They killed the head of the Sisterhood of Babylon, and they made off with both of the artifacts. The needle and Hell's Ember.

So, what the hell do we do now?

I don't know.

Everything's destroyed.

We're out here on our own.

We.

Cassandra, are you okay?

Here, I've got you. I think you need some rest.

There's the RV we parked up at the edge of the property. Provided Carter's goons didn't destroy it, it should still be there.

Sounds good to me. Let's go. Here, drink this.

It's water.

Thank you.

Are you okay?

As much as I can be.

Did it.

I mean, connecting to the Abyss again, did it?

I'm not sure.

Yeah.

It's getting worse.

It's spreading.

Did it... Karonzon?

See me?

Yeah.

He was close, James.

So close.

It's difficult to explain what it's like. It's not physical space like we think of it.

But he was close.

I could feel him when he snatched Cordelia.

What happened to her?

She's gone.

She doesn't exist. It's like she never existed.

What does he do to them?

Does he, like, grab them?

It's hard to explain, like I said.

It's not physical space as such. It's more conceptual.

Even I don't understand it. It's more just an instinct thing. But from what I can tell, just touching him is all it takes. You touch him, and your very being is erased.

Great. I'm going to need a lot more booze. We're ready.

Okay.

You stay here, Cassandra.

No, I want to come.

You need to rest.

And I don't want to miss this. Please. It'll make me feel... What? Human.

I know it's not much. I didn't have much to work with, materials or time-wise. I got some sticks from the woods, and I pulled this timber from a part of the port that hadn't quite burned yet, and it looks excellent, Lauren.

A fantastic way to honor their memories.

It's really great.

Should.

should we say a few words?

Go ahead. Okay.

This monument, such as it is, is in memory of the fallen sisters of the Sisterhood of Babylon. They pledged their lives to the cause of fighting evil, and in the end they gave their lives for that same cause. Here tonight, we lost Malverna Goddard, Elaine Potemkin, Tina Bennett, Mercy Monroe, and Eliza Wool.

And John Baldwin. I know he wasn't part of your order officially, but.

No, you're right. He deserves to be mentioned too.

And.

John Baldwin. I'm... I'm not really sure how to end.

Um.

They fought hard against the forces of evil.

And now their fight is done.

And we will fight in their honor.

May they rest in peace.

Yes.

That's good. May they rest in peace.

Fortunately for us, the RV was still in a drivable condition. Also fortunate for us, it still had a bunch of notes and papers on board that Malverna had been using to.

Keep tabs on Carter & Co.

And the Church of Unity. A handy dossier had shown us a list of Carter's holdings across the entire country. The company owned a building not far from the farmhouse on the outskirts of Atlanta. Dan looked on Google Maps and saw that the building had a heliport on the roof. It seemed like the most logical place for them to have taken Abigail and the artefacts. And so that was the direction we headed in. We drove through the night and by the time we reached Atlanta, the sun was up.

So what happened down there in the bunker?

They were running an experiment on the artefacts to confirm that they react to human emotions. Negative emotions, to be specific. They wired it up to the house and.

Oh, that's gross. They were using the suffering of the spirits there.

Yes.

Carter Stone had infiltrated the sisterhood by puppeteering the body of one of their researchers. Once they'd confirmed what he wanted, Stone revealed himself. His men and Carl showed up and killed everyone in the bunker. Eliza locked Cassandra, Lauren and I in the coal store. The metal door was just about thick enough to withstand the detonation they set off.

Carl killed John Baldwin. You know, the psychic.

Yes, I saw.

Do you have any idea what he's up to? Like, why has he sided with Carter Stone? I thought his whole motivation was revenge on the Church of Unity. Why side with the man who gave them half their funding?

Don't look at me like that. I'm not protecting Carl. I really don't know. Carl is smart enough to play someone if it benefits his longer-term goals. Perhaps he thinks there's an advantage to teaming up with Stone. How long that might last, who can say? But on the other hand... What? I think he might have just plain lost his mind.

Well, no shit. I think that happened a long time ago, James.

No, he's been different since teaming up with Stone. More reckless, more willing to do anything to get his way. I think... I think what he learned about the singularity ritual and the fractured universe will. I don't think any of us have been the same since learning that.

And what about Cassandra? She's been sleeping since we got in the RV. She's tired. That's more than that. She's pale. She's withdrawn. What's going on there?

I can't tell you.

Damn it, James.

We need to stop playing the secrets game. Keeping secrets has torn this little group such as it is apart time after time.

Hell, I know that firsthand after tonight.

I know. I know. And I agree. No more secrets. But this isn't my information to tell. You'll have to ask Cassandra when she wakes up, and it will be her decision whether to share it or not. Okay.

I guess that's only fair.

We're not far now. About 15 minutes away.

So what's the plan when we get there?

What?

Oh, I don't have a plan. You don't have a plan?

Dan. We're going to a building owned by a billionaire with his own private army, a psychopathic maniac who can wipe memories and cast blood magic, to rescue Abigail and steal back two ancient and supremely powerful artifacts. So... So how could I possibly have a plan for that? We are outnumbered, outgunned, and we'll probably all die a horrible, painful death. Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

You know, when this is all done, you might want to consider a career in motivational speaking.

The first thing we should do is gather information. Not go running in. That will get us killed. We have to take this one slowly.

That's easy for you to say. It's not your girlfriend in there. Is that the building?

82 Elm Street. That's the one.

So what's the plan? Going guns blazing and demand our friends back?

No.

Firstly, we don't have any guns. And secondly, I think most of the people in there are innocent.

It's a front business. Nearly everyone in there is just going about their nine to five, doing boring work while dreaming about getting home to their families.

It makes sense. How do you hide a criminal enterprise that's laundering millions of dollars into an evil cult?

Hide it behind evil corporations that are considered more legitimate.

Evil's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? It's a medical insurance place.

Exactly.

Why don't we just go in there, then? Pretend to be customers.

Scope the place out.

Just walk right in there?

We'd learn more than we are doing standing across the street staring at the front door.

It sounds risky.

You've been undercover before, right?

Huh?

I thought Eliza told me you had experience going undercover. Something about a nightclub in London enslaving ravers to feed a mad god?

Yeah, yeah, I did do that.

When did that happen?

You were drunk at the time. I mean, more than usual. A lot more.

Wait, that was it? Sorry, she was saying you weren't good at it. You nearly got caught. Burned the whole place down.

Saved a bunch of people's lives, by the way. Did she skip over that part?

Guys, as much fun as the banter is, we need to get in there. Now, it might seem suspicious if we go in there with you two and your British accents, so maybe Lauren and.

I should go in.

Are you sure you're up to it? You did have a run-in with the Ultimate Evil just a few hours ago.

I'm fine.

I think we all go in, or none of us do.

I can do an American accent.

Okay.

Let's hear it.

Howdy, partner.

I like driving pickup trucks and watching NASCAR while I drink beer.

Oh, God, no. Nuh-uh.

No way. All right, then let's hear James do better. What?

No, I'm not doing that.

Because you can't.

Yes, I can. I just don't want to.

Because you can't. Wow.

Like, totally awesome dude. Like, freedom or whatever.

Right on.

Yeah.

You are both super offensive right now.

What did I do?

Is that what you think we sound like?

How would you like it if we did you?

How exactly would you do us?

Oh, oh, where's my cup of tea? My cup of tea and my crumpet. Cheerio, governor!

We think we're so much better than everyone else because we sound like we have sticks up our arses.

Oh, yes, we conquered the world for all of the spices, and yet our food still tastes like cardboard.

Hey, you take that back. Okay, okay, stop it.

This isn't getting us anywhere. Everybody just speak in their normal accent, okay?

Now let's get going. I don't like crumpets.

Okay, we'll go and talk to the insurance agent. You two see if you can find a way into the offices.

Okay.

What's the plan?

Just follow my lead.

Good morning. How can I help you today?

Hi there.

I was hoping we could talk to someone about possibly arranging a health insurance policy for me and my husband here. Of course.

No problem. Have a seat. Okay then. How can I help?

Mrs.

Jones?

Cassandra Jones. And this is Mr.

James.

Jones.

Nice to meet you both. Okay, so you're interested in health insurance. That's a good choice. Never too late, as they say.

The thing is, my husband has some long-standing conditions, and we were worried that might affect things.

Huh?

Okay, well, what sort of conditions are we talking about here?

Cirrhosis of the liver.

He drinks.

He drinks a lot.

Oh, um.

Well, that would definitely be something that affects your premiums.

I do not have cirrhosis of the liver, good sir.

Throat cancer.

Too.

What?

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I lost an uncle to that. He sounded kind of a lot like you towards the end.

I do not have throat cancer. I just sound like this.

We can all agree it sounds fairly ridiculous. I.

I'm not really sure what's going on here. Is this some sort of practical joke? You're not filming for a social media thing, are you?

Do we look like we use social media? No.

No joke.

Sorry.

We'll be serious.

Okay.

Well, our first step is going to have a small physical examination with our on-site medic. He'll take down a bit of medical history, your heights, your weights, blood pressure, that sort of thing.

Okay.

That sounds wonderful.

Excellent.

Please.

Follow me this way. Please wait here. The doctor will be with you in just a moment.

Okay, what do we do now?

Well, we're through the locked door. I say we get out of here before this medical examiner turns up and we look for... Cassandra?

Are you okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

You've gone very pale. Here, here, sit down. Are you all right?

I'm fine.

I'm still exhausted from earlier. I.

What's happening? I don't know.

The abyss. I suddenly felt it again. Like when I connect with the dead. Just for the smallest moment.

Hello.

I'm Dr.

Galway. Hello, Doctor.

I'm... It's coming from him.

Whatever's triggering my sense, it's coming from him.

Who are you?

I told you my name.

That isn't important. What's important right now is this stupid plan of yours. What are you talking about? You didn't think you'd get away with this, did you?

Any idea where we start?

I guess identifying if the helicopter landed here or not?

Okay, so how do we do that?

I doubt they keep meticulous flight logs for the CEO's private chopper.

Excuse me, what are you doing in here?

Oh, I'm sorry. Can you help us? We appear to have gotten a bit turned around.

We were actually just looking for the, uh, the, uh.

Oh!

English? English?

Are you from the London team?

Yes, yes, that's right.

The London team.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.

We weren't expecting you for a few more hours.

Did you come straight from your flight?

Uh.

Yes, we did.

You didn't want to stop off at the hotel we booked first?

Have a bit of a rest?

We thought we'd just get on with it, to be honest. Early bird, you know, catches the worm.

We are very motivated people.

Okay then. Well, we like that here. We're very motivated too. Right this way.

We're so happy to be collaborating with you, by the way. The chance to work on something as exciting as Conduit is exactly the sort of opportunities we hoped would be generated by.

Yeah, we're very excited about that too.

Please, have a seat in here and I'll be right back with you.

Conduit is supposed to be some sort of next generation social media platform. Carter's been talking about launching it for months. What the hell does a health insurance company have to do with that?

I've no idea.

What are we going to do, Dan? It's going to be pretty clear when she comes back that we aren't from the London team.

We just need to find out where Carter took Abigail.

That's all. Follow my lead.

Sorry about that. Can I get either of you a drink?

No, we're okay, thank you. Will Mr. Carter himself be joining us? Oh, no.

I've been asked to look after the project.

Oh, it's just we were expecting to be meeting with Mr. Carter himself. I.

I think there must have been some sort of miscommunication.

Why is that?

Mr.

Stone left on an airplane in the early hours of the morning. He'll almost be there by now.

Be where?

Why, England, of course.

Cargo plane one has now landed. Repeat, cargo plane one has now landed. Cargo to be transported to lower level research center immediately.

Back in Britain, at last.

Ah, yeah.

How fitting that this backwater which once ruled the seas will be the birthplace of my new empire.

How quickly can we progress with the next step?

You sound nervous, Carl. Did you forget that everybody who could potentially stop us is now dead?

James Hunter has an annoying habit of not dying when you want him to.

Even if they have, somehow survived. They are stuck over in the States with no way of knowing we're here in Britain. It will be a long time before they catch up to us.

Perhaps victory is going to your head, Carter. Do not underestimate James and his band of misfits.

Is that so?

Oh, yes.

If he is still alive, as long as we have her, he won't stop chasing us.

Hmm. Hmm.

Hmm.

Perhaps we better kill her off right now.

I don't believe I did. Besides, if Hunter's theory is right and this girl is the conduit of the prophecy, well, she represents quite the powerful bargaining chip. Take her downstairs as well. Lock her in one of the testing rooms.

Fine.

But don't go forgetting what you promised me in this arrangement, Carter.

Your worry is unfounded. You will have the revenge you crave. Once our work is complete, you will have the means to go in search of Alexander Lingard, and I will have the means to wipe humanity from the face of this planet.

LAUGHTER 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 Newell for equipment and support.

Come back next week for the next exciting chapter of Haunted, the audio drama.

Lord Of The Flies Part 1 of 6

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