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dvp95 · 5 years

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quiet on widow’s peak (1)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up tags: paranormal investigator, youtuber phil lester, dan howell is not a youtuber, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.2k (this chapter & total) summary: Phil's got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story. Bingo squares: met on tumblr

new wip? NEW WIP.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

The wind is loud in this one. That's frustrating, and it makes Phil's job a lot harder, but he can't control the weather. Be cool if he could. He does his best to level out his voice and the background noise of Mother Nature before he settles in with his good headphones and really cranks the volume.

It's even more annoying to listen to the alternating crackle and whistle right in his ears. Phil has dealt with worse during this whole process, though, so he finds the strength to power through it. He listens to the full thing three times, scribbling a few timestamps down on a Post-It pad as he does. He takes a break after that, does some stretches around his tiny bedroom and tiptoes out to get a snack without waking the whole damn house, and then he's right back in his apparently ergonomic office chair to subject his ears to more of this nonsense.

Wind, wind, and more wind. And sometimes just Phil's own voice. Nothing of note.

Phil is about to give this video up as a loss altogether when he hits one of the final timestamps and... can't figure out what that noise is.

For the first time since he opened this file, Phil grins. He exports the clip and plays around with it in Audacity. Some videos are always more fun than others, and Phil had felt like he was slogging through this one until now.

"Do you hear that, Theodore?" Phil murmurs. The tiny cactus on his desk, thankfully, does not respond.

It sounds like a person. It sounds like a person, whispering, and it definitely isn't the wind, and it isn't Phil's own voice, because he's in the middle of a question in this clip.

Phil might just be going crazy from sleep deprivation or wishful thinking, though. He pulls out his phone and texts the only group chat that doesn't cause him anxiety, which is comprised of the housemates that he actually gets along with. Anyone up? he asks, adding a single eye emoji for good measure.

Even though it's gone two in the morning, he gets immediate responses from all of them. A string of vaguely dirty emojis from Chris, a simple yeah from Sophie, and a cheerfully morbid did you know that insomnia leads to an early death? from PJ.

Wanna listen to a noise for me?

Within three minutes, Phil's bedroom is full of people in various states of sleepiness. All of them are in ridiculous pyjamas - including Phil - and PJ's hair in particular has taken on a mind of its own. Phil's room isn't really big enough for all of them, so there's some awkward shuffling before PJ claims the office chair. Phil sits at the foot of his bed with Sophie and Chris on either side of him, pressed close against each other's shoulders. It's a good thing he likes these people.

"I mean, it isn't the wind," is PJ's confident opinion. "Did you have anyone with you?"

"No, it's just me and my camera against the world," says Phil.

"No need to be a twat," Chris informs him. He taps at PJ's upper arm, impatient. "Let me have a go, then, if there's something there."

Chris is famously bad at hearing things in white noise, but PJ acquiesces the seat easily enough. Phil laughs, watching them do a weird step dance around each other in the small space between Phil's bed and desk.

"I can't hear any specific words," PJ says as he flops down across Phil's pillows, making himself comfortable. Phil just nods, because neither can he.

"How d'you know it's a person, then?" Sophie asks. Her voice is probably the only one soft enough for the hour. Their other housemates hate them for their frequent all-nighters, but Sophie is kind and quiet enough that she slips under the radar.

"You'll see for yourself."

When Sophie goes to respond, Chris interrupts in a hilariously loud voice, as if he's forgotten that having headphones on doesn't mean they can't hear him. "It's some kind of ghoulie or ghostie! I can barely fucking hear it, Philly, why didn't you mic it?"

"Why didn't I mic the ghost?" Phil asks, bewildered. Naturally, Chris doesn't hear him.

Sophie taps Chris on the shoulder and stands, leaning over his shoulder as she takes her turn listening to the sound clip over and over. Chris spins in the chair a few times and gives Phil an unhinged sort of grin.

"You got something this time," says Chris. He sounds like he's having just as much fun as Phil is, now that there's actually a thing to listen to besides his own voice and the loud, loud wind.

"I think so," says Phil. "Why didn't I mic the ghost?"

"I'm saying it would make your job a lot easier if you mic the ghost, yes."

"If I could mic a ghost, I'd be a millionaire."

"Then you better get on it, eh?" Chris laughs, spinning a bit faster. Phil has never seen the man sleep. It's a little bit worrying.

"Sure," Phil says, giving up on trying to teach any logic to someone who's clearly long lost their hold on it. "Next time I spend all night in a graveyard, I'll mic any spirits that might be hanging out."

"Shut up," Sophie tells them, mild.

Chris mimes zipping his lips, wrapping an easy arm around her waist, and PJ laughs.

For the first few months they all lived together, Phil had struggled to keep up with whatever dynamics were going on between the three of them, but he's long since given it up as something he's not going to understand.

After a moment of quiet, Sophie nods. "I hear it," she tells them. Even with the headphones on, she's quiet. "It's not words, I wouldn't put any subtitles over it."

"Yeah," PJ agrees. "Just let your audience duke it out in the comments like they always do."

"Thanks, guys," Phil says, feeling a sort of warmth sink into his shoulders. He notices that Chris is pulling up another application and half-heartedly protests. "Chris, you don't need to edit this one for me. I still haven't paid you for the last video." Or the one before that. Or the three or four previous. Phil has it written down somewhere.

"Don't be stupid," Chris hums, already clicking around erratically. It makes the editor in Phil want to scream, but he has to admit that Chris manages to find more weird visual stuff to isolate than he could on his own.

"I feel bad," says Phil, chewing his lip.

"I've told you," says Chris, "you can pay me back in chores and sexual favours."

PJ's slippered foot knocks against Phil's hip, and he grins brightly when Phil turns to him. "You know, I do have a bit of a laundry backlog."

"Funny thing, that," says Sophie.

Biting back a laugh, Phil shakes his head. "Alright, alright. Everybody leave their laundry in front of my door tomorrow."

"That's a no on the beej, then?" Chris asks, raising a single eyebrow and pointing dramatically at Phil. It has been near two years of this, and Phil is still too afraid to ask if it's a joke.

It's not as if Phil's answer would change if it wasn't a joke, because he's not interested in Chris, and he's especially not interested in becoming entangled in whatever nonsense his housemates have gotten themselves into. But, still, he might be kinder about letting Chris down if he were being genuine.

"That is a no," Phil confirms. "But I will wash your pants."

"Kinky," says Chris. He turns back to the screen and makes an incomprehensible hand gesture. "This is pretty shit. You know that, right?"

Yeah. Phil does know that. It's getting harder and harder to have the same optimism in every video that he'd had when he first started recording his wanderings around the supposedly-haunted places of Rossendale. He'd brought the camera with him when he left, but might have left that optimism behind. Phil only kind of believes in supernatural things - the way he only kind of believes in giraffes or true love - but it's been more fun than anything else to pick up a camera and try to find some evidence.

He's been doing this since he was nineteen, though, and he's getting a little bored by the formula of it all. Go into a haunted place, try to communicate with the spirits, pick up some garbled words or creepy noises, highlight visual oddities like orbs, and let the internet tear it all to shreds. Honestly, he'd have more fun making proper horror at this point in his life.

Phil shrugs and pulls his knees up to his chest. He wants to hide away from the sympathy in Sophie's eyes, from Chris' blunt words. "Yeah. I'm getting kind of... I don't know. Restless."

"Maybe you should ask people to submit things again," PJ suggests. "That went well last time."

It had, actually. Phil had needed to sort through a lot more ridiculous stories and obvious hoaxes than usual, but he'd found some nuggets of gold in all that hay. Or however that saying goes.

"People did like having their stories read out," Phil says slowly. "I'd just need to be extra sure that nobody's, like..."

"Ripping off r/NoSleep," says PJ.

"Yeah, exactly."

"We can help," Sophie says, and Phil could cry at how easily PJ and Chris agree with her.

He really doesn't deserve to have such great people around him. They've got work and lives of their own, but they're always happy to spend time crowded around Phil's computer listening to weird noises together. Phil sometimes wonders what they get out of it. Do they just like helping him, the way he has fun holding the boom for PJ's films or testing Sophie's concoctions? Or are they just as fascinated as Phil by the weirdness of it all? Do they want to see the cool instances of paranormal activity, too? At this point it feels nearly impossible to ask.

"That's going to be a lot of washing pants for me," Phil sighs. He doesn't know how to thank them, not when they always just wave it off.

"Sure is," says PJ. "But you should... ask the audience!"

"Your Chris Tarrant is pretty good," says Phil, only a little surprised by it. PJ's voice is as much of a tool to him as the rest of his body, and it's one he's always been skilled with. The impressions still tend to catch Phil off guard sometimes.

PJ tips an invisible hat. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week."

At his friends' not so gentle encouragement, Phil makes a few posts on his socials to ask his followers for new creepy things to explore. It might be the middle of the night in Brighton, but he has a feeling that Chris isn't leaving his desk until he's found every instance of an orb or strange shadow in the fifty minutes of currently uncut footage.

It seems like Sophie is on the same page, because she excuses herself to make tea for everyone. PJ leans over Chris' shoulder and watches the clips without sound, his lips moving as if he's murmuring to himself.

Sometimes this feels more like a group effort than Phil is comfortable with. He's never been very good at asking for help. As grateful as he is, he still itches with the need to take back control of the situation. He uses the slow trickle of fan submissions to distract him from that feeling, because all three of them do make his videos better when he stops being so possessive over his footage. Phil flops onto his back and scrolls through the incoming emails, tweets, and Tumblr messages to see if there's anything promising.

For the most part, the answer is a resounding no. Some things are blatant lies - there are countless ripoffs of films or novels that Phil happens to be familiar with, a few things swiped from creepypasta or subreddits, and his usual amount of conspiracy theorist fans insisting that some high profile person or other is a lizard - but most of it, to Phil's dismay, just doesn't grab his attention the way he wants it to.

Sophie comes back with tea and snacks. She leans her head against Phil's shoulder and watches him cycle through his apps, fact-checking idly and sighing every time something easily proves to be a hoax. Her hair smells like coconut and she makes a soft humming noise every time she lifts the mug to her lips. Her presence alone, small and warm and supportive, is enough to keep Phil from throwing his phone across the room and having a right sulk about how his career is in a tailspin because nobody makes ghosts like they used to. At some point in the night, Sophie's breathing evens out to the point that Phil thinks she's asleep, but then she reaches out to tap a tiny finger to his screen.

"What's this, then?" she murmurs.

Phil has been zoned out entirely for at least fifteen, and he blinks back into reality. There's a new message in his Tumblr inbox, one that seems like it must be over the character limit for asks. He must have submissions turned on or something, that's the only possible explanation for an actual essay being sent to him. It's barely broken into paragraphs with very little punctuation and no capitalization, and Phil has been staring at screens for far too long to try and parse this on his own.

"Can you please make sure this isn't, like, the entire Bee Movie," Phil asks, handing Sophie his phone with only a slight twinge of anxiety. He trusts her not to go snooping, but. Still. "I need to pee."

"Mhm," Sophie hums, already apparently lost in whatever stream-of-consciousness has been dropped into Phil's inbox.

The floorboards in this old Brighton house creak, and Phil has always envied some of his housemates for being able to sidestep the noises. It doesn't seem to matter how long he lives here, how much he tries to avoid making any noise, it's like the floorboards are determined to creak under Phil's weight. He winces as he passes two bedrooms whose occupants surely don't appreciate creaking outside their doors at such an ungodly hour.

At least he doesn't run into any walls this time. The nightlight in the bathroom at the end of the hall is the only thing lighting Phil's way, and he tends to stub his toes on absolutely nothing in this kind of semi-darkness.

When he makes his - very, very creaky - way back to his own room, he's bewildered by the scene that greets him. PJ and Chris have joined Sophie on his bed, and all three of them are poring over Phil's phone as though they're looking at a map to the Holy Grail.

"Hello," Phil says slowly, closing the door behind him. It creaks, too. "You aren't going through my pictures, are you?"

"No," Sophie and PJ chorus without looking up.

"You got nudes on here or something?" Chris asks with a mild sort of interest, clearly also too engaged in Phil's phone to put his all into the flirting.

"I don't," says Phil. It doesn't sound convincing, even though it's true, and he waits for Chris to tease him about it some more. When he doesn't, Phil has to admit that he's curious. "So I guess it isn't a meme or something?"

That makes them look up, in almost comedic synchronicity. Sophie blinks a few times, as if she's coming back to herself. She holds out Phil's phone and shakes her head.

"It's not a meme," she says. "And near as we can tell, it's genuine."

Phil joins them and takes his phone back, adjusting his glasses. His bed really wasn't made for four people, but his housemates have never had any personal space amongst themselves, and Phil isn't one to say no to human contact when he isn't getting it anywhere else.

The message is just as hard to read as it was at first glance, but Phil puts his brain to work. If his friends are reacting like this, it usually means he's in for something good.

hi ok so the thing is that this is completely ridiculous and i dont think its what youre looking for at all but theres a building near my uni thats got a ton of stories around it and it only started happening like this year like it isnt an old obviously haunted type of place but theres a lot of weird shit that goes down there so i found all the references to it online that i could and ive summarized them here (w/ sources ofc im not a dick) and its all just this side of strange so it seems like the sort of thing you might be interested in ok here we go SO

And it goes on like that. Phil feels his eyebrows raising as he clicks the provided links in the following walls of text, which are exactly what they're advertised as. Not a single rickroll in there. Just a handful of posts on Reddit and Facebook and independent blogs about various experiences people have had with a particular abandoned building in -

"I know this place," Phil says, surprised. He looks up at PJ's grin, Sophie's wide eyes, Chris' palms rubbing together in exaggerated interest. "I've been to parties here. Well, okay," he corrects himself before his friends can do it for him, "I've gone with Martyn to parties here and left early."

"Yeah, it isn't far out of Manchester," PJ hums. He bounces in place a bit, like he's suddenly energized enough to go jump on the soonest train up north.

"It didn't seem that weird," says Phil. "It's been a few years, I guess, but it wasn't even that scary."

"Sounds like it's only just started, though," Chris pipes up.

Phil isn't sure how much he likes that. The idea of a place he's been a few times, half an hour from his childhood home, being so suddenly full of haunted activity feels... weird. Still, it's catching his interest in a way that nothing else has in months, so.

"I'll look into it some more tomorrow," he decides, glancing at the time. His brother is probably still awake, to be honest, but Phil doesn't want to be that guy asking 'hey, do you remember the Wilkins place?' before dawn has even broken. Again. He has definitely done that sort of thing in the past. "I'll have plenty of time while I do, what, seventeen loads of laundry?"

"Something like that," PJ laughs. "Want us to clear out?"

As nice as the company and help has been, Phil still feels a rush of relief at the concept of being left alone again. He nods, still scrolling idly through the Wilkins place submission.

It hits him, very literally, too close to home to ignore. He wonders if his fan knows that, if this is somehow an elaborate prank that will end up just wasting Phil's time, but he's too curious to leave it alone. He'll just have to ask around, see if anyone else has heard these murmurings.

Til then, maybe he ought to try and get some sleep. Phil's computer, still open on the editing software, tempts him.

Well. What's another couple hours at this point?

#phanfic #phanfiction #dnp fic #words words words #qowp..... mayhaps i made a mistake w this title......#quiet on widow's peak #YES it's another marianas title what are you the marianas title police?#bingo

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letswritefuriously · 5 years

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Try not to be confused challenge

You’ll fail; I wrote it and I failed So tbh, I’ve been having a little trouble with episode two, so I’m skipping straight to episode three. If you want to see if you can win the challenge, keep reading (prizes to the winner - but be honest).

Scene 1

Our team of three sprints through the woods, torch beams waving and flickering through the pre-dawn shadows. ETHAN stumbles, and ALICIA helps him up.

ALICIA: Ari, wait!

ARI turns back, exasperated.

ARI: Come on, hurry!

ALICIA: I don’t understand, what’s the urgency?

ARI (pointing): Sun’s nearly up.

ALICIA: And?

ARI: I don’t have time to explain! We nned to hurry. She turns and ushers them past. Go, go!

ETHAN coughs and wheezes as he jogs past.

ARI: Sorry, Ethan. Keep going, you’re doing great!

ETHAN coughs something that sounds suspiciously like a bad name.

ARI: If you can talk, you can run, come on, move it!

Scene 2

Our three heroes crest a hill, and ARI points. The camera focuses on a small log cabin, smiliar to the one that ETHAN and ALICIA were staying at in the last episode, only, this one appears to be completely hand-made. The camera focuses back on ALICIA and ETHAN, doubled over and panting.

ARI: That’s it, up ahead.

The other two just nod, not answering. ARI looks up, and pales as she sees the sky lightening near the horizon.

ARI: We need to go. Now! Go, go! She physically pushes them down the hill, the camera doing an extreme close-up of her hand, pulling two boomerangs from her belt. Beat it, you moronic lumps!

Using a handheld camera, there is a tracking shot of ALICIA and ETHAN sprinting tworads the hut-

ALICIA slams into the door, ETHAN a few seconds behind her.

ALICIA: Let us in! Let us in!

VOICE (masculine, gruff): Who are you?

ALICIA: We’re friends! Friends- of- Ari!

VOICE: And where is that a-hole?

ARI: Right here! She has suddenly appeared behind them, panting, her boomerangs still out. ALICIA jumps. Call me Johnny for I am the chronicler of Australian thots!

The door suddenly swings open, and ALICIA and ARI, who are leaning heavily on the door, tumble inside. ETHAN quickly steps in after them and shits the door.

He looks up, and gulps, cowering a little. Standing in front of him is NOAH (tall, as in like, really really tall okay, muscular, just overall really threatening).

NOAH: So... what brings you here?

Scene 3

Title card.

Scene 4

A car gets closer, closer, closer... and then zips past, revealing out team of three sitting on the side of the highway, just on the edge of the woods.

The camera focuses on ARI, stuffing a few packs of dried fruit into the top of her bag. In the background, we can see ALICIA and ETHAN, sitting on a log, talking indistinctly. ARI pauses and frowns, then shakes herself and continues to pack.

The camera cuts to ALICIA and ETHAN, talking quietly.

ETHAN: ...Actual plan?

ALICIA: We need to know WHY she’s in trouble before we can cover that.

ETHAN: Riiiiiight. If I die, I’m blaming it on you.

ALICIA: You’re not gonna die! I have a-

ETHAN: Plan?

ALICIA sighs, and mock glares at him.

ARI: Right-o! You guys good?

ALICIA (standing up and putting on her pack): Ready when you are.

ETHAN: I hope you know what you’re doing. I don’t wanna get eaten by a bear.

ARI: Aren’t there, like, no bears in Oregon?

ALICIA: There’s definitely bears in Oregon.

ARI: That’s what I said.

Scene 5

A scream rips through the air. ARI, who was some way ahead, throws herself around the corner.

ARI: Alicia? ALICIA is being supported by ETHAN, who looks at her, worried. Alicia!

ALICIA whimpers quietly.

ARI (to ETHAN): What happened?

ETHAN: I dunno, she just started screaming-

ALICIA: Can’t you see it?

They both look at her, startled.

ARI: See... She looks to the tree and starts suddenly, albeit it subtely. She quickly corrects herself. ...what?

ALICIA raises a shaking hand, and points it towards a tree directly in front of her.

The camera suddenly cuts to ALICIA’s pount of view, and... seemingly carved out of the base of the tree itself, face contorted in a silent scream as if she were trying to escape... is a small, woman, her hands curved into wooden claws as the clutch the bark of the tree. She is clearly dead.

ARI: Alicia... She waves her hand in front of ALICIA’s face. Alicia! Alicia, whatever, you’re seeing, it’s not real. Nothing’s there.

ALICIA (hyperventilating): You can see it, too, I know you can see-

ARI: It’s not there. Nothing’s there.

ETHAN: Alle, you know the drill. As he says this, ARI looks over, startled. Deep breaths, okay? Just like what’s-her-name, the weirdo lady said.

ALICIA gives a nervous laugh.

ALICIA: Her name was Ms Askan, Ethan. (In admiration) She was a psychiatrist... not a weirdo...

ETHAN: Yeah, whatever. Just... close your eyes. Think about being in her office, reading that bug book you like.

ALICIA (dreamily): The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

ETHAN: Do you feel better?

ALICIA (swallowing hard): That lady... that lady was... she was dead, Ethan.

ETHAN: Why do you think you saw that? Do you think it was really there?

ALICIA: Yes. It was there, I saw it.

ARI: No it- ETHAN shoots her a look and she shuts up.

ETHAN: Are you sure?

ALICIA: I...

ETHAN: Why do you think you saw it, Alle?

ALICIA: I think... I feel guilty about killing those soldiers.

ETHAN: Should you feel guilty?

The camera cuts suddenly back to that scene in the abandoned house, th colours distorted nightmarishly.

OFFICER: ...Why?

We cut back to ALICIA, her face tortured.

ALICIA: No. Her expression tells us otherwise, but ETHAN doesn’t catch it.

ETHAN: Okay, then. Open your eyes. She obeys. Can you still see it?

The camera cuts back to the tree. The woman is still there.

ALICIA: No. I can’t see it.

The camera zooms out to a wide shot. Every single tree has a dead person carved out of wood at the base, and with a groan, their heads all turn towards ALICIA.

TREES: Your fault. Your fault...

ALICIA draws a shaky breath, scrunching her eyes shut again. When she opens them, the tree-people are gone.

ALICIA: I’m okay. I’m okay. She straughtens up, pushing ETHAN away. Let’s go.

Scene 6

ALICIA and ETHAN are sitting inf ront of a crackling fire, looking pretty miserable. ALICIA turns suddenly from her place on the ground.

ALICIA: What are you even doing?

ARI straightens up, hits a tree and yelps, dropping the sack in her hand, which hits the ground with a supicious clink. ARI leans down to pick it up, but the moment she straightens up, she hits her head on the branch again, and a brown and blue crystal falls out.*labarodite, fluorite*

ARI: Pagan voodoo?

ALICIA throws her her tradmark bitchface, and ARI rubs her head.

ARI: Not used to being this tall, see. The bitchface reaches ETHAN’s face as well. That was a joke, guys.

ALICIA: Well, what are you doing?

ARI: I told you; pagan voodoo. (At ALICIA’s confused face); What? I’m a Wiccan.

ETHAN shrugs and turns back around. After a moment, ALICIA follows suit. ARI continues laying crystals in a circle around their camp for a fe moments, and then comes over.

ARI (sitting down next to them and poking the fire): So, you guys gonna tell me why we’re doing this?

ETHAN opens his mouth, but ALICIA interrupts.

ALICIA: Nope. (To ETHAN) Why do you keep telling her stuff?

ETHAN: I like her. He smiles at ARI.

ARI: Trust me, you won’t.

ETHAN: Why wouldn’t I?

ARI (shaking her head): Just wait a few days. You’ll be leaving faster than someone can say ‘oh s***, it’s a- She breaks off and gives them a wry smile, which fades all too quickly.

ETHAN: I find that hard to believe. Besides, you saved our lives. (To ALICIA) We can trust her.

ARI: Bold of you to assume that. She scrunches up her face. Hold on, I’m supposed to be arguing my favour here. She chuckles. Oof.

ALICIA (disdainfully): Oh for God’s sake, stop trying to be cool! You’re not a teenager!

ARI: Bold of you to- She catches ALICIA’s look. Okay, okay. What’s got you so wound up?

ALICIA frowns and opens her mouth, and then pauses, looking up at the sky. When she speaks, her voice cracks.

ALICIA: I don’t... I don’t know... something happened today, but I can’t remember what.

ARI: Do you remember... She notices ETHAN shake his head and trails off.

There is silence.

Scene 7

A soft, pink glow comes from the woods, gradually growing stronger. ALICIA continues to look straight ahaead, but we can tell from the way her eyes dart to the side that she can see it.

ARI, who is walking in front of ALICIA and ETHAN, sees it to, but keeps walking as if she hadn’t noticed it. The glow gets brighter, and out from behind a tree comes a short but willowy figure, about a metre tall, like a child, but with an adult’s face, her back decorated with beautiful pink wings. It is VIOLA (1m, appears to be in twenties, beautiful, Phillipino).

VIOLA: Ari! I’ve been looking for you for forever! You have no idea how long-

ARI’s fingers begin to flick subtely in what appears to be rather broken ASL. Subtitles appear on screen.

ARI: Be quiet. Have Idun-marked with me. May or may not be able to see.

VIOLA (whispering): Oh great Idun, your ASL is terrible!

At this, ALICIA starts and immediately looks towards ARI’s hands, but she clearly doesn’t understand ASL. She looks at ETHAN to see if he can see this, but he’s still looking at his feet, clearly unable to see the woman in front of them.

ARI: Do you not understand? Sign. Not talk.

VIOLA (still whispering): May or may not? What do you mean?

ARI: A little sight. Not always.

VIOLA: Why not? Gosh, if my ability to see the Children of Idun was turning on and off, I’d be going mad!

A shot of ALICIA’s face shows us that she thinks she might be.

ARI: I have trouble. Spirits care about her. She points, and VIOLA finally looks over at ALICIA.

VIOLA: Gracious! It’s a full Mark!

ARI: Know that. Worried.

VIOLA: Why? If I was in charge of the welfare of a-

ARI: Curse, you fool.

VIOLA: I’m glad this isn’t a verbal conversation, I know the profanities you can spew in-

ARI (rather violently): CURSE!

VIOLA: Ohhhhh. The Curse. Right. Well... What really is the loss of another human?

ALICIA looks alarmed.

ARI: Never say that. Unless you want your bicycle on the ceiling.

VIOLA: My bicycle...?

ARI: GUTS. Your GUTS on the ceiling.

VIOLA: Whatever. They fall into silence.

ARI: You knew I was me. How?

VIOLA: How? Why would I not- oh... you’re doing that disguise thing you- ARI gives her a pointed look, and indicates ALICIA with her eyes. Oh, please, if she could see me, we’d know by now. Your secret is safe with me. Anyway, I was tracking your aura. Dimwit. How else do I find you?

ARI: I’m wearing – Sher breaks off, sighs, and casually, ever so casually, pulls out a blue-brown stone on a rope from around her neck, the same as the one she was putting around the camp before. You can’t track my A-U-R-A. She spells out the last word.

VIOLA: Oh. I... Well I did know it was you.

ARI: But-

VIOLA: How do you really plan on keeping this a secret from her?

ARI: Lies?

VIOLA: Well, good luck. I know you’re okay now, and that was all I wanted to know, because as much as I hate you, you’re a useful bastard.

ARI: You don’t hate me.

VIOLA: You sure?

ARI: I don’t hate you.

VIOLA (looking away): Whatever. I’ll tell Citrus that-

ARI: Don’t say anything bad, I said I was sorry.

VIOLA: Oh, yes, that! She’ll be very pleased to know that your ASL is better.

ARI: I said I was sorry!

VIOLA: Sure, sure. Well, don’t let me- Where are you off to, anyway?

ARI: I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S. But first, safe house.

VIOLA: Which one?

ARI: It’s new, you wouldn’t know it. You can... She chews her lip, debating. You can come. If you want.

VIOLA: Don’t let me keep you. Besides, like you said, we don’t know if this asshole of an Idun-marked can see me. She salutes, and looks almost sad. Godspeed, my – my friend. She turns and flies into the woods.

Scene 8

It is the middle of the night, so ETHAN and ALICIA are in their tent. ARI is sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the fire, murmuring quietly. As she mutters, the sighing sound of wind becomes gradually stronger. ARI begins to speak louder, raising her hands. The fire turns pure black, and the only light is the stars, which are rapidly being blotted out by clouds. It begins to rain, softly at first, and then harder, until it is hammering down, causing the tents to shake. It is miraculous that ETHAN and ALICIA don’t wake up.

ARI’s face is screwed up in concentration. Emotions flit across her face like birds, as if multiple people are inside her, holding negotiations. Perhaps they are. Her nose begins to bleed, and the shock is visible on her face, though her eyes do not open.

ARI: No. No! We had a deal! You can’t- A strangled sound comes out of her throat, and her eyes open, pure white, but she scrunches them shut again and concentrates harder.

ARI: I- have- a- job- for- you! Her hands dig into the ground, and she begins to gasp. (In a vice that is very not her own): I see you here, shifter, vulnerable. Why should I not take you? (Back to her normal voice): You- will- heed- my- will!

Her eyes shoot open again, and the white slowly leaches from them, back to their normal green and blue. Her nose stops bleeding, the blood washing off in the slowing rain.

ARI: You can’t conquer me. Not today. She wipes off the remainder of the blood. Come. We have work to do.

Scene 9

ARI shakes ALICIA and ETHAN awake.

ARI: Come on. We’re going.

ETHAN rolls over and groans, and ALICIA sits up, blearily looking at her watch.

ALICIA: It’s 12:30...

ARI: 0030 hours. Come on, I’ve decided that we’re moving at night for... ah... secrecy.

ALICIA: Can’t we-

ARI: No. (Directly in ETHAN’s ear) Let’s go!

She grabs their arms and drags them outside.

Scene 10

We are inside the small hut that belongs to ARI’s ‘friends’; NOAH and ELIJAH. ARI stands up, brushing herself off.

ARI: I don’t know why I have to use that goddamn code every time, it’s kinda degrading-

NOAH’s fist slams into her face, and she hits the floor. ETHAN yells and backs away, and ALICIA kneels at ARI’s side, and then – to her credit – steps towards NOAH. ARI, however, holds up her hands to stop her. She gets up slowly, wiping blood from her mouth.

ARI: I guess I deserved that. (To NOAH) Feel better?

NOAH: What the hell, Ari? You defied a direct order back there at the Evil Organisation Base!

ARI is silent, her eyes on her feet.

NOAH: Everyone’s had to go into hiding, and it’s all your goddamn fault! E.O is swarming over the whole freaking country, our forces went down in _____, and- and we- we lost half of our troops...

They both bow their heads, and at that exact moment, ELIJAH comes into the room, his hand firmly on the wall, a blindfold over his eyes.

ELIJAH: We have no evidence that that was Ari’s fault.

NOAH: We can goddamn claim it though. He jabs his finger at ARI. You screwed up everything. This is why you lost your squad the first time! You endanger everyone around you-

ARI: I never took any of them with me on my suicide missions.

NOAH: Soldier’s could’ve tortured their whereabouts out of you-

ARI: I sent them all home the moment I was doing anything stupid. You just made it a lot easier by taking away my squad.

ALICIA: Hol’ up. What’s going on?

Both NOAH and ELIJAH fall silent, NOAH staring at ALICIA. He steps backward, and reaches out a hand to ELIJAH, who take it, and then takes a step back in shock.

NOAH: Great Idun. It’s the most powerful- ARI kicks him -uh... eggshell I’ve ever seen. When ARI looks at him, NOAH looks just as confused as she is. Uh... I-

ARI: You know how I was telling you about the resistance against E.O? That company that tried to shoot you?

ETHAN and ALICIA nod to indicate that they do.

ARI: Welcome to one of the resistance safe-houses. (To NOAH) Anybody else here?

He shakes his head.

NOAH: Like I said, we lost pretty much the whole force.

ALICIA: Hang on... lost them? Like, they died? NOAH nods, and she swallows. What does that have to do with Ari?

ARI: I... may have defied a direct order the other day.

ALICIA: May have?

ARI: ...I did.

ALICIA: And that lead to people dying... how?

NOAH: Because she alerted a bunch of soldiers to our presence, that’s how. The organisation was ignoring us for a little while, and she basically poked a stick at the ant nest.

ETHAN: It sounds like it was an accident.

ARI: Maybe it was, but I defied a direct order. It wouldn’t of happened if I’d just-

ETHAN: Why did we have to run that last part?

There is silence. ARI looks desperately at NOAH and ELIJAH.

NOAH: Before she explains that, we need to debrief. She’s still a soldier, even if a disobedient one.

ARI: Wait there. Don’t touch anything. She goes to walk after NOAH and ELIJAH, but then turns back around. DON’T god outside.

Scene 11

ELIJAH shuts the door after ARI with a sympathetic grimace.

NOAH: Bit of an old face you chose there, Ari. Got your reasons, I suppose?

ARI: They don’t know.

ELIJAH: Those two kids? Why not?

ARI: They were attacked by E.O. I got them out; I was posing as an agent of E.O at the time-

NOAH: Hold up. You were what?

ARI: To make up for my – for my failing on my last mission, I snuck into an E.O base and shifted into-

NOAH: So you’re saying that you were on the inside? And you just gave that up?!

ARI: They were gonna kill Ethan and take Alicia!

NOAH shakes his head with a disgusted look.

NOAH: It would’ve been worth it. Don’t you understand? This is war!

ARI: And war is to protect people, not to destroy your enemies! That’s why I can’t follow your orders!

NOAH sighs.

NOAH: Just shift back to yourself, Ari. I can’t take you seriously when you’re freaking forty.

ARI (practically snarling): You’re forty. Her body ripples, shakes and shrinks, until she becomes a short, androgynous, 19-year-old.

ELIJAH: So... when are you telling those kids about... He waves his hand. Everything?

ARI: I want to see if I can get them through this war without them finding out.

NOAH: Why?!

ELIJAH: More importantly; how? According to Noah that girl’s got the strongest mark we’ve ever seen in my lifetime, perhaps ever. She’ll be able to see-

ARI: She can’t. She can’t see any of it.

ELIJAH: Well that makes two of us. Do you know why?

ARI: No clue. Maybe having a full mark doesn’t make you more powerful, like we thought. It could be anything. All I know, is that the curse that comes along with that thing is gonna be gigantic. I don’t want her sticking a gun in her mouth.

NOAH: That’s not important. She’s part of the war effort now; with some training, maybe a few kicks to the head to get her working, and she could turn the tide of the war!

ARI: That’s not how people work. You can’t just-

NOAH: Sacrifices have to be made-

ARI: You can’t sacrifice anything that doesn’t belong to you!

NOAH: Who says they don’t-

ELIJAH: Noah!

There’s an awkward silence.

NOAH: All I’m saying is that it’s pretty selfish for her not to be involved. Him too.

ARI: Well it’s not your choice.

NOAH: And neither is it yours!

ELIJAH: You two need to calm down. We’re making no decisions just yet, until we can agree on something. (To ARI) It IS your decision whether to tell them about your... abilities.

ARI looks as if she is barely holding back a snarl.

ELIJAH: However, I need to know what you’re planning to do with them now; we’re moving out of here in a few days, so they won’t be able to-

ARI: I wasn’t planning on keeping them at this safe house; I’m taking them to Illinois. They asked to go there.

ELIJAH (frowning): Why?

ARI: I don’t know. They just said they wanted to go there, and they won’t tell me why. She sees NOAH and ELIJAH’s baffled expressions and huffs an exasperated sigh. They were going with or without me. At least this way, I could protect them from all the spirits and crap that’s gonna be in the forest.

ELIJAH: You should’ve taken them to a safe house-

NOAH: You could’ve just forced them to go-

ARI: No. I’m not gonna imprison them. Besides, I think they have a damn good reason for wanting to go.

ELIJAH: So if you’re not here to drop them off at the safe house, why ARE you here?

ARI: I need your help.

NOAH: Oh, so now you need our help? Never do anything for us, but you can just come waltzing up and ask us for any damn thing you want?

ARI: Maybe I don’t follow orders, but don’t pretend I’ve never done anything for you. She holds out her hands, which have a faint pink burn scar across them, as if she has been holding pure fire. I’ve done plenty of s*** for you.

NOAH: And that barely makes up for everything you’ve put us through. What are you doing for us in return?

ARI: I’ll go back to doing reconnaissance-

NOAH: It’s not enough.

ELIJAH: Noah-

NOAH: No, it’s not. You have to do something-

ARI: I’ll go into the infantry! There’s silence.

ELIJAH: You’re serious about needing help, huh?

ARI: You’ve got connections. With the Children of Idun. I need something other than the spirit I harnessed to get here.

Both NOAH and ELIJAH speak at the same time;

ELIJAH: You harnessed a spirit?

And;

NOAH: Wouldn’t think you were strong enough to harness any useful one. Huh.

ARI: Is it enough?

NOAH: How long you gonna be in the infantry?

ARI: Uh... one year.

NOAH cracks up, and his laughed isn’t reduced, only exacerbated, by the look ELIJAH gives him.

NOAH: Absolutely not happening. Longer.

ARI (calmly): Five years.

NOAH consider it, and then...

NOAH: I’m not taking anything less than lifetime service until death.

ELIJAH: Noah!

ARI: No.

NOAH: Well it looks like you’re not getting any help then. Good luck getting to Illinois. I’m not gonna be surprised if they die before then.

ARI (standing up): They won’t. I’ll protect them.

NOAH: There’s not much you can do without a proper Child of Idun.

ARI (bristling): I am a Child of Idun.

NOAH chuckles.

NOAH: No you’re not. You don’t fit in anywhere, mutt. He stands. Pleasure doing business with you. He holds out his hand to shake, which Ari takes, an acidic smile on her lips. The moment their hands join, NOAH pulls his lips close to your ear. (Whispering): How long do you really think they’re gonna last? Just some silver and you’re powerless.

ARI stiffens suddenly, and the camera catches on NOAH’s hand, holding a small, silver knife to ARI’s ribs. ELIJAH’s view is blocked by ARI’s body.

ELIJAH: Noah? What’s going on?

ARI opens her mouth to speak, but NOAH presses the blade against her ribs, and a small sizzling sound rises through the air. ARI’s face compresses into a grimace of pain.

NOAH: Nothing, ELIJAH, just seeing Ari out the door. He doesn’t move towards the door at all, and presses the knife further into ARI’s side. She lets out an audible gasp.

ARI (whispering): You’re bluffing.

NOAH grins evilly.

NOAH: Am I?

ELIJAH: Noah!

NOAH turns.

NOAH: What? He chuckles. She was right, I was bluffing. He turns to ARI. I’m also right, though. You’re no fighter; just a monster with a speck of brains. Any silver, and you’re powerless. He leans closer to her. Just know, that if you don’t agree to this deal, you’ll be walking out on everyone in the resistance. Not just in the American one, either. I believe you have a friend in the Australian resistance... what was his name? Billingurra? Billy? He can be sent to the frontlines easily enough.

ARI pales.

ARI: He said he’d never sign up...

NOAH: Apparently not everyone keeps their promises. He laughs. Make your own choice. He begins to walk away.

ARI: Wait!

He turns, expectant.

ARI: I’ll... I... She screw her eyes shut. I’ll do it.

NOAH: Give me the whole statement, I wanna hear it.

ELIJAH: Noah, I’m warning you-

NOAH: Give me the whole statement.

ARI: I... Ari Lachlan... She swallows. I will give a lifetime service to the infantry, until inability to... to fight, or until... death.

NOAH smiles.

NOAH: That wasn’t that hard, see. I apologise for the first, possibly second degree burn on your ribs. Now, what do you want help with?

ARI: Contacts. You have contacts in the woods; I need to meet some of them, to find a faster way through the woods.

Scene 12

ETHAN and ALICIA sit together on two wooden chairs by the door in complete silence.

ETHAN: It’s a small world after all...

ALICIA: Shut up. Silence once more. (whispering) What’s going on here?

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Tagging: @dc-writes, and @juls-writes

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