S02E03: The Planetarium

STERLING: I feel like I’m…forgetting something.

GREEN: Oh? Do you ‘feel’ you’ve forgotten it, or do you know it? It’s important to distinguish our emotions from our knowledge, Sterling, because we humans are creatures of emotion. We mustn’t disregard such a powerful resource simply to please almighty Logic.

STERLING: Maybe it’s just nerves, Green…

GREEN: Interesting hypothesis. You did follow your checklist to the letter. It’s all accounted for, is it not?

*paper shuffles*

STERLING: But what if I left something off the list? What if I didn’t remember that I needed to remember?

GREEN: Then it must have been ancillary in the first place.

STERLING: R-right…You know I get nervous. 

GREEN: It’s going to be just fine, starling.

STERLING: Why did that nickname stick?

GREEN: Because you’re my little bird, Rowan. Beautiful and fragile, sharp as a raven’s talon, and your name is a simple vowel replacement away.

STERLING: Yours doesn’t work as well. What am I supposed to do with ‘Green’?

GREEN: You’re a clever man, I’m sure you can figure something out.

*PA beeps steadily in the background*

STERLING, in the French pronunciation: Clémentine, perhaps? 

GREEN, taken aback: Excuse me?

STERLING: No, you’re right. Maybe it is too…soft for you. 

GREEN: No, no, Sterling, that’s not the issue. That’s not what you’re s…Err, I suppose I was not expecting that answer. Your French is improving.

STERLING: Oh, it came to me suddenly. The camera! That’s what I’d forgotten. Well, we always have our phones, don’t we.

GREEN: But…I think if you check your bag you’ll notice…Ah, forget it, let’s try again.

STERLING: What? Green, what do you mean—

*beeping PA continues as audio cuts out*

***

DARYLL: So, uh, hey guys? I figure I should tell you now before you hear about it, but I got a scholarship to OSU. I’m gonna be moving down there in the fall, assuming we live through the night. 

OLIVIA: That’s great! You’re gonna love it.

ALEX: Oh, damn. That’s like three hours away…

Daryll: Yeah…I’ll come visit though! There’s always spring break.

NADIA: I, uh…I’ll be down there too. Well, not Columbus, but Ohio.

ALEX: Wait, what?

NADIA: I already told you, but I guess you guys didn’t listen. I got accepted at Oberlin. I’ll be near Cleveland.

ALEX: You serious? You didn’t tell me. That’s--

OLIVIA, stepping in: Th-that’s so cool! The museum is wonderful.

ALEX, a bit dejected: Yeah, that’s…that’s far. Good for you, though. 

NADIA: What about you? What are you doing after this summer?

ALEX, bullshitting: I uhh…I think I’m just gonna coast for a bit, you know? Take the year off to sort of get my shit in line. Probably work and save up some cash so I’m not broke like you guys will be. 

NADIA: That sounds…nice, Alex. 

ALEX: Oh yeah, definitely. Can’t wait to not have homework, or classes, or grades. 

DARYLL: Hell yeah.

OLIVIA: So you all go separate ways after this, huh?

NADIA: I guess that’s the plan. For now, anyway.

DARYLL: It’ll be sick. I mean, when we meet up again it’ll be like all post-timeskip, so that’s awesome. I’ll probably be even more ripped than I am now, Nadia’s probably gonna have blue hair or some shit, and Alex, um…Alex is gonna be hella rich, so. What if we planned a meetup every summer? 

NADIA: Sure, if we get out of here.

OLIVIA: Ooh yeah, i love that idea.

DARYLL: So how’s it work, do you have a room picked out and all that? Gonna live that sweet dorm life?

NADIA: Yeah, I think so. For a while at least. I’m just ready to get out of Deerland.

DARYLL: For real.

NADIA: It’s just so small. Everyone’s like totally close-minded.

ALEX: Sorry, guys, I uhh…I gotta go drain the snake, if you get me. I’ll be right back. 

*Daryll laughs, Nadia groans in disgust, footsteps as Alex leaves*

DARYLL: Prolly just mad she didn’t get into Michigan.

NADIA: Did she even apply? Her grades are trash.

DARYLL: I’d bet twenty bucks she missed the deadline.

NADIA: I told her I’d help her with a letter, but she said she was going to, quote, “wing it.”

DARYLL: “Wing it?” Damn, dude. I guess I’m lucky my parents helped me out.

NADIA: Yeah, my pottery teacher hooked me up with a rec letter.

DARYLL: Siiick. What are your plans, Liv?

OLIVIA: I went to–got into OSU, too. 

NADIA: That tour didn’t scare you off?

OLIVIA: Nah, I’m just gonna live off campus. 

DARYLL: Damn, okay. So no love for Michigan?

OLIVIA: I tried. I didn’t realize their acceptance rate was about the same as UC Berkeley. Even lower for grad school.

NADIA: Jesus. Just melt it all down and start over. 

*a rustle in the trees, some kind of weird noise*

OLIVIA: Did you guys hear that? Was that Alex?

NADIA: Noooo, don’t think so.

OLIVIA: I’m actually gonna go check on her quick.

*footsteps in grass*

OLIVIA: H-hey, Alex? Are you out here? Everything okay?

ALEX: *quick sniffle* Damn dude, you heard of knocking? What’s up?

OLIVIA: I had to go, too.

ALEX: You absolutely did not. 

OLIVIA: I don’t think you did either.

ALEX: Why are you here?

OLIVIA: You just seemed a bit off. I wanted to check on you.

ALEX: That’s sweet, but I’m fine. I just had to—

OLIVIA: You can talk to me, Alex. 

ALEX: Nothing to talk about. All good here.

OLIVIA, quietly: I know you like her, and it sucks she’s going away without you.

ALEX: W-whoa, hey, I don’t like anybody. And if I did, it should be Daryll.

OLIVIA: Should be? 

ALEX: Just shut up, okay? You don’t know what you’re talking about.

OLIVIA: I know how you feel. 

ALEX: You have no idea how I feel. You don’t know me, no one does. It’s all bullshit, it’s all fake, no one actually cares about anything but themselves. And if you don’t play along with all of society’s bullshit, you’re screwed. You go to college? You get stuck with a bunch of dumb work and a ton of debt. Don’t go to college? Good luck getting a job. Why do we even do any of it? Go to school, get a job, get married, have two kids, retire, die. What’s the point.

OLIVIA: I get it. I used to feel the same, but–

ALEX: Don’t act like you’re better than me. Like you’ve figured it all out.

OLIVIA: Fine, Scarlet, you’re right. I’m a stubborn baby just like you. I love to make eeeverything a joke and shut everyone out.

ALEX, actually hurt: You know what? I don’t need this. You can f–

OLIVIA: God, I’m sorry Alex. I…I’m just on edge, it’s not true. Sometimes my own anxieties make me forget about everyone else’s. You’re gonna do great things, and I’m really sorry.

ALEX: *sniff* You mean it?

OLIVIA: Yeah, really.  

ALEX, a little soft, playing it off: It’s not my fault I’m so funny.

OLIVIA: I know. I’m lucky to have you as a friend. You don’t have to talk to me about anything if you don’t want to. I’m not here to pressure you, but I am here to listen anytime, okay? And I promise no judgment, no matter what you tell me. 

ALEX: What if I stabbed a dude?

OLIVIA: I wouldn’t tell a soul.

ALEX: And killed him.

OLIVIA: That’s your prerogative. 

ALEX: And then I ate him.

OLIVIA: Alex, I’m serious.

ALEX: Me too. What if I killed a dude and ate him?

OLIVIA: I guess I’d have to find a way to live with your secret. 

ALEX: Promise?

OLIVIA: I promise. 

ALEX: Good. Cuz if I liked Nadia that’d be wild, right? Like, super gay.

OLIVIA: I mean, yeah, by definition: gay. 

ALEX: And if I liked her and if I told you, and I found out you told someone else—

OLIVIA: I’d be the dude you stabbed. 

ALEX: Right. 

OLIVIA: Okay. Let’s head back before we get eaten alive by mosquitos.

*footsteps as they return* 

***

DARYLL: Hells yeah, that’s it up ahead!

ALEX: Weren’t there like…roads to get to the planetarium? Where the hell are all the non-cursed paths?

OLIVIA: Let’s go in and see if anyone’s there. Maybe they have a working phone!

*door sounds*

OLIVIA: Ugh. It’s locked.

ALEX: Back up. Let me take care of this.

DARYLL: Are you sure--

*hard kick, ALEX pained noise*

ALEX: AHHH *inhales through teeth, grunt* fuck

NADIA: It didn’t break.

ALEX: NO SHIT, but I think my leg bone might have.

OLIVIA, quietly: Shh, shh. I hear something moving inside. H-hey! Is anyone in there? We’re kind of lost. Do you have a phone?

*pause, then voice from behind door*

ERICA: W-who are you? Do you have weapons? Any injuries?

OLIVIA: No? We’re just tired, and sweaty.

DARYLL: And scared.

ERICA: Y-you’re just a bunch of kids. *sigh* Hold on, give me a sec.

*door unlocks*

ERICA: Come in, quick.

*door slams and locks, flashlight clicks*

ERICA: Here, let me check your ears.

NADIA: Ow, hey, what the hell.

ERICA: Hold. Still.

ALEX: Come on, man.

ERICA: I just…I just need to be sure.

*muffled shriek*

ALEX: Whoa back off, sure of what? What was that?

ERICA: *sigh* You’re probably clean. I’m sorry. Sit down. Does anyone want water?

ALEX, OLIVIA, NADIA: *various “yes,” “Sure,” “yeah”*

ERICA: Here. Is anyone hurt? How’d you get out here?

OLIVIA: We’re fine, but—

ALEX: Excuse me, you’re fine, my leg hurts.

ERICA: You’re the one who tried to kick the door in.

ALEX: Must have been reinforced or something, it was hella tough.

ERICA: Nnnope. Just a door.

*pause*

OLIVIA: We were out here for the eclipse. We weren’t with the group, though. We went off-trail. We snuck out into a clearing with some beer and weed—

NADIA: No we didn’t.

ALEX: Snitch.

DARYLL: Don’t tell my mom.

ERICA: It’s fine. Go on, please.

OLIVIA: And then the moon disappeared. Fully vanished in the sky. Then it happened…it came back, but so did another. We ran through the woods, and we got cornered by…something. A park ranger. But…the head, well, it exploded. And a snake or tentacle or something came out and he—it—chased us. Hecks called it a thinhead. I don’t know if it’s related to the two moons or if that was even real. Now you have to tell us, what was that noise?

ERICA: You said the park ranger “wasn’t right?” So, the same thing happened here. I’m Erica Mori, I’m the head of programming here at Maybury. That noise was whatever shred of humanity is left of my coworkers trying to escape.

OLIVIA: Do you know what…any of this is?

ERICA: Not really. I can only tell you what I’ve seen. About two hours ago, Keith—that’s the telescope operator. Went to U of M for Entomology, ironically enough—he said his head hurt. Figured it was due to the localized change in air pressure. Normal stuff. Next it was Dawn. She said the same thing. Then Caplan, then Moony—sorry, that’s Muñoz. God, Muñoz, too—they all felt ill. That’s one too many for a coincidence. We figured it was maybe carbon monoxide, gas leak, something of that nature. I must have been far enough away in my office to not be hit yet. We—oh god—we canceled our evening plans and got ready to leave. I was going to lock up, but we couldn’t find Keith. He…jesus…we called out for him. Checked the office, then the back room, then the restrooms. No sign. I peeked into the theater, and there was someone in the front row, slumped over in the chair. I called the others. Moony, he…he made his way down the aisle. He put his hand on the person’s shoulder, and, we knew, on Keith. Shit, he was…Keith was a big guy, you know? Broad shoulders, strong forearms. Could be kind of intimidating if you didn’t know him. Outdoorsy in the fun way. He has a camping trip coming up, or he had, and…sorry, Moony put his hand on Keith’s shoulder, and he saw something weird on Keith’s ear. Then we all saw. We saw something come out of his ear. Long, slimy, pink. Clearly parasitic. Dawn fainted, Moony stumbled backward into the seat behind him. And Keith, he just…he crumbled. Like tin foil or something. He was so strong, hard to imagine him so…so small.

A piece of his head just fell to the floor, like loose shale. Then another. And there was a…a splitting. Like a pumpkin being gutted. Just a wet thud and—christ—a splash. I think I screamed, I don’t remember. I just knew Keith was dead. The thing spun around and made this awful piercing sound. I saw red drip from Muñoz’s ears. Eardrums ruptured, clear symptoms. But it wasn’t that. I think he was screaming, bleeding, and he reached up to his ear. He started tearing, and off it came, and out with it another…I don’t know what they are, but they burrow. The thing must have carved a maze in Keith’s skull, and it was doing the same to Muñoz. Dawn was on the floor, Caplan was rushing for the fire escape at the opposite end of the auditorium. It was locked, and only I had a key. They shook the handle and looked back at me, eyes crystal clear, before the door shut behind me.

*sympathetic, trying to convince herself she was right* They all had the same headache, you know? I…I could recognize the pattern. I knew the inevitable outcome. I…They’re in there now. In the theater. It’s locked. I blockaded it the best I could from the outside, but doors like that. Doors like that are designed so you can’t block them. Can’t jam the back of a chair under the handle. Safety measure. Not very safe for me. But they kept making that noise and clawing and I…I just turned off my hearing aid and locked every door I could find. I umm…I have a syringe, too. Just in case I feel it coming on. But so far, nothing.

ALEX: You…you locked them in there. With that thing.

ERICA: What, I should have stayed, and gotten myself killed along with them? No.

ALEX: They could still be alive! You don’t know—

ERICA: Then you go ahead and go into the auditorium, hero. Take a seat in the theater and have a nice talk.

*silence*

ERICA: I thought so.

DARYLL: Miss Mori, I—

ERICA: Doctor. I didn’t put myself in six digits of debt for nothing.

DARYLL: Ope, sorry. Dr. Mori, respectfully, what the fuck is going on.

ERICA: Some celestial anomaly, contact with a black hole. The milky way finally spinning apart. The second coming. I don’t know. But something’s wrong.

ALEX: Space is haunted.

ERICA: Your guess is as good as mine.

OLIVIA: And do you know anything about a sign in the woods?

ERICA: What sign?

OLIVIA: We found an old highway sign. “Welcome to Ohio, the heart of it all.”

ERICA: Oh no. That’s one more point of data for my hypothesis. I was poring over the satellite data before the moon—uhh, moons—came back, trying to figure out the umbra’s path. But the map seemed frozen; the shadow wasn’t moving at all. And something was off about the border. County lines were all distorted. Detroit, and this whole southern region, looked like it was…it was part of Ohio. I just thought it was a visual glitch or something. Now a few things are starting to make sense. Okay, kids—god, listen to me. “Kids.” Kids, teens, whatever—there’s…there’s something out there.

ALEX: Duhhh.

ERICA: No, something more than the ranger, more than my coworkers. I’ve seen things through the windows. I…I can almost feel it. The change in heat, the pressure, the damned humidity and flat expanse. It’s like an eldritch presence, a hauntological entity. And with that sign, “the heart of it all,” I believe I know what it is. As crazy as it sounds, the malevolent entity that’s out there…

OLIVIA: It’s literally Ohio.

ERICA: Yes, and it’s spreading.

***

NADIA: Holy shit…Alex was right.

ALEX: How can a state spread? I feel like I’m losing my mind. Someone slap me in the face to make sure I’m not dreaming all this.

ERICA: Perhaps it’s more that the ideology is spreading, the political and cultural imaginary of Ohio seeping into other places. I haven’t the slightest.

ALEX: Okay, you talk like a fuckin English class, that’s how I know you’re not just in my head.

OLIVIA: That’s kind of what Hecks said. I know it’s going to be hard for all of us to accept, but I think it’s time we face the fact: there’s something beyond the ordinary at work here. 

NADIA: You’re right, that is hard to accept. But I guess I did see a worm come out of a dude’s head, so…

OLIVIA: We have two moons, strange creatures, spaces changing. And it’s getting hotter. It feels almost unreal. Like we’re trapped in some nightmare.

DARYLL: I knew ghosts and shit were real. 

OLIVIA: I don’t know about ghosts. Maybe it’s explainable, maybe it’s aliens, maybe monsters and demons do exist and they’re waiting out in the dark for us. But what we’ve seen so far today, it’s not normal. And if we want to make it through this, we’re going to have to choose where to spend our energy wisely.

ALEX: Jesus, you’re awful calm about all this, Liv. Who’d have pegged you as the least anxious one in a crisis. But I guess you’re right. I don’t give a shit why this is happening, I just want to go home. Maybe we can wait the whole thing out here with you, Doc.

ERICA: About that…I’ve got one more piece of bad news. I said the shadow on the radar didn’t seem to be moving. Well, the hands on the clock back there aren’t budging either. I assumed it was a dead battery, happens all the time, Caplan never remembers to replace it. But look at the clock on the computer: 10:35 p.m. That’s when Keith…well, when he left us. That was at least an hour ago. Almost certainly more.

OLIVIA: The same time as the eclipse…

ERICA: And look at this. That border doesn’t look quite right, does it? Pittsburgh, Point pleasant, Ann Arbor. All within Ohio’s borders.

DARYLL: Wh-what do we do, then? Call the cops? The feds?

NADIA: Hell no, don’t call the pigs. If you want some dumb asshole to show up late and tell you to fix the problem yourself, Alex is right there.

ALEX: Whoa, whoa, who died and made you chairman, comrade? Cops are fine, it's The Man you gotta watch out for. 

NADIA: What man?

ALEX: The Man. Government, bureaucracy, taxes and g-men. Never trust the state, they mess everything up.

ERICA: I already tried the ranger station, anyway. It just kept ringing. No response. I suppose I know why no one picked up, now. There’s another reading here as well. Something unusual to the northeast.

OLIVIA: We need to come up with a plan.

ALEX: How? I barely even know what’s going on when dude’s heads aren’t exploding.

NADIA: Guys?

DARYLL: Can we just sit for like two seconds? The cheap beer’s got me feeling like…mondo bad.

NADIA: Hey. Guys.

OLIVIA: Well, first, we should see what kind of resources we can scrounge up here. Then—

NADIA: No, really, shut up for a second.

*silence, there’s no sound at all*

NADIA: Hear that?

ALEX: No?

NADIA: Yeah, exactly.

OLIVIA: Oh, god.

ERICA: They’re not making those horrible sounds anymore. Do you think…

NADIA: I’m not going to check.

DARYLL: Erica, they’re your friends, maybe—

OLIVIA: No, I’ll go. You all stay here.

*quiet footsteps on tile as Olivia approaches the theater door*

OLIVIA, quietly to herself: It’s still shut. 

*grunting effort as she pushes aside a toppled bookcase*

OLIVIA: Okay, Ash said this all in the past, the only change that can happen is in my head. I won’t die. I can’t die. We just have to power through this. Well, here goes nothing. 

*door creaks open, silence*

OLIVIA: I don’t see any…uh-oh. *louder, to the others now* Hey, guys? The fire exit door at the front is uh…broken open. I don’t see them in here anymore. 

ERICA: Oh. Oh no. No, no, no.

ALEX: So they’re just out in the wild now. More of those thinheads. Great.

ERICA: I’ve been calling them earworms. Like catchy songs. Gallows humor. Must be my coping mechanism.

OLIVIA, back with the group: Can you tell us what you know about them? Anything else you noticed?

ERICA: As I said, it started with a headache, not long before the moon was supposed to be in penumbra. I think Keith said he heard something, a hard drive whining maybe. I didn’t pick it up though. Higher frequencies are harder for me. When the…worms came out, they seemed to respond to sound.

OLIVIA: Yeah, we noticed the one chasing us had a hard time finding Alex when she stopped moving.

NADIA: Do you think we could just like…plug our ears and run?

OLIVIA: Maybe, it’s worth a shot. 

*high pitched whine slowly returns, quiet footsteps in the background*

DARYLL: Can’t really punch anything with my hands over my ears, though.

ALEX: Thank god for kickboxing and women.

NADIA: What?

ALEX: O-oh, that’s just what my instructor says sometimes. Like…

DARYLL: Hey, is that an ax on the wall?

ERICA: Yes, it’s for emergencies. And if this doesn’t qualify as one, I don’t know what would.

DARYLL: Sick, I’m gonna go grab it.

*whine and hiss as an earworm jumps out at Daryll*

DARYLL: HOLY SHIT

ERICA: Oh god no, it’s Moony…

OLIVIA: Cover your ears! NOW! Nadia, what are you doing!?

NADIA: Headphones.

*music blares, all other sounds are muffled for the ensuing fight/escape*

OLIVIA: Daryll, behind you!

ALEX: *effort noises for running, kicking* Hold on, Daryll!

DARYLL: *surprised noise, scream in pain* Fuck, oh fuck 

*ax clatters to the floor*

OLIVIA: Nadia, grab it. Don’t make Erica kill her friend! Erica, what are you—

ERICA: He’s not my friend anymore.

*muffled wet impact*

NADIA: How are there more of them!? Were they just waiting for us to open the door?

OLIVIA: We have to run!

ALEX: Daryll, come on!

DARYLL: hhhhhhhhhuuuuu…

ALEX: …Daryll?

OLIVIA: Come on, we have to go, NOW

ERICA: You kids go, I’ll take care of this.

ALEX: What? No way! We can—

ERICA: I’m the one with the ax. Go.

*multiple footsteps and whipping, whining noises as the other earworms rush into the room*

ALEX: No, Daryll!

*wet crunch*

ALEX: I’m gonna…I’m gonna be…

*thud, music and scene end*