Yet

YET: in addition.

[SFX: beep. The door to Claire’s place slams open and she storms in and just starts trashing the place]

JUDITH: [SFX: running in the front door] Claire? Claire, hey! What are you doing?

CLAIRE: [SFX: the sound of tearing wallpaper] I need this OFF THE WALLS, I want this all GONE, I need this place to BE TORN DOWN TO THE STUDS.

JUDITH: [SFX: goes to stop her] Ok, ok, whoa! Please, don’t- [SFX: something breaks] hey, watch it!

CLAIRE: FUCK this place. This FUCKING HOUSE. 

JUDITH: [SFX: grabs her] I know! I know, Claire, please, you can’t go apeshit on this place just yet. First of all, there’s already a lot of damage from the fire so the last thing either of us want is for you to step on a weak spot or smash something load-bearing or do anything that could actually cause either of us harm. SECOND, … I don’t know, I think my only way to look at this is “don’t hurt yourself” because I also want to take a sledgehammer to this place-

CLAIRE: THEN LET’S GO.

JUDITH: -we CAN’T, ok? This place is already a disaster, we’re disasters, and neither of us wants to end up back at the hospital because of anger-induced demolition injuries or whatever. First step, we… deal with your insurance, and then we can go from there. We will figure out a plan of attack with this place – possibly literally – but for now we just need to get your stuff. Then we can go to my place, ok? So, let’s get your things-

CLAIRE: Are they MY things, Jude? What even is MINE, anymore?

JUDITH: I’m not really sure how-

CLAIRE: No, you’re not, and neither am I! I’m not sure about ANYTHING right now. My body was a PRISON and so is this FUCKING HOUSE. [SFX: kicks something, then stalks off towards the kitchen]

JUDITH: I know, but- [SFX: slips, falls] ow… oh. Oh god, did not need that. [SFX: scrambles up] Ok, ok, ok, it’s just blood, just more blood, it’s ok, it’s ok, it’s ok… [SFX: takes a deep breath. Touches the floor] How… is it still wet? It’s been hours. It’s been… so many hours. And the floor is dry. And warm. But this blood is wet. [SFX: She heads into the kitchen]

CLAIRE: This is so fucked up. I’m in a kitchen. I’m in my kitchen. So, I should just… I don’t know, offer you a snack? A beverage? That’s what real people do, right? Go into their kitchens and offer people snacks? Only, I don’t know how to be me right now or how to be a person or ANYTHING and the thought of food makes me want to puke.

JUDITH: Claire, please, I don’t want to stay here longer than we need to. If you want, I’ll just go upstairs and get whatever I can find. 

CLAIRE: No. I’ll go up there. This place is NOT going to fucking best me.

JUDITH: Alright. I like the ‘fuck you’ attitude, very proactive.

CLAIRE: Sorry, my brain’s not working right now… did I hear you slip earlier? Are you ok?

JUDITH: Oh, uh, yeah. I’m fine, I’m fine.

CLAIRE: There’s just so much water damage over here and… oh god.

JUDITH: Yeah. Yeah… it’s a… fair amount of blood. And now it’s on me! I just can’t escape it! Love this for me! Real great.

CLAIRE: Is that Owen’s?

JUDITH: Um… probably? I can’t keep looking at it. I know he’s ok but I can’t stand here in it. 

CLAIRE: Yeah, don’t worry, we’ll get someone else to deal with it. There are probably companies for this, right? I wonder how expensive real life horror movie cleanups are- hang on, sorry, I’m just realizing, it’s wet. How? Why is the blood still wet? 

JUDITH: Yeah, uh, Claire, I’m not sure how to say this while this all still feels very much like a fresh wound, but everything in here feels very weird. … more than usual.

CLAIRE: Oh really, Judith? The hell house I inherited is weird? Tell me more.

JUDITH: Just… put your hand on the wood over here. 

CLAIRE: [SFX: bends down, places hand on the floor] It’s… warm?

JUDITH: It’s subtle, but it’s there. Like a body under covers. [SFX: gently, running her hand along the wall] The walls are warm. Especially here, under the wallpaper. [SFX: Judith rips a bit of the wallpaper off the wall] God, the writing and the symbols on the wall. It’s endless. This whole house.

CLAIRE: Stop touching that!I’m sorry, just… you have no idea. This entire place is covered with that writing, Jude. And because of it… nothing leaves here unscathed. Nothing comes in and stays the same. The walls are a kaleidoscope of incantations and sigils. And this place is… many, many things, but right now? It’s a fortress, Jude.

JUDITH: Y’know, sometimes I don’t even feel like I’m scared, I just want to know more. 

CLAIRE: You should be scared. You really, really should be. But yeah, let’s just get my shit and get the fuck out.

[SFX: glitch beep. Heavy static for a couple seconds]

[SFX: beep. Owen’s living room. He’s leaving Judith a voicemail]

OWEN: Hey Jude, just leaving you a message, moving my arms hurts so I’m not going to bother typing. I know this is a little zealous of me but I get the feeling that we’re, uh, kind of under the gun now with whatever Lydia has planned. I stumbled across an Instagram profile of someone linked to Lydia and there’s something that might be of interest to you in one of her posts- [SFX: the phone starts to beep]

OPERATOR: [SFX: distorted] INCOMING CALL FROM- [SFX: screeching noise. The noise cuts out and then there’s silence for a moment, then the sound someone laughing] If you’d like to hear more options, please stay on the line- [SFX: Owen hangs up the phone. Something clatters to the ground in the closed closet, startling him]

OWEN: What the fuck was that? Ok, it’s ok, something just fell over the closet, you’re fine, it’s cool. You’re fine, let’s go check it out. [SFX: carefully makes his way over to the closet, opens the door, digging around] Ah, hello hockey stick I never use. Thanks for scaring me. [SFX: digging around] Man, this trench coat, what was I thinking? … holy shit, it’s a mess in here. What even is this? [SFX: he moves into the closet, the door of the closet slams behind him, trapping him inside. He’s banging and pounding on door. The door swings open and he falls out, landing on the ground] How the fuck am I supposed to do this?

[SFX: beep. They are walking down the hallway towards Judith’s place]

JUDITH: What the fuck-… is my door open?

CLAIRE: Oh shit.

JUDITH: [SFX: running down the hall] Oh shit, SHIT. SHIT. Why the FUCK is every window open? [SFX: she’s running around the apartment checking all the rooms]

CLAIRE: Oh my god. Did someone break in?

JUDITH: [SFX: in another room] I assume so! Fuck!

CLAIRE: Is anything missing? Looks like your laptop is still there, TV… 

JUDITH: [SFX: comes back in the room] No, I don’t see… fuck, I have to get these locks changed and a camera or SOMETHING, I can’t believe I’m doing this AGAIN.

CLAIRE: What do you mean, “again”?

JUDITH: [SFX: she stops rushing around] Oh, god, right. Yeah, you don’t know.

CLAIRE: What don’t I know?

JUDITH: Uh, well, relatively recently, someone broke in here and took all my scans of the notebooks, any of the stuff we looked at back during our initial investigation into the house, just… everything.

CLAIRE: Seriously?

JUDITH: Yeah. And I’m pretty convinced it was Lydia, seeing as you’d have no reason to lie to me about it now. But yeah, it was… everything. Everything is gone. Everything I had, anyways, that wasn’t digitized. God, fuck, Claire, what the fuck are we going to do? Lydia is somewhere out there, she’s furious, she’s got… demon magic or whatever, and people ready to help her finish this whole shit nuts plan she’s got, and we have to stop her, but we’re going in blind. I feel like we’ve exhausted everything. Owen and I spent so much time online and looking through old texts and trying to find whatever we could with what little we knew, but it still felt like we were only scratching the surface, and now all of that is gone and we’re fucked.

CLAIRE: You’re right, we do need to stop her, but… we’re not going in blind.

JUDITH: What, do you have access to other sources of information on how to stop demonic rituals? Because at this point, I am running low on options.

CLAIRE: I was there, Judith. I wish… I wasn’t. But I saw and heard a lot of things. Everything.

JUDITH: … oh my god, right. Yes. Fuck, right. So you have some insight. Ok… I mean, that’s… it’s awful, but that’s good. But mostly awful. But still…

CLAIRE: Yeah.

JUDITH: Ok… well, I’m glad at least one of us maybe has some idea of how we can stop this uncontrollable trash fire.

CLAIRE: Yeah. My head feels… weird.

JUDITH: God, yeah, I can only imagine. 

CLAIRE: It feels like there was… a parasite in my brain. And it took up all the space it could, crowding me out, until I was very, very small. And it’s gone now, but it feels like it left pieces of itself behind. And I’m still… so small. Because I’m afraid to see what’s left in there, in those weird, big, empty spaces. But… it’s there. And I don’t know how to live with that. I don’t know where I’d even start. But that’s something that we can deal with another day. For now, we can just… use it. So… ask me what you think we need to know and I’ll… try.

JUDITH: Ok, well, the biggest question I have is this: how long do we have until Lydia makes her final move?

CLAIRE: Not sure yet, but not long. It all depends on when she starts the process.

JUDITH: And when she does?

CLAIRE: We’d have about 10 days, maybe 2 weeks?

JUDITH: … oh. 

CLAIRE: If we’re lucky.

JUDITH: I have to say that, on my list of responses, that wasn’t what I was expecting. Or hoping for, because I thought you’d say, like… 6 months. Maybe we could all take a little vacation or something.

CLAIRE: Yeah. Sorry.

JUDITH: [sigh] Uh, I mean, not your fault.

CLAIRE: It kind of is.

JUDITH: Not in my mind. Ok, uh… fuck. Right. Fuck. Uh… so… what’s she going to do?

CLAIRE: The blessing of the master has come to pass. The gate will be opened once the blood of a hundred devoted hearts are spilt, the hecatomb realized, and upon that the final bearer will breach the seal, rip open the earth, and from the bowels will come the final form, in fire and smoke, of the master, of Moloch.

JUDITH: Cool. 

CLAIRE: She’ll move fast. In another time, they would’ve done this all at once in a grand ceremony, but… well, real estate is at a premium for a mass slaughter. The sacrifices will likely be made privately, quietly, incrementally over the course of maybe a week or so? It’s not like people aren’t ready, but obviously things have changed. But… yeah.It’s what I- it’s what she would have done. And… Lydia’s probably a bit more…

JUDITH: Of a monster? A hellion bent on destruction with the weight of an evil god behind her?

CLAIRE: Erratic.  

JUDITH: She was already erratic. 

CLAIRE: Jude, Lydia wasn’t supposed to have this power, I- she was. The one who took me over, that was her prerogative. I don’t even want to say her name. Lydia messed with that, which will have unintended consequences. She’s… I mean, she’s powerful-

JUDITH: Still not alleviating my fears.

CLAIRE: But it’s not hers. It’s a power that she never should have taken. It’s going to be unwieldly. I don’t think she’ll know how to properly bear it without it… warping her. I don’t know exactly what to expect but… she’s not undefeatable.

JUDITH: Ok.

CLAIRE: Only mostly undefeatable.

JUDITH: Great.

CLAIRE: It’s… this can’t be borne by just anyone. She claimed the transfer of power, meaning that she’s the main driving force behind what will happen next, but because, in addition to being underprepared, she sort of… stepped in at the last second, her power is going to be… like driving someone else’s car where you can’t adjust anything. She’s trying to parallel park using mirrors set up for someone way taller than her. Like it’s totally doable, but messy. If the vessel hasn’t properly prepared, it will burn right through them. Lydia’s had more preparation than some, but she’s arrogant, and she’s young.

JUDITH: You’re young. I’m young.

CLAIRE: You know what I mean. Either way, she’s still got a lot of power behind her, and followers, and a working knowledge of the Family… and, of course, she’s… full of demon fire and we’re three exhausted 30-somethings with various traumas, literal and figurative. I spent lifetimes preparing- she. Fuck! [SFX: she slaps the table in frustration] She spent lifetimes preparing and a little fool like Lydia can’t just-

JUDITH: Hey, maybe that’s enough for now-

CLAIRE: Don’t touch me! Sorry. Fuck.Jude? Is that enough for now? When I access these thoughts it’s like… I can still feel her, like, she’s groping my skin from the inside out and I just want to tear myself apart just so she can never touch me again.

JUDITH: Yeah, yeah, let’s take a break. [trying to change the subject] Uh, ok,I should deal with my stupid apartment, I honestly don’t think anything was taken, I still see all my important stuff… 

CLAIRE: And your big stack of mail.

JUDITH: My what?

CLAIRE: They didn’t touch your mail.

JUDITH: I didn’t have any mail, since when does anyone send me anything? It’s ok, I can get it-

CLAIRE: It’s fine. [SFX: walks over to the kitchen table, picks up some envelopes] There’s a letter from the government-

JUDITH: Oh, that’s just my new health card. Actually, glad they didn’t touch that because I’m going to need it.

CLAIRE: Coupons… oh, 2-for-1 chicken nuggets. I’m keeping this one.

JUDITH: All yours. But… I haven’t picked up my mail. I’ve been out of the house for the last couple days. Which means… someone brought it in.

CLAIRE: There’s something wrapped up here. 

JUDITH: Too small to be a bomb, I guess.

CLAIRE: [SFX: unwraps it] Oh.

JUDITH: A tooth? What the fuck?

CLAIRE: My tooth.

JUDITH: Wait, hang on, from that night in the basement?

CLAIRE: Yeah. It was in a jar in my bedroom. 

JUDITH: This is just really fucking creepy. 

CLAIRE: Judith?

JUDITH: Yeah? [SFX: all the windows in the apartment slam shut] Fuck!

CLAIRE: No one came here to take anything. This was a warning. They’re watching us.

[SFX: beep. Owen’s apartment, he’s sitting on the couch, leaving another message for Judith]

OWEN: Hey Jude, uh… if you get this, call me back, I think I keep missing you. I know I need to take it easy, doctor’s orders or what have you, but I’m gonna be honest, it’s uncomfortable being here alone. I want to say that I’m just being paranoid but… well, with everything that’s happened, I doubt I am. I got your text but if you can call me, that would be great. I promise I’m not doing anything to mess with the stitches. Talk to you later. Bye.

[SFX: beep. Judith’s living room]

CLAIRE: So… what did you see in her?

JUDITH: Hmm?

CLAIRE: Lydia. 

JUDITH: Oh. Yeah.

CLAIRE: I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it.

JUDITH: [sigh] I mean, I don’t. But… I probably should. I don’t know. I don’t know what I saw in her, but… maybe that’s just hindsight.

CLAIRE: Right.

JUDITH: At first, it honestly just felt like she just wanted to protect me, in a way. Not with the cult stuff, but just… in general. She was… kind of demanding. But I was so burnt out that it was honestly kind of nice to have someone just tell me what to do, where we were going to get dinner, what gym class we were going to. And I didn’t really want to talk to her about everything that was going on. It was nice to just be around someone where I didn’t have to say anything. She was… overbearing. She would direct the conversation. She would step on me. But that’s kind of what I wanted. I don’t know, it was nice to feel some warmth, although clearly, I was mistaking being burned alive for passion.

When I realized that I’d lost you, it felt like I had done such a shit job making my own decisions that maybe if someone else just, took the wheel for a second, in any part of my life, I could pretend that everything was going to be ok. I just wanted to feel something. I wanted to feel something good. And I just kept focusing on that feeling that… maybe it would work out. Maybe she could help. She could give me answers. And I ignored all the warning signs because my brain was already burnt out on all the other warning signs that said “Danger! Blood cult!”

CLAIRE: I get it. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like you have to… justify anything to me, of all people. But it’s a fucked up situation. And she’s fucked up. And… you didn’t deserve the way she treated you or the way she messed with your head. And if or when you ever want to talk about it more, I’m always happy to listen. And bring you drinks. Speaking of, I think we need some. I’ll grab us some beers-

JUDITH: [SFX: gets up quickly] I’ll grab them. It’s cool, I’ll grab them. I need a beer. One sec. [SFX: she grabs a couple from the counter] Here.

CLAIRE: [sighs] I know this is going to be a loaded question, but… you do you trust me right now? It’s ok to say no.

JUDITH: Claire, I-

CLAIRE: No, no, don’t. I know you’re trying really hard to be strong and put up a good face, but you‘re jumpy and you’re tense, and your eyes keep darting down to my hands. I can’t blame you for that.

JUDITH: I’m ok. I mean, I’m not. And I know that what happened wasn’t you–

CLAIRE: But it was my body, my face, and my voice. Every time.

JUDITH: [sigh] It’s just, it’s… it’s so fresh. I’m sorry.

CLAIRE: Don’t be. Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re ok with me being here.

JUDITH: You know I’d never leave you to be stuck in a weird waterlogged burnt-out house. 

CLAIRE: I know. It’s very sweet.Let me buy you drinks sometime, take you somewhere fancy. Oh, have you talked to Owen? How’s he doing?

JUDITH: Yeah, uh, I dropped him a line. He’s fine. I don’t want him to exert himself too much while his injuries are still so fresh.

CLAIRE: Yeah…

JUDITH: … I don’t know when we’ll ever be ok to talk about this.

CLAIRE: I mean, it’s barely been 24 hours. Not a lot of time to heal yet.

JUDITH: How does one heal from this? I know healing isn’t linear but it certainly feels linear right now because I feel like I’m shooting straight into the ground.

CLAIRE: Maybe you should give him another call.

JUDITH: Yeah, I… will in a bit. I just don’t know what to say right now.

[SFX: beep. Late night, Judith’s living room]

JUDITH: Hey Owen. Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier, things have been kind of weird with Claire, obviously. Just trying to get settled again. Wanted to send you a quick voice message. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ok? Hope you’re feeling alright, or… as best as you can be. Stay safe. Bye.

[SFX: beep. Judith’s kitchen]

JUDITH: Good morning. Oh, you made tea.

CLAIRE: Yep. I’ll leave it on the counter for you.  

JUDITH: Thank you. [SFX: takes a sip] Wonderful. I wanted to check before I got in the shower, you need to use the washroom at all?

CLAIRE: Nope, shower away. Oh, I think Owen tried to call you, you left your phone on the kitchen table and it’s been buzzing.

JUDITH: Yeah, I’ll… call him back in a bit. For now, I’m going to go stand in the shower with my tea and if I’m lucky, I will drown.

CLAIRE: Please don’t drown in there, I don’t want to have to mop. [SFX: she starts messing around on her laptop. She pulls up a video of herself from when she was possessed]

S2!CLAIRE: [on video] Hey lovelies! Hope you’re having a spectacular day. The sun is so bright and beautiful, ugh, it’s great. This is a special day for me! I can’t go into detail right now, but you’ll all find out soon enough. I’m taking some steps to make things even bigger and better, and I’m just so thrilled. You cannot imagine what’s on the horizon.

CLAIRE: [sigh] What a bunch of bullshit.

S2!CLAIRE: [on video] What did you say, you little shit?

CLAIRE: No. No. No, this isn’t happening. No.

S2!CLAIRE: [on video] You look rough. You’ve really given up on your skincare routine, huh? What a waste. You were special. You were powerful. And now look at yourself? Pathetic. Pathetic! Are you even you anymore? Your whole body is loose, like stretched fabric, sagging and unsupportive, hanging from your bones.

CLAIRE: Fuck off.

S2!CLAIRE: [on video] You can’t hide from me. I know who you are. And you are broken. Unfixable. And you know what this means for you.

CLAIRE: [SFX: slams the laptop shut] Goddamnit. [SFX: sudden heavy static, a laugh comes out from the closed laptop, then silence]

[SFX: beep. Judith’s living room. A knock at the door. She gets up and answers it] 

JUDITH: Oh, hey.

OWEN: Hey, can… I come in for a minute?

JUDITH: Uh, yeah, sure.

OWEN: Is Claire here?

JUDITH: No, she had to drop off some stuff at her mom’s. 

OWEN: Ah. Sorry, I know you’ve got a lot going on right now-

JUDITH: Tell me about it.

OWEN: -but I wanted to stop by because you haven’t been answering my calls and you’ve been… kind of weird when you’ve responded? Normally I’d give you some space but we both know that Lydia’s still plowing ahead with whatever plan she has going on.

JUDITH: [sigh] Yeah, yeah. She is… out there. 

OWEN: Have you heard from her?

JUDITH: Lydia? Oh, no. Not yet, anyway. Probably off licking her wounds or… causing new ones, who knows. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. I’ve just… yeah.

OWEN: And things with Claire are ok?

JUDITH: Yeah. I mean, they’re a little weird because we both feel like shit, just in different ways, but it’s not bad. Just… different.

OWEN: Ok, so what’s up?

JUDITH: Hmm? Nothing. I’m fine. It’s all good, I’m figuring things out.

OWEN: O… k. Can I hear about what you’ve figured out?

JUDITH: Uh… maybe later? 

OWEN: What? Later? Last I checked Jude, it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of later for us to work with, so if you’ve got any insight, it’s probably best to present it now. In what world do we have a later?

JUDITH: In the world where I watched you nearly die and I’m not doing it again!

OWEN: I… Jude, I know-

JUDITH: No, no! I can’t do it again. I know we’re going up against something horrible and it’s dangerous and awful and terrifying and I can’t even bear to think about what could happen… or what might happen if… 

OWEN: Jude-

JUDITH: I thought I watched you die, Owen. When we got outside at Claire’s place, when I hauled you out, you were so pale and not responding and just… soaked in blood, god there was so much blood, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I see it every time I close my eyes and… I can’t, I can’t. I don’t know what to do with this.

OWEN: … I… I don’t…

JUDITH: I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’ve been distant, that’s the last thing you need, but I’ve been avoiding you because I’m completely terrified that if you keep taking part in this whole fucking mess then something horrible will happen, and then what? What if you’re hurt? What if you die, Owen? What if I carry you out this time and you don’t get up? Because I feel like I’ve taken the world’s longest shower and yet whenever I feel something touch my skin I start to panic because I still feel like I’m covered in your blood. I’m sorry. I know you’re also going through this and I know you’re carrying this in a way even deeper than me, but it feels like all I can do now is just try to protect you after I’ve failed you over and over and over again. I failed you the same way I failed Claire, and I… I can’t, I can’t. 

OWEN: Jude!Listen to me: you have never made me do anything I wasn’t willing to do. Yes, it’s scary and dangerous and things got real bad back there-

JUDITH: Exactly! And-

OWEN: No, I need you to listen to me. Things got very bad, and I’m… terrified, but I don’t blame you for what happened. Jude, I’m here because I want to help; I wanted to help you figure out what happened with Claire and Adam, but I also want to make sure you’re ok too. I’m wrapped up in this as much as you are, so I’m not leaving. You’re not doing this alone, alright? That feeling of wanting to protect someone? That’s not just you. You’re my friend, and I love you, and I’m not backing down yet. We can do this, ok?

JUDITH: God, fuck, I’m sorry, I love you too. Just… don’t die, ok?

OWEN: Yeah, I’ll try not to.

JUDITH: So… I can’t convince you to just go home?

OWEN: Nope. I’ve made my choice. 

JUDITH: Safety in numbers.

OWEN: Well, like… four. 

JUDITH: Yeah, if Adam’s sorry ass ever reappears. Claire said he was off trying to replace some of his stuff, but who knows. 

OWEN: Uh, full disclosure, but I’m not super comfortable with seeing him anytime soon, I think.

JUDITH: Yeah, good point. And, honestly… same.

OWEN: But… whatever.

JUDITH: I think our options are limited at this point.

OWEN: Yeah.So… want to get me up to speed?

JUDITH: Alright. Just be aware, any bad thoughts you have about all of this?

OWEN: Yeah?

JUDITH: The truth is a lot worse.

[SFX: beep. Judith’s living room, Claire enters through the front door]

CLAIRE: Hey, I think I’ve got- oh, hey Owen.

OWEN: Hey.

CLAIRE: [awkward pause] How’re you doing?

OWEN: Oh, y’know, hanging in there.

CLAIRE: [another awkward pause] Ok. Look, I don’t know what a person says in a situation like this, but I’m really sorry-

OWEN: Claire, it’s… well, it’s not fine, it’s really far from fine, but for now, we’ve got bigger problems. Judith filled me in on what you two have talked about, it’s… not great. But… we’ve got to focus on the issue at hand, i.e., Lydia and the cult are getting ready to murder a lot of people, then us, I assume, and then the entire world, and we’re kind of the only ones who know what’s going on. Well, who aren’t taking part in it. 

CLAIRE: Something like that.

OWEN: So yeah, we can deal with our… awkwardness eventually. For now, I think we’re just going to have to push through it. 

CLAIRE: And that feels ok to you?

OWEN: No, but what other option do I have?

CLAIRE: Owen, you don’t have to do this.

OWEN: Already had that conversation as well, and I’m not leaving you two high and dry.

CLAIRE: Ok.Thank you.

OWEN: Yeah.

CLAIRE: Where’s Jude?

OWEN: Laundry room. [SFX: Judith enters] Correction, she’s right there.

JUDITH: Oh, you’re back! I guess you’ve noticed that Owen’s here. 

CLAIRE: Yeah, we were catching up.

JUDITH: Fun. Owen’s offered to help make dinner because turns out it’s hard to figure out what to do in a dire situation while completely starving, but first I need to put all this away. Turns out you can only get so much blood out of your clothes, so I guess I get to go shopping at some point. 

OWEN: I know a guy who knows his way around Holt Renfrew.

JUDITH: Hah! I’ll come help once I put this stuff away, give me a minute.

OWEN: Sure. [SFX: starts milling around in the kitchen, Claire joins him]

CLAIRE: Here, let me help. [SFX: she opens a cupboard] Oh, I guess she’s out of onions.

OWEN: Oh, no, they’re in the cupboard to the left of the sink now, I helped her organize her kitchen… last month, I think?

CLAIRE: Ah. Can you pass me that cutting board?

OWEN: The one on the high shelf?

CLAIRE: Yes.

OWEN: … no.

CLAIRE: You’re definitely taller than me- … oh, right. Your arms.

OWEN: Yeah, they’re still pretty full of stitches that reduce mobility.

CLAIRE: Yeah… yeah. Don’t worry, I got it. 

OWEN: Cool.

CLAIRE: … this is going to be weird, isn’t it?

OWEN: I think we’ll have to try to… push past it, or whatever. I don’t know. I’m not doing a very good job at the moment, am I?

CLAIRE: No, but I don’t blame you.

OWEN: Yeah, and … uh…

CLAIRE: It’s fine. 

OWEN: We’ll work on this.

CLAIRE: Yeah, yeah.

OWEN: I’ve definitely been through weirder, shittier things lately.

CLAIRE: You’re telling me.

OWEN: I just have one request.

CLAIRE: Yeah?

OWEN: I do all the knife handling.

CLAIRE: Fair enough. I’m a shitty line cook anyway.

OWEN: I’m going to get you to get some water boiling at least.

CLAIRE: That I can do. I can’t say my cooking skills improved at all over the last few months. 

OWEN: What about charbroiling?

CLAIRE: Ha ha ha, very sharp.

OWEN: I get one.

JUDITH: Are you two getting along or are things weird?

CLAIRE: Why not both?

JUDITH: Fair enough.

CLAIRE: … Can I offer a suggestion for tonight?

JUDITH: Uh, sure?

OWEN: What do you have in mind?

CLAIRE: Don’t worry, it’s nothing weird.

OWEN: I mean, you say that… 

[SFX: beep. Judith’s living room]

JUDITH: Oh man, ok, oof. God, should we be getting drunk right now?

CLAIRE: I’m allowed at least one night of purposeful self-destruction…

JUDITH: I mean, the… thing that possessed you almost gave us endless nights of assured destruction.

CLAIRE: Exactly. Now that I’m free, I get to blind myself with… what is this? 

JUDITH: I found some bourbon and then I just… started riffing. Hope you like homemade rosemary simple syrup.

CLAIRE: When it’s mixed with alcohol? Sure. 

JUDITH: I have to ask, have you spoken to Adam?

CLAIRE: A little. He’s crashing at a friend’s place. Space. I think… space is good right now. For both of us.

JUDITH: Yeah.

CLAIRE: Let’s not talk about it. I want to get wrecked and eat snacks. Y’know, my life was sorely lacking in snacks over the last while. It’s been like, all fancy condiments and raw meat. I need processed cheese and many, many carbohydrates in my life now. Tomorrow will be work, but tonight I want to obliterate myself.

JUDITH: Oh, I tried CBD mustard.

CLAIRE: Thoughts?

JUDITH: Terrible.

CLAIRE: Hah! 

OWEN: You two are certainly more jovial than I’d expect.

CLAIRE: Nice PJ pants.

OWEN: Look, I spent a lot of time here, so at some point you make sure you have comfy pants available. Might as well be cozy while you spend your evening reading terrifying periodicals.

JUDITH: I’ve given up and changed into these incredibly old sweatpants. Who gives a shit?

OWEN: [SFX: cracks a beer] Not me. Well, at least for tonight.

JUDITH: Wait, do you judge my sweatpants normally?

OWEN: Which ones are those?

JUDITH: Normal ones.

OWEN: Are those the ones that say COOL BEANS on the butt?

JUDITH: … yes.

OWEN: I’m judging them a little.

JUDITH: And to think, I let you sleep on my couch. Either way, I’m going to enjoy myself now because I feel like tomorrow we’ll have to return to giving a shit.

CLAIRE: No tomorrow talk! Only the now! I have been a prisoner in my own obnoxiously sober body for ages, so I deserve at least one night to fucking live.

OWEN: Sounds good. Should I chug this?

JUDITH/CLAIRE: YES.

OWEN: Fuck it. [SFX: he chugs the beer]

CLAIRE: Ok! So. Owen, I feel like I barely know you. Let’s change that.

OWEN: Blood type AB. Well, what’s left of it.

CLAIRE: Ha ha, very witty.

JUDITH: I’m telling you, it’s unkillable.

CLAIRE: I want to know more about you, but as me. Not as your ex-coworker or potential possessed murdered. I want to find out some things. Rapid fire. But everyone! Everyone has to answer. 

OWEN: Uh, ok?

JUDITH: Is this just your attempt to get us to play Never Have I Ever? Because that did not go well last time.

CLAIRE: No, that was a disaster. Ok, let’s start easy… favourite movie? Mine is The Princess Bride.

OWEN: Shaun of the Dead.

JUDITH: Rear Window. 

CLAIRE: What snack would you bring with you to a deserted island.

JUDITH: Oh, I know. Cool Ranch Doritos.

OWEN: Uh… a huge bag of sour cola bottles.

CLAIRE: Can I pick nachos? Because I’d bring that. With extra jalapenos, just drowned in queso.

OWEN: Ok, I’ve got one: best brunch food.

JUDITH: Pass. Lunch is better.

CLAIRE: I will never understand your distrust of brunch.

JUDITH: Meals are no place for portmanteaus! 

OWEN: That’s sick. And it’s eggs benny, no doubt.

CLAIRE: Agreed, although I do like a good French toast.

JUDITH: I’m just going to stick to a sandwich, because it’s 1 PM and why am I still forced to order eggs?

CLAIRE: Absolute maniac.

OWEN: How did I not know that about you?

JUDITH: We never went for brunch.

CLAIRE: Jude, you pick something.

JUDITH: Oh, I think I know you both well enough.

OWEN: Come onnnnnnn.

JUDITH: Fine! Uh… god, I don’t know, everything feels so silly.

CLAIRE: What, are you going to ask us serious things?

JUDITH: Hell no. What, you think I’m going to ask about your childhood trauma? Or how you think you’re going to die?

CLAIRE: Probably wreathed in flame.

OWEN: Crushed under a big rock.

JUDITH: Bleeding out in a dank room. 

CLAIRE: Take a shot, all of us, no downer talk, [SFX: she pours, they all take a shot] ugh, I hate vodka. 

JUDITH: Where did you even get this? 

CLAIRE: Cupboard in the kitchen.

JUDITH: Huh. Didn’t think I had this.

CLAIRE: Well, you won’t for much longer at this rate. Another! [SFX: they do another shot] God, this stuff sucks.

OWEN: Then stop making us drink it!

CLAIRE: Never!

JUDITH: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve found in the house?

CLAIRE: Ooooh, I know, it was a small pile of TEETH.

OWEN: What?!

CLAIRE: Yeah! In the back of a closet. Like, 12 of them. Clean, but still gross.

JUDITH: What’d you do with them?

CLAIRE: Threw them out! What, am I going to make a matching earring and necklace set?

OWEN: I mean, when life gives you teeth from mysterious origins…

CLAIRE: Oh, I know where they came from, I just didn’t know that’s where they ended up.

JUDITH: What? Whose were they?

CLAIRE: Some follower. She got mouthy at a meeting and Tabitha lost it. I only found out to what extent afterwards.

JUDITH: Yikes.

CLAIRE: Right? Most of those people are like, boring self-righteous wellness addicts, but there are some fucking sadists in the cult. Like straight up nightmare people.

OWEN: We are aware.

CLAIRE: Did you know I had to watch through my own eyeballs as my hands picked up a burning hot poker and seared a huge wound into someone’s leg? I tried, but I couldn’t stop my hands. Couldn’t even manifest a tremor.

JUDITH: Jesus Christ.

CLAIRE: Yeah! Totally nuts. [SFX: does another shot] Ugh, still terrible. I also forced one guy to eat his own hair.

OWEN: Why?

CLAIRE: He was a heretic. 

JUDITH: … I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing, but that’s terrible.

CLAIRE: CAN’T MAKE THIS SHIT UP. I mean, I could. But I’m not. He vomited everywhere! Like a cat with the biggest fucking hair ball.

OWEN: This is bananas.

CLAIRE: No, you know what’s bananas? Watching all that go down in real time from a claustrophobic screaming perch in your own psyche. It’s truly something. 

JUDITH: Ok, this feels like it got too serious, uh… god, my brain is only going to horrifying things. Uh… fuck it, which bar are you going to after all this?

CLAIRE: Food and Liquor.

OWEN: Duke of Gloucester. 

JUDITH: That one that’s just called Cocktail Bar. 

CLAIRE: Or all of them. Whatever. There’s like, a million places I want to go to right now. I’d give my left hand for the ability to just sit in a quiet pub and eat a huge plate of fries and read a book and just not think about anything at all.

JUDITH: Same. No more shots!

CLAIRE: Don’t harsh my mellow! Today we drink, for tomorrow we die.

JUDITH: It’s less funny when it’s kind of true.

CLAIRE: We won’t die tomorrow, give it a few days at least.

OWEN: Very soothing. I can see why you were a cult leader.

CLAIRE: Shut up. The parasite controlling my body was very charismatic. And a psycho, but whatever. Want to know something nuts?

OWEN: Sure?

CLAIRE: You guys don’t know half the shit that went down. That basement was a hell hole. People got partially flayed down there. There was just so much blood being used for stuff. Whose blood? Who knows! I’m still not sure and I don’t want to know. Oh, once I tore a man’s fingernails out, and then I BURNED them.

JUDITH: WHAT? Holy shit.

CLAIRE: He shot a bunch of stray cats, fuck that guy.

JUDITH: Is that why you declawed him? 

CLAIRE: A lady never reveals her secrets. [SFX: grabs her drink back] No, do not take my drink. Shit was WILD, ok? You know what? I watched as my own body killed a man, like I didn’t want to, but you know when you’re just watching your hands do stuff and you hear your voice saying things, and you can’t do a thing about it? No? Of course, you don’t because WHO else has experienced something that unbelievably fucked up? Well, Adam, I guess. But it’s not like HE wants to talk to me right now. Or ever again. Probably. Oh fuck. It’s all so… fucked! You know how much therapy I’ll need for all of this if we even survive? Do they even have specialists in demonic trauma?

JUDITH: Claire-

CLAIRE: Judith, I did… awful things.

JUDITH: It wasn’t-

CLAIRE: Don’t say it wasn’t me! It was still my hands, I watched it all happen through my eyes, I… I know I didn’t make the decision, but it feels like it was all mine. I can’t divorce myself from it. It’s just… I feel like I should’ve stopped her-

JUDITH: Listen to me: you tried. I know you were in there fighting. I know that you, Claire, the real Claire, would never have done these things. You know that too. I just need you to believe it. 

CLAIRE: … is that gash from me? 

JUDITH: I mean, technically Adam, but-

CLAIRE: Jude-

JUDITH: No! We’re not doing this right now. We’re like… barely double digit hours out from basically the worst night of any of our lives and I can’t handle having to come to terms with this.

CLAIRE: I need another shot. 

JUDITH: You do not.

CLAIRE: Don’t tell me what to do, I’ve had enough of that lately-

JUDITH: Claire, please-

CLAIRE: It’s FINE. [SFX: the bottle shatters]

JUDITH: I remembered where that vodka came from.

CLAIRE: The LCBO?

JUDITH: Lydia left it here.

CLAIRE: Ah.

OWEN: … I’m going to have another beer.

JUDITH: Me too.

CLAIRE: Can I get a glass of water?

JUDITH: Yeah. Claire?

CLAIRE: Yeah?

JUDITH: Tell me a good memory. Anything. A story about us, something you did before everything went to hell, anything.

CLAIRE: Oh, uh, ok. Uh… hmmm. Are there good things?

JUDITH: Somewhere in there, yes.

CLAIRE: Ok. Um…oh! I know one.

JUDITH: Give it to me.

CLAIRE: You already know this story but Owen, you’ll like this. So back in like… 2011? I think? Judith and I were going to this party, it was at our friend’s boyfriend’s place and he was the WORST, just this rich boy Forest Hill wiener who was the kind of dude who’d get all shitty with servers-

OWEN: Already hate him.

CLAIRE: Yeah, he sucked. So we were going to this fancy shindig at his place in Yorkville, and on the way there, we both got completely soaked by a car that blew through a puddle and just… showered us in slush. 

JUDITH: It was disgusting, I have never felt as cold and gross as I did at that moment, literally head to toe in grey slush.

CLAIRE: So yeah, we’re like, I guess we go back home to change? But then we realized that we were right next to Honest Ed’s, and who can resist a good bargain?

OWEN: Oh boy.

CLAIRE: So we went in and just bought entirely new outfits out of whatever we could find, and we end up with these completely mismatched things where we’ve got real granny vibes going on.

JUDITH: Maybe just you, I looked like a fancy businessperson, thank you.

CLAIRE: You bought that rainbow tie for $5. 

JUDITH: I did. I still have it somewhere. 

CLAIRE: And we show up to this very fancy party looking like we stumbled out of Grey Gardens, and this guy is SO annoyed, but it turns out his friends were actually great and we had this complete ball of a night.

JUDITH: He sucked but he had amazing taste in appetizers.

CLAIRE: And yeah, it was just… a great night. 

JUDITH: It was. 

OWEN: Kind of wish I’d known you guys back then.

JUDITH: Would’ve been a hoot.

CLAIRE: If we make it out of this, I’m going to throw the biggest, dumbest party.

JUDITH: We’ll make it out of this. 

OWEN: Yeah, optimism. Can’t hurt.

JUDITH: We will. What other option do we have?

CLAIRE: There’s a lot of paths, Jude.

JUDITH: Yeah, and we’ll find our way out. Somehow.

CLAIRE: Yeah. … Sounds good.

[SFX: beep]