Scavengers
[CLICK]
[NOTE: ALL VOICES IN THIS EPISODE CARRY THE DISTINCTIVE TUNNEL ECHO TO VARYING DEGREES]
CELIA
[Anxious] I don’t like it. They’ve been gone too long.
LAVERNE
They’re fine. Sometimes they take a while. It’s hardly the longest they’ve been gone, is it?
CELIA
How would I know? It’s not like I have a watch, is it?
LAVERNE
Then how do you know what’s too long?
CELIA
How do you know what isn’t?
LAVERNE
Celia… just trust them. “They walk this world above the nightmare. It will not take them.”
CELIA
Yeah, you’re right. Of course. You’re right.
[CHAIR SCRAPES, PACING STARTS]
LAVERNE
Besides, you know that they sometimes go to a side tunnel for “private contemplation”. I think it’s sweet.
CELIA
[Petulant] They can contemplate privately here…
LAVERNE
Can they? There’s not exactly many doors down here.
CELIA
No, I guess…
LAVERNE
And the tunnels do have a tendency to echo…
CELIA
Yes, alright, fine! Fine!
Excuse me for caring.
LAVERNE
We all care.
CELIA
Yeah… well…
[NERVOUS FIDDLING WITH SUPPLIES – BOTTLES CLINK, PAPER RUSTLES]
Laverne?
LAVERNE
Mmm?
CELIA
Has anyone been messing with the supplies?
LAVERNE
I don’t think so. Why do you ask?
CELIA
There’s a tape recorder here.
LAVERNE
Oh.
[Warily] Should there not be?
CELIA
I-I don’t know. I haven’t seen it before.
[MORE PAPER RUSTLING]
It’s running.
LAVERNE
How odd.
CELIA
Yeah, I don’t like th–
Hang on, listen.
[FAINT SOUNDS OF TAPPING AND FOOTSTEPS, FOLLOWED BY CLOSER STEPS AND DOOR CREAKS]
[Relieved] Oh thank god.
LAVERNE
That them?
CELIA
Yeah. And they’re with a couple of new people! I don’t recognise them!
LAVERNE
Well, that explains it, doesn’t it?
[TAPPING IS LOUDER NOW]
CELIA
[Whispered shout] Georgie! Melanie! Over here!
ARCHIVIST
[Faint, amused] First name terms with the prophets? Bit disrespectful.
GEORGIE
[Faint] John.
ARCHIVIST
[Faint] Sorry.
[SOUNDS OF ENTRY AND SOME MUMBLING]
LAVERNE
Glad to see you’re okay. We were getting worried.
ARCHIVIST
[Quiet] After you.
GEORGIE
[Teasing] Oh, were you? Both of you?
CELIA
[Plaintive] I’m allowed to care!
[FOOTSTEPS AND SMALL MOVEMENTS AS FOLKS SETTLE THEMSELVES]
GEORGIE
Where’re the others?
LAVERNE
I think Arun’s off writing. The rest are sleeping.
ARCHIVIST
You can sleep here?
MELANIE
You don’t have to, but it does pass the time.
[MELANIE SETTLES INTO A CHAIR]
MARTIN
This place is pretty nice.
MELANIE
Yeah, I reckon it used to be a hideout of, um, you-know-who, uh, when he was living down here. It had supplies and everything.
CELIA
Sorry, we haven’t been introduced, you are…?
GEORGIE
Oh, um, of course, sorry. This is –
ARCHIVIST
Jonathan. John. Sims.
MARTIN
Uh, Martin. Hello!
GEORGIE
And this is Laverne.
LAVERNE
Good to meet you.
GEORGIE
And Celia.
MARTIN
[Puzzled] Celia?
CELIA
Probably. The, um… place I was trapped in, they took my name. I never got it back. But I like Celia, so… yeah! Celia it is.
MARTIN
Uh… H-Hello… Celia.
CELIA
So, where were you two then?
ARCHIVIST
Er… Pardon?
CELIA
They saved you, right? From one of the nightmares? So, what was it?
ARCHIVIST
Oh…
LAVERNE
Celia, don’t push. They can tell us when they’re ready.
[DISCOMFITED SOUNDS FROM MARTIN]
GEORGIE
Uh, no, they’re, they’re not –
We didn’t rescue them.
LAVERNE
No? So where did they come from?
MELANIE
[Pointedly] Great question. John, do you want to field that one?
ARCHIVIST
Uh, right, okay. Well, um… We were… We’re from out there. We’ve been wandering the world. Seeing all its horrors.
LAVERNE
God, that sounds awful.
MARTIN
Er… Yeah.
ARCHIVIST
But we’re old friends of your… uh, prophets.
CELIA
[Embarrassed] Oh, um… they don’t like it when you call them that.
MELANIE
[Emphatically] We haven’t prophesied anything.
ARCHIVIST
Well, that’s a fair point. I suppose, technically, ‘saviours’ would be the correct –
MELANIE
Oh, shut up! John!
GEORGIE
Anyway… they’re passing through. They won’t be staying with us long.
MARTIN
Oh, er, right. Yes.
LAVERNE
Hang on… Sims…
Melanie, this isn’t your old boss?
ARCHIVIST
I – What?
MELANIE
I used to talk about you in therapy.
ARCHIVIST
Oh. Oh! Oh, I suppose that makes sense.
GEORGIE
Hmmm.
LAVERNE
Small world… Nice to finally put a face to the name.
ARCHIVIST
Uh, yes.
Yes.
CELIA
[Uncomfortable] Right.
Oh, Georgie, I mean to – Sorry, um, just –
[PAPERS RUSTLE]
Do you know what this is doing here? I haven’t seen it before, and you’re always saying to tell you anything weird so…
GEORGIE
I see…
Thank you Celia. Could you turn that off, please.
[FOOTSTEPS]
[Brusquely] John, a word?
[CLICK]
[CLICK]
GEORGIE
Yeah, look and I understand that, but you’ve got to realise this isn’t just –
ARCHIVIST
Uh, Georgie?
GEORGIE
Oh, seriously? For fu–
[CLICK]
[CLICK]
GEORGIE
No, they can piss off! No! I refuse.
[CLICK]
[CLICK]
[REPEATED SOUNDS OF ENTHUSIASTIC TAPE RECORDER SMASHING]
GEORGIE
I can do this all day!
[CLICK]
[CLICK]
GEORGIE
[Breathlessly] For god’s sake!
ARCHIVIST
Georgie, it’s not going to make a difference.
GEORGIE
I’m not going to let us be spied on, John!
ARCHIVIST
Look, the tunnels offer some protection, but clearly not enough to stop whatever is manifesting these recorders. If you smash this one, they’ll just make another one. Trust me on this, you need to let it go.
[DISGRUNTLED SOUND FROM GEORGIE WHILE TAKING MOMENT TO RECOMPOSE]
GEORGIE
There are seven with us now.
[Sigh] It used to be more, a lot more. But… um, we got greedy, pulled too many out. We… attracted attention. And… well, now there are seven.
ARCHIVIST
I’m sorry. I didn’t know.
GEORGIE
Martin said you knew everything now.
ARCHIVIST
Not everything. Between the tunnels, and your and Melanie’s… position relative to The Eye… I’m a bit in the dark here.
GEORGIE
No pun intended.
ARCHIVIST
Sure.
GEORGIE
…
So what? You, just, want me to just leave the tapes running and hope?
ARCHIVIST
I want you to accept that trying to stop them listening is only going to frustrate you.
GEORGIE
Just promise me these things aren’t going to harm my people.
ARCHIVIST
I promise… I promise that they’re not here for you. They’re here for me. And maybe a bit for Martin. They seem to like him.
GEORGIE
That’ll have to do, I guess.
…
It’s good to see you.
ARCHIVIST
You too.
GEORGIE
I, um… I think I owe you an apology.
ARCHIVIST
Oh?
GEORGIE
I didn’t realise how bad things were for, well, all of you. I mean, I kind of knew, but seeing all this for myself, I… I cut myself off and… I’m not so sure that was the right thing to do any more.
ARCHIVIST
You had every right to.
GEORGIE
Yeah, but it didn’t exactly help, did it?
ARCHIVIST
Georgie, you couldn’t have stopped this, believe me.
GEORGIE
…
Melanie reckons you’re the reason… all this happened, whole apocalypse thing.
ARCHIVIST
[Sigh] She’s… not wrong.
[LONG EXHALATION FROM GEORGIE]
I was the catalyst. I-I didn’t – Elias – Jonah Magnus used me.
GEORGIE
Well, obviously. Even Melanie doesn’t think you’d have been stupid enough to do this on purpose.
ARCHIVIST
Oh. Good.
So… this is it? You and Melanie sneak into nearby fearscapes, rescue someone and hide them here?
GEORGIE
Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but… yeah, basically.
ARCHIVIST
And then you just… stay down here?
GEORGIE
These days, that’s enough. We still need to eat sometimes, and drink. Found some supply caches down here –
ARCHIVIST
Jurgen Leitner.
GEORGIE
Yeah, that’s, that’s what Melanie said too.
Also, uh, we found a pretty convenient nightmare that’s essentially just an endless supermarket. Turns out if you take stuff from it, it stays pretty much fine. Not nice, y’know, but, y’know…
ARCHIVIST
I did wonder about the ‘Ennui’-brand coke bottles.
GEORGIE
Yeah, it’s convenient, not subtle.
ARCHIVIST
…
Georgie… Where’s the Admiral?
GEORGIE
[With difficulty] He’s, uh… he’s fine. I guess. He’s enjoying himself, at least. He wasn’t immune, not like me and Melanie. And he’s a predator, pampered piece of fluff that he is.
Turns out, there’s a place full of cats. And their prey.
ARCHIVIST
Poor thing.
GEORGIE
I go to see him sometimes. I think he’s happy, in his way. But, um… It’s hard to see him like that. He didn’t even know I was there.
ARCHIVIST
I’m sorry.
GEORGIE
…
John… How do we turn it back?
ARCHIVIST
I don’t know.
[CLICK]
[CLICK]
MELANIE
Was that the recorder?
MARTIN
Yeah, it just started.
MELANIE
By itself?
MARTIN
I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re asking!
MELANIE
It wasn’t an accusation.
MARTIN
Do you want me to turn it off?
MELANIE
That depends. Will it stay off?
MARTIN
Not if it wants to be a part of things, no.
MELANIE
Then let it run. It’s just the two of us, and it’s not like we can attract any more attention to ourselves at this point, inviting the snoop-god’s favourite kid down for a chat.
MARTIN
Hey, that’s not fair.
MELANIE
And? I guess the end of the world must’ve left me all snappy.
MARTIN
Well… I mean, y–
MELANIE
Don’t. Don’t say it. I actually did a lot of work on my anger, you know? Tried to put all the supernatural bollocks behind me. And now my therapist thinks I’m ‘the chosen one’.
MARTIN
Yeah, the apocalypse does seem to bring out the weird in people.
[SOUND OF ASSENT]
MELANIE
Speaking of… uh, you and John, eh?
MARTIN
Hmm?
MELANIE
Congrats, took you long enough.
MARTIN
Oh god! I totally forgot I haven’t even seen you since… well…
MELANIE
Yeah. Not… not since before John woke up.
Before you, uh… cut yourself off.
MARTIN
Yeah, sorry about that.
MELANIE
Look, I, I get it. I was still full of ghost bullet at the time, remember?
MARTIN
Oh yeah. I suppose, when you think about – I mean… Do we actually know each other? Really?
MELANIE
Huh.
Uh, Melanie.
MARTIN
Martin.
[HANDSHAKE]
[Playfully] So… what do you do?
MELANIE
[Playing along] Oh, um… [chuckle] I’m actually one of the prophets chosen to walk the end times unscathed.
MARTIN
Mmm. Mmm.
MELANIE
Yourself?
MARTIN
Oh, I’m the antichrist’s plus one.
[MELANIE CHORTLES]
MELANIE
Oh, that… that sounds like a rough gig.
MARTIN
[Smiling] It has its perks.
Seriously though, how the hell did you and Georgie fall into the ‘prophet’ thing.
[HEAVY SIGH]
MELANIE
Okay, um… It wasn’t exactly a choice. It just turns out that since I… severed my connection with The Eye, y’know, and Georgie has no fear, we’re kind of… invisible to all the nonsense out there. We only realised when we finally went out to see what was going on… saw how bad it was…
MARTIN
Yeah. It’s the same outside London. Worse, in some places. Though I guess that’s down to personal taste these days.
MELANIE
Yeah.
Well, we were, we were out, and we found this Spiral maze, uh, and who did we find inside but Laverne, my therapist. I wasn’t exactly going to leave her there, so we grabbed her and legged it. And… that’s when we discovered we can keep others hidden as well. Not completely and not for long, but it’s enough to get them here to the tunnels. So once we realised that, we started doing it for more people.
…
Have you had to explain any of this stuff to somebody who just doesn’t have the first clue about any of it?
MARTIN
Not often. And it never went great.
MELANIE
Yeah, well, tell you what, you sound like a doomsday-ing tarot reader.
Hours talking about The Eye’s ‘ascendance’, and how it’s, y’know, transforming the world into a fearful ‘psychoscape’ and…
MARTIN
They didn’t believe you?
MELANIE
Oh, I wish. No, they believed us, but a few of them took it in a bit more of a… religious direction. And here we are.
MARTIN
Mmmm. Okay but I still don’t get the whole ‘prophet’ business. What exactly are you meant to have predicted?
[ANOTHER HEAVY SIGH]
MELANIE
Okay, um…I… [sigh] I said I’d had a vision that it would end.
MARTIN
Oh. Right. And er… have you had a vision or…
…
Right.
MELANIE
Look, I know, alright. [sigh] It was a shitty thing to do, but… if you had heard how, how hopeless they all were, like, when we told them all this. That everyone is trapped in, like, never-ending torment, forever… I had to tell them something.
MARTIN
I guess.
MELANIE
I hate it. They just keep trying to interpret everything I do. And they keep calling me “The Blind Prophet”, which is a whole other thing!
MARTIN
Er, yikes.
MELANIE
Yeah, uh-huh!
It’s why we head out so much. Sometimes we actually are scouting or gathering, but half the time… I just need to get away. If I didn’t have Georgie, I think I might just snap and beat them all to death.
MARTIN
Sounds like they’d probably thank you for your wisdom, if you did that.
MELANIE
[chuckle] Stop! We shouldn’t talk about them like this. They, they are good people.
MARTIN
Sure.
MELANIE
It’s just… hard not to look down on people when they put you up on a pedestal like that.
MARTIN
So how are you and Georgie doing?
MELANIE
Honestly? Er, well, these were not the early relationship hurdles I expected.
MARTIN
God, tell me about it.
MELANIE
But don’t get me wrong… Georgie’s incredible. Um, and she’s, and she’s far, far too good for me. And I, I only hope she doesn’t realise that while there’s an apocalypse on.
[HEAVY SIGH]
Yeah.
And what about John?
MARTIN
Oh, you know John. He’s a complete mess. But, so am I and… I think we’re making it work. Communication can be… difficult when you’re on an unholy pilgrimage.
MELANIE
Modern dating, eh?
MARTIN
Nightmare.
[MELANIE CHUCKLES, THEN EXHALES LOUDLY]
MELANIE
Um… Did you meet anyone else out there?
MARTIN
Yeah, loads actually. In fact we… we saw Basira and Daisy.
MELANIE
Are – Are they alright?
MARTIN
No. Not really.
MELANIE
Oh.
MARTIN
Daisy had kind of gone full monster.
MELANIE
Ah.
MARTIN
And Basira kind of… had to kill her.
MELANIE
Oh. Oh… Oh that’s…
MARTIN
Yeah. So, now Basira’s on her way, but she’s taking her own route. I think she needed some time to process.
MELANIE
Well, that, that makes sense. Although I’m not sure how much ‘processing’ she’ll manage out there surrounded by – Oh! Oh, I nearly forgot! Careful of Helen, if you see her. She turned up a while back and tried to eat Celia.
MARTIN
She was here?
MELANIE
Yes… a few times. Looking back, I was so stupid!
MARTIN
Because you kind of liked her?
MELANIE
Yes. Yes… Honestly I had started to think she was on our side.
MARTIN
Yeah.
[MELANIE SIGHS]
John killed her.
MELANIE
Uh, sorry, what?!
MARTIN
Yeah, she tried to – I wasn’t there, but they got into a standoff and he… he destroyed her.
MELANIE
He can do that?
[SOUND OF MARTIN’S ASSENT]
Well. I mean that’s… that’s interesting to know. Ah –
MARTIN
Oh yeah, it’s a who–
[WOODEN KNOCKING]
MELANIE
Oh, oh god, I forgot. I-I promised I’d listen to some of Arun’s latest stuff.
MARTIN
No worries, do you want some company?
MELANIE
I wouldn’t put you through that.
[MARTIN SNORTS]
[Quietly] I swear, if it’s another hymn I am going to break something!
[FOOTSTEPS AS MELANIE LEAVES]
[MARTIN PAUSES, SIGHS AND THEN MAKES HIMSELF COMFORTABLE]
MARTIN
Ooooooh. Mmm, that’s nice.
[FOOTSTEPS, AND WOODEN CREAK]
LAVERNE
Careful, she’s very possessive of that chair.
MARTIN
Oh sorry! Didn’t mean to sit on the prophet’s throne.
[LAVERNE CHUCKLES]
LAVERNE
I just wanted to check if you were joining us for dinner?
MARTIN
Oh, food! What’s on the menu?
LAVERNE
Cold baked beans.
MARTIN
Maybe later.
LAVERNE
It’s there if you want it.
MARTIN
Do you actually believe all that stuff?
LAVERNE
About them being chosen?
MARTIN
Yeah, the whole ‘prophet’ thing.
LAVERNE
Are you asking me personally, or do you want me to speak for the group?
MARTIN
Either. Both.
LAVERNE
Hmm. Personally, I don’t know what I believe. I saw Melanie every week for months, and if you’d asked if I thought she was a ‘holy person’, I’d have laughed. She always behaved understandably, even if her problems were sometimes… odd.
MARTIN
But…?
LAVERNE
But. The world is… well, I mean, it’s hell, isn’t it? Whether it’s a capital-H hell or not, I don’t know, but that’s where we are. And Melanie and Georgie, they can walk through it completely untouched. They can… rescue people, even if they can’t always protect them. I’ve listened to their own explanation of it, and I’ve listened to Danielle call them “prophets” or “angels” or “the chosen”. Neither of them really makes any sense. But… you’ve got to have hope in something, otherwise there’s no point to anything. So, I choose to have hope in them.
MARTIN
I guess that makes sense.
LAVERNE
It doesn’t need to. Times like these, it just helps to believe. I’m not sure it really matters what.
[CLICK]
[CLICK]
ARUN
[Earnest] So what do you think?
GEORGIE
[Awkward] Um…
MELANIE
[Awkward] Oh, okay, um… Right, so… Arun, I just think that the…
GEORGIE
I don’t think either of us is particularly comfortable with your use of the word “redeemers”.
MELANIE
Right.
ARCHIVIST
I thought it was quite a good rhyme.
MELANIE
[aside] Shut up, John!
ARUN
I-I, I realise that you dislike that k-kind of thing, your humility is… humbling.
[THE FRAGILE LINE OF MELANIE’S IRRITATION IS AUDIBLE]
But… I’ve been considering your words last week, when you talked about how the world we’re in… feeds on fear, how –
GEORGIE
Mmhmm…
ARUN
– how it’s powered and shaped and moulded by it.
GEORGIE
Right…
ARUN
And, well, maybe your powers feed on hope? On trust and faith and… and hope. I want to inspire that. So, I’m sorry if maybe it’s a little… florid, but I think it’s right.
MELANIE
That’s… that’s not how it works. Is it? John?
ARCHIVIST
Oh? No. That’s not how it works.
ARUN
[Sharply] And what would you know about poetry?
[GEORGIE GIGGLES]
ARCHIVIST
Oh, well, uh… I, um…
ARUN
Who even is this? Are you a new follower? I thought you said it was dangerous for the flock to get any bigger?
GEORGIE
Ah, no. He’s… like us. Able to travel through the world.
ARUN
Another nightmare strider?
ARCHIVIST
I do not want a poem.
[MORE SOFT GIGGLES]
ARUN
But… Are, are, are you sure, Prophet?
MELANIE
Uh… yes. Yes he is.
ARUN
He doesn’t seem holy…
ARCHIVIST
[Archly] And what would you know?
GEORGIE
John.
ARCHIVIST
Sorry.
ARUN
I – Apologies, I meant, I meant no offence. Oh, I – Please forgive me!
[FOOTSTEPS AS ARUN LEAVES]
GEORGIE
You didn’t need to scare him like that.
ARCHIVIST
I didn’t mean to.
MELANIE
Hmm.
GEORGIE
Look, we’re all tired, and you still seem a little disoriented by the tunnels. Let’s get some rest. We can talk about next moves tomorrow.
ARCHIVIST
And how do you know when tomorrow is?
GEORGIE
We generally err on the side of caution and sleep in.
ARCHIVIST
Sounds good.
GEORGIE
Oh, John.
ARCHIVIST
Hmm?
GEORGIE
Your tape’s running again.
ARCHIVIST
Oh, sorry!