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Leanne:

Wasting Company Time presents Tell No Tales, season two. Episode Eleven: Not Going Anywhere.

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[SFX: Recording begins. Classical music playing.]

LEO

Audio diary of Leo Quinn, specialist surveyor for Frank Williamson. It’s been about a week since my last in-person case. We got a ton of data from Rose and Seb, how they interact in the same space. It’s interesting. It’s really interesting.

It ties in with the whole concept of the mobile tether too, because the way they interact with the space… if they were tethered to two separate objects, next to each other, the space they’d take up would be wildly different to the way they are now. If we can perfect the tether technology somehow, then maybe we could help them, let them stay together without eating into each others’ power, and do the same for any other spirits in the same situation.

It still doesn’t solve the overall spirit plane problem, but it’s something. So. You know, maybe if I keep going, something by something, I’ll actually get… anywhere, with this whole spirit plane problem. I’m still not sure what Frank actually expects of me. I’ve been waiting for a good time to ask him again about why he doesn’t move the spirits in the warehouse on, because it seems like the obvious solution, since he’s oh-so convinced that the problem is due to overpopulation, and I have to say I think he’s right about the cause. So I don’t see why he doesn’t-

FRANK

Leonardo?

LEO

Speak of the devil.

FRANK

Leonardo! There you are.

LEO

Yeah, actually, I was just thinking about you. Now that you’re here-

FRANK

No time, I am thoroughly in the middle of something. I only came because… well, you have asked for transparency. I will be testing out the tether on some spirits today.

LEO

Frank! You said-

FRANK

I said I would minimise harm. That I have done. I am all but certain that this will work. If nothing else, I am certain it will work for a short time.

LEO

What happens after a short time?

FRANK

That, I do not intend to find out. I do not imagine it is pleasant for the spirits. But, again, at your request, I will not push the boundaries. At the first sign of a spirit slipping, or appearing to be in any kind of pain, I will return them to their capsule before making any necessary tweaks to the tether.

LEO

And you’re sure you’re able to gague when they need to be returned?

FRANK

Quite sure. Though, accidents do happen. I would ask that you take on another case today. On the off-chance that mistakes are made.

LEO

Frank…

FRANK

A few hours. No more. Do this, and I am confident that you will be able to speak to your brother. Tonight.

LEO

Toni- (BEAT) Really?

FRANK

Yes. I even picked out a case file for you on my way here.

[SFX: Case file lands on the counter-top]

LEO

Just a few hours. And… you promise, you’ll do what you can to make sure none of these spirits get hurt?

FRANK

I promise, sincerely.

LEO

Okay. Okay, I can cope with that. Give me a few minutes to look over the case file? Then I’ll head out.

FRANK

Of course, I’ll be in lab seven when you’re done.

LEO

Alright. Thank you, Frank.

FRANK

You do not need to thank me.

[SFX: Footsteps]

LEO

No. Still grateful though. (BEAT) Alright, so what do we have here?

Case CJ#2336, Category Two, Case Status: active.

Huh, weird that he’s given me an active case, I haven’t had to do one of these in a while. He’s also stuck a post-it-note on the folder that just says ‘someone you can help’. Which, I mean, this is so clearly an attempt to distract me from the news that I might… get to speak to Noah tonight. That’s obviously not going to work, but it’s also not going to do me any good to just sit around and stress about it, so, y’know what, I’ll take it.

Alright, so this is another spirit in a hospital. Looks like they figured out who she was fairly easily, because… oh. Oh, I see why Frank thought I could help her. She’s in a ward, and appears to have been there, harmlessly, for a while.

Hospitals, especially NHS hospitals, tend not to bother much with category ones. It’d cost them a fortune to remove every category one they get, and it’s not like the tories are throwing buckets of money at the NHS, so I get it. But they keep an eye on the situation. As soon as a spirit breaks through to a category two, they usually get in touch with us. This is one of those cases of a spirit making almost no effort to progress to a category two until a sudden burst of power years later.

They couldn’t figure out why, until a patient on the ward, a man named Jacob Dessen, made a comment about smelling his wife’s perfume. Then, after he mentioned it, and it was originally dismissed, the dead flowers in the vase beside his bed bloomed. Not the same blooms as before, but his wife’s favourite flowers. Yellow roses. He reported to the nurse on duty that his wife had died in this ward almost twenty years earlier. So this seems pretty cut-and-dry, to be honest. Research did their due diligence, but all signs pointed to Holly Dessen, Jacob’s wife. Content as a category one for almost twenty years, only to break through to a category two when her husband was admitted to the ward.

Jacob is… apparently not doing very well. Doctors don’t give him long. Holly should get to say her piece, before he goes. (PAUSE, THEN SIGH) Alright.

[SFX: Chair moves as Leo gets up and walks closer to the door]

LEO

(YELLING ACROSS LABS) Frank! I’m leaving! Going to head to the hospital!

FRANK

(DISTANTLY) Yes, very good, I’ll be here when you return.

[SFX: Recording ends]

[SFX: Recording begins, hospital ambience, recorder clicks on]

LEO

Hi, Holly Dessen?

HOLLY

Hello, this is new. Are you here to visit Jacob? He keeps trying to tell people I’m here.

LEO

Sort of, I’m here because Better Place have been contacted about your spirit. Independently, I’ve been working on this recorder that’ll pick up your voice and play it back, as I’m sure you can hear. The nurse told me he’s been in and out of conciousness, but that he may be able to hear things that are said to him. I wanted to give you a chance to speak to him.

HOLLY

Oh, that’s… incredibly kind of you, thank you. I think he knows, though. Look at him, he’s so ill, but I’ve never seen anyone’s face light up as brilliantly as his did when he saw the flowers bloom.

LEO

Yeah, I read something about that. Yellow roses?

HOLLY

Yes, that’s right. That’s how he convinced people that I was here. He already knew. I was able to do something strange, make the room smell like my old perfume, and he understood right away. But the flowers are what convinced the others. Yellow roses. They weren’t even my favourite, before I met him. But they became our thing. Do you know what they symbolise?

LEO

I… No, I don’t, sorry.

HOLLY

Friendship. Red roses are for romance, yellow roses are for friendship. I love him, with all my heart, but more than anything he was my best friend. That’s what I loved about our marriage.

All my friends, they almost hated their partners. They’d always say “I love him, but,” and the but would always be something dreadful. Men that don’t spare a passing glance for their wives as people, for their needs. Men that never help out at home or with the kids, who expect miracles and perfection from the women they share their lives with, without any true partnership involved.

But Jacob, he was my husband, the father of my kids. And he was, the whole time, my best friend. That’s what I’ve missed, since I passed and ended up here. I miss my husband, yeah, but mostly I miss my best friend.

LEO

That sounds… incredibly difficult. I’m sorry. The case file said it’s been about twenty years, is that right?

HOLLY

Yes. Two whole decades. He’s gotten old. Our daughter brought him in, and I hardly recognised her, but I knew she’d grow up. I forgot he’d grow old. But I’m so glad he was able to. I watch over his bed, when the kids go home to rest or eat or look after their own kids. And I see all the lines, the grey hair, the frailty, the thinning skin, and it’s… bittersweet. Every sign of his aging tells me that he got to live a long life after I left, and I count the lines in his face with so much. gratitude that he lived long enough to collect them. But part of me feels… robbed.

(PAUSE, THEN TEARFULLY) I should have been there, by his side. Collecting wrinkles of my own, agonising over grey hairs that I eventually decide to embrace. Needing reading glasses that I always forget to carry with me as we both squint over menus on date nights because we forget our age and our failing vision. We forget because we think ourselves so young, and so alive, because it happened slow and gradual, just us living out our long lives together. It hurts that I was robbed of that. But I’m glad he got to age, even if I didn’t.

LEO

It’s… really sweet. That your priority is that he had his life, even though it hurts. Is that why you stayed behind? Because you didn’t want to miss out on that part of your lives together?

HOLLY

No. Not exactly. At first I thought it was the suddenness. I died young, a heart attack that nobody predicted. I made it to the hospital, but died within a day or so, I believe. It was something of a blur. I had so much to stick around for. My kids were angels. My work was going well. My husband was by my side, telling me to stay. Begging me to stay. And I told him I would. I told him, I’m not going anywhere, Jacob. But I left him anyway.

I thought that was why I was stuck here. A reluctance to abandon my promise. But ever since he arrived on the ward, I’m sure it was fate. I was here to say my final goodbye, to be with him on his deathbed, like he was for me.

LEO

I’m glad that despite everything, you got to be here. Too many people don’t get to say goodbye.

HOLLY

No, I’m one of the lucky ones. I spent so long thinking I wouldn’t get that chance.

LEO

Say what you need to, to him. If the nurse is right, he might be able to hear you now. But just in case, I’ll pass on the recording, and someone can play it for him next time he’s awake. And anything you’d like to say to your kids, I can make sure they get it too.

HOLLY

Thank you. Alright, well.

Jacob, my best friend. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you more than words can say, but we’ll be together again soon. I’m glad of the time we spent apart, because you got to live a life in that time. And if nothing else, you’ve got plenty to catch me up on, when we meet again. I never gave up on my promise, I never left you. I’m here now, by your side. And nobody is asking you to make any promises of your own. You’re free to move on, wherever your soul needs to go.

Our kids will grieve, like they did for me, but I see them now by your bedside, and they’ve lived lives of their own too. They’ll hurt, but then they’ll recover, and they’ll keep both of our memories with them as they continue to lead their lives. We’ll live on through them, and through our grandkids. And eventually, we’ll all be together, but not until every last one of them has grown old enough to leave their own memories with the people who stay behind.

I love you, and I’ll wait, if this isn’t your time. I’ll be there, wherever you go, whenever you make your way to me.

(BEAT) Eleanor and Peter, thank you. Thank you for being here with your dad. Thank you for being there for me, all those years ago. And more than anything, thank you for being there for each other. It’s a mother’s greatest fear that her kids will grow up to become strangers, but I see you, how much you care for each other, how you keep each other safe and comforted through it all. I see the kids you used to be in that.

This is a little more than a grazed knee, it needs a little more care than a wet paper towel and a kiss to make it better. But whenever I see your hands close round each others’ at this bedside, I see all those childhood moments, every playground injury and scary thunderstorm and every loss, and I’m reminded that there’s a love there that will never go away. You’ll need that, in the months to come. Don’t let go of it.

Goodbye, all of you. Thank you for going on without me. I’m glad to get this glimpse of the lives you’ve all led.

LEO

Thank you for trusting me with this. I’ve already spoken with Kate, the nurse. She knows why I’m here, so I’ll pass this on to her, and she’s gonna make sure your kids get it as well.

HOLLY

Thank you, Leo.

LEO

Honestly, don’t worry about it. I’m glad to help. I did want to ask, are you comfortable with Better Place coming to remove you? I can ask my boss to put the case on hold, if you like. But if your husband passes, we can remove you too. Honestly, based on what I know about Better Place, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be moved on per se, but it’s something we’re working on. And we can keep you safe, away from this place, until that happens.

HOLLY

Yes, when Jacob is gone, I’d like to go too. Do what you need to, to make sure I end up with him, when I’m gone.

LEO

I’ll do everything in my power.

[SFX: Recording ends]

[SFX: Footsteps, distant muic becomes closer, an open door creaks slightly as it Leo pushes it further open]

LEO

Frank?

FRANK

Leonardo! I believe it is ready.

LEO

Seriously?

FRANK

Yes, it isn’t a long-term solution, not yet. The amount of time a spirit can remain comfortably within the mobile tether is… variable, depending on the spirit. But you’re likely to have perhaps ten minutes, give or take, with your brother before he starts to slip.

LEO

What happens if he slips?

FRANK

Very little, at first. He’ll begin to feel drained, maybe a little uncomfortable, but if he lets you know quickly when he begins to notice any feelings of disorientation, we can return him to his stasis capsule unharmed.

LEO

Alright, what then?

FRANK

He will likely need some time to recover. That part has been harder to test. I believe if we take him out too soon after the first attempt, he will have even less time before he begins to feel himself slip, so best to err on the side of caution. For now, expect a short amount of time with him. We will work on increasing the tether’s abilities from there.

LEO

Right. Right- r-right okay, um.

FRANK

Are you well, Leonardo? Are you ready to speak to him?

LEO

Yeah. Yeah I’m ready.

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Leanne:

This episode of Tell No Tales was written and produced by Leanne Egan. In it, you heard the voices of Leanne Egan as Leo, Asher Amor-Train as Frank, and AMC as Holly. If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love it if you’d let someone know. It doesn’t have to be us, but it would be a nice ego boost if it was. You can find us on Twitter or Tumblr @tellnotalespod and as always, links and information about transcripts can be found in the show notes. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our season two crowdfund, but with special thanks this episode to Josie Thomas for your incredibly generous support of this season. Tell No Tales is distributed by Wasting Company Time Productions, under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license. Thank you for listening, and remember: the dead don’t bite.

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