Tia drives her car down a long driveway into a work area filled with cars and parts of cars.
There’s a small house at the edge of the chaos.
Tia squints at it before climbing out of the car.
Tia
Anything look familiar?
Kieran
It ALL looks familiar, hamster-brain.
Kieran
It’s Grandpa Hurley’s house — I’ve been here plenty of times.
Tia
I meant does it remind you of anything useful?
Kieran
It reminds me that you shouldn’t be here.
Kieran
You could have just kept texting, or even called her on the phone.
Tia
That would have made it too easy for her to lie.
Tia
I want to see her when she talks to me.
Kieran
I really don’t think she’s got anything to do with what happened to me.
Tia
Then it’s fine that I’m here.
Tia
She said Grandpa Hurley was out and she was home alone.
She starts toward the house.
Before she can knock, the front door is opened by a woman with long grey hair and colorful, flowing clothes.
Aurora
Tia! Oh, sweetheart, it’s good to finally meet you.
Aurora
I’m sorry it’s because of such a horrible situation.
Aurora
I told Kieran he should bring you by, but — well, it never happened.
Tia
Yeah, Kieran mentioned that.
Tia
But my parents told us to stay away from Grandpa Hurley.
Tia
Sounds like Kieran thought I’d rat him out.
Aurora
You’re still using the present tense. And you’re talking as if —
Aurora
Is there something I should know?
Now that she’s seen Aurora, it’s hard for Tia to imagine her being involved in anything violent.
She has an aura of kindness and empathy – and something more.
Aurora
Has Kieran told you anything about me?
Aurora
Has he mentioned my — sensitivities?
Aurora
My interests in the spirit world?
Aurora
Yes. The afterlife. And the spirits who send us messages from the other side.
Aurora
Like dream visits, unexplained scents or temperatures, strange coincidences —
Tia
Possessed cell phones, maybe?
Aurora
What? I — no, I’m not familiar with that technique.
She steps forward, clearly excited.
Aurora
But oh my goodness, it has such potential!
Aurora
Not just static or dropped calls, but actual…
Aurora
Texts? Actual words?
Tia
Yeah. I know, it sounds like a scam.
Aurora
We — your grandpa and I — we got a few texts from Kieran. From his number.
Aurora is speaking carefully, trying to be gentle.
Aurora
Right after he disappeared.
Aurora
They were enough to convince your grandfather that Kieran was fine.
Aurora
But, sweetie, it would be easy for someone else to send a text, wouldn’t it?
Tia
These aren’t coming from his number.
Tia
They don’t seem to come from a number at all. They just show up.
Tia
Even with the battery out of the phone.
Tia
Stupid stuff he wouldn’t have bothered to tell anyone else.
Tia
It’s him. And — even though Kieran was a jerk sometimes, he’s my brother.
Tia
There’s no way he’d fake his own death.
Aurora
No, I agree. He wouldn’t do that. And I felt his passing.
Aurora
He and I don’t have the same connection that you do, but I have some gifts.
Aurora
And I was worried about him when he left here that night.
Aurora
So I meditated on it and I felt —
Aurora
I’m sorry, Tia, but I felt his fear. His pain.
Aurora
And then I felt him move on.
Tia
He left here? With who?
The two women are distracted by the arrival of a battered pickup.
It is being driven by an equally battered man.
He climbs out of the truck, wearing denim and leather and tattoos.
His hair is gray and wild.
Aurora
Zachary! Come over here. This is your granddaughter.
Grandpa Hurley stares, then whoops. He jogs over and wraps Tia in a big hug.
She stands with her hands at her sides, and when he releases her she steps back.
Tia
Hello Grandpa Hurley. It’s — I guess it’s nice to meet you.
Tia
But I’m not here for a visit, really.
Grandpa Hurley frowns and steps back.
Grandpa Hurley
What does that mean?
Tia
What did you get Kieran mixed up in? What happened to him?
Grandpa Hurley
What? No, nothing bad.
Grandpa Hurley
Damn it, Aurora, have you been telling this girl your tales?
Grandpa Hurley
The boy’s fine!
Grandpa Hurley
He’s taking a bit of a vacation.
Grandpa Hurley
Getting away from all the stress in his life.
Grandpa Hurley
He’s just taking a break.
Tia
No, he’s not. He’s — passed.
Grandpa Hurley shakes his head and brushes past Tia and Aurora, heading into the house.
They follow him into the living room, which contains eccentric, threadbare furnishings.
Aurora
Tia, you need to be careful with this.
Aurora
Spirits who don’t cross over when they should? They change.
Aurora
Kieran’s still your brother now, but that might not last.
Aurora
If he turns angry, and you’re still in such close contact with him —
Aurora
That could be dangerous for you.
Grandpa Hurley
This is NONSENSE!
Grandpa Hurley
The boy’s fine.
Grandpa Hurley
He was talking about California, about getting away from it all.
Tia
They found his car! It was covered in blood.
Grandpa Hurley
They? The police?
Grandpa Hurley
Oh, they’ll say anything to scare people, to turn you all into good little sheep!
Tia
He’s texting me! He SAYS he’s — dead.
Grandpa Hurley
No. Dead boys don’t send TEXTS, Tia.
Tia’s phone chirps and she looks down at it, then back up at Grandpa Hurley.
Quietly this time, she tries to reason with her grandfather.
Tia
He’s texting me right now.
Aurora looks intensely at the phone.
Grandpa Hurley scowls in disbelief.
Tia
He says he’s remembering things now.
Tia
He’s remembering men cutting him.
Tia
And he says they went too far…
Tia
They said it was like that time in Chicago.
Tia
He says he doesn’t know what that means, but he thinks you will.
Tia
And you do, don’t you? You’re all pale.
Grandpa Hurley steps backward, looking shocked.
Grandpa Hurley
No. No, they wouldn’t have!
Grandpa Hurley
They said — they needed me to do a job.
Grandpa Hurley
Planning a jewelry store thing — just planning, Aurora!
Grandpa Hurley
I wasn’t part of it. I said I couldn’t.
Grandpa Hurley
I said I was starting fresh and wouldn’t get involved.
Grandpa Hurley
But they wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Grandpa Hurley
Kieran had been hanging around.
Grandpa Hurley
They just — they pulled a gun and took him.
Grandpa Hurley
Said they’d let him go as soon as I did the job.
Grandpa Hurley
And I did the damn job! I did it!
Grandpa Hurley
So they let him go. He was upset.
Grandpa Hurley
Freaked out. Said he needed some time away.
Grandpa Hurley
But they let him go!
Tia
He told you all that by text?
Grandpa Hurley deflates, realizing he doesn’t have any real proof that his grandson survived.
Tia
Somebody sent you those texts from his phone, maybe.
Tia
But it wasn’t Kieran.
Grandpa Hurley
But I did what they wanted.
Grandpa Hurley
They’ve been coming back, wanting more help.
Grandpa Hurley
I’ve been cooperating.
Aurora
They’re psychopaths, Zachary. You know that.
Aurora
It’s why you stopped working with them in the first place.
He buries his face in his hands.
Grandpa Hurley
No, no, no.
They’re all quiet for a while.
Tia
Look, I’m sorry. This is hard, I know.
Tia
But he says — he says he’s having trouble hanging onto himself.
Tia
He got angry earlier and broke my phone. His spirit broke my phone!
Tia
He says he needs to find his body before he can move on.
Tia
But I think maybe he means he has to catch these guys.
Tia
He needs justice. Will you call the police and tell them —
Just then, Tia’s phone beeps.
When she doesn’t look at it immediately, it sets off all the sounds at once.
Songs, ring tones, every notification sound ever stored on it.
It sounds like the phone is screaming.
Tia stares at the screen.
Kieran
I remember them, I remember!
Kieran
They’re coming. They’re in the driveway.
Kieran
Get out, get out, they’re coming, they’re here.
