Fic: Safety Precautions (1/1)
Dec. 31st, 2019 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bigtitchTitle: Safety Precautions (1/1)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bigtitch
Word Count: 5827
Rating: GEN
Characters/Pairing: Lyle, Abby, Kermit, Finn, Lester, Connor, Cutter, Norman, Dunstan (OC)
Author notes:Secret Santa forfredbassett
The ARC has a secret past. It takes an accident in the cretaceous for the team to become aware of it.
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE XMAS TREE PLANTATION - DAY
Two ARC black vehicles drive up to a gateway with a banner above it proclaiming 'Twinkle Trees Buy Early for Xmas!!!!' A burly policeman in a high-vis jacket is standing in the driveway.
The lead car draws to a halt in front of the policeman and he comes around to the driver's side. The side window winds down to reveal LYLE holding up an id badge. The policeman reads it, nods and waves them through.
Once the second car has disappeared into the drive he stands back on guard.
CUT TO:
EXT. DRIVE INTO XMAS TREE PLANATION - DAY
From overhead we see the ARC cars drive up a short drive to the car park. The viewpoint gets higher and we see the rows of trees that make up the Xmas tree plantation. At the end of one field of trees is the sparkling shape of an anomaly. Half way down a row of Norway Spruce trees is the squat shape of an ankylosaur. Several trees are showing signs of an impromptu pruning from the dinosaur. It has currently stopped sampling and has now found a tree to its taste and is making fairly short work of reducing it to so much wood shavings and sawdust.
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANTATION CAR PARK - DAY
A couple of policeman and a tall man in a Twinkle Trees fleece jacket are standing watching the ARC vehicles arrive. None of them look happy.
The cars stop and out come LYLE, CUTTER, ABBY, KERMIT, FINN and DITZY.
LYLE
Finn and Ditzy, check the perimeter. Kermit, get the locking device set up. Abby, take a look at our visitor.
LYLE and CUTTER walk up to the group waiting for them.
LYLE
Who's in charge here.
INSPECTOR GRANTHAM
That would be me, but I'm happy to hand over to the experts. This is Mr Goodhue who owns this place.
GOODHUE
Well I hope you can get this thing sorted out. I've never seen anything like it in twenty years of growing Christmas trees.
CUTTER
Don't worry, we will. Is it the only thing to come through?
GOODHUE
I think so. I hope so. It's doing enough damage as it is. That's a thousand pounds of wastage already! And it's December in two days time! What am I going to do if its still here!
Abby walks up to them.
ABBY
Nice little ankylosaur, there. Not fully adult, I think. Quite happy to munch away for a while. There's no sign of anything else through.
CUTTER
Has it made any deposits yet?
ABBY
Not yet, but it's only a matter of time.
GOODHUE
Deposits?
CUTTER
Poo. We have to dispose of it carefully in case its brought something nasty along with it.
They look around at the lush groves of Xmas trees.
GOODHUE
What do you need to get rid of it! I can't risk anything starting on my trees more than it already has!
CUTTER
Okay, let's see about getting our guest home.
GOODHUE
What? Aren't you going to shoot it? Why else have you brought the SAS?
CUTTER
We generally try and find another way first.
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANATION - DAY
FINN, wearing a Santa Hat, is reversing a scissor lift vehicle down the aisle of fir trees towards the ankylosaur. The lift is half extended with fairy lights flashing on and off. The lift is beeping its reversing warning sound.
LYLE and KERMIT are in front of the creature waving a small, cut down Xmas tree in an enticing fashion as bait towards the open anomaly. ABBY and CUTTER are walking on opposite sides of the creature making sure it's not distressed.
The ankylosaur makes huffing and puffing noises, but slowly ambles towards the anomaly.
DITZY takes point and goes through the anomaly first. Slowly the others follow.
CUT TO:
EXT. CRETACEOUS FOREST - DAY
DITZY, LYLE, KERMIT, CUTTER, ABBY and the ankylosaur emerge into a forest of large tree ferns. The ground gently slopes away from them.
LYLE and KERMIT throw the fir tree they've been carrying a little way down the slope and retreat to stand beside ABBY.
The ankylosaur gives them a baleful parp and goes after the fir tree.
CUTTER looks on with satisfaction.
CUTTER
Good job. Let's get back.
CUTTER makes no attempt to follow his own advice. He stands and looks around at the lush, tropical scene.
DITZY
Fancy staying here for Christmas, Professor?
CUTTER
Don't tempt me.
A small, brightly coloured pterosaur flies into a nearby tree. CUTTER turns to look at it as rapidly climbs up the tree fern and launches itself off, directly over the head of the ankylosaur.
ABBY
Get down!
The ankylosaur startles and waves its clubbed tail over the heads of KERMIT, LYLE and ABBY as they throw themselves down on the floor. The club of the tail hits the trunk of a tree fern and yellowy orange pollen falls out of the tree and covers the three ARC members.
The ankylosaur moves quickly off down the slope and everyone stands up.
DITZY
It had to, didn't it?
DITZY looks at his colleagues as KERMIT, LYLE and ABBY stand up and start brushing the pollen off them. KERMIT sneezes and then ABBY and LYLE join in.
DITZY
Let's get you back.
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANATION - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT, ABBY, DITZY and CUTTER appear through the anomaly. LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY are dusted with pollen.
FINN (still in Santa hat) is standing by the locking device. He presses a few buttons and the anomaly shrinks into its locked state.
LYLE takes a step towards DONAHUE who is waiting with a couple of policemen at the edge of the fir trees.
DITZY
(to LYLE)
Where do you think you're going?
LYLE
What?
DITZY
Procedures. Remember?
(to FINN)
Get on the blower to the ARC. Tell them to send a decontamination team.
KERMIT
Oh, you're kidding!
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANATION - EVENING
The plantation is a hive of activity with two large, inflatable tents being set up. There are people wandering around in green and yellow hazmat suits. There is the spraying and hissing of water.
CUTTER watches as ABBY, in grey sweatpants and sweatshirt clearly made for someone much bigger than her, walks out from behind one of the tents. She is escorted by a figure in a hazmat suit. We cannot see his face because of the helmet. ABBY walks to a white van, an anonymous ambulance.
CUTTER takes a step forward.
CUTTER
Abby!
ABBY stops, but the hazmat technician with her holds up his hand to stop CUTTER's approach.
ABBY
It's OK, Nick. I'll be fine.
She walks over to the van and the door is shut behind her.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR- EVENING
CUTTER, LESTER and CONNOR are standing outside a double door across the corridor. The door is labelled 'Medical Centre'. They give the appearance of having been waiting some time. CONNOR is sitting on the floor engrossed in his smart phone. LESTER and CUTTER are leaning against opposite walls with their arms folded.
The door lock beeps and the door opens to reveal DITZY in his normal BDUs. CUTTER, LESTER and CONNOR all stand up.
DITZY
The good news is, everything is looking normal. All vitals are pretty much the same as they had before they went on the shout. Blood work etc is coming back in normal parameters.
CONNOR
So Abby ... So they're OK.
DITZY
So far so good.
LESTER
Can we see them?
DITZY
Sorry. It's complete isolation for seventy-two hours and then limited contact for forty-eight after that. If nothing develops in that time then they're free to go.
CUTTER
But it was only pollen!
DITZY
It was only mushroom spores before and that turned out to be an effective bio-weapon.
(beat)
I know you're worried, but only time and testing will tell if anything's going to develop. I'll tell them you were asking after them.
DITZY nods, swipes his ID at the card reader and pushes back through the door.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ATRIUM - EVENING
LESTER and CUTTER walk through the atrium together. Neither of them look happy.
LESTER
I hate procedures.
CUTTER
You wrote this one!
LESTER
I don't have to like it!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ISOLATION ROOM - EVENING
The isolation room is set up with a small anteroom with a couple of desks and chairs in it. A hermetically sealed door is at one end of the room.
A female medic is sat at one of the desks. She looks up as the door opens.
DITZY, steps through it.
DITZY
We're not even through Day One and they're already complaining about the food.
(beat)
Where's the protocol for bribing patients with Gregg's steak bakes?
DITZY walks to the door out of the isolation unit.
DITZY
It's going to be a long week.
CUT TO:
MONTAGE - TESTING AND ISOLATION
1) LYLE holding out his arm while a technician takes blood samples from him
2) Testubes circling round in a centrifuge
3) DITZY coming through the door with bags with Gregg's logos on them.
INT. ARC ATRIUM - DAY
There's a small crowd including LESTER, CUTTER and CONNOR in the atrium as well as a handful of technical staff. One of the technical staff spots ABBY walking in to the atrium and starts to clap. As everyone else joins in the applause, LYLE and KERMIT appear as well.
LESTER
So glad you decided not to turn into mushroom monsters after all.
LYLE
Not at Christmas.
ABBY
I have so much shopping to do!
CUTTER
Nice to see that you have work in its correct place in your priority list!
ABBY
Sorry, I didn't mean...
LESTER
That's all right. I have strict instructions to let you all out into the fresh air for the weekend.
LESTER waves his hand dismissively.
LESTER
Go on. Go and raise your vitamin D levels or something! See you on Monday!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC - LOCKER ROOM - DAY
The SRC SF locker room is empty except for FINN who is unpacking clothing from a hold all on the bench in front of him.
KERMIT walks in.
FINN
Hey, aren't you supposed to be on leave?
KERMIT opens his locker and pulls out a yellow Selfridge's bag.
KERMIT
I had to get this or Cara would kill me.
KERMIT looks to one side where there is a red handprint on the wall behind the door. It could almost have been made in blood.
KERMIT
How long has that been there?
FINN
What?
KERMIT points to the hand print.
KERMIT
That. On the wall.
FINN looks where KERMIT is pointing.
FINN
What? I don't see anything.
KERMIT looks again. There is no mark there. He drops his hand.
KERMIT
Sorry, mate. Thought I saw something. Must have been a shadow or something.
FINN
Go home, mate. Let Cara cook you something home made. You've been here way too long.
KERMIT
Yeah. You're right.
KERMIT picks up the bag and heads towards the door.
KERMIT
Have a good one and see you on Monday.
FINN
You too.
CUT TO:
EXT. CREDENHILL BARRACKS - DAY
It is early morning. KERMIT is out running we follow him as he maintains a fast pace as he runs between the camp buildings. There is a beeping sound. KERMIT stops and looks at his wrist exercise tracker while his breath shows in white puffs of cloud as he pants into the frosty air. KERMIT smiles at the figures he sees on his wrist, he is pleased at the pace he has set.
A figure in black BDUs approaches him. The figure has a shotgun over his shoulder. His face is grim.
KERMIT looks up and the smile drops from his face.
KERMIT
Steve? Steve-o?
The figure makes no sign that he has heard KERMIT's voice. He maintains a steady pace and disappears round a corner.
KERMIT comes to life and sprints towards the corner.
KERMIT
Steve!
KERMIT turns the corner. There is no one there, only the empty road between the buildings with nowhere for anyone to hide.
KERMIT stops and looks around. He goes back the way he came. His face shows that his morning has been changed for the worse.
CUT TO
EXT. OXFORD STREET OUTSIDE MARBLE ARCH TUBE ENTRANCE - DAY
LYLE walks out of the entrance to Marble Arch tube station and turns left towards Selfridges. The pavement is crowded with Xmas shoppers carrying bags and navigating pushchairs through the people.
LYLE dodges through the crowds, sneaks over the pedestrian crossing at the first side street he comes to just in time, waving an apology to the taxi he has impeded.
He takes a few steps down the pavement and then stops. Coming up Oxford Street towards him is a horse and cart. Even though the buses and taxis are in the way, they do not seem to notice the strange vehicle and the driver and his horse maintain their steady pace.
There is a young man standing in the back of the cart. He is dressed in an old-fashioned shirt with a frill instead of a collar. He is wearing knee breaches and a tricorn hat sits on his head. He is holding a tankard and waving it in the air in between taking deep drinks from it. As the cart gets nearer it becomes clear that there is a something else in the cart with young man. It is a plain wooden box, a coffin.
CROWD (O.S.)
Jack! That's our Jack! Jack the Lad!
The cart stops for no apparent reason. The young man looks towards the front and stops his waving. LYLE can see in the distance by the junction with Edgware Road a large tripod wooden framework. The young man's face loses its merriment and goes still.
CROWD (O.S.)
Jack! Jack the Lad!
Someone bumps into LYLE and when he looks back Oxford Street is back to its normal buses, taxis and cyclists.
LYLE walks down the way he was going, but he's not paying attention to anything. He dodges people in his way by instinct. His face is set, wondering.
CUT TO:
EXT. PLATFORM SHEPHERDS BUSH MARKET TUBE STATION - DAY
The eastbound platform of Shepherds Bush Market tube station is busy with passengers, many of them carrying shopping bags. ABBY appears coming up the stairs. She is laden with bags, but she has a satisfied look on her face. Clearly this she has made up for lost time with the Xmas shopping.
ABBY walks down the platform until she is past the covered section and there are fewer people around. She stands beside the yellow line, puts her bags down and looks back along the platform to where the trains will come from.
She only has to wait a few moments before the lights of a train just leaving Goldhawk Road station can be seen.
A young woman is standing at the far end of the platform. She is wearing a grey wool coat and a dark brown hat. The clothes are old fashioned. The woman is shivering.
ABBY looks at her but is more interested in the train. She bends down to pick up her bags as the train approaches the station.
As the train reaches the platform the woman jumps in front of it.
ABBY screams in horror.
People turn towards her and a tall, black man goes to help her as she keeps on screaming.
MAN
Are you all right?
ABBY
Me? What about her?
ABBY points down to where the woman was.
MAN
Who?
ABBY
She jumped.
MAN
Nobody jumped.
ABBY
Didn't you see her?
MAN
There's no one there. It's all fine.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE - SHEPHERDS BUSH MARKET TUBE STATION - DAY
The room has a desk in it and a few chairs. ABBY is sitting on one of the chairs with her bags piled on another one. Two men in Transport for London uniforms are bending over her. One of them hands her a mug.
TFL 1
There you go.
ABBY
Thanks.
TFL 1
Are you sure you don't need an ambulance?
ABBY
I'm fine. Really. It was just a shock.
TFL 2
Is there someone we can call to help you?
ABBY
Well, maybe. Connor, my boyfriend.
TFL 2
Is he on your phone.
ABBY pulls her phone out of her pocket and locates the number on it. TFL 2 takes it and then goes out of the office to make her call.
ABBY
I feel a bit of an idiot.
TFL 1
You're not the first to see her.
ABBY
Who is she?
TFL 1
We don't know. Any records of jumpers from then are long gone. A psychic did say that she was from the 1930s and was desperate because she was pregnant and unmarried.
He shrugs away any responsibility for the information.
ABBY
But I'm not psychic. I've never been psychic. Why should I suddenly see a ghost now?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER, ABBY, LYLE, DITZY and LORRAINE are sitting in LESTER'S office. No one is speaking. The door opens and KERMIT comes in.
LESTER
Ah good, take a seat.
KERMIT sits down and looks at LYLE a little puzzled.
LESTER
Well, it looks like we may have let you out of isolation a little early.
LYLE
What?
LESTER
Abby here saw a ghost on a tube station, something happened to Lyle on Oxford Street. Which makes me wonder if Kermit has experienced anything in the supernatural range?
LYLE
What?
LESTER
Jon, you're a good poker player, but I sit on the full COBRA committee. I can spot someone hiding something.
LYLE
(A little shamefacedly)
I think I saw a prisoner being taken for execution at Tyburn gallows.
ABBY
I saw a ghost jump in front of a tube train at Shepherds Bush.
They all turn and look at KERMIT
KERMIT
I was out for a run around Credenhill Barracks. Steve Collins walked past me.
DITZY
Wow.
(Beat)
Before?
KERMIT
He had his gun over his shoulder.
LESTER
Explain?
LYLE
Sgt Steven Collins CGC, blew his brains out behind F Block offices two years ago.
LESTER
Oh. Thank you. That's three out of three. Any ideas, Ditzy?
DITZY
Might be a hallucinogen we missed. We'll have to run tests.
LYLE
Oh, lovely. I've missed peeing in tea cups!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC MEDICAL BAY - DAY
LYLE, ABBY and KERMIT are sitting in the medical bay. DITZY is taking phials of blood from ABBY, while another medic is taking LYLE's blood pressure.
LYLE
So this pollen has turned us into psychics then?
DITZY
That's one hypothesis, yes.
LYLE
You don't sound convinced.
DITZY
My money is on a low level hallucinogen.
KERMIT
But we all saw real events. Things that actually had happened.
DITZY
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
LYLE
Very deep.
DITZY
Take it up with Einstein.
(off LYLE's unimpressed look)
Look, we hallucinate way more than we think we do. Optical illusions happen. Mass hallucinations happen. It is very easy to trick the brain into seeing something that isn't there.
ABBY
Is that what's happened to us.
DITZY
I don't know.
He holds up the phials of blood.
DITZY (CONT'D)
This will help us find out.
DITZY takes the blood samples and leaves. The medic follows him.
ABBY, LYLE and KERMIT look at each other in silence for a moment.
KERMIT
Talking of mass hallucinations. Fancy doing a little experiment?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LOCKER ROOM - DAY
The locker room is empty. The door opens and KERMIT, LYLE and ABBY enter. The door shuts.
LYLE
What?
KERMIT
Notice anything?
They look around.
ABBY points to the bloody hand print on the wall.
ABBY
Is that always there?
LYLE
No. What the?
LYLE walks over to the hand print.
LYLE (CONT'D)
That's blood.
KERMIT
Thought as much.
(beat)
Mass hallucination it is!
ABBY
What is is about?
KERMIT
No idea.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR OUTSIDE LOCKER ROOM - DAY
The door opens and LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY walk through.
ABBY
No, but what we've seen previously has been to do with death and trauma. There hasn't been anything like that here, has there?
KERMIT
What about the time that future predator got loose?
ABBY
I suppose, but did anything happen here.
LYLE
Can you hear that?
Screaming can be heard coming from down the corridor. All three turn their heads in time to see a soldier in green, barrack dress run down the corridor past them. He is holding a bloody knife and there is blood on his face. He is screaming, full force. He runs past them without seeming to see them and then disappears round the corner at the end of the corridor.
The screaming stops as soon as he disappears.
LYLE
Well that's not something you see every day.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC REC ROOM - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY are sitting around a table, they have cups and a few biscuits in front of them.
ABBY
So what do we do?
KERMIT
What do you mean?
ABBY
What do we do about what we're seeing here?
LYLE
Try and forget it?
ABBY
You know what I mean. Something happened here.
LYLE taps his fingers against his mug for a while.
LYLE
We're not seeing anything good here, Abby. I think a mad guy with a knife is the least of it.
ABBY
If you're being protective, I've seen some nasty stuff with this job already.
KERMIT
But that's a side effect of doing the job. We don't go looking for it directly.
ABBY does not look convinced.
LYLE
You're going to do it anyway aren't you?
ABBY
Yes.
LYLE
Do me a favour. Get the number of a good PTSD counsellor off Ditzy before you need it.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC REC ROOM - DAY
LYLE is at the coffee machine filling up his mug. NORMAN walks in.
NORMAN
So you're trying to find out what happened here before the new building was built.
LYLE
Trying, yes.
NORMAN
Good. Someone should. Most of it's on levels 2 and 3.
(beat)
Keep the lassie out of the cleaner's room on level 2, though. She don't need to see that.
LYLE
What do you know, Norman?
NORMAN
Nothing. Nobody knows nothing about this place. You'll see.
NORMAN leaves.
LYLE takes a deep drink, his face thoughtful.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC - STORE ROOM - DAY
ABBY, LYLE and KERMIT are in a small store room. The walls are lined with shelves with various bits of equipment in labelled plastic boxes. Connor's remote control device is on the floor in one corner.
ABBY jumps as a man walks through the closed door.
SOLDIER
It's not working! You have to tell Marsdon it's not working.
The soldier turns his head as though he's listening to something. His shoulders slump.
SOLDIER
God help us all.
He walks back through the closed door.
LYLE
Interesting. I wonder what they were trying?
ABBY
Trying to fix... It?
KERMIT
But what was it?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC REC ROOM - DAY
ABBY and LYLE are sitting in the rec room drinking coffee. CONNOR comes in holding a hardback book.
CONNOR
I think I might have found something!
LYLE
What?
CONNOR
It's this book on Porton Down experiments.
LYLE
Oh, conspiracy theories!
CONNOR
No, it's proper academic stuff. Guy's a professor and everything.
ABBY
OK, what does it say.
CONNOR
Not much.
CONNOR opens the book at a bookmarked page
CONNOR (Cont'd)
(Reading)
Another elusive project is one that is only known as Marsdon's Mess. It's only reference is in a memo from the Permanent Secretary to the Defence Ministry complaining to the director of Porton Down about having to 'clean up Marsdon's Mess.' And that's it. There are no more references to any projects carried out by this Marsdon other than a curt notice in the Times relaying the information that Major Marsdon and four other soldiers were killed on 6th June 1984 in a helicopter crash on Salisbury Plain.
ABBY
Marsdon's Mess?
LYLE
Tell Marsdon it's not working!
ABBY
I thought Porton Down was just biological warfare? You know, anthrax and such like.
LYLE
It's what they're famous for, but they did experiments with lsd in the 50s and 60s.
CONNOR
Maybe Lorraine might have a few contacts that can help.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY are walking down a corridor in the old part of the ARC. LYLE and KERMIT are tense, expecting a threat, scanning the environment for anything wrong.
FINN walks around the corner and looks at them curiously.
FINN
What's this? What are you stalking?
LYLE
We're trying to spot any traces of the history of this place.
FINN
Oh, the spooky stuff.
Off screen the sound of men screaming can be heard.
KERMIT points his finger.
KERMIT
That way.
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY run off in that direction. FINN watches them go.
FINN
This place gets weirder by the day.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC MEDICAL BAY - DAY
DITZY, LYLE, KERMIT, ABBY, CONNOR, CUTTER and LESTER are sitting in chairs in the medical bay. DITZY is holding a couple of sheets of paper in one hand.
DITZY
OK. They have finally found what's been causing your hallucinations.
CUTTER
They took their time.
DITZY
Turns out they were looking for a new molecule. Has anyone heard of DMT?
LYLE
Isn't that the drug idiots go and get shamans to give them in the Amazon.
CONNOR
That's ayahuasca. It's supposed to open up your third eye and let you see visions and go on spirit quests.
CUTTER
A hallucinogen, in other words.
DITZY
Correct. But what you have isn't DMT. According to the biochemists it's chemically different, but structurally similar. So it does the same job as DMT while being difficult to trace.
CUTTER
What's it called.
DITZY
They're still arguing over it.
LESTER
So we know what it is, how do we treat it?
DITZY
We don't.
(Off LESTER'S raised eyebrow)
The level of it is decreasing in each new blood sample we've taken. We're not sure what the threshold for hallucinations is, but it should be completely out your systems in a week or so.
LYLE
That's really good news. I keep getting an urge to clean that handprint in the locker room.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY walk around the corner into a new section of corridor. They stop outside a door. The door label says 'Norman'.
They look around.
ABBY
I can't hear the screams anymore.
KERMIT
Neither can I.
LYLE
Elusive isn't it?
LYLE looks at the door.
LYLE (CONT'D)
Shall we?
LYLE knocks, but there is no answer. He opens the door and puts his head round it.
CUT TO:
INT. NORMAN'S OFFICE - DAY
Norman's office is empty apart from the usual desk and chairs, filing cabinet, pot plant, and a diagram of Westminster Abbey on the wall with arrows on it pointing to strange symbols.
LYLE comes in cautiously and then turns to the door.
LYLE
It's all right, Norman's not in.
KERMIT and ABBY come in and the door shuts behind them.
They look around and then a man in a white coat over an army uniform walks through the door without opening it first.
MEDIC
How are you?
The medic is talking to a young solider, curled up in the corner of the room with his hands cradling his head.
SOLDIER
I can't get them out.
MEDIC
Who?
SOLDIER
Them! The sparkling people. They're in my head. They won't go!
The medic kneels down beside the soldier. He has a syringe in his hand.
MEDIC
It's OK. It's going to be OK. Let me just...
SOLDIER
No!
The soldier suddenly springs to his feet, pushing the medic away. The syringe falls to the floor. The soldier looks at it and then punches the medic who falls to the floor.
SOLDIER
No! It's not just me! They're in everyone. We have to get rid of them!
The soldier runs from the room and the medic just looks after him stupidly.
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY look on as the medic fades from view.
KERMIT
That looks like things were getting away from them.
ABBY
Just a bit.
CUT TO:
INT. LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER is sitting at his desk reading a report when LORRAINE comes into the room. She sits on the sofa with a sigh.
LESTER
I take it that lunch with James Bond didn't go as planned?
LORRAINE
She is called Monica and works for MI5, but apart from those trifling details you're right.
LESTER
She didn't know anything?
LORRAINE
She knows what everyone else knows. The site the ARC is on was originally an army research station associated with Porton Down. The building hadn't been in use since the 80s and when they developed the current buildings, they got rid of everything above ground and then extended the bunkers below ground into what we have now.
LESTER
The original basements being where Lyle and the others are experiencing hallucinations?
LORRAINE
Correct.
LESTER
What about the Porton Down connection.
LORRAINE
Absolute silence on that front. There is nothing in any record that gives details of any Porton Down project here.
LESTER
So what are our lot seeing?
LORRAINE
No, Sir James. There's NOTHING about Porton Down projects here.
LESTER
Oh.
(Beat)
OH! One of those!
LORRAINE
Exactly. A complete disaster completely wiped from the record.
LESTER
And if Connor's book is correct no inconvenient survivors to make trouble later.
(Beat)
I sometimes wonder if we'll end up like that.
LORRAINE
Not with the way Becker gets fan mail. You'll always be able to find us under "Pretty Officer with Nice Hair'!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY walk down another corridor. They stop outside another door.
KERMIT
I think this is it.
KERMIT tries the door but it's locked.
LYLE jangles a bunch of keys and KERMIT rolls his eyes.
LYLE unlocks the door and opens it.
KERMIT and ABBY make a move to follow LYLE in, but he holds up a hand to stop them.
LYLE
Let me check it first.
KERMIT glances at ABBY and nods. He steps back to stand against the opposite side of the corridor. ABBY joins him.
The door closes on LYLE.
ABBY and KERMIT stand there silent for a few moments and then the door opens and LYLE comes out. His face is stern and his lips are pressed together.
LYLE
Norman was right. This is the worst place.
KERMIT steps forward, but LYLE holds up his hand to stop him again.
LYLE
No need. It's a blood bath. Someone with bad knife skills had a go at butchery.
KERMIT
How many people?
LYLE
At least three. Hard to tell.
ABBY
Oh my god, look!
She points at the bottom of the door and KERMIT and LYLE look too.
A thin stream of blood has found its way under the door and is flowing down the corridor towards them.
KERMIT
That bad?
LYLE
Worse.
(Beat)
I hope someone swung for this.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ATRIUM - DAY
There is a small group of technicians clustered around the ADD. CONNOR and ABBY walk in and the technicians group closer together as though they are afraid of ABBY.
FINN and the REV WILLIAM DUNSTAN (CF) walk in. DUNSTAN, a tall man in green barrack uniform walks in, is carrying two large cake tins.
FINN
(To the room)
The Padre's here with the booziest Christmas cake you'll ever have!
Everyone turns around.
TECHNICIAN
Can you do exorcisms Padre?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER, LYLE and DUNSTAN are sitting in LESTER'S office.
DUNSTAN
OK, so what's the problem?
LESTER
What makes you think there's a problem.
DUNSTAN
Well, here I was spreading Christmas cheer and spirits to the Regent's Park bunch and your good selves. I'm used to being greeted with pleasure or indifference, depending on how much people like my wife's Christmas cake. Being greeted with genuine relief is rare.
LYLE and LESTER exchange glances.
DUNSTAN
(sighing)
So what weird shit is happening?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER, LYLE and DUNSTAN are sitting where they were. ABBY, DITZY AND KERMIT have joined them.
DUNSTAN puts down the mug he has been holding.
DUNSTAN
Let me see if I have this right. Porton Down held a terrible experiment here that led to the deaths of five soldiers. You three picked up a biological contaminent that means you can see episodes from that time.
(beat)
I can see why people are disturbed.
DITZY
Hallucinations I can understand, but hallucinating the truth?
DITZY shakes his head.
DUNSTAN
If my information from my reading 'New Scientist' is correct the brain is making a best guess about most of what we call 'reality' anyway. So why not hallucinating the truth?
They all sit quietly for a moment.
DUNSTAN
So how can I help? With the proviso that I don't do exorcisms.
LESTER
Do you do blessings, Padre?
DUNSTAN smiles broadly.
DUNSTAN
I believe that would fit within current MoD guidelines!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR OUTSIDE CLEANER'S ROOM - DAY
LESTER, LYLE, DUNSTAN, KERMIT, ABBY, DITZY, CONNOR, CUTTER and NORMAN are standing outside the door to the cleaner's room.
LESTER
So this is the worst place in the ARC?
LYLE AND NORMAN
(Together)
Yes.
DUNSTAN
OK, let's get on with it then.
DUNSTAN opens the door and walks in. LESTER, DITZY, NORMAN and CUTTER follow him.
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY stay in the corridor as the door shuts leaving them outside the cleaner's room. LYLE and KERMIT look a little embarrassed at not going in.
ABBY
There's no blood.
LYLE
What?
ABBY points to the foot of the door.
ABBY
There's no blood seeping out under the door like there used to be.
KERMIT
Maybe it's finally going.
LYLE
Here's hoping.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ATRIUM 'IN MEMORIAM' PLAQUE - DAY
LESTER, LYLE, DUNSTAN, KERMIT, ABBY, DITZY, CONNOR, CUTTER, NORMAN and a few technicians are standing beside the brass plaque that holds the names of the team who have died.
DUNSTAN
Lord, we remember today those who have died in the service of their country and mankind. Accept them into your holy presence and grant them peace.
Save us Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. At last, all-powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise.
For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, the light to enlighten the gentiles and give glory to Israel, your people.
Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
ALL
Amen
LESTER
Thank you, Padre. That was perfect
(Beat)
Any chance of trying that Christmas cake I've heard so much about?
FADE OUT.
THE END
Author:
bigtitchWord Count: 5827
Rating: GEN
Characters/Pairing: Lyle, Abby, Kermit, Finn, Lester, Connor, Cutter, Norman, Dunstan (OC)
Author notes:Secret Santa for
fredbassett The ARC has a secret past. It takes an accident in the cretaceous for the team to become aware of it.
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE XMAS TREE PLANTATION - DAY
Two ARC black vehicles drive up to a gateway with a banner above it proclaiming 'Twinkle Trees Buy Early for Xmas!!!!' A burly policeman in a high-vis jacket is standing in the driveway.
The lead car draws to a halt in front of the policeman and he comes around to the driver's side. The side window winds down to reveal LYLE holding up an id badge. The policeman reads it, nods and waves them through.
Once the second car has disappeared into the drive he stands back on guard.
CUT TO:
EXT. DRIVE INTO XMAS TREE PLANATION - DAY
From overhead we see the ARC cars drive up a short drive to the car park. The viewpoint gets higher and we see the rows of trees that make up the Xmas tree plantation. At the end of one field of trees is the sparkling shape of an anomaly. Half way down a row of Norway Spruce trees is the squat shape of an ankylosaur. Several trees are showing signs of an impromptu pruning from the dinosaur. It has currently stopped sampling and has now found a tree to its taste and is making fairly short work of reducing it to so much wood shavings and sawdust.
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANTATION CAR PARK - DAY
A couple of policeman and a tall man in a Twinkle Trees fleece jacket are standing watching the ARC vehicles arrive. None of them look happy.
The cars stop and out come LYLE, CUTTER, ABBY, KERMIT, FINN and DITZY.
LYLE
Finn and Ditzy, check the perimeter. Kermit, get the locking device set up. Abby, take a look at our visitor.
LYLE and CUTTER walk up to the group waiting for them.
LYLE
Who's in charge here.
INSPECTOR GRANTHAM
That would be me, but I'm happy to hand over to the experts. This is Mr Goodhue who owns this place.
GOODHUE
Well I hope you can get this thing sorted out. I've never seen anything like it in twenty years of growing Christmas trees.
CUTTER
Don't worry, we will. Is it the only thing to come through?
GOODHUE
I think so. I hope so. It's doing enough damage as it is. That's a thousand pounds of wastage already! And it's December in two days time! What am I going to do if its still here!
Abby walks up to them.
ABBY
Nice little ankylosaur, there. Not fully adult, I think. Quite happy to munch away for a while. There's no sign of anything else through.
CUTTER
Has it made any deposits yet?
ABBY
Not yet, but it's only a matter of time.
GOODHUE
Deposits?
CUTTER
Poo. We have to dispose of it carefully in case its brought something nasty along with it.
They look around at the lush groves of Xmas trees.
GOODHUE
What do you need to get rid of it! I can't risk anything starting on my trees more than it already has!
CUTTER
Okay, let's see about getting our guest home.
GOODHUE
What? Aren't you going to shoot it? Why else have you brought the SAS?
CUTTER
We generally try and find another way first.
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANATION - DAY
FINN, wearing a Santa Hat, is reversing a scissor lift vehicle down the aisle of fir trees towards the ankylosaur. The lift is half extended with fairy lights flashing on and off. The lift is beeping its reversing warning sound.
LYLE and KERMIT are in front of the creature waving a small, cut down Xmas tree in an enticing fashion as bait towards the open anomaly. ABBY and CUTTER are walking on opposite sides of the creature making sure it's not distressed.
The ankylosaur makes huffing and puffing noises, but slowly ambles towards the anomaly.
DITZY takes point and goes through the anomaly first. Slowly the others follow.
CUT TO:
EXT. CRETACEOUS FOREST - DAY
DITZY, LYLE, KERMIT, CUTTER, ABBY and the ankylosaur emerge into a forest of large tree ferns. The ground gently slopes away from them.
LYLE and KERMIT throw the fir tree they've been carrying a little way down the slope and retreat to stand beside ABBY.
The ankylosaur gives them a baleful parp and goes after the fir tree.
CUTTER looks on with satisfaction.
CUTTER
Good job. Let's get back.
CUTTER makes no attempt to follow his own advice. He stands and looks around at the lush, tropical scene.
DITZY
Fancy staying here for Christmas, Professor?
CUTTER
Don't tempt me.
A small, brightly coloured pterosaur flies into a nearby tree. CUTTER turns to look at it as rapidly climbs up the tree fern and launches itself off, directly over the head of the ankylosaur.
ABBY
Get down!
The ankylosaur startles and waves its clubbed tail over the heads of KERMIT, LYLE and ABBY as they throw themselves down on the floor. The club of the tail hits the trunk of a tree fern and yellowy orange pollen falls out of the tree and covers the three ARC members.
The ankylosaur moves quickly off down the slope and everyone stands up.
DITZY
It had to, didn't it?
DITZY looks at his colleagues as KERMIT, LYLE and ABBY stand up and start brushing the pollen off them. KERMIT sneezes and then ABBY and LYLE join in.
DITZY
Let's get you back.
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANATION - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT, ABBY, DITZY and CUTTER appear through the anomaly. LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY are dusted with pollen.
FINN (still in Santa hat) is standing by the locking device. He presses a few buttons and the anomaly shrinks into its locked state.
LYLE takes a step towards DONAHUE who is waiting with a couple of policemen at the edge of the fir trees.
DITZY
(to LYLE)
Where do you think you're going?
LYLE
What?
DITZY
Procedures. Remember?
(to FINN)
Get on the blower to the ARC. Tell them to send a decontamination team.
KERMIT
Oh, you're kidding!
CUT TO:
EXT. XMAS TREE PLANATION - EVENING
The plantation is a hive of activity with two large, inflatable tents being set up. There are people wandering around in green and yellow hazmat suits. There is the spraying and hissing of water.
CUTTER watches as ABBY, in grey sweatpants and sweatshirt clearly made for someone much bigger than her, walks out from behind one of the tents. She is escorted by a figure in a hazmat suit. We cannot see his face because of the helmet. ABBY walks to a white van, an anonymous ambulance.
CUTTER takes a step forward.
CUTTER
Abby!
ABBY stops, but the hazmat technician with her holds up his hand to stop CUTTER's approach.
ABBY
It's OK, Nick. I'll be fine.
She walks over to the van and the door is shut behind her.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC UNDERGROUND CORRIDOR- EVENING
CUTTER, LESTER and CONNOR are standing outside a double door across the corridor. The door is labelled 'Medical Centre'. They give the appearance of having been waiting some time. CONNOR is sitting on the floor engrossed in his smart phone. LESTER and CUTTER are leaning against opposite walls with their arms folded.
The door lock beeps and the door opens to reveal DITZY in his normal BDUs. CUTTER, LESTER and CONNOR all stand up.
DITZY
The good news is, everything is looking normal. All vitals are pretty much the same as they had before they went on the shout. Blood work etc is coming back in normal parameters.
CONNOR
So Abby ... So they're OK.
DITZY
So far so good.
LESTER
Can we see them?
DITZY
Sorry. It's complete isolation for seventy-two hours and then limited contact for forty-eight after that. If nothing develops in that time then they're free to go.
CUTTER
But it was only pollen!
DITZY
It was only mushroom spores before and that turned out to be an effective bio-weapon.
(beat)
I know you're worried, but only time and testing will tell if anything's going to develop. I'll tell them you were asking after them.
DITZY nods, swipes his ID at the card reader and pushes back through the door.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ATRIUM - EVENING
LESTER and CUTTER walk through the atrium together. Neither of them look happy.
LESTER
I hate procedures.
CUTTER
You wrote this one!
LESTER
I don't have to like it!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ISOLATION ROOM - EVENING
The isolation room is set up with a small anteroom with a couple of desks and chairs in it. A hermetically sealed door is at one end of the room.
A female medic is sat at one of the desks. She looks up as the door opens.
DITZY, steps through it.
DITZY
We're not even through Day One and they're already complaining about the food.
(beat)
Where's the protocol for bribing patients with Gregg's steak bakes?
DITZY walks to the door out of the isolation unit.
DITZY
It's going to be a long week.
CUT TO:
MONTAGE - TESTING AND ISOLATION
1) LYLE holding out his arm while a technician takes blood samples from him
2) Testubes circling round in a centrifuge
3) DITZY coming through the door with bags with Gregg's logos on them.
INT. ARC ATRIUM - DAY
There's a small crowd including LESTER, CUTTER and CONNOR in the atrium as well as a handful of technical staff. One of the technical staff spots ABBY walking in to the atrium and starts to clap. As everyone else joins in the applause, LYLE and KERMIT appear as well.
LESTER
So glad you decided not to turn into mushroom monsters after all.
LYLE
Not at Christmas.
ABBY
I have so much shopping to do!
CUTTER
Nice to see that you have work in its correct place in your priority list!
ABBY
Sorry, I didn't mean...
LESTER
That's all right. I have strict instructions to let you all out into the fresh air for the weekend.
LESTER waves his hand dismissively.
LESTER
Go on. Go and raise your vitamin D levels or something! See you on Monday!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC - LOCKER ROOM - DAY
The SRC SF locker room is empty except for FINN who is unpacking clothing from a hold all on the bench in front of him.
KERMIT walks in.
FINN
Hey, aren't you supposed to be on leave?
KERMIT opens his locker and pulls out a yellow Selfridge's bag.
KERMIT
I had to get this or Cara would kill me.
KERMIT looks to one side where there is a red handprint on the wall behind the door. It could almost have been made in blood.
KERMIT
How long has that been there?
FINN
What?
KERMIT points to the hand print.
KERMIT
That. On the wall.
FINN looks where KERMIT is pointing.
FINN
What? I don't see anything.
KERMIT looks again. There is no mark there. He drops his hand.
KERMIT
Sorry, mate. Thought I saw something. Must have been a shadow or something.
FINN
Go home, mate. Let Cara cook you something home made. You've been here way too long.
KERMIT
Yeah. You're right.
KERMIT picks up the bag and heads towards the door.
KERMIT
Have a good one and see you on Monday.
FINN
You too.
CUT TO:
EXT. CREDENHILL BARRACKS - DAY
It is early morning. KERMIT is out running we follow him as he maintains a fast pace as he runs between the camp buildings. There is a beeping sound. KERMIT stops and looks at his wrist exercise tracker while his breath shows in white puffs of cloud as he pants into the frosty air. KERMIT smiles at the figures he sees on his wrist, he is pleased at the pace he has set.
A figure in black BDUs approaches him. The figure has a shotgun over his shoulder. His face is grim.
KERMIT looks up and the smile drops from his face.
KERMIT
Steve? Steve-o?
The figure makes no sign that he has heard KERMIT's voice. He maintains a steady pace and disappears round a corner.
KERMIT comes to life and sprints towards the corner.
KERMIT
Steve!
KERMIT turns the corner. There is no one there, only the empty road between the buildings with nowhere for anyone to hide.
KERMIT stops and looks around. He goes back the way he came. His face shows that his morning has been changed for the worse.
CUT TO
EXT. OXFORD STREET OUTSIDE MARBLE ARCH TUBE ENTRANCE - DAY
LYLE walks out of the entrance to Marble Arch tube station and turns left towards Selfridges. The pavement is crowded with Xmas shoppers carrying bags and navigating pushchairs through the people.
LYLE dodges through the crowds, sneaks over the pedestrian crossing at the first side street he comes to just in time, waving an apology to the taxi he has impeded.
He takes a few steps down the pavement and then stops. Coming up Oxford Street towards him is a horse and cart. Even though the buses and taxis are in the way, they do not seem to notice the strange vehicle and the driver and his horse maintain their steady pace.
There is a young man standing in the back of the cart. He is dressed in an old-fashioned shirt with a frill instead of a collar. He is wearing knee breaches and a tricorn hat sits on his head. He is holding a tankard and waving it in the air in between taking deep drinks from it. As the cart gets nearer it becomes clear that there is a something else in the cart with young man. It is a plain wooden box, a coffin.
CROWD (O.S.)
Jack! That's our Jack! Jack the Lad!
The cart stops for no apparent reason. The young man looks towards the front and stops his waving. LYLE can see in the distance by the junction with Edgware Road a large tripod wooden framework. The young man's face loses its merriment and goes still.
CROWD (O.S.)
Jack! Jack the Lad!
Someone bumps into LYLE and when he looks back Oxford Street is back to its normal buses, taxis and cyclists.
LYLE walks down the way he was going, but he's not paying attention to anything. He dodges people in his way by instinct. His face is set, wondering.
CUT TO:
EXT. PLATFORM SHEPHERDS BUSH MARKET TUBE STATION - DAY
The eastbound platform of Shepherds Bush Market tube station is busy with passengers, many of them carrying shopping bags. ABBY appears coming up the stairs. She is laden with bags, but she has a satisfied look on her face. Clearly this she has made up for lost time with the Xmas shopping.
ABBY walks down the platform until she is past the covered section and there are fewer people around. She stands beside the yellow line, puts her bags down and looks back along the platform to where the trains will come from.
She only has to wait a few moments before the lights of a train just leaving Goldhawk Road station can be seen.
A young woman is standing at the far end of the platform. She is wearing a grey wool coat and a dark brown hat. The clothes are old fashioned. The woman is shivering.
ABBY looks at her but is more interested in the train. She bends down to pick up her bags as the train approaches the station.
As the train reaches the platform the woman jumps in front of it.
ABBY screams in horror.
People turn towards her and a tall, black man goes to help her as she keeps on screaming.
MAN
Are you all right?
ABBY
Me? What about her?
ABBY points down to where the woman was.
MAN
Who?
ABBY
She jumped.
MAN
Nobody jumped.
ABBY
Didn't you see her?
MAN
There's no one there. It's all fine.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE - SHEPHERDS BUSH MARKET TUBE STATION - DAY
The room has a desk in it and a few chairs. ABBY is sitting on one of the chairs with her bags piled on another one. Two men in Transport for London uniforms are bending over her. One of them hands her a mug.
TFL 1
There you go.
ABBY
Thanks.
TFL 1
Are you sure you don't need an ambulance?
ABBY
I'm fine. Really. It was just a shock.
TFL 2
Is there someone we can call to help you?
ABBY
Well, maybe. Connor, my boyfriend.
TFL 2
Is he on your phone.
ABBY pulls her phone out of her pocket and locates the number on it. TFL 2 takes it and then goes out of the office to make her call.
ABBY
I feel a bit of an idiot.
TFL 1
You're not the first to see her.
ABBY
Who is she?
TFL 1
We don't know. Any records of jumpers from then are long gone. A psychic did say that she was from the 1930s and was desperate because she was pregnant and unmarried.
He shrugs away any responsibility for the information.
ABBY
But I'm not psychic. I've never been psychic. Why should I suddenly see a ghost now?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER, ABBY, LYLE, DITZY and LORRAINE are sitting in LESTER'S office. No one is speaking. The door opens and KERMIT comes in.
LESTER
Ah good, take a seat.
KERMIT sits down and looks at LYLE a little puzzled.
LESTER
Well, it looks like we may have let you out of isolation a little early.
LYLE
What?
LESTER
Abby here saw a ghost on a tube station, something happened to Lyle on Oxford Street. Which makes me wonder if Kermit has experienced anything in the supernatural range?
LYLE
What?
LESTER
Jon, you're a good poker player, but I sit on the full COBRA committee. I can spot someone hiding something.
LYLE
(A little shamefacedly)
I think I saw a prisoner being taken for execution at Tyburn gallows.
ABBY
I saw a ghost jump in front of a tube train at Shepherds Bush.
They all turn and look at KERMIT
KERMIT
I was out for a run around Credenhill Barracks. Steve Collins walked past me.
DITZY
Wow.
(Beat)
Before?
KERMIT
He had his gun over his shoulder.
LESTER
Explain?
LYLE
Sgt Steven Collins CGC, blew his brains out behind F Block offices two years ago.
LESTER
Oh. Thank you. That's three out of three. Any ideas, Ditzy?
DITZY
Might be a hallucinogen we missed. We'll have to run tests.
LYLE
Oh, lovely. I've missed peeing in tea cups!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC MEDICAL BAY - DAY
LYLE, ABBY and KERMIT are sitting in the medical bay. DITZY is taking phials of blood from ABBY, while another medic is taking LYLE's blood pressure.
LYLE
So this pollen has turned us into psychics then?
DITZY
That's one hypothesis, yes.
LYLE
You don't sound convinced.
DITZY
My money is on a low level hallucinogen.
KERMIT
But we all saw real events. Things that actually had happened.
DITZY
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
LYLE
Very deep.
DITZY
Take it up with Einstein.
(off LYLE's unimpressed look)
Look, we hallucinate way more than we think we do. Optical illusions happen. Mass hallucinations happen. It is very easy to trick the brain into seeing something that isn't there.
ABBY
Is that what's happened to us.
DITZY
I don't know.
He holds up the phials of blood.
DITZY (CONT'D)
This will help us find out.
DITZY takes the blood samples and leaves. The medic follows him.
ABBY, LYLE and KERMIT look at each other in silence for a moment.
KERMIT
Talking of mass hallucinations. Fancy doing a little experiment?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LOCKER ROOM - DAY
The locker room is empty. The door opens and KERMIT, LYLE and ABBY enter. The door shuts.
LYLE
What?
KERMIT
Notice anything?
They look around.
ABBY points to the bloody hand print on the wall.
ABBY
Is that always there?
LYLE
No. What the?
LYLE walks over to the hand print.
LYLE (CONT'D)
That's blood.
KERMIT
Thought as much.
(beat)
Mass hallucination it is!
ABBY
What is is about?
KERMIT
No idea.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR OUTSIDE LOCKER ROOM - DAY
The door opens and LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY walk through.
ABBY
No, but what we've seen previously has been to do with death and trauma. There hasn't been anything like that here, has there?
KERMIT
What about the time that future predator got loose?
ABBY
I suppose, but did anything happen here.
LYLE
Can you hear that?
Screaming can be heard coming from down the corridor. All three turn their heads in time to see a soldier in green, barrack dress run down the corridor past them. He is holding a bloody knife and there is blood on his face. He is screaming, full force. He runs past them without seeming to see them and then disappears round the corner at the end of the corridor.
The screaming stops as soon as he disappears.
LYLE
Well that's not something you see every day.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC REC ROOM - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY are sitting around a table, they have cups and a few biscuits in front of them.
ABBY
So what do we do?
KERMIT
What do you mean?
ABBY
What do we do about what we're seeing here?
LYLE
Try and forget it?
ABBY
You know what I mean. Something happened here.
LYLE taps his fingers against his mug for a while.
LYLE
We're not seeing anything good here, Abby. I think a mad guy with a knife is the least of it.
ABBY
If you're being protective, I've seen some nasty stuff with this job already.
KERMIT
But that's a side effect of doing the job. We don't go looking for it directly.
ABBY does not look convinced.
LYLE
You're going to do it anyway aren't you?
ABBY
Yes.
LYLE
Do me a favour. Get the number of a good PTSD counsellor off Ditzy before you need it.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC REC ROOM - DAY
LYLE is at the coffee machine filling up his mug. NORMAN walks in.
NORMAN
So you're trying to find out what happened here before the new building was built.
LYLE
Trying, yes.
NORMAN
Good. Someone should. Most of it's on levels 2 and 3.
(beat)
Keep the lassie out of the cleaner's room on level 2, though. She don't need to see that.
LYLE
What do you know, Norman?
NORMAN
Nothing. Nobody knows nothing about this place. You'll see.
NORMAN leaves.
LYLE takes a deep drink, his face thoughtful.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC - STORE ROOM - DAY
ABBY, LYLE and KERMIT are in a small store room. The walls are lined with shelves with various bits of equipment in labelled plastic boxes. Connor's remote control device is on the floor in one corner.
ABBY jumps as a man walks through the closed door.
SOLDIER
It's not working! You have to tell Marsdon it's not working.
The soldier turns his head as though he's listening to something. His shoulders slump.
SOLDIER
God help us all.
He walks back through the closed door.
LYLE
Interesting. I wonder what they were trying?
ABBY
Trying to fix... It?
KERMIT
But what was it?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC REC ROOM - DAY
ABBY and LYLE are sitting in the rec room drinking coffee. CONNOR comes in holding a hardback book.
CONNOR
I think I might have found something!
LYLE
What?
CONNOR
It's this book on Porton Down experiments.
LYLE
Oh, conspiracy theories!
CONNOR
No, it's proper academic stuff. Guy's a professor and everything.
ABBY
OK, what does it say.
CONNOR
Not much.
CONNOR opens the book at a bookmarked page
CONNOR (Cont'd)
(Reading)
Another elusive project is one that is only known as Marsdon's Mess. It's only reference is in a memo from the Permanent Secretary to the Defence Ministry complaining to the director of Porton Down about having to 'clean up Marsdon's Mess.' And that's it. There are no more references to any projects carried out by this Marsdon other than a curt notice in the Times relaying the information that Major Marsdon and four other soldiers were killed on 6th June 1984 in a helicopter crash on Salisbury Plain.
ABBY
Marsdon's Mess?
LYLE
Tell Marsdon it's not working!
ABBY
I thought Porton Down was just biological warfare? You know, anthrax and such like.
LYLE
It's what they're famous for, but they did experiments with lsd in the 50s and 60s.
CONNOR
Maybe Lorraine might have a few contacts that can help.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY are walking down a corridor in the old part of the ARC. LYLE and KERMIT are tense, expecting a threat, scanning the environment for anything wrong.
FINN walks around the corner and looks at them curiously.
FINN
What's this? What are you stalking?
LYLE
We're trying to spot any traces of the history of this place.
FINN
Oh, the spooky stuff.
Off screen the sound of men screaming can be heard.
KERMIT points his finger.
KERMIT
That way.
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY run off in that direction. FINN watches them go.
FINN
This place gets weirder by the day.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC MEDICAL BAY - DAY
DITZY, LYLE, KERMIT, ABBY, CONNOR, CUTTER and LESTER are sitting in chairs in the medical bay. DITZY is holding a couple of sheets of paper in one hand.
DITZY
OK. They have finally found what's been causing your hallucinations.
CUTTER
They took their time.
DITZY
Turns out they were looking for a new molecule. Has anyone heard of DMT?
LYLE
Isn't that the drug idiots go and get shamans to give them in the Amazon.
CONNOR
That's ayahuasca. It's supposed to open up your third eye and let you see visions and go on spirit quests.
CUTTER
A hallucinogen, in other words.
DITZY
Correct. But what you have isn't DMT. According to the biochemists it's chemically different, but structurally similar. So it does the same job as DMT while being difficult to trace.
CUTTER
What's it called.
DITZY
They're still arguing over it.
LESTER
So we know what it is, how do we treat it?
DITZY
We don't.
(Off LESTER'S raised eyebrow)
The level of it is decreasing in each new blood sample we've taken. We're not sure what the threshold for hallucinations is, but it should be completely out your systems in a week or so.
LYLE
That's really good news. I keep getting an urge to clean that handprint in the locker room.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY walk around the corner into a new section of corridor. They stop outside a door. The door label says 'Norman'.
They look around.
ABBY
I can't hear the screams anymore.
KERMIT
Neither can I.
LYLE
Elusive isn't it?
LYLE looks at the door.
LYLE (CONT'D)
Shall we?
LYLE knocks, but there is no answer. He opens the door and puts his head round it.
CUT TO:
INT. NORMAN'S OFFICE - DAY
Norman's office is empty apart from the usual desk and chairs, filing cabinet, pot plant, and a diagram of Westminster Abbey on the wall with arrows on it pointing to strange symbols.
LYLE comes in cautiously and then turns to the door.
LYLE
It's all right, Norman's not in.
KERMIT and ABBY come in and the door shuts behind them.
They look around and then a man in a white coat over an army uniform walks through the door without opening it first.
MEDIC
How are you?
The medic is talking to a young solider, curled up in the corner of the room with his hands cradling his head.
SOLDIER
I can't get them out.
MEDIC
Who?
SOLDIER
Them! The sparkling people. They're in my head. They won't go!
The medic kneels down beside the soldier. He has a syringe in his hand.
MEDIC
It's OK. It's going to be OK. Let me just...
SOLDIER
No!
The soldier suddenly springs to his feet, pushing the medic away. The syringe falls to the floor. The soldier looks at it and then punches the medic who falls to the floor.
SOLDIER
No! It's not just me! They're in everyone. We have to get rid of them!
The soldier runs from the room and the medic just looks after him stupidly.
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY look on as the medic fades from view.
KERMIT
That looks like things were getting away from them.
ABBY
Just a bit.
CUT TO:
INT. LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER is sitting at his desk reading a report when LORRAINE comes into the room. She sits on the sofa with a sigh.
LESTER
I take it that lunch with James Bond didn't go as planned?
LORRAINE
She is called Monica and works for MI5, but apart from those trifling details you're right.
LESTER
She didn't know anything?
LORRAINE
She knows what everyone else knows. The site the ARC is on was originally an army research station associated with Porton Down. The building hadn't been in use since the 80s and when they developed the current buildings, they got rid of everything above ground and then extended the bunkers below ground into what we have now.
LESTER
The original basements being where Lyle and the others are experiencing hallucinations?
LORRAINE
Correct.
LESTER
What about the Porton Down connection.
LORRAINE
Absolute silence on that front. There is nothing in any record that gives details of any Porton Down project here.
LESTER
So what are our lot seeing?
LORRAINE
No, Sir James. There's NOTHING about Porton Down projects here.
LESTER
Oh.
(Beat)
OH! One of those!
LORRAINE
Exactly. A complete disaster completely wiped from the record.
LESTER
And if Connor's book is correct no inconvenient survivors to make trouble later.
(Beat)
I sometimes wonder if we'll end up like that.
LORRAINE
Not with the way Becker gets fan mail. You'll always be able to find us under "Pretty Officer with Nice Hair'!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR - DAY
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY walk down another corridor. They stop outside another door.
KERMIT
I think this is it.
KERMIT tries the door but it's locked.
LYLE jangles a bunch of keys and KERMIT rolls his eyes.
LYLE unlocks the door and opens it.
KERMIT and ABBY make a move to follow LYLE in, but he holds up a hand to stop them.
LYLE
Let me check it first.
KERMIT glances at ABBY and nods. He steps back to stand against the opposite side of the corridor. ABBY joins him.
The door closes on LYLE.
ABBY and KERMIT stand there silent for a few moments and then the door opens and LYLE comes out. His face is stern and his lips are pressed together.
LYLE
Norman was right. This is the worst place.
KERMIT steps forward, but LYLE holds up his hand to stop him again.
LYLE
No need. It's a blood bath. Someone with bad knife skills had a go at butchery.
KERMIT
How many people?
LYLE
At least three. Hard to tell.
ABBY
Oh my god, look!
She points at the bottom of the door and KERMIT and LYLE look too.
A thin stream of blood has found its way under the door and is flowing down the corridor towards them.
KERMIT
That bad?
LYLE
Worse.
(Beat)
I hope someone swung for this.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ATRIUM - DAY
There is a small group of technicians clustered around the ADD. CONNOR and ABBY walk in and the technicians group closer together as though they are afraid of ABBY.
FINN and the REV WILLIAM DUNSTAN (CF) walk in. DUNSTAN, a tall man in green barrack uniform walks in, is carrying two large cake tins.
FINN
(To the room)
The Padre's here with the booziest Christmas cake you'll ever have!
Everyone turns around.
TECHNICIAN
Can you do exorcisms Padre?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER, LYLE and DUNSTAN are sitting in LESTER'S office.
DUNSTAN
OK, so what's the problem?
LESTER
What makes you think there's a problem.
DUNSTAN
Well, here I was spreading Christmas cheer and spirits to the Regent's Park bunch and your good selves. I'm used to being greeted with pleasure or indifference, depending on how much people like my wife's Christmas cake. Being greeted with genuine relief is rare.
LYLE and LESTER exchange glances.
DUNSTAN
(sighing)
So what weird shit is happening?
CUT TO:
INT. ARC LESTER'S OFFICE - DAY
LESTER, LYLE and DUNSTAN are sitting where they were. ABBY, DITZY AND KERMIT have joined them.
DUNSTAN puts down the mug he has been holding.
DUNSTAN
Let me see if I have this right. Porton Down held a terrible experiment here that led to the deaths of five soldiers. You three picked up a biological contaminent that means you can see episodes from that time.
(beat)
I can see why people are disturbed.
DITZY
Hallucinations I can understand, but hallucinating the truth?
DITZY shakes his head.
DUNSTAN
If my information from my reading 'New Scientist' is correct the brain is making a best guess about most of what we call 'reality' anyway. So why not hallucinating the truth?
They all sit quietly for a moment.
DUNSTAN
So how can I help? With the proviso that I don't do exorcisms.
LESTER
Do you do blessings, Padre?
DUNSTAN smiles broadly.
DUNSTAN
I believe that would fit within current MoD guidelines!
CUT TO:
INT. ARC CORRIDOR OUTSIDE CLEANER'S ROOM - DAY
LESTER, LYLE, DUNSTAN, KERMIT, ABBY, DITZY, CONNOR, CUTTER and NORMAN are standing outside the door to the cleaner's room.
LESTER
So this is the worst place in the ARC?
LYLE AND NORMAN
(Together)
Yes.
DUNSTAN
OK, let's get on with it then.
DUNSTAN opens the door and walks in. LESTER, DITZY, NORMAN and CUTTER follow him.
LYLE, KERMIT and ABBY stay in the corridor as the door shuts leaving them outside the cleaner's room. LYLE and KERMIT look a little embarrassed at not going in.
ABBY
There's no blood.
LYLE
What?
ABBY points to the foot of the door.
ABBY
There's no blood seeping out under the door like there used to be.
KERMIT
Maybe it's finally going.
LYLE
Here's hoping.
CUT TO:
INT. ARC ATRIUM 'IN MEMORIAM' PLAQUE - DAY
LESTER, LYLE, DUNSTAN, KERMIT, ABBY, DITZY, CONNOR, CUTTER, NORMAN and a few technicians are standing beside the brass plaque that holds the names of the team who have died.
DUNSTAN
Lord, we remember today those who have died in the service of their country and mankind. Accept them into your holy presence and grant them peace.
Save us Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace. At last, all-powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise.
For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, the light to enlighten the gentiles and give glory to Israel, your people.
Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
ALL
Amen
LESTER
Thank you, Padre. That was perfect
(Beat)
Any chance of trying that Christmas cake I've heard so much about?
FADE OUT.
THE END
