0:21

Good evening. You

0:23

have returned to the council

0:26

of masks. I

0:28

am Julian. Tonight's

0:32

story is based on a real incident.

0:36

Or so I think more

0:38

and more now I become confused

0:41

in my research. And

0:44

if I don't excavate the entire

0:46

truth quickly enough, I

0:48

begin to conflate it

0:50

with strange tatters

0:53

from my imagination. I

0:57

have finally realized why I do this.

1:00

It represents a primal

1:03

year name for childhood, and

1:05

it's priceless, corrupt realities

1:09

into our mystery. I

1:12

remember when I was seven years old,

1:16

My parents took me on a trip in wintertime

1:18

to see a faraway dying

1:21

relative. We

1:24

had to stop overnight in a small

1:26

town where they had never been because of

1:28

some sudden

1:30

issue with the car. We're

1:33

very poor. We had to

1:35

stay in the least expensive place

1:38

my parents could find. And

1:40

this was an

1:42

old stone house where

1:45

two nuns rented

1:48

us a room. One

1:51

night became two, some

1:53

core part had to be waited for.

1:57

As I went out into the street

2:00

to play in the morning, one

2:02

of the nuns

2:04

belt down and

2:06

said to me, this

2:08

town is full,

2:10

very old. When

2:13

you play, you mustn't

2:16

make a sound. She

2:20

put a finger to her lips. I

2:27

didn't know what to do, so

2:29

I just walked the roads. Small,

2:33

silent houses, overgrown lawns.

2:36

Silence. No

2:39

one seemed to own a car. I

2:42

saw almost none. Now

2:45

playground school. Eventually,

2:49

I gave up on finding

2:51

anyone. And

2:54

went back to the place where we had found

2:56

ourselves. A

2:59

second night came and I said to my

3:01

mother, when can we leave? And

3:04

she said just as soon as the

3:06

part comes. I

3:10

remember looking out

3:12

the window on the road on

3:15

that last day and someone had

3:17

finally appeared on that. A

3:20

man with a very stained

3:23

white apron over his clothes.

3:26

He was holding a

3:28

pair of symbols in his

3:30

hands. He

3:33

stood in the road and he cried I

3:36

can take no more. How

3:40

do you like this? You

3:42

sleepers. And

3:45

he began clanging the symbols

3:48

together, shattering

3:50

that oppressive silence Two

3:54

men came from somewhere I didn't see, and

3:56

they were each wearing a

3:58

suit as if they'd come from a funeral.

4:02

And they knocked the

4:04

symbols out of the offender's hands

4:06

and they began to pull them away,

4:09

dragging him. They were dragging

4:11

him toward the woods on the

4:13

far side of the road as he struggled

4:15

against them. Screaming. And

4:19

they pulled them into

4:21

the trees, and

4:24

I turned away from the window. We

4:29

left just an hour later. My

4:32

parents moved all around us

4:34

as we drove at walking the speed

4:36

out of this talent. His name,

4:39

I never knew. And

4:41

we never spoke of

4:43

that place. What

4:47

a wonderful thing that was

4:49

as I grew, not

4:52

trusting or understanding what I had

4:54

seen so long ago. Misinterpreting

4:57

it in so many ways as

4:59

the years went on. My

5:03

mother and father no longer live,

5:07

and the town belongs only

5:10

to me now. It

5:14

might be keeping its

5:17

truth hidden still.

5:21

Somewhere inside one of those

5:23

houses. But

5:26

I will not

5:28

go. You

5:32

have returned to the

5:34

council of masks. I

5:38

am Jolene.

5:58

Hi. You

6:04

can park right next to the No.

6:08

Okay. I'm

6:24

Alfie. Come on in. Welcome. Sadie.

6:33

Sadie, that that's a real different thing.

6:36

Sadie Duffy? Yeah.

6:41

Well, this is the living room

6:43

you're free to use while you're here, the key

6:45

works for the main house

6:46

too. There's some coffee

6:48

and things over there. Oh, good. I'm

6:50

gonna use some coffee. I've got

6:52

headache from all the headlights in the dark.

6:55

How

6:56

was your

6:56

drive? Oh, you

6:58

know, never wonder if there was an idiot.

7:01

Sorry. I don't know how to use machine. I

7:03

just bought it for the guests and you're the fifty

7:05

one.

7:06

It's alright. I'm a veteran of these things.

7:09

Can we just open this.

7:14

Yeah. I was a little worried that there weren't any reviews

7:16

yet, but I guess someone has to be

7:18

first. I'm

7:19

a little nervous about it all. There's a lot to learn.

7:23

Looks

7:23

like you could use a little help with the listing. There's

7:25

some vagueness on there, some spelling

7:27

mistakes. Oh, I know. I could never spell.

7:32

So what do you do in Goose Creek?

7:35

I had a job

7:37

interview on Monday down the road.

7:39

So just needed a place for

7:41

tonight, tomorrow, some get some

7:43

things sorted out beforehand. Yeah.

7:47

Oh, wow. Sounds like

7:49

an important job.

7:52

Creamer plain creamer.

7:55

Do you know how to plain creamer? No. I

7:59

don't think Just

8:01

French vanilla.

8:02

Yes. Sorry. I'll I'll try to

8:04

get some normal. A lot of people like unflavored.

8:09

So what what what will you be doing

8:11

for this job? I'm a

8:15

it's it's in finance.

8:18

With Marietta Computing, big

8:21

big tech company.

8:22

Oh, wow. I

8:24

didn't know such a big company was in Goose Creek.

8:26

They're not. They're in Charles and you

8:29

really never heard of rarity? No.

8:34

You know what? I'm stressed out. I'll I'll

8:37

probably just turn in. Is that the key there?

8:39

Yeah. Go. I

8:43

stocked everything as much as I could, but it's just

8:46

me. There's no one else. And I and I I have

8:48

a terrible memory all my life. I'm

8:50

sorry. So

8:53

if there's anything missing, you can just come

8:55

in here and take anything you need

8:57

from the bathroom or the kitchen if I'm

8:59

not here.

9:00

Okay. Where's the cottage?

9:02

Right behind this

9:04

way. See through the window. There's

9:07

a shed, and then there's

9:09

the cottage. Thanks. Good

9:11

night. Good night.

9:23

A dream about a woman night after night.

9:26

Oh, woman. morning.

9:28

Good morning. I just sleep.

9:31

Ring. She became more

9:33

I just wanna get some coffee

9:36

here. College okay?

9:40

You you could use a VUMITA there.

9:44

It's really dry in there. Oh,

9:46

okay. I

9:49

will make a note of that.

9:51

And get one soon. Like

9:54

real dry. Can I

9:56

fill this with water from the sink here?

9:58

Sure.

10:01

So is there no cable or streaming

10:04

for that TV? It looks like I'd

10:06

have to sign in for everything. No.

10:08

Sorry. It's it's just me and I don't watch

10:10

watch TV. The wireless works.

10:12

Right?

10:13

It's a little slow. I

10:16

just watch a lot of British shows. I I like

10:19

faulty towers and doctor

10:21

Hu and Black Adnor,

10:23

do you know those? Doctor

10:26

Who, I think I've heard of. I

10:29

have a crazy sense of

10:31

humor. You can probably tell that from the WiFi

10:33

password. In

10:34

Pittsburgh, they used to call me Cloud Boy.

10:37

Yeah. That's a funny sign you

10:39

have below the TV and the cottage. Which

10:42

one? The one that says

10:44

check out time, six AM. Oh,

10:47

yeah. I I like like to have the rules. Posted

10:50

pretty clear. Pittsburgh.

10:56

I moved equipment and stuff for a fan

10:58

there. Three Rock, it's three Rockford.

11:02

Nice. I was a hippie

11:04

for years. Nineteen ninety seven, to

11:07

two thousand five. I almost lived

11:09

in a

11:09

van, the whole works. I

11:12

think I go crazy with people like that.

11:16

I met so many amazing people. I

11:19

once got high with

11:22

the road crew from that band night

11:24

ranger. That was the one and

11:26

only time though I never did

11:28

it again. I never felt so

11:31

sick. I went to the hospital. That

11:34

was when I made up my mind.

11:37

Rules are important. Rules

11:40

are important. So are they

11:42

the people in the pictures out in in

11:44

the cottage or around the

11:46

Yeah. That's the band people I used to.

11:49

But a lot of those are are of my daughter?

11:52

It felt a little strange,

11:55

you know, to have so many personal photos around.

11:57

You might wanna think

11:59

about moving those out. Strange?

12:04

Yeah. A little too personal.

12:11

Your daughter, she's the one with the the the

12:14

one that's holding the cataract Yeah.

12:16

That's her.

12:18

That's your daughter. Is she

12:21

graduating college in one of them? Anorendal

12:23

Community

12:24

College, twenty third teen. Yes.

12:27

You must have been really young when you had her.

12:30

Oh, well, The

12:33

thing is when I say my daughter,

12:36

it's just that we we we got so close

12:38

over the years. She's actually not technically

12:40

in mind. She she was a runaway

12:43

and she stayed with me when she was having a bad

12:45

time a long time ago and I helped her

12:47

and we were never really apart

12:49

and I helped her high school and

12:52

she lived with

12:52

me, don't know if she called me

12:54

dad and everything. She didn't have anyone else.

12:58

Right. She

13:01

died two years ago.

13:05

Yeah. Two years ago. What

13:09

happened? A

13:11

car accident. Wow.

13:16

But I'll do what you said. I'll move the pictures

13:19

out of there for the next guest. There's someone coming

13:21

in right after

13:22

you. And and two weeks from now.

13:25

To, I guess, I'm a hit. You should get those spelling

13:27

mistakes fixed before you do anything else.

13:29

A lot of people will just go right past

13:32

the listing if they think you're not on the

13:33

ball. If you're not perfect,

13:36

you're just dirt to them. Oh, I already

13:38

made a note of that.

13:41

Gonna get those ironed out. I know someone

13:43

who's a whiz at that. I'll

13:46

check-in with you tomorrow morning on way

13:48

out. Six AM. Remember?

13:51

Right. Got it. Six

13:54

AM.

14:19

Oh, Jesus. I

14:22

didn't see you there. It's okay.

14:26

I

14:26

just like to come down here sometimes. It's

14:29

like this. I have my

14:31

tea.

14:33

I was just looking for another blanket. The

14:35

heat's so dry. I didn't really wanna

14:37

turn it on?

14:39

Oh, sure. There's two

14:42

extras folded right over

14:44

there on the automotive. This

14:50

will

14:50

do.

14:53

Just sitting there

14:55

in the dark?

14:57

Just for a while.

14:59

It's pretty late. Well,

15:01

I had such a crazy dream. I'll

15:05

tell it to you. It was so silly.

15:08

III killed

15:10

would be guthrie. You know

15:12

him? Who's

15:14

the name, maybe?

15:17

He's my hero. He

15:20

traveled everywhere that

15:25

I killed on

15:27

the beach.

15:29

But I had to get rid of the body somehow. So III

15:32

was running around the house trying to figure

15:34

out to do. And

15:37

the next thing I knew, I was I was standing

15:39

over the sink, and

15:41

I was trying to push

15:43

his arm down into cold.

15:47

Just the half of the hand. That's the whole thing, not

15:49

the elbow. But

15:52

it wouldn't go so I I tried

15:59

It's so terrible. III

16:01

tried twist sting it

16:03

into the hole. Like, it was a

16:05

screw. And it was

16:07

just sticking

16:10

up because it it wouldn't

16:12

twist in any

16:13

further. That

16:16

was all out of ideas. Have

16:20

you ever heard such a stupid dream? They

16:24

get weird sometimes. Night.

16:28

Did you ever have one so bad you started

16:30

screaming? What? No.

16:35

You can just leave the key on the bedspread

16:38

and go in the morning. That's better than

16:41

tramping across the lawn or the dark.

16:43

Rain. It's supposed to keep raining.

16:46

Well, it won't be dark.

16:49

Sunrise at seven twelve. I checked

16:51

it. I

16:52

like to check it every day and see how we're

16:55

slowly getting towards spring.

16:57

I figure out that at around ten thirty.

17:01

Don't forget the checkout time.

17:03

No. The checkout

17:05

time. It's usually

17:08

eleven or

17:08

so.

17:09

Right? But remember the sign. Here

17:11

at six.

17:14

You are joking. Right? Crown

17:16

Boy, I get it. Oh,

17:19

no. See, I need to get in there

17:22

and start working for the next guest.

17:24

I'm kind of slow.

17:27

That's that's

17:29

really not an acceptable check out

17:31

time. It is

17:33

dark at six, but that

17:35

doesn't even matter. You can't ask

17:37

people to leave their room at six in the

17:39

morning. Certainly wasn't on the website.

17:41

Thank god. You'd never get a booking. It's

17:44

important though, I need

17:46

to be able to take my time with my

17:48

bursitis.

17:50

And I'm such an early riser, I figure I

17:52

may as well pick advantage. Book.

17:57

My interview isn't until noon.

18:00

I need to get some really good sleep and

18:02

there is no way in hell that a check out

18:04

time before even nine is

18:06

acceptable. You'll just have

18:08

to wait. Okay? Well,

18:11

I can't have you just pay for

18:13

the extra day. There's another guest come

18:16

tomorrow

18:16

night. I wouldn't pay for an extra

18:18

day anyway. I'll leave

18:21

the room at a normal human time.

18:25

Six o'clock in the morning. Yeah. That

18:28

That's not saying

18:29

reality. You know that. Right?

18:33

I get to make the rules

18:35

from my own place. Same rules.

18:38

Same. Six AM.

18:41

Do you wanna go to business immediately? No.

18:46

Well, there is a functioning world

18:48

out there that operates on a

18:50

standard clock. There is no

18:52

hotel no motel, no

18:55

Airbnb in America that hustles

18:57

people out before dawn.

19:03

I am under Listen

19:08

to me. You don't

19:11

know the stress. You

19:14

can't imagine it.

19:16

So I'll leave at ten.

19:19

You can have a nice five star

19:21

review, get you going, but

19:24

I have to

19:24

sleep. I cannot argue

19:27

this with you. Alright? One

19:31

thing I've learned is A

19:34

rule is a rule.

19:36

It's right there on the wall in the cottage beneath

19:39

the TV. That doesn't mean anything

19:42

to me. Look at every

19:44

other listing. Leave

19:47

this house some time. Community cake

19:50

with the world, get real

19:52

about this. I

19:55

never wanna leave this house again. Why

19:58

should I?

19:59

Stay here then. Be a weakling.

20:03

You're just like that man. What

20:06

man?

20:08

The man who hit Daisy with his car.

20:11

Sorry?

20:14

She pulled over just

20:18

like she was supposed to. She

20:20

was getting along with the police.

20:23

She was doing that breathalyzer. And

20:27

the man came along too fast

20:29

and he didn't move over into

20:31

the other lane like the law

20:34

says you have to

20:36

when there's a police car on the shoulder and

20:40

he killed her because

20:43

he thought he was above it.

20:47

That's not a law it's just

20:49

something you're supposed to. You're supposed

20:52

you're supposed to abide

20:53

by. It's the world. He

20:56

broke

20:56

it. Daisy

20:59

died. And

21:02

you're no better?

21:05

Follow the rules. I

21:11

am going to sleep now.

21:15

I'll be out of your little universe tomorrow.

21:19

Good luck with the business. Get

21:21

a humidifier.

21:31

Now as I look around,

21:34

That's money for you to see.

21:37

This world is such a great

21:39

thing for my place to be.

21:43

Oh, the gambling man is rich.

21:51

And I ain't got no horn.

21:54

It's blue.

22:09

You have

22:18

reached the voice mailbox system for

22:20

Spartanburg Human Services. Your

22:23

contact --

22:24

Allison Donovan -- is not

22:26

currently available. Please

22:29

leave a message and your call will be returned

22:31

as soon as

22:32

possible. Thank

22:34

you.

22:37

Guess who this is, and

22:41

guess where I am.

22:44

I know you tried

22:46

to tell rarity about my record,

22:49

screw up my last chance, even

22:53

after I told you

22:55

what will happen to me if

22:57

I don't get this. So

23:02

Listen to me, pig.

23:06

If this job doesn't

23:08

come through, I

23:11

am coming to your house, and

23:13

I am going to

23:16

torture you. I'm

23:20

going to tie you up

23:22

and I'm going to torture you.

23:55

No. No. No. No. No. No.

23:58

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

24:00

No. Peter?

24:04

What are you doing? I

24:07

need to sleep. It's

24:10

ten after six. You

24:13

need to leave me alone. I'll

24:16

trade you a lousy three hours

24:18

of sleep for a review

24:20

that won't put you out of business.

24:23

How's that for deal? You're

24:27

not going to do what I asked. Does

24:30

it sound like it?

24:34

Oh, have to charge you for the day. I

24:38

guess in a couple of

24:39

hours, I'll consider

24:42

you a trust pastor. Are

24:44

you out of your mind?

24:48

I should tell you something. I'm

24:52

really very strong.

24:56

You noticed my muscle? I've

25:00

worked in gardens all my life.

25:08

You you you pick the

25:10

wrong person, little man.

25:15

mean, I could

25:17

come in there without even needing a key.

25:21

I wanna do that.

25:24

I just can't be around people

25:27

who break the rules.

25:30

They can't be on my path.

25:33

Come on in little man. Let's

25:36

see how far you'll get.

25:39

They shouldn't keep living. People

25:43

like that. That's

25:46

my new rule too. If

25:49

this door opens, you

25:51

die.

25:56

How about if I count down? Is

25:59

that fair? I

26:03

started ten.

26:06

Ten, 98765.

26:19

Here's the one I've been waiting for. Pig

26:24

4321,

27:17

and

27:33

get in there. Cook.

27:37

In your cook. In your