Content Warnings

• Worms (sfx)
• Graphic injury
• Infestation 
• Supernatural impersonation
• Discussions of: gore, death, spatial disorientation 
• Mentions of: asphyxiation
• Discussions of: Gore, death, spatial disorientation
• Mentions of: asphyxiation
• SFX: distorted voices, shouting, alarm sounding, high pitched tone, screaming, electrical interference, worms

[CLICK]

[WRITHING WORM SOUNDS]

SASHA
 What are you doing?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Almost…

SASHA
 Leave it, it’s not…

JONATHAN SIMS
 I got it!

MARTIN
 Guys? Is everything… Oh Christ!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Shut up and get the extinguishers!

MARTIN
 What

 JONATHAN SIMS
 The CO2 ! Get the goddamn CO2!

MARTIN
 Right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, yep.

[INSECT NOISES AND FIRE EXTINGUISHER SPRAY]

MARTIN
 There’s too many…

SASHA
 Just keep spraying!

JONATHAN SIMS
 We need to go!

SASHA
 Where?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Uh… Uh…

SASHA
 Damn!

JONATHAN SIMS
 I just… uh… let, let me think!

SASHA
 Do you see Prentiss? If we could get her…

MARTIN
 I, I, I don’t see her! I don’t see her! I don’t see her! I don’t see her!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Uhhh…

SASHA
 John? John!?

MARTIN
 This way! Come on! Come this way! This way, this way!

[SOUNDS OF RUNNING AND PURSUIT BY PARASITIC WORMS]

JONATHAN SIMS
 Erm… LOOK OUT!

[CRASH]

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

JONATHAN SIMS

(Screaming)

MARTIN
 And… there we go. Recording again. Did you get it? 

JONATHAN SIMS

(Cries of pain)

[THE SOUND OF SASHA EXTRACTING A PARASITIC WORM FROM JONATHAN SIMS]

SASHA
 There. And I just want to point out that I didn’t make this much of a fuss.

JONATHAN SIMS
 (Heavy Breathing)

I think your removal was substantially cleaner.

SASHA
 I’m still not sure why you have this. Drinking in the archives?

MARTIN
 What? No, no, it’s for worms.

JONATHAN SIMS
 What?

MARTIN
 For pulling the worms out of people. Like now.

SASHA
 You, er… what?

MARTIN
I used to carry around a knife, but I started thinking that, well, cutting into someone laterally wasn’t really the most efficient way to get them out, and besides which, they seem to be quite slow burrowing in a straight line so, given their size, th-the corkscrew just seemed to be the better option. … Look, you guys got to go home every day, okay. I didn’t! I’ve been thinking for a long time about what to do when… well, y’know, this happens.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Well… thank you.

SASHA
 That’s why we’re here?

MARTIN
Yeah. The room’s sealed, I checked it myself when I moved in.

 JONATHAN SIMS
Climate controlled, as well. Strong door. Soundproof. [Sigh] These old files are far better protected than we ever were. Alright, I’ll grant you it’s a good place to lay low, but—

SASHA
They could still come in through the air con.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Not easily. And… not en masse. It is actually safe.

MARTIN
 Ha!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Except, of course, that we’re trapped.

MARTIN
 Ah… yeah. Sorry.

SASHA
 Why record it?

JONATHAN SIMS
 What?

SASHA
 Before, in the office. It, it was stupid going for the tape recorder like that, and then when you dropped it out there…

JONATHAN SIMS
 I said I was sorry. If I’d known Martin had another one stashed in here, I never would have…

SASHA
 No, it’s, it’s fine, just… I just don’t understand. I thought you hated the damn thing. You’re always going on about it.

JONATHAN SIMS
 I do! I did. I just… I don’t want to become a mystery. I refuse to become another goddamn mystery.

SASHA
 What?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Look, even if you ignore the walking soil-sack out there, and the fact that we are probably minutes from death, there is still so much more happening here.

MARTIN
 I’m not sure we can really ignore the—

JONATHAN SIMS
 Every real statement just leads… deeper into something I don’t even know the shape of yet. And to top it all, I still don’t know what happened to Gertrude. Officially she’s still missing, but Elias is no help and the police were pretty clear that the wait to call her dead is just a formality. If I die, wormfood or… something else, whatever, I’m going to make damn sure the same doesn’t happen to me. Whoever takes over from me is going to know exactly what happened.

SASHA
 You don’t think that would… put them off?

JONATHAN SIMS
 [Bitter laugh] I hope so. Only an idiot would stay in this job.

MARTIN
 [Chuckles] Wouldn’t that make you an idiot?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Yes, Martin, that was my point.

SASHA
 Can you see what’s going on out there?

MARTIN
 Ish. When did we last clean these doors?

JONATHAN SIMS
 What can you see?

MARTIN
 Worms seem to have backed off a bit. There’s a few lurking in the corners. Ooh, ooh hey, there’s the other tape recorder!

SASHA
 Any sign of Prentiss?

MARTIN
 No. No, it looks like they’re… waiting, I think.

JONATHAN SIMS
 For what?

MARTIN
 I don’t know. Tim, maybe?

SASHA
 Oh god!

MARTIN
 I think he was out at lunch.

SASHA
 Quick, someone call him. Tell him not to come back inside.

JONATHAN SIMS
 There’s no signal in here. We just have to hope he heard the noise.

SASHA
 John, what did you mean by “real statements”?

JONATHAN SIMS
 You know what I mean. The ones that have weird wrinkles, or that just seem to have something solid to them. They all have one thing in common.

SASHA
 They don’t record digitally.

JONATHAN SIMS
 And we have to use the tape recorder. At this stage, if it records to my laptop I almost don’t bother. I don’t—

MARTIN
 There! There, there, there! I see him!

JONATHAN SIMS
 What?

MARTIN
 Tim. Tim’s outside.

SASHA
 Oh god, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t see them.

SASHA AND MARTIN

 (Calling out for Tim)
Tim, look out.

JONATHAN SIMS
 It’s soundproofed. He can’t hear you!

SASHA
 What is he doing? No, Tim, just run! Leave it alone!

MARTIN
 Oh no, no, no, no…

SASHA
 Turn around. Just turn around.

MARTIN
 Oh god. There she is, there she is.

JONATHAN SIMS
 There’s nothing we can do.

SASHA
 Ah, screw this.

JONATHAN SIMS
 What, Sasha, NO!

[DOOR OPENS]

SASHA
 Tim, look out!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Watch out for the tape…

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

TIM

still working? Ah, okay. Test, test. What are you doing on the floor? Huh. [Imitates Archivist voice] Statement of Joe Spooky, regarding sinister happenings in the downtown old…

[DOOR OPENS]

SASHA
 Tim, look out!

[WORM SOUNDS INTENSIFY]

TIM

Sasha?

SASHA
 Behind you! Run!

TIM

Oh…

[A CHORUS OF WORM SOUNDS]

PRENTISS
Do you hear their song?

SASHA
 TIM!

[IMPACTS, WORM SOUNDS AND FIGHTING]

SASHA
 [BREATHING HEAVILY AND STUMBLING THROUGH DOORS]

SASHA
 Damn it!

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

JONATHAN SIMS
 Right. There we go. Martin, what do you see?

MARTIN
 Hm? What?

JONATHAN SIMS
 I can’t really stand up yet. I need you to describe what’s going on. For the record.

MARTIN
 Ah, yeah. Sure. So, um, Sasha tackled Tim and there was kind of a struggle, but she made it out of the Archives. That, that was about two minutes ago and she’s gone to get help. P-Probably. I mean, she, she couldn’t… she wouldn’t just run so…

JONATHAN SIMS
 Did it look like any of the worms… got her before she left?

MARTIN
 No. I don’t think so. Tim neither, I think. It was hard to tell after she tackled him. There was just a lot of movement and, and shouting and, and wriggling…

JONATHAN SIMS
 Stay with it, Martin. Tim. What happened to Tim?

MARTIN
 They got split up and he ran into the office. You said that’s where you made the hole. When you were recording. And they all came through, so… he’s dead. He’s dead in there and he’s covered in worms and that’s it.

JONATHAN SIMS
 We don’t know that.

MARTIN
 …Maybe Maybe, maybe he found the spare CO2. 

JONATHAN SIMS
 Spare? What? Where? I never saw any.

MARTIN
 Oh, I, er… I, I hid them in old casefile boxes.

JONATHAN SIMS
 What, why?

MARTIN
 Well, so the worms didn’t know they were there! Look, I know it’s stupid.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Yes. Yes it is. They’re just… they’re just unclassified parasites. They don’t have consciousness, they can’t plan, they’re just an unthinking infection.

MARTIN
 Seriously?!

JONATHAN SIMS
 What?

MARTIN
 Why do you do that?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Do what?

MARTIN
 Push the sceptic thing so hard!? I mean, it made sense at first, but now? After everything we’ve seen, after everything you’ve read! I hear you recording statements and y-you just dismiss them. Your tear them to pieces like they’re wasting your time, but half of the “rational” explanations you give are actually more far-fetched than just accepting it was a, a ghost or something. I mean for god’s sake John, we’re literally hiding from some kind of worm… queen… thing, how, how could you possibly still not believe!?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Of course, I believe. Of course I do. Have you ever taken a look at the stuff we have in Artefact storage? That’s enough to convince anyone. But, but even before that… Why do you think I started working here? It’s not exactly glamorous. I have… I’ve always believed in the supernatural. Within reason. I mean. I still think most of the statements down here aren’t real. Of the hundreds I’ve recorded, we’ve had maybe… thirty, forty that are… that go on tape. Now those, I believe, at least for the most part.

MARTIN
 Then why do you…

JONATHAN SIMS
 Because I’m scared, Martin!. Because when I record these statements it feels… it feels like I’m being watched. I… I lose myself a bit. And then when I come back, it’s like… like if I admit there may be any truth to it, whatever’s watching will… know somehow. The scepticism, feigning ignorance. It just felt safer.

MARTIN
 Well… It wasn’t.

JONATHAN SIMS
 No. No, it wasn’t. Still, it’s not my fault we’re going to be eaten by worms. Speaking of, can you see anything?

MARTIN
 Not much. They’re just… there.

JONATHAN SIMS
 How many?

MARTIN
 Too many. And more keep coming up through the floor. I didn’t think they could get through.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Prentiss

MARTIN
 No, I can’t s… Oh, there she is.

JONATHAN SIMS
 What’s she doing?

MARTIN
 I don’t know. She’s messing with the boxes. She’s holding one up and… ahh!

JONATHAN SIMS
 What?

MARTIN
 She’s… She’s destroying them. Sort of.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Sort of

MARTIN
 Well, I don’t really know what that stuff coming out of her mouth is, but I think we should probably burn them.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Right. Right. … Why are you here Martin?

MARTIN
 Well, well, Prentiss is out there and you can’t run so

JONATHAN SIMS
 I mean at the Archive in general. Why haven’t you quit?

MARTIN
 Are you giving me my review now?

JONATHAN SIMS
 No… We’re clearly doing a whole heart-to-heart thing and, truth be told, the question’s been bothering me. You’ve been living in the Archives for four months, constant threat of… this. Sleeping with a fire extinguisher and a corkscrew. Even you must be aware that that’s not normal for an archiving job? Why are you still here?

MARTIN
 [Considering] Don’t really know. I just am. It didn’t feel right to just leave. I’ve typed up a few resignation letters, but I just couldn’t bring myself to hand them in. I’m trapped here. It’s like I can’t… move on and the more I struggle, the more I’m stuck.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Martin…You’re not, uh… You didn’t die here, did you?

MARTIN
 What? What? N-No… what?!

JONATHAN SIMS
 No, I just… No, just the way you phrased that…

MARTIN
 Made you think I was a ghost?

JONATHAN SIMS
 No… it’s—

MARTIN
 No, no… it’s just that whatever web these statements have caught you in, well, I’m there too. We all are, I think.
(sigh)
 … A ghost? Really?

JONATHAN SIMS
 Shut up Martin.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

[FIRE ALARM]

ELIAS
Right, tell me again, please.

SASHA
 You’re kidding.

ELIAS
You did bring a tape recorder. I just thought John would appreciate as many supplementary recordings as possible. For the record.

SASHA
 Well, for the record, if we don’t do something now, it won’t matter either way.

ELIAS
So… these are the worms he and Martin have been going on about?

SASHA
 The ones terrorising us for months? Yeah! 

ELIAS

To be honest I always thought they were just… overreacting. Other staff have seen them around, but no-one’s reported any aggressive behaviour or anything like that. You know how those two are… John puts on a good show, but sometimes I swear he’s worse than Martin.

SASHA
 Look, Elias. I don’t know what you think is going on, but I have just seen thousands of… fleshworms pouring out of the wall! God knows how long they’ve been hiding! Tim might be dead, and the others…

ELIAS
Of course. The fire alarm was a good move, but it does mean most staff have evacuated, so we’ll have to deal with them ourselves.

SASHA
 There are thousands of them, Elias.

ELIAS
Not quite what I meant. On John’s insistence I recently changed the Archive’s fire suppression system to use carbon dioxide. Should have done it years ago, really…

SASHA
 So why hasn’t it gone off?

ELIAS
Because there isn’t an actual fire.

SASHA
 Right, right. Can we set it off manually? I think John’s got a lighter somewhere. ELIAS He’s not smoking again, is he? Anyway, it shouldn’t be necessary. There is a manual release, a few floors down.

SASHA
 Wait. Wait. Will it hurt Martin or John? ELIAS Almost certainly. Er, I’m not a doctor, but I know dumping a lot of CO2 on people isn’t generally considered a good idea. I really don’t want to have to find another Archivist so quickly after Gertrude, but from what you say… it might be a mercy. You know the situation best, so…?

SASHA
 Let’s go.

[CLICK] [CLICK]

[FIRE ALARM CAN BE HEARD… AS CAN SOUND OF BANGING ON WALL]

MARTIN
 I thought that wall was meant to be solid?!

JONATHAN SIMS
 So did I. We don’t have any sort of weapon, do we?

MARTIN
 I mean… I mean, I suppose we could use…

JONATHAN SIMS
 Don’t say the corkscrew!

MARTIN
 Okay.

JONATHAN SIMS
 How many of them are outside of the door?

MARTIN
 I don’t know. I can’t see because the window is covered in worms.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Right. Right. Damn. Well, Martin I guess this is—

[SOUND OF PLASTERBOARD AND TILE BREAKING]

TIM
Hi guys!

MARTIN
 Tim!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Tim?! What the hell? I thought… how did you…?

MARTIN
 You made it!

TIM
Funny story really. I ran into the office, worms everywhere, horrible death and everything, tripped and fell in some boxes and there were like 20 cans of gas in there.

MARTIN
 Are, are you alright? You seem a bit…

TIM
Fine! Fine! Gas… bit light-headed. Not a lot of ventilation in the tunnels. Come on!

JONATHAN SIMS
 In-Into the tunnels?

TIM

Yeah! Actually, not that many worms in there anymore. I think they’ve mostly gone into the Archive. Although the ones down here are faster for some reason. And quieter.

JONATHAN SIMS
 You’re not bitten, are you?

TIM
No, I don’t think so! Have a look!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Yes, alright Tim, you look fine. Put them back on, please.

MARTIN
 Can can you walk, John?

JONATHAN SIMS
 No, I can limp.

TIM
Then let’s go!

JONATHAN SIMS
 Martin, could you pass me the tape recorder?

MARTIN
 Sure. I think it’s running out, though.

JONATHAN SIMS
 Fine. I suppose I can turn it back on when we’re being eaten alive.

TIM
Why do you have a second tape recorder, Martin?

MARTIN
 Oh, um… well, I’ve been using it to record myself. I write poetry and I think the tapes have a sort of… low-fi charm.

JONATHAN SIMS
 … I see.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

SASHA
(Echoing) Okay, John. I know you’ll want to know what’s been happening. If you’re still alive after this. The worms are on the upper floor. Not as many as down in the Archive, but enough.

I set the fire alarm off, so everyone’s evacuated except me and Elias. I didn’t see any signs of the fire brigade, but I haven’t been near a window in a while. There was a… I guess you’d call it a… a wave of worms. I got cut off from Elias. I hope he made it to the fire system, but who knows. Maybe everyone’s dead already.

I’ve had to retreat into Artefact Storage. That should tell you something about how bad it is out there. God, I hate this place.

Did I ever tell you I first joined the Institute as a practical researcher? I had to analyse and investigate all the stuff in here. Take notes after sleeping in the rusted chair, write in the memory book, all that sort of thing. I transferred after three months. Would’ve quit, but couldn’t afford to back then. Never understood why they keep this stuff secret. I mean, we’ve, we’ve enough here to send any sceptic packing, but it’s just locked away. I… I asked Elias about it once, but he just muttered something about funding and mission statements. He’s good at changing the subject, isn’t he?

Sorry. I’m rambling. No worms, though, so that’s good.

Oh, hey. I’ve found… I’ve found that table you were talking about. Don’t really see what all the fuss is about. Just a… basic… optical illusion. Nothing special… just… just a… wait…

(Panicked Whispering in to Tape Recorder) John! John, I think there’s someone here. Hello? I see you. Show yourself.

[AUDIBLE DISTORTION]

[SASHA SCREAMS AND DROPS TAPE RECORDER]

[DISTORTED AUDIO FADES IN TO CRACKLING]

SASHA

(Sashas voice appears different and is warped)Hello? I see you.

[FOOTSTEPS]

SASHA

I see you.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

[WATER DRIPPING]

JONATHAN SIMS

Update. I don’t know how long we’ve been down here. These tunnels are a maze, and we don’t know where we are. We have four of the…

TIM
Martin’s gone.

JONATHAN SIMS

I’m getting to that. Martin has disappeared. Tim was right about there being fewer worms down here, but they are much faster. More aggressive. None of us have been hit yet but… during one of the more alarming encounters, Martin ran off.

TIM

He thought we were behind him, I think.

JONATHAN SIMS

He didn’t think at all. Tim was with me, and my leg slowed me down. He must have taken a turn we didn’t see or something. We lost him. But, Tim has managed to find what looks to be an actual trapdoor, so… we won’t need to bludgeon our way through any more drywall. I’m recording this in case…

TIM

In case the trapdoor opens back into the Archives and Prentiss is there to kill us.

JONATHAN SIMS

In as many words, yes. Tim?

TIM

Alright

[TRAPDOOR IS PUSHED OPEN NOW WORMS CAN BE HEARD WRITHING AND A FIREALARM]

PRENTISS

Archivist

TIM

Ah.

JONATHAN SIMS

Shit.

[CLICK]

Written by Jonathan Sims