Chase's Chase - Episode 7

INT. INSIDE THE LIBRARY - AFTERNOON

CHASE is sitting in the library, working on his project for German 101.

HARPER (IN CHASES HEAD)

Plus I have a meeting with Elyse and Ashton before it. I've gotta go guys but I'll message Chase the information I found.

CHASE shakes his head, trying to ignore the memory.

HARPER (IN CHASES HEAD)

Plus I have a meeting with Elyse and Ashton before it. Elyse and Ashton before it. Elyse and Ashton before it.

CHASE

Holy shit!

A woman from across the room looks over at CHASE. CHASES face goes red but he rolls his eyes and pulls out his headphones. He puts his headphones in his ears.

ELYSE

Don't run from us Chasey.

The sound of ELYSES voice comes from the right side of CHASES headphones. CHASE goes still.

ASHTON

I know, Chase. It's a little scary.

The sound of ASHTONS voice comes from the left side of CHASES headphones. CHASE remains still but listens to them.

ELYSE

Okay, Chase. We have a bit of explaining to do.

CHASE

(Whispers.)

No shit you do.

ASHTON

Enough with the swearing Chase.

ELYSE

We have a solid reasoning for why you can't tell Harper that you're hearing us.

CHASE

(Whispers.)

And that is?

ELYSE

We have a little secret we've been hiding from Harper, which is the reason you're hearing us in the first place.

CHASE scrunches his eyebrows.

ELYSE

Should we really tell him hun? Like do we actually fucking have to?

ASHTON

He's going to figure out anyways.

CHASES phone suddenly vibrates on the desk. CHASE picks up his phone and sees it's a message from HARPER.

ELYSE

(shouts)

Don't check it yet!

CHASE looks around, wishing he could see ELYSE and ASHTON.

ASHTON

We have a story to tell, Chase.

ELYSE

We're not telling him the whole story. We'll tell you information instead.

ASHTON

Think of it as one of your lessons.

CHASE sets his face down on the table and closes his eyes.

ELYSE

Now, let's just imagine a bit Chasey. Imagine yourself on a map. A map of Europe.

CHASE

Just like before.

CHASE sees himself back on the map of Europe, this time now above Italy.

CHASE

Why Europe?

ELYSE

(Sassy attitude.)

People travel Chase!

ASHTON

Now it doesn't start in Italy but boy do we love to travel to it.

ELYSE

Been three years in a row now. But there's one year we're going to tell you about. It was February of 2020 when we learned for sure it was our vacation spot. Our spot of power. We felt infinite and untouchable there.

CHASE

Untouchable?

ELYSE

Yes. Like as if we were special beings. Unlike we do in the USA. We fit in. It was as if it were a brag to be a circus performer. All the talents, skills, and balance. Everyone wanted to be us. So we put on a show.

ASHTON

Now when putting on a show, of course it grabbed some peoples attention. But someone in particular was the one who stuck with us.

ELYSE

Her name was Rosella. Rosella Esposito. She kept eye contact with me throughout the whole performance, dragging myself into her just as much as we were dragging the crowd into our act. She came up and talked to us after our final performance. We grew to like each other rather quickly so we asked her out for a couple drinks after.

ASHTON

It was a fun night, truly. That is even later on. Or for us, at least.

ELYSE

Shut the fuck up, hun. Now, the later we got into the night, the more drunk Rosella became, which started to grow on my nerves. I mean, everyone has their own tolerance but she was wobbling back in forth on the stone streets in her high heels. It pissed me off. "Why don't we go by the water?" I asked her. She agreed, so down to the water we went. The longer we were together the more pissed off I got though.

ASHTON

She slurred her words, when trying to communicate with us. It was both funny and aggravating in one.

ELYSE

She eventually started crying, though, drawing myself to my last nerve. So dead she became.

CHASE

What?

ASHTON

Her last breath wasn't the worst. I think the best part though, was that she didn't scream, unlike other people in the past, specifically USA citizens.

CHASE

Wait. So you're confessing to being a murderer too?!

CHASE picks up his head and sees people staring back at him. CHASES face goes red in embarrassment and he starts packing up his items into his backpack. CHASE stands up and starts walking towards the library door.

ELYSE

Serial Killers, Chase. There's a big difference. Specifically achievement.

CHASE

(Whispers to himself.)

So I've been listening to the voices of serial killers this whole time while trying to chase down a different serial killer? I'm such a fucking idiot. Ich hasse mein Gehirn verdammt noch mal.

CHASE continues stumbling outside of the library. He makes it to the door and goes outside.

ELYSE

Yeah, we're not dumb enough to go to Germany.

ASHTON

We always have Switzerland though.

ELYSE

Shut the fuck up, babe. He's seen the statistics.

CHASE races his way down the street. He sees ARMANIS car and rushes over towards it. He opens the door and takes a seat inside. Inside the car is ARMANI, JACK and LIA. They're each taking hits off a dab pen.

ARMANI

Shit, Chase! I thought you were security for a second!

JACK

We would have been busted.

ARMANI

Woah, wait. You okay man?

CHASE

The voices. I need them to shut the fuck up.

CHASE puts his head down into his arms on his legs.

LIA

Are they saying something bad, Chase?

CHASE

I just need them to shut the fuck up.

JACK

What about a hit off this?

JACK holds out the dab pen to CHASE.

ARMANI

Are you fucking stupid? No!

LIA

Yeah, that's not funny, Jack. Let's go for a drive, Armani.

ARMANI turns on the car and starts driving out of the parking lot. He turns on the radio.

SPECIFIC SONG THAT STARTS PLAYING.

They continue driving down the street, everyone staying quiet and just listening to the music. CHASE starts to calm down, realizing that he can't hear the voices anymore. He raises his head and looks over at ARMANI. ARMANI gives him a small smile.

CHASE

Fucking Schizophrenia. It turns you into a pussy, sometimes.

Everyone laughs.

JACK

Says the guy looking into serial killers.

CHASES face goes pale.

CHASE

That's the thing, actually. The voices were trying to pretend to be serial killers.

JACK

The guy we're looking for?

ARMANI

Mr. I Love The Color Blue.

JACK

Should we ask him what his favorite color is if we ever meet him in person?

EVERYONE BUT JACK

No!

ARMANI

Was it like a vision?

CHASE

No, luckily it was just the voices.

CHASE faces the window after, making sure not to mention the visual map of Europe that he's been seeing.

ARMANI

Maybe try not to worry about it then. It's just a hallucination anyways.

CHASE

True. I guess I just panicked.

LIA

Don't worry, Chase. We all do.

ARMANI

I'll drive you back to the apartment, so you can get some rest.

CHASE

Okay.

CHASE rests his head on the side of the window. Though trees and building go past them, all he sees is the map of Europe.

INT. CHASES BEDROOM - EVENING

CHASE is laying down in his bed with headphones in his ears.

STARMAN BY DAVID BOWIE PLAYS IN CHASES HEADPHONES.

CHASE closes his eyes and rolls over to his side.

CHASE

It's just a lie. They're not serial killers. Harper doesn't work with serial killers.

CHASE nods his head to the beat of the music. CHASE sits up and leans over the side of his bed. He picks up his laptop and puts it on his bed in front of himself. CHASE types in the website to the circus. CHASE scrolls through it and then sees the add for HARPER, ELYSE, and ASHTON. CHASE clicks on the add and up comes a picture of ELYSE and ASHTON doing a stunt with HARPER in the corner, looking like she's reading someones mind.

CHASE

How do I meet with you two in person?

CHASE clicks on the ticket add.

CHASE

It'd be a waste of money.

CHASE picks up his phone and scrolls through his contacts. Once he sees HARPERS name he clicks on it and goes to his messages. CHASE messages HARPER, asking if they could meet up sometime soon. CHASES phone alerts him that he has another message and he checks it. It reads, HARPER agreeing and saying she's free tonight. CHASE messages her back to meet downtown and gets up off his bed. CHASE leaves his room and goes out to the living room. ARMANI, JACK and LIA are all watching Planet Earth on the television.

CHASE

Armani, can I use your car for a little bit? I'm going to meet up with Harper.

ARMANI

Of course, man.

ARMANI throws his keys over to CHASE. CHASE catches the keys and nods his head at ARMANI.

CHASE

Thanks man.

INT. THE PARK DOWNTOWN - NIGHT

CHASE sits on a bench alone. Some locals walk by but there's no HARPER. CHASE checks his phone to see the time. It's 12 past their meeting time.

HARPER

(From the distance.)

Chase!

CHASE lifts his head up and sees HARPER running his way.

HARPER

I'm so sorry, Chase. I got caught up in a reading I was doing. It was crazy. I have so much to tell you.

CHASE

I actually have something to tell you too, Harper.

HARPER takes a seat next to CHASE.

HARPER

You okay, Chase? You look a little paler.

CHASE

Yeah. I just... I had a vision myself. Or more like I had the voices tell me something.

HARPER

What'd they tell you?

CHASE

They told me that your partners, Elyse and Ashton, that they're both murderers.

HARPERS face goes pale but doesn't say anything.

CHASE

Is this not new news to you?

HARPER

I mean.. I've had hunches. It started back with how I met them. Let me tell you a story. So I used to work at this bar.

INT. INSIDE A BAR - NIGHTTIME

Inside the bar sits a few strangers and then HARPER and her old work partners, SAM and TIM. HARPERS other friend, DYLAN, works behind the bar, getting drinks for the other customers. Outside the bar is RUDY, smoking a cigarette.

HARPERS VOICE

It was a cool Sunday night, near

the end of September, and though

not so busy, everyone was still

gathered inside the bars, talking

among each other. The 207 was

less busy than the other bars but

still had a enough people to keep

it open. At the bar sat Tim, Sam,

and I, along with a few

others, while Rudy was outside

having a cigarette. Behind the

bar was Dylan serving us.

Rudy walks back into the bar with a strange look on his face. He turns around to check if anyone has followed him inside.

HARPERS VOICE

Rudy suddenly came back inside from

his cigarette break, walking over

to join Tim, Sam, and I at the

end of the bar.

RUDY takes a seat, in between TIM and HARPER.

RUDY

I think the woman out there is on something strong.

RUDY points outside at the strange woman looking in at them through the window. TIM, HARPER, and SAM each look out at her.

HARPERS VOICE

Rudy pointed out toward the figure of a woman standing outside the window to the bar, staring in at them. It was hard to see her face clearly behind the glass, but her pupils seemed to have expanded wide.

RUDY

She randomly came running around the corner, so at first I wasn't sure if she needed help, but then she started acting even weirder and kicking at stuff while making weird mumbles.

TIM

Weird mumbles?

RUDY

Yeah... It just sounded weird.

Tim rolls his eyes at RUDY. HARPER still stares over at the woman outside the window.

HARPERS VOICE

Tim rolled his eyes at Rudy, not

seeming to be sure if he should

take Rudy seriously or laugh at

the scenario. I looked over

towards the window to try to get

another look at the woman Rudy

was talking about and took a bit

of an understanding of what he

was feeling right away. I

couldn't tell if it was due to

my over-thinking anxiety-run

brain, but the woman did have

eerie energy just from a simple

glance of her through the ash-

smudged windows of the bar at the

front of the building. She stood

on the other side of the glass,

still staring straight at them.

HARPER

That's strange.

HARPER stops staring out the window. TIM watches television while SAM and RUDY play away at their cellphones.

HARPERS VOICE

I looked back at Tim, Sandra,

and Rudy to see if either of them

had taken notice of the woman

looking in the bar at us, but

they were already back to paying

attention to the television and

their phones instead.

ELYSE comes inside the bar. As she does, she curls her arms in, attempting to look scared. She walks over and takes a seat next to HARPER.

HARPERS VOICE

Suddenly the door opens, followed by the same woman walking inside the bar. She moved rather quickly yet quietly, like a spider, instead

of the drunk sailor Rudy had described her as. She made her

way to the back of the bar and

quietly took a seat in a chair

down from me. She seemed uneasy, glancing around the room and then over my way with wide eyes as her arms curled around her body as if trying to guard herself.

HARPER

Hi.

HARPER smiles at the woman.

HARPERS VOICE

I smiled at the woman.

HARPER

I'm Harper.

ELYSE doesn't say anything and instead looks down at the bar top and then at HARPER.

HARPERS VOICE

The woman remained silent while her eyes bounced back and forth from the bar top to myself, not allowing herself to singularly focus on one.

HARPER

Is everything okay?

ELYSE stares directly at HARPER.

HARPERS VOICE

Her eyes stop batting as she stares at me, sending a shiver up my spine.

DYLAN

Hey there! Could I get you anything at all?

ELYSE doesn't say anything and instead just stares at DYLAN and then HARPER.

HARPERS VOICE

The woman remained silent and gave glances toward Dylan too now.

HARPER motions toward the drink she has.

HARPER

I'm just drinking a seltzer for now.

ELYSE doesn't say anything. Instead her eyes just dart around the room.

HARPERS VOICE

I motioned toward my drink to

show the woman. The woman

remains silent as her eyes

continue darting from person to

object to person throughout the

front side of the bar. I

couldn’t tell if the woman was

scared, but she did act as if she

was hiding from something, like

keeping an eye out.

HARPER

I know you don’t know us, and

it’s hard to trust anyone these

days, but are you sure

everything’s okay? Just seems

like something scared you out

there.

ELYSE

(In a fake British accent.)

Um... It's just that I'm lost.

HARPERS VOICE

The woman's voice was peculiar. It withered between sounding like a British and Australian accent, but neither pin-pointing down on what it truly was supposed to be to me.

HARPER

Lost? Are you not from around here?

TIM and SAM stand up next to HARPER.

TIM

We're heading out.

HARPER looks over at TIM.

HARPER

Okay.

HARPER gives TIM and SAM each a hug.

HARPERS VOICE

I gave Tim and Sam each a hug.

HARPER

Not your guys' night?

TIM rolls his eyes at HARPER.

TIM

No, Cher. It's cause it's a Sunday.

SAM

Yeah, girl. I've gotta get at least a little sleep this week.

TIM looks over at ELYSE and gives her a glare.

HARPERS VOICE

As the two of them leave, I

caught Tim giving the woman

sitting next to me a side eye

glare, even himself seeming taken

aback by her accent.

HARPER turns back to ELYSE. ELYSE is now taking sips off her seltzer.

HARPERS VOICE

I turned back to the woman as she sits there, now sipping off her Truly seltzer can.

HARPER gives a small smile.

HARPERS VOICE

I give her a small smile, but the woman gives none in return.

HARPER

So where's the accent from?

ELYSE looks thrown off, as her eyes bounce back and forth from the bar to her drink.

ELYSE

Um... It's just... I'm lost. I'm not from here. I'm from... I'm just new here, and I got lost.

HARPER

When did you move here?

ELYSE scrunches her eyebrows.

HARPERS VOICE

The woman's eyebrows scrunched up

slightly, seeming to show signs

of irritation.

ELYSE

You see... I don't know this area. I'm new here, and I got lost. I need help finding my way back so that I'm not lost for the rest of the night.

HARPERS VOICE

The sound of her accent started

fading even more, and then in a

split second, her eyes told Cher

something that felt like she'd

remembered having noticed

previously before. Her pupils

expanded, but the rest of her

eyes showed emptiness, aside from

the thin longed-out white line

glowing across the top of her

eyes, a bit below her eyelids.

HARPER turns to her right and tries to get RUDYS attention.

HARPERS VOICE

I turned to my right, where

Rudy was standing, talking to

Corey, one of our regulars at the bar.

HARPER

Rudy.

HARPER taps RUDYS shoulder.

HARPERS VOICE

He didn’t seem to hear me, so

I tapped his shoulder, trying

not to let the woman take notice,

though it felt as if I could

feel her cold stare over my

shoulder. Rudy took notice and

turned my way.

RUDY turns towards HARPER.

RUDY

What?

HARPERS VOICE

I felt rather bad for how I reacted next but my anxiety suddenly arose, making myself unable to get the words out of my mouth.

HARPER raises her hand and points to her head, going in circles.

HARPERS VOICE

I raised my hand and pointed towards my head, as my finger went around in circles. Rudy understood me that time and looked at the woman.

RUDY looks at ELYSE. He glances back from ELYSE to HARPER quickly.

HARPERS VOICE

While doing so it's as if his body froze as his eyes spoke everything. He glanced back and froth from the woman to I at a quick speed.

HARPER turns around and looks back over at ELYSE. ELYSE has changed personalities and is now completely pissed off.

HARPERS VOICE

I turned around and looked back over at the woman. The woman's face had completely changed, now just showing signs of both anger and annoyance in one, while her eyes remained as dead as Woody Allen's.

ELYSE grabs HARPERS lighter and flicks it on. ELYSE puts the lighter up to the bar top.

HARPERS VOICE

She suddenly grabbed my lighter from the table and continued staring straight at me as if threatening to burn the building down with the little object.

HARPER

Stop that!

HARPER takes the lighter back.

HARPERS VOICE

I took the lighter back and put it in my pocket.

ELYSE

Com to the bathroom with me. I need to tell you something.

HARPER

Fuck no.

ELYSE

Come to the bathroom with me!

HARPERS body freezes for a second. HARPER gets up and follows ELYSE to the bathroom.

HARPERS VOICE

My entire body froze for a second before I rose from my chair and followed the woman to the bathroom just like she had said to.

RUDY follows behind HARPER and ELYSE.

RUDY

Harper, wait.

ELYSE

Come on, girl.

HARPER

Go away, Rudy.

CHER turned and faced ELYSE. ELYSE is in the bathroom now.

HARPERS VOICE

I turned and faced the woman who was now in the bathroom, her eyes dark and empty once again.

HARPER

If you try anything, I'm gonna punch you in the fucking face.

ELYSE

Come on, girl. I've gotta tell you something. You seem special. I've changed my mind about you.

HARPER

What do you mean, changed your mind?

ELYSE touches HARPER hair. HARPER whacks ELYSE hand back.

ELYSE

Whatever. Just look into my eyes.

HARPER

No!

ELYSE

(Voice goes deeper.)

Look into my eyes!

HARPERS vision goes blurry as she sees ELYSES pupils expand, to cover her whole eye almost.

EXT. IN THE PARK - NIGHTTIME

CHASE and HARPER sit side by side on the bench.

CHASE

And then what happened?

HARPER

She actually ended up getting kicked out of the bar by Dylan, but it was as if she hypnotized me. That's how I started getting the powers that I have now. Through Elyse. The thing is, I just always wondered what she would have done if she didn't so called, "change her mind."

HARPER uses her hands to emphasize the words "change her mind." HARPER checks her watch and sees the time.

HARPER

I know I have more to explain but it's getting late Chase and I have to practice my routine for work tomorrow with Elyse and Ashton.

CHASE

Do you actually find it safe to work with them?

HARPER looks down at the ground embarrassed.

HARPER

I don't find it right but I also don't know if it's true.

CHASE

I had a vision though, Harper.

HARPER stands up.

HARPER

Let's talk about it tomorrow, Chase.

CHASE huffs in annoyance.

CHASE

Okay, Harper. We'll talk about it tomorrow.

HARPER starts walking off. HARPER turns around and waves at CHASE.

HARPER

Bye, Chase.

CHASE waves back at HARPER.

CHASE

Bye, Harper.

CHASE sits alone in the park.

EXT. DOWNTOWN - NIGHTTIME

HARPER walks down the road and goes past a light blue car. Inside the car sits CHRIS and JORDEN.

JORDEN

Are we gonna follow her?

CHRIS

She works with them so she is one of them. Let's go get her.

CHRIS turns the light blue car back on and they drive off.