S2, E1 | Entity

Season 2 Premiere
\ Realm of Reality /
“Holy fucking shit!” Scarlett screams, fingers running through her long, brown locks, her shoes collecting sand as her feet shuffle through their shared island’s coastline. “What the fuck just happened!?” Scarlett continues to yell, pacing around the shore in utter bemusement, the deep breaths she takes in quickly forced free from her lungs, unable to hinder herself from hyperventilating.

Frozen in time, Vic stares at the calm waters, her arms wrapped around her legs, which press closely against her chest. “I- I don’t- fuck!” Scarlett continues shouting, her destination-less travels ceasing. “What the fuck are we gonna do!?” Scarlett inquires, finally asking a question she wishes for a genuine answer to, Vic’s inability to speak becoming more apparent upon her refusal to reply.

“V- Vic?” Scarlett murmurs, her hands having plastered themselves upon her hips, the woman she accompanies having entirely detached herself from the present. “Vic!” Scarlett remarks for a second time, calling the woman’s name louder now, eyes set on Vic’s stoic pose. “Vic!” Scarlett now shouts, still incapable of earning a response, the flurry of thoughts that race through her head immobilising her better judgement.

“Victoria!” Scarlett shouts for a final time, her hand resting on Vic’s shoulder for a moment prior to pulling the woman back. In silence, Vic resists, throwing herself forward as she climbs off the ground, grains of still-warm sand falling over her fingers as he palms press into it. “What!? What the fuck do you need!?” Vic exclaims, tripping over herself as he stands up, the soft ground offering difficult terrain to stand upon.

“I don’t- I don’t-” Scarlett staggers, the severity of Vic’s fright having quelled much of her own. “I don’t- I don’t what!?” Vic retaliates, mocking the woman’s stutter, her eyes widened, arms flailing with each word spoken. “I don’t know!” Scarlett remarks, her shout having softened slightly, the response prompting Vic to turn around, content with disappearing into the night.

“What the hell just happened, Vic!?” Scarlett finally ponders aloud, trying to contain tears of unabashed horror, “just- just tell that didn’t just happen.” Hands by her side, Vic’s eyes trail back to her friend, the new brunette swaying gently from one side to another, her heart continuing to race. Her teeth pressed together, Vic lowers her lips and chin, her eyes pulling away from Scarlett in favour of their nearby surroundings.

In a hush, Vic lifts her right arm toward a bundle of flora closeby, her fingers extending to present the luscious greenery with an open palm. Her lip quivering, Vic pauses her efforts, her racing thoughts proving too much of a distraction to overcome. Her eyelids pressing together, Vic lets in one deep, filling breath before expelling it, her composure as regained as it can be.

With eyes reopened to the world, Vic steadies her hand, wiping the sweat that built upon her mitt over the denim of her jeans. Her hand outstretched, Vic feels the weight increase in her hand, the bush that she reaches for beginning to rustle within her claim. Her question answered with the shrubbery’s display alone, Scarlett watches the plant shake violently, the sound of its roots beginning to pry free from their home in the dirt resonating like pulled rubber.

Her fingers now starting to curl, Vic keeps to her effort, the thicket gradually tearing further from the ground until the last of its fight gives in. As if her hand had already taken the fern into its possession, Vic’s arm pulls back, the airborne bush darting through the air, its smallest branches tucked into the parts of Vic’s fingers. Letting go of a second deep breath, Vic looks to Scarlett, both women holding onto the same disturbed expression.

Closing her mouth, Scarlett peers away, her focus turning toward the calm waters just beyond their feet. “Scar-” Vic calls out, her eyes still widened as her friend gazes back, reacting to the call of her name. “What?” Scarlett inquires, met only with Vic’s silent stare. Confused, Scarlett steps forward, her knuckles grazing the corduroy of her pant leg, a sensation that pulls her eyes toward the surprisingly heavy hand she carries to one side.

If any doubt remained within her, its final grasp detaches, Scarlett’s hand cradling her service weapon, it’s exterior glowing a bright red that illuminates the beach. “What the fuck is happening?” Vic mutters, just loud enough for Scarlett to hear, though the woman remains unable to respond. Staring into the glowing revolver, Scarlett’s face dawns a red tint, her puzzled eyes inspecting the piece in her grasp, its presence- much like their powers- remain mystifying.

= Dream Sequence is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media from the start of Season 1 onwards =

\ Realm Beyond /

“This isn’t supposed to be happening!” Scarlett proclaims whilst slouched in an office chair, Vic pacing around the featureless conference room as she continues. “This realm shouldn’t exist either as far as you’re concerned” Esotera replies, standing stoically near the room’s centre, Vic strolling to her left, Scarlett sat to her right, “how this is baffling to you two is beyond me.”

“Because none of this lines up” Scarlett replies, continuing to lead the conversation as Vic listens quietly, “are we protecting the realm or is it trying to kill us?” Her head bowing, Esotera allows Scarlett to continue speaking, her patience held.

“We’ve stopped the fifth tragedy. The realm couldn’t kill us, and now- what?” Scarlett ponders, Vic’s discovery brought upon in lieu of Scarlett’s pause. “Now we passed” Vic remarks, both Scarlett and Esotera directing their attention across the room. “We had to stop the fifth tragedy, and we did. As a result, we saved our own lives” Vic proclaims, deciphering the realm’s intentions as she stares in her service weapon, “this is our reward.”

Mouth slightly ajar, Scarlett turns to look Esotera in the eyes, her only answer coming in the form of a shrug. “Then what does that mean?” Scarlett replies, somehow yet to complete a puzzle that doesn’t physically exist, “it’s over? We passed? What does that change?”

“Nothing apparently” Vic quickly responds, letting her weapon vanish from existence as she steps forward, drawing closer to the room’s other occupants. “We’re still here, something still feels off, and there are still questions to answer” Vic concludes, their dilemma still unsolved. “Then where the fuck are these questions?” Scarlett rebukes, pushing herself from the seat she’d tenanted, starting to make for the exit.

“Right there, I’d assume” Esotera replies, her voice calling Scarlett back toward the group, the glow of an opening pair of doors drawing their collective attention. Without a sound, Scarlett and Vic share a glance, the room that had evaded them many times prior now teasing them with acceptance once more.

“Nuh uh, nice try” Scarlett remarks, her head shaking as she turns away, making for the room’s exit for a second time, “hit me with a train once- shame on you. Hit me with a train twice- I’ll fuck you up.” Throwing her arms out, Vic watches Scarlett walk away, less annoyed than she is disappointed. “Oh, come on! You wanted a question to answer!” Vic exclaims, Scarlett turning back to respond just as she prepares to leave.

“If that’s the question, I’m fine with the status q-” Scarlett begins to reply, the crash bar she reaches out for refusing to accept her graze. Unable to finish her retort before crashing into the impenetrable doors, Scarlett steps back, leaving her thought unfinished as she gathers herself. “What the fuck?” Scarlett mumbles beneath her breath, reaching for the crash bar for a second time, again met with a similar response.

“Am I losing my mind?” Scarlett yelps, slamming her fist against what’s meant to be a door, but feels more like a wall upon contact. Taking an additional three steps back, Scarlett stares at the door, trying to consider the response her exit provides. “I think it’s trying to tell-” Vic begins to joke, her statement forced to pause the moment Scarlett’s exit disappears entirely, the pair of double doors replaced with a textureless wall neither woman is permitted to pass through.

“Did you fucking see that!?” Scarlett exclaims, pointing to the wall as she trips backward, falling to the ground amidst her passage’s vanishing. In a moment of pause, Scarlett stares at the new wall, sharing a glance with Esotera and Vic as her brain processes what’s happening, incapable of coming to a formidable conclusion. “What is going on!?” Scarlett finally screams, reality having twisted upon itself to such an extent that her poise crumbles.

“You’re suffering shellshock” a fourth voice remarks, a woman with a familiar face emerging through the entrance Esotera had brought light to. Scrambling to reclaim their solidity, Vic and Scarlett watch the woman’s arrival, her frame made to look small in comparison to the almighty brutes that accompany her. “The realm has a way of messing with your head when it wants to” the woman explains, “makes you see things that aren’t there- maybe do things you shouldn’t- that sort of stuff.”

“Hold on- I recognise you” Vic murmurs, stepping a short distance closer to the woman, memories of the woman’s face bringing about recollections of chaos and dread. “You’re the flight attendant” Scarlett proclaims, the woman’s face etched into her mind. “It’s Suzie” the woman replies, her head nodding in the direction of those that accompany her, “these are Razul and Kazro- they’re not friendly.”

“How are the three of you here?” Vic quickly inquires, watching the trio approach the conference table, only Suzie making the effort to reach for a seat. “Come on, where’s the fun in that?” Suzie replies, groaning as she sinks into the chair’s warm embrace, “besides, that’s not the important part.”

“I beg to differ” Scarlett responds, stepping past Vic to approach their unwelcome guest, “this isn’t supposed to be possible.” With a chuckle, Suzie extends her hands toward the room’s interior, it’s brutalist interior entirely contained beyond unfeasible borders. “None of this is supposed to be possible, darling” the intruder replies, her feet lifting atop the desk, ankles crossing over each other, “yet- there’s no questioning it from your end.”

“We’re making peace with it” Scarlett replies, the tone of her voice lacking the conviction necessary to persuade Suzie. “From the looks of it, it seems more like the realm is making peace with you than the other way around” Suzie replies, her hands coupled atop her lap, “and to think- it’s only just begun.”

“What do you mean?” Vic queries, earning an eye roll for both herself and Scarlett. “Are all of these questions all the two of you are good for?” Suzie sharply replies, her eyebrow lifting as her head bobs forward, “stop wondering about every little thing and start opening your eyes. If the realm wants you to know something- it’ll tell you.”

“Right now, it’s telling us that the three of you know how to get in as you please” Scarlett responds, another few steps taken toward the woman. “That’s a good start, what else?” Suzie replies, a smirk coming over her face as she leads the women close, her intentions yet to be understood.

“It’s implied that you’ve been here before” Vic interjects, joining Scarlett in her progression forward, “if you know the realm fucks with your mind, you’re obviously familiar with its intentions.”

“Hmph” Suzie grumbles, her eyes squinting toward the women as they approach, “the two of you seem a lot smarter when you stop playing dumb.” Brushing off the antagonistic remark, Scarlett and Vic continue to approach, their service weapons reclaimed. “If this ‘shellshock’ is going around, it’s only started when you showed up” Scarlett concludes, the room growing darker by the second, “I’m starting to think this place doesn’t want you here.”

With an eyebrow raised, Suzie removes her feet from the table, allowing them to fall as the younger women approach, obviously making their bravest attempt at a threat. “Clever conclusion-” Suzie begins to respond, slowly leaving her chair as she pauses, lifting her hand into the air with her fingers pressed together, “-let’s fill in the blanks.”

In a snap, the conference room disappears, its walls having fallen, its poorly lit interior traded in for an empty street. Within a blink, Suzie shelves the brutalist office in favour of the girls’ Praireville recreation. Their attempt at pressuring Suzie into a quick surrender now vanquished, Scarlett and Vic stare out at their surroundings, only the sound of trespasser’s voice able to guide them back to the discussion.

“The realm is impossible to understand. The idea that either of you are trying to decode it is laughable” Suzie explains, calmly pacing before the women, who both relinquish their weapons to the ether. “Nothing here makes sense. Don’t give yourself the burden of finding patterns or trying to negotiate” Suzie warns, looking both women in the eyes, “the realm beyond has needs and wants. Just like the two of you- the realm is a living being. Treat it like one.”

Unsure of what’s unfolding, Scarlett and Vic remain quiet, allowing Suzie to continue speaking, still uncertain over her rationales. “By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the ghouls and blank faces that litter this place- those are souls” the woman proclaims, “if the two of you had died on that plane, the two of you would be doomed here. Those that cannot prove themselves worthy of the realm are enraptured by it- consumed and digested.”

Interrupted by the roaring sound of thunder, Suzie loses the chance to speak, Vic’s interruption keeping her from continuing. “Tell us how you know all of this” the young woman commands, Suzie’s eyes peering toward them from a short distance, “you got in here, you know this stuff, you’re comfortable with all of this- make it make sense.”

“I already have” the older woman quickly replies, “you wanted answers, and I gave you them. Congratulations, you passed its entry exam.” Growing frustrated, Scarlett takes Vic’s interruption one step further, the service weapon reemerging in her hand. “Enough talk. If the realm isn’t gonna ask questions, I will” Scarlett proclaims, lifting her weapon toward Suzie’s face, her expression unchanged, “what are you doing here, and what’s the point of all this?”

With a smirk, Suzie stares into Scarlett’s eyes for a brief moment, the invader’s pupils dilating as she begins to tilt her head. “Go ahead” Suzie grumbles, daring Scarlett to pull the trigger she’s now dared to. Nostrils flaring, Scarlett considers her choices for a second before caving, her finger squeezing the trigger as requested to no avail.

With a growl, Suzie and her henchmen vanish into thin air, the charge from Scarlett’s gun colliding with the side of a random, unimportant building. Their problems yet to cease, the golden sky turns a burning red, the bulb in each street lamp bursting in the same moment. “I’m here to reclaim what’s mine” Suzie replies, standing before Razul and Kazro atop an unmarked bar, “the throne is mine, and I’ll be damned if I let either of you snatch it from beneath me.”

Turning her arm, Scarlett fires a second charge, the woman she took aim at vanishing into thin air once more. “You two are outmatched, overpowered and out of your depth!” Suzie exclaims, now stood atop smooth pavement across the street, “this realm will never belong to you.”

Again flashing out of existence at the pull of Scarlett’s trigger, Suzie remains concealed beneath the realm’s guise, her voice whispering into the pair’s ears. “The realm doesn’t get to choose him” the woman whispers, a hint of malice in her voice as Scarlett aims for her wildly, “this realm is mine.”

With her declaration, Suzie reappears between the young women, looking them in the eyes for a brief moment as she throws her hands outward. Without warning, Scarlett and Vic are removed from their feet, the blast’s epicentre hurling them through the realm’s angry skies, both women skidding along the ground to a stop. “I won guardianship over this realm- I fucking earned it” Suzie proclaims, another roar of thunder bellowing through the air.

“Neither of you two belong on the throne! It’s my goddamn right!” Suzie exclaims, watching the dark red shade above spark with brief, intermittent flashes of light. “You crazy bitch!” Scarlett shouts, recovering her service weapon just as Suzie disappears once more, flashes of lighting raging through the sky.

“This realm belongs to me!” Suzie exclaims, reappearing just before Scarlett, a service weapon of her own already aimed. Within an instant, Suzie fires a charge through Scarlett’s head, removing the young woman from the catastrophic streets before the worst can arrive. Reclaiming her own service weapon, Vic steadies her aim on Suzie, the infiltrator having yet to lay her attention upon the second realm keeper.

Preparing to fire, Vic moves her finger to the trigger, her intentions set upon shooting Suzie until the realm holds her off. Striking into the ground just a few centimetres from Vic, a bolt of lightning disintegrates the service weapon, drawing Suzie’s eyes toward the scene of the chaos. With a scowl, Suzie lets her weapon vanish all the same, her hand replacing the hold on her revolver with a snap, the invasive trio disappearing just as lightning strikes the places they occupied.

Alone, Vic feels the ground begin to shake, Suzie’s departure seemingly doing little to aid the realm in releasing its anger. With a grimace, Vic reclaims her weapon, the barrel held against the side of her head as she squeezes the trigger, bidding farewell to the realm for the time being.

|

\ Realm of Reality /

Though presented with the lavish furnishings of their modern villa, Scarlett and Vic enter empty handed, their suitcases stranded with their flight’s deceased passengers. Closing the door quietly, Vic presses the open palm of her hand against the entrance, her second hand still wrapped around its handle, hesitant to let go.

Aimless, Scarlett wanders into the home, their spacious parlour adorned with little more than a few couches and chairs, the home yet to be treated with their personal care. Slowly relinquishing possession of the door’s frame, Vic steps further into their new home, its dream-like magnificence impossible to fully appreciate after the day they’d encountered.

A few metres ahead of her friend, Scarlett approaches the lounge’s end, a large curtain covering the back wall in its entirety, what it conceals becomes too much to ignore. With a tug, Scarlett rips the drape from its rod, the thick sheet falling to the ground with ease, exposing a floor-to-ceiling window that encompasses the home’s entire side.

“Wow” Scarlett whispers, her face washed with sunlight as Vic leisurely draws near, the perfectly clear waters of the Arabian Sea situated in every direction around their Maldives home. Though briefly frozen in wonder, Scarlett moves to the window’s centre, a pair of latches curiously protruding from the frame, enough to peak the woman’s interest.

With a gentle tug, Scarlett guides the window inward, the thick, glass panels slide apart, revealing the opening to a deck just over the water’s surface. Her mouth agape, Vic watches the woman step onto the terrace, her arms draped over the wooden bannister at it’s brim. With a sigh, Scarlett leans forward, the crescent moon pendant of her necklace swaying as she glances down, calm waters navigating the wooden stumps the home rests upon.

“Welcome home” Vic murmurs, the remark made half-heartedly as she joins Scarlett atop the wooden patio, “this is what life is now.” Though she fights to enjoy the scenic views she’s now welcomed to, Scarlett’s mind remains wrapped around the events that led to it, unable to shake the feeling that this new life isn’t deserved.

“No, I don’t think it is” Scarlett sighs, her friend’s arms now joining her own, pressing into the bannister’s top rail as Vic leans forward. “Life is-” Scarlett begins, her mouth remaining ajar as she pauses, searching for the term most suiting, “-complicated.” Her eyes pressing closer, Vic turns to look at Scarlett, the fiery backslapper keeping her view toward the sea.

“Complicated? That’s the best you could come up with?” Vic replies, still unable to tow Scarlett’s eyes in her direction, “not fucked up, or practically nonsensical?” Her lips puckered, Scarlett shakes her head, her dirty grey t-shirt wrinkled and faded from their seaside slumber. “I figured those went without saying” Scarlett responds, her brown locks warmed by the hot sun that sits above.

“A lot of things go without saying” Vic replies, her side pressing into the railing as she speaks, eyes still focused on the young woman beside her. Only answering with a nod, Scarlett remains silent, a gesture that, though it takes a moment, Vic soon catches onto. Her rigidity falling aside, Vic turns back to the water, trying to find the quiet serenity in spite of the havoc that consumes them.

With time, the truth settles in, their collective uncertainty not a problem to solve, but rather, an anxiety-building reprieve forced upon them by the living sanctum they’d been tasked with protecting. “This is all just wasted time, isn’t it?” Scarlett suddenly probes, Vic’s face again turning to her direction. “What is?” Vic responds, her friend’s audible sigh filling the silent pause between the question and its answer.

“All of it. The questions, the anger, the conflict- it doesn’t change a thing” Scarlett replies, loose strands of hair blown into her face by gentle winds. “How else do you suppose we get through this?” Vic retorts, a passing glance taken at a canoe gliding across the water half a kilometre away. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel like this- all the mind-fuckery we’ve got going on- is it” Scarlett responds, finally turning to look Vic in the face.

“You say that like any answer actually exists” Vic responds, kept from continuing as Scarlett rolls her eyes, interjecting with her own thoughts. “I know, I know- but if none of this is helping, why bother moping around about it?” Scarlett remarks, “you heard that chick- whatever her name was- the realm wants and needs what it does.”

“So what is your point, exactly?” Vic questions, failing to see where the paths in Scarlett’s analogy meet. “My point is that there is no point” Scarlett responds, pulling away from the bannister a slight bit, her arms hung against her sides, “trying to predict the realm, answer its questions- or question its answers, however that’s supposed to work- it’s pointless.”

“So we give up?” Vic replies, Scarlett’s eyes rolling as she turns away, leaving Vic to continue speaking, “we just walk away from everything we’ve done.” Putting a smile on her face, Scarlett turns back, her head shaking in Vic’s direction. “No. The lives we had before this- Praireville, our friends, our family- it’s all gone” Scarlett responds, throwing her grey t-shirt onto the patio, only a bra worn over her chest, “I say we enjoy the life we still get to have.”

With a newfound enthusiasm, Scarlett charges at the bannister, her feet pushing against the terrace at the final moment, catapulting her over the home’s foundation and into the warm waters below. With a splash, Scarlett collides with the water, her breath held for a few seconds as her eyes open, able to see through the waves with clarity she’d never known.

Reemerging, Scarlett stares at the patio, Vic’s unconvinced expression the first sight to greet her. “Your solution is to go for a swim?” Vic replies sternly, both arms draped atop the railing once more. “My solution is to live life while we have it!” Scarlett shouts back, slowly moving her hands through the water to remain afloat, “the realm’s gonna do what it wants. If that’s kill us, or hurt us- whatever! Fine! Worrying about it just keeps us from enjoying what we have now.”

“I don’t think either of us get the luxury of enjoying the now, Scar” Vic responds, still reluctant to break from the worried, fearful, on-edge caution that holds to her. “Vic, think about what we do. Think about what we have that no one else- barring a few exceptions, of course- gets to have” Scarlett replies, able to see the restraints Vic has shackled herself to slowly loosen, “if there’s anyone that deserves this- it’s us.”

Her chin shifting to the right, Vic takes Scarlett’s discovery into consideration, her scepticism still prohibiting her from adhering to her friend’s proposition. Remaining quiet, Scarlett waits for Vic to digest what’s been said, the eased expression on the new blonde’s face providing her with hope. After a few moments pass, Vic’s arms pull away from the bannister for the final time, her feet carrying her back into the home, the hopeful look on Scarlett’s face now fading.

With another sigh, Scarlett takes her eyes to a ladder nearest the home’s side, her optimism sentenced to a cold and depressing rest. At the last moment, Scarlett’s ears take back to the terrace, its quiet, untravelled wooden walkspace greeted by hurried footsteps, each stride leading closer to the railing. Blocking out the sun the moment she leaps over the handrail, Vic descends through the air, her hands wrapped around her knees as she crashes into the sea.

Pleased, Scarlett turns back to the woman’s impact, the crater she leaves behind steadily beginning to heal itself as she begins to resurface. With deep breaths, Vic swipes pale hair from her face, the first person she lays eyes upon being the temptress that guided her beneath the waves. “Fuck it” Vic bellows, shaking her head to relieve her eyes from the water that pours over her face, “it’s the fucking Maldives, why not live a little?”

With a laugh, Scarlett swipes the water with her hand, a rippling wave thrown in Vic’s direction before the gesture is returned, a brief battle ensuing. “Let come whatever the fuck may!” Scarlett exclaims, the waves they create intensifying the quicker their hands move. “Hello!?” a weirdly familiar voice exclaims, the masculine tone muffled slightly by the distance between it and the residence’s owners.

“Is that for us?” Vic inquires, their combat ceasing until the man is heard for a second time, the lack of any home within shouting distance from their own allowing Vic to assume the ears such a request was destined for are their own. Slowly embracing the availability of her powers, Scarlett raises herself above the water, slowly hovering back to the terrace’s surface whilst Vic watches.

“We’re really gonna need some ground rules for these things” Vic mutters beneath her breath, allowing Scarlett to answer the door as she opts to ascend the nearby climbing pegs. Following the trail of water droplets from the patio and through the living room, Vic swipes at her colourless locks, watching Scarlett’s shirtless frame stand stoically by the door.

“Is everything alright?” Vic inquires, still unable to see the face of the guest they’d been called to, her eyes widening the moment Scarlett turns to look at her. His face now revealed, an unfamiliar man with a large, tower-like build smiles at her, his presentation more kind in nature than his greeting leads the girls to believe. “I’m Lincoln” the man responds, his hand on the door’s frame, his body leant against the home’s wall, “we should talk.”

== Dream Sequence ==