NITA: Yeah?
EVIE: He resisted coming back for so long. It almost broke us up, to tell the truth. But he came around eventually.
NITA: Yeah. Uh. Can I just ask—
EVIE: Go ahead.
NITA: Where is, uh, Mr. Lanuza? Is he still, like, around?
EVIE: He passed on. Not long after we moved back.
[. . .]
NITA: That’s . . . I’m sorry.
EVIE: Oh, you don’t have to say that. But I think it’s what made Maddie [Coughs.] . . . I think that’s what really soured her on this town. And then the car accident with her friend. She left soon after, and I couldn’t blame her. But it’s like I said. This town gets its claws into you, and it doesn’t let go. I’m glad she’s back. I’m glad you’re here with her.
[. . .]
NITA: I’m going to see if—[Clears throat.]—if Maddie’s awake.
EVIE: Take some coffee up to her. I always loved it when my special someone did that for me.
[End of recorded material.]
[Beginning of recorded material.]
[Footsteps. Birdsong. Rain on a dirt road.]
NITA: Okay, so I’m like . . . seventy-five percent sure that I’m not lost. I’m pretty sure I’m still on the road that Maddie—[Coughs.]
NITA: Fucking allergies. Anyway, the road where she had her car accident. And she was super-understanding when I told her that I wanted to see it, and agreed that it was better if I satisfied my stupid-ass curiosity by myself. Well, she didn’t say it was stupid, but in retrospect, it definitely was. ’Cause, like, I can find my way around pretty much anywhere in Chicago, even when I’m high as fuck or drunk off my ass. But apparently I can’t find my way around anywhere that’s not on a grid. And of course because it’s goddamn December, the sun is buried behind the clouds. So I don’t know if I’m headed in the right direction. And there’s something that’s just, like, hugely creepy about being surrounded by trees. I’m never leaving the city again. No wonder—[Clears throat.]—no wonder Maddie never comes back here. This is what I get for being such a—
[12 seconds of silence.]
[You’re looking for something.]
NITA: [Whispering] What the fuck—
[Maybe you found it.]
[Car engine. Tires on wet pavement.]
MALE VOICE: Hey, you want a ride?
NITA: Uh. I think I got turned around. Do you know how to get to—
[Static.]
MALE VOICE: I do. But are you sure that’s where you want to go? That’s a lonely little spot.
NITA: I think. Yeah. I mean, I just want to see it. A friend of mine, she was in an accident there—
MALE VOICE: I don’t need to know your business, miss. I’ll drop you off there and let you find your own way back.
NITA: . . . Thanks.
[. . .]
[Radio turns on; country music. Signal fades in and out of static.]
NITA: Did you know either of the girls that were in the accident?
MALE VOICE: I didn’t, no.
NITA: What about, uh, a Mr. Lanuza? He died, like, eight or nine years ago. I don’t know his first name—
MALE VOICE: Listen, miss. You should keep their names out of your mouth, okay? You’re a stranger here. Keep it that way.
[. . .]
NITA: [Faintly.] All right. Never mind, then.
MALE VOICE: That’s it, over there. Careful on the shoulder, though. It’s slippery from all the rain, and the guardrail’s on its last legs.
[Door opens.]
NITA: Thanks.
MALE VOICE: Take care. And don’t stay out here too long. It gets dark early.
NITA: Thanks, I got it.
[Door closes.]
[Static increases. Sounds like water, like wings, like song, like—]
NITA: —weird as it could have—
[Static.]
NITA: —so far to fall—
[Static.]
NITA: —waiting in the dark for—
[Static.]
[You should go.]
NITA: —should get going. It’s—
[It’s getting dark.]
NITA: Maddie’s—[Coughs.] And it’s getting dark.
[End of recorded material.]
[Beginning of recorded material.]
[Voices, just on the edge of hearing. Creaking footsteps. The volume turns up, and the voices become audible.]
EVIE: I like her.
MADDIE: I like her too.
EVIE: I’m glad you found someone who’s . . . someone good. Strange but good.
[. . .]
EVIE: Aren’t you glad?
[. . .]
EVIE: Do you regret bringing her here, sweetie?
MADDIE: I wish we hadn’t come at all.
EVIE: Don’t say that, Ma—[Coughs.]
MADDIE: Mom, I’m—
EVIE: I know you wish you could have stayed longer. I tried to—I tried to help. I thought you’d have longer. It’s almost over, though.
MADDIE: She doesn’t know about—[Coughs.] About—
[Coughing intensifies.]
EVIE: Sweetheart, shhh. You don’t—
[Coughing intensifies and turns into sounds of choking.]
NITA: Oh my God—
[Footsteps.]
NITA: What’s wrong with her?
EVIE: She’s fine, she’s fine, give her some room to breathe—
NITA: Baby, it’s—
EVIE: I said to give her room. It’ll pass in a minute, as soon as she—
[Choking; retching.]
EVIE: Sweetheart, listen to me. You need to calm down. Clear your mind. There’s mud in your mind, and you need to let the river wash it clean, okay? Let the water in and let it carry that mud away, out of your mind, out of your lungs. Stop fighting it. Let it in. The water goes in, and the mud goes out. In. Out. In. Ou—
[Vomiting.]
EVIE: There you go.
[Maddie’s breathing has eased.]
[Nita is crying.]
NITA: What the fuck is . . .
EVIE: Nita, will you get some paper towels to wipe this up?
[. . .]
EVIE: Nita.
NITA: Huh?
EVIE: Get some paper towels from the kitchen.
NITA: . . . Okay.
[Footsteps.]
EVIE: There you go, honey. You’re fine. Everything’s fine. It’s almost over.
[End of recorded material.]
[Beginning of recorded material.]
[44 seconds of ambient silence.]
MADDIE: Are you asleep?
NITA: No.
MADDIE: I’m sorry about what happened.
NITA: You don’t have to be. I’m just . . . God, that scared the hell out of me.
[. . .]
NITA: Where did that . . . It looked like feathers. And dirt. How did it get in your . . .
MADDIE: Don’t. Please, don’t . . .
NITA: Don’t what? What the fuck is happening? This went from fine to completely fucked up in, like, a day, and Maddie—[Coughing, so sudden and painful that it turns into gagging.]
MADDIE: Shh, baby. Stop.
NITA: I can taste it. Dirt in my mouth. You said I’d be safe.
MADDIE: . . . You don’t have to be scared.
NITA: Like hell. You know what, fuck this. We should leave.
MADDIE: You wanted this. You wanted to know. You kept asking—
NITA: Yeah, because I’m a fucking asshole who thought solving this weird-ass mystery would make good art. I changed my mind. Let’s leave.
MADDIE: But my mom—
NITA: Your mom is not the one gagging up mud and feathers, Madd—[Coughs.] I can’t even—[Coughs.]
MADDIE: Shhh, baby, it’s fine. All right. We can go in the morning.
NITA: [Hoarse.] Now. Right now.
[. . .]
NITA: Please.
[. . .]
MADDIE: Okay, okay. Get your stuff together. I’ll tell my mom we’re—