13 Reflections
13 Reflections
Reflection 3: Elephant in the Room
13 REFLECTIONS is a horror fiction serial podcast.
Ashley confesses her murderous past. Ray can’t be in a relationship without trust. Agent Lee and Sheriff Gordon confront Billy about Mina. Something huge, with skin of a crocodile, horns of goat, eyes of a snake and teeth like needles lunges out from the bathroom mirror.
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CAST
- Sheila Ann as Ashley Harker
- Suggie Oh as Polly / Waipoh / D. Slaughter / Kate / Mina
- Kayla Gaffney as Paula
- Minerva Jayne as Sheriff Georgie Gordon
- Mark Woolley as Agent Lee
- Glenn Oakley as Ray
- Collin McCoy as Billy
- Rachel Terhune as Lucy / Freya
- Patt Duynslager as Barney
- Gabrielle McCoy as Christie
- Jared Hallock as James
- Lauren Christensen as McKenna
- Kris Duynslager as Heather
- Jonathan L. Chu as Dr. Chu
- Craig Lew as Deputy Green / Johnathan Harker / Cabbie
- Tina Barnett as Narrator
Craig Lew
writer/director/producer
Tina Barnett
producer
Mark Woolley
Composer
Rachel Banta
Graphic Artist
MUSIC CUE
INTERIOR HOSPITAL ROOM AMBIENCE
WOMAN
Some things are better left alone, better left unsaid, better not looked at for too long. Staring at something intently can be misconstrued as aggressive as opposed to simply studying it with passion. If satisfying your curiosity requires unlocking a door or disregarding a warning then maybe you deserve the consequences.
MUSIC THEME
ANNOUNCER
This is 13 Reflections. Reflection 3: Elephant in the room.
MUSIC CUE - DARK MAGIC MIRROR WORLD AMBIENCE
NARRATOR
In the world of darkness, Polly presses up against the dark side of the mirror that stands over the sink in her bathroom. On the other side, in the world of warmth and light, only a few feet away her mom Ashley, weeps.
POLLY
Mommy. I’m right here.
NARRATOR
But Ashley can’t hear her daughter’s plea and walks out of the bathroom.
FREYA
She can’t help you. Not in the way you think.
POLLY
What do you mean?
FREYA
It’s not like she can just pluck you out of here.
POLLY
Then how do I get out?
FREYA
I don’t think you can.
POLLY
Then why did you pull me in here?
FREYA
To save you from him.
MONSTER FOOTSTEPS DISTANT GROWLING
POLLY
My mom will save me. You’ll see.
FREYA
She can’t protect you. Not from him.
MONSTER FOOTSTEPS GROWLING MOVES CLOSER KID FOOTSTEPS RUN AWAY
MUSIC CUE - ASHLEY’S HOUSE
NARRATOR
Ray and Ashley sit across from each other at Ashley’s tiny kitchen table. Their dinner is untouched, but the wine in their glasses is low and the wine bottle is empty.
The air is pregnant with unspoken thoughts.
RAY
Why didn't you tell me about your husband? About the murder investigation?
ASHLEY
There are lots of reasons.
RAY
We gotta have trust, Ashley.
ASHLEY
What do you want to know?
RAY
Everything. Start at the beginning.
ASHLEY
Well okay. I was born Ashley Wen. My father was Chinese American and my mother was Filipino.
RAY
Okay maybe not that far back.
ASHLEY
Jonathan and I met in college. I was completing my masters in architecture, he still had a year left in Law school. A year after he passed the bar, I gave birth to Polly and then we got married.
RAY
Fast forward a bit.
ASHLEY
I guess everyone has difficult times in the first years of marriage. Jonathan got a job with Einhorn Industries as a junior corporate lawyer. The pay was good but it was long hours and he had to travel a lot.
RAY
He worked for Einhorn?
ASHLEY
At the old corporate headquarters in Chicago.
ASHLEY FIDGETS WITH HER ZIPPO LIGHTER
ASHLEY
And you know Einhorn’s way of doing business?
RAY
Yeah, grunt work during the day and partying all night.
ASHLEY
Which requires lots of drinking. That’s where the trouble began.
BACKGROUND OF FLASHBACK AMBIENCE GLASSES CLINK
WHISKEY POURS RACEY MUSIC MEN LAUGHING
RAY
So Jonathan couldn’t handle his drink?
ASHLEY
Oh he could handle it fine. He was charming after the first Scotch. He would float like a butterfly after the third. After the fifth he became King Kong.
RAY
Was he violent? I mean did he...?
ASHLEY
One time but once was enough. Polly was never great at sleeping through the night. That night she had a nightmare and wandered into our room.
DISTANT VOICE OF POLLY SLEEPILY CALLING “MOMMY?” ASHLEY
Normal for a kid that age, but Jonathan had just come home after a bender. He was passed out or so I thought. Polly stumbled over his briefcase and that woke Kong.
DISTANT JONATHAN ROARING
DISTANT POLLY SQUEELING REPEATED FISTS IMPACTING FLESH
RAY
He didn’t hit her?
ASHLEY
Instinctively I leapt in front of Polly but he hammered me in the side of the head. I don’t remember much else except that I held Polly to my chest while Kong raged.
RAY
Did you call the cops?
ASHLEY
I didn’t. But the hospital did.
DISTANT HOSPITAL AMBIENCE DISTANT POLICE RADIO CHATTER
ASHLEY
I needed twenty four stitches just above my right ear. The scar is almost gone. That was a month before...
RAY
Before what?
ASHLEY
I was building an add on office just off of our kitchen. This required me to reroute the gas lines. As usual, Kong had passed out upstairs.
WELDING FLAME
ASHLEY
I was in the middle of welding some copper tubing, when Polly shot me with her dart gun.
DART GUN POP
DISTANT POLLY GIGGLING DISTANT FOOTSTEPS ON GRASS
ASHLEY
I chased her into the backyard to play a little dart gun tag and keep her from waking Kong. I could have sworn I switched the gas off.
RAY
What happened?
HUGE EXPLOSION FIRE CRACKLES FIRE TRUCK SIRENS
POLICE RADIO CHATTER
ASHLEY
The house exploded. Jonathan died in the flames.
RAY
It was an accident though. Right?
ASHLEY
Exactly what the police wondered. Given the previous hospital visit, the life insurance policy, and the fact that Polly and were safe in the yard, the police opened a murder investigation.
ASHLEY FIDGETS WITH HER ZIPPO LIGHTER.
ASHLEY
The police investigation allowed the insurance company to deny a payout.
RAY
But it was an accident.
ASHLEY
I like to think so, but memory is a funny thing. The mind does what it does to protect itself. I could have sworn I turned off the gas.
ASHLEY FIDGETS WITH THE ZIPPO LIGHTER
RAY
Will you knock that off?
MOVEMENT AS RAY SNATCHES THE LIGHTER AWAY
ASHLEY
Give it back.
RAY
What’s the inscription say? "TO ASHLEY,
YOU'RE MY ADDICTION I LOVE YOU
WITH ALL MY HEART JOHN"
ASHLEY
Give it back.
SOUND OF A KEY ON THE TABLE
RAY
Here’s your key back. If you can’t trust me with your history, how can you trust me with your key? I should go.
FOOTSTEPS
DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES
RAY'S THROATY MUSTANG DRIVES AWAY
CUT TO
MUSIC CUE
SHERIFF CRUISER INTERIOR POLICE RADIO CHATTER ENGINE AT SPEED
NARRATOR
Sheriff Gordon drives Agent Lee to the station but her eyes are not on the road. She keeps glancing over at the bundle under Agent Lee’s arm. Tightly wrapped in a plastic bag it looks like a baguette of French bread but every so often, it twitches, writhes and pokes.
SHERIFF
We gonna talk about that thing you’re holding?
AGENT LEE
Is it necessary?
SHERIFF
A girl’s severed arm grabbed your ankle...seems sort of necessary.
AGENT LEE
Is that what you saw?
SHERIFF
Didn’t you?
AGENT LEE
I stumbled, kicked it and it appeared to move.
SHERIFF
Is that why you’ve got it wrapped up tight in that trash bag?
AGENT LEE
It’s evidence.
Under her breath.
SHERIFF
It’s fucked up. That’s what that is.
TURN SIGNAL
CAR SLOWS THEN SPEEDS UP
SHERIFF
Do I need to put that in cold milk or something?
AGENT LEE
It’s not a tooth.
SHERIFF
Mina might want it back.
AGENT LEE
It doesn’t appear to be decaying.
SHERIFF
Because it’s still warm and alive.
AGENT LEE
Let’s see what Billy has to say.
TURN SIGNAL
CAR SLOWS ENGINE SHUTS OFF
CAR DOORS OPEN AND CLOSE SHERIFF PARKING LOT AMBIENCE FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL EXTERIOR DOOR OPENS
DEPUTY
Hey Sheriff.
SHERIFF
Deputy have Billy Hazelbob moved into the interrogation room.
DEPUTY
Right away Sheriff. Hey, what you got there Agent Lee?
SHERIFF
You don’t want to know Deputy.
AGENT LEE
Like the Sheriff said. You don’t want to know.
INTERIOR DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES
A VIDEO CAMERA POWERS UP.
SHERIFF
We are filming this right?
AGENT LEE
I doubt it will be permissible in court.
DOOR OPENS
SHERIFF
Yeah but just in case that arm starts talking in sign language, I wanna be sure not to miss a letter.
AGENT LEE
As you wish Sheriff.
POLICE RADIO CHATTER
SCUFFLING OF FEET HANDCUFFS RATTLE
A CHAIR SCRAPES THE FLOOR
SHERIFF
Thank you Deputy.
DEPUTY
Let me know when you’re done, I’ll be right outside.
SHERIFF
Alright Billy. Your fuck ups have brought down the hammer. This is Special Agent Lee with the FBI.
BILLY
FBI?
SHERIFF
You’re in a world of hurt now Billy. Kidnapping, murder...
BILLY
I didn’t kill anyone.
AGENT LEE
What did you do with the Harker girl?
BILLY
Harker girl?
AGENT LEE
Polly Harker?
BILLY
I didn’t do anything with her.
AGENT LEE
She went missing the same night you went on your rampage.
BILLY
She’s missing? Then you should look in the mirror.
AGENT LEE
We can’t. It’s broken.
BILLY
I had to do it.
SHERIFF
Had to do what?
BILLY
Break the mirror.
SHERIFF
Why? What did it do to you?
BILLY
I was trying to stop it.
SHERIFF
Stop the mirror from what?
BILLY
Not the mirror. The thing inside.
AGENT LEE
Where’s Mina Chu, Billy? What did you do with Mina?
BILLY
I didn’t do anything. That thing snatched Mina.
AGENT LEE
Not all of her.
GARBAGE BAG UNWRAPS.
THUD OF THE ARM LANDING ON THE TABLE THE ARM FLOPS AROUND
BILLY SHRIEKS.
BILLY PULLS AT HIS HANDCUFFS
SHERIFF
DOOR OPENS
Deputy!
SHERIFF
Take him back to his cell.
DEPUTY
Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. That’s not what I think it is.
SHERIFF
Do your job Deputy.
DEPUTY
Come on Billy.
BILLY’S SCREAMS FADE AWAY DOOR CLOSES
SHERIFF
Why did you do that? He’s completely useless now.
AGENT LEE
Yes. A shame really.
ARM THUDS BACK INTO THE GARBAGE BAG
SHERIFF
Oh. You think?
AGENT LEE
I think he might have more to say.
SHERIFF
Yeah but until he stops screaming, he ain’t telling us anything.
MUSIC CUE ASHLEY'S HOUSE
NARRATOR
Ashley plops down on Polly’s bed. She picks up Polly’s pillow and shoves her face into it. She takes a deep breath, smelling the essence of her little girl. Ashley stands up and smoothes the blanket with her hands. She takes a step and kicks something under the bed. It’s Lucy’s storybook.
BED SPRINGS SQUEEK PILLOWS FLUFFED
BARE FOOTSTEPS ON CARPET
HER FOOT BUMPS SOMETHING UNDER THE BED
ASHLEY
What’s that?
ASHLEY GROANS AS SHE BENDS DOWN TO PICK UP
CUT TO
LUCY’S STORYBOOK
ASHLEY
13th reflections?
BARE FOOTSTEPS ON CARPET DOOR OPENS
BARE FOOTSTEPS ON TILE BATHROOM AMBIENCE PAGE TURN
ASHLEY
Face two mirrors to create endless reflections. Hmmm. How am I supposed to do that?
MEDICINE CABINET DOOR OPENS
ASHLEY
There. Done.
PAGE TURN
ASHLEY
Touch the 13th reflection...one, two, three...
MIRROR WORLD AMBIENCE
POLLY
That’s it mom.
FREDDIE
We need to go.
POLLY
But she’s almost there.
FREDDIE
He’s coming.
WET MONSTER FOOTSTEPS GROWLING GROWS CLOSER
POLLY
Wait. Just one more minute.
FREDDIE
No time. He’s here.
BATHROOM AMBIENCE
ASHLEY
...eleven, twelve, thirteen.
EERIE WHOOSH
ASHLEY
Now what?
FINGERS DRUM ON COUNTER
ASHLEY
This is stupid.
BARE FOOT STEPS ON TILE LIGHT SWITCHES OFF EERIE WHOOSH
JELLO SQUISHY WAVE LOW GROWL
DOOR SLOWLY CLOSES
ASHLEY
What the hell?
DOOR SLOWLY OPENS LIGHT SWITCH FLICKS ON LOUD ROAR
Holy Fuck.
ASHLEY SCREAMS MAIN THEME
ASHLEY
ANNOUNCER
13 Reflections.