1011 Helmsdale Street at Woodvale.
10-8. All clear.
Sounds boring.
Matter of perspective.
FYI, there are transports in your vicinity.
You stayin' warm?
Warm enough.
All right, then. Over and out.
Finally, something to report.
Fuck!
Uh, need that transport. Same location.
Stray?
Yeah. Good.
Attitude.
Copy. Transport's engaged.
Okay, enough.
The fuck are you doing?
You know,
you're supposed to report them, not take them on joyrides.
Why is it acting like that?
It's the way they've been lately.
Really?
Wow. Who are you and why have we never met before?
I-- I'm Beth. This is my quadrant.
Wow. Aren't you a little surprise?
Listen, how long you been on this route?
Why is it so angry?
Oh, yeah. This one?
He's a fighter. Aren't you, buddy?
So what you doing after this?
Have you seen him? At the inn, maybe?
Uh, not that I can remember.
Whoa, papi!
Easy does it. Easy.
Easy, easy, easy.
Here we are.
There you go, now. Not such a tough guy now, huh?
See?
Humanity. You gotta treat 'em with a little humanity.
'Cause that's what we do. We care. Come on.
Hey, uh, can you call this number if he shows up?
Well, can I call it even if he doesn't?
It's my dad.
Yeah. Sure.
All right. All right, Takeda. Vamonos.
Talk to you later. Come on!
I kinda felt it this time.
What?
That feeling of not being alone.
You felt like someone was in your house?
Outside, looking in.
Just that feeling, you know?
Huh?
So, your neighborhood's like mine, right?
You're the only one that stayed in that quadrant?
And there's no one else around for...
Twelve, fifteen blocks?
Okay. So, you know, you're not quite comfortable yet
being in the house alone.
You ever have a mouse in your house?
You don't see it.
You don't see it, and then... you see it.
Ew, and yes.
And you realize that every time you thought you saw something
in the corner of your eye, you were seeing it.
-Uh-huh. -Forever after that,
every time you see something in the corner of your eye,
-you spin around. -Mouse.
Yeah, but there's no mouse. Or mice.
It's gone, but your brain keeps seeing them.
Beth...
you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened.
I can blame myself for not seeing it coming.
And now she's in my dreams.
Every night, it replays.
Of course, that's only when I actually manage to get to sleep.
And that's why...
you take these.
Those aren't the meds you're taking, are they?
No, these are extra.
Sleeping pills!
I'm not sure I want any more dream worlds
-than I have already. -You need to get some rest
so you can stay happy, and then maybe you won't get sick.
- Carol. - Beth.
Double whiskey, please.
They mix weird with your meds?
'Cause... mine give me wicked nosebleeds.
Yeah, I, uh, heard that happens with solgar glycine.
I'm not taking that one.
Or any of the other ones.
How?
Don't tell anyone. I... just haven't needed to.
Hi. I'm Tabitha.
Tabby.
-Like the cat. -Like the cat.
Meow.
Sorry.
Hungover?
I don't drink.
I had fun last night.
The fucking dark.
Do you have your meds? Maybe you should...
What's the point?
Darkness,
interrupted by lamps.
Darkness...
...and...
lamps.
Is it funny?
It is funny, isn't it?
I think you should probably leave now.
Wait.
Can I give you a lift somewhere?
Nice knowing you.
- Hello? - This is dispatch.
-Is this a good time? -Oh, hi.
No, I-- I wasn't expecting your call.
Can you come down?
Can I bring a friend?
You ever met the innkeeper?
It's been a while.
Who's the innkeeper?
Dedicated his whole life to this place.
Came out of retirement, even.
No medals for him, though.
Just a bunch of useless strays.
But he is dedicated. 'Cause you know what?
We care.
She's here for that new intake.
Been a while since we've seen you.
Been a while since I've gotten a call.
Can I see him?
Need your John Hancock.
Lots of signatures here.
Just to visit someone who might not even be the right person?
It's not a petting zoo.
Still taking your meds?
Of course.
You sure?
Daily dose of solgar glycine.
Sunny ways.
Your mother...
she was before all of this.
We hadn't figured it out yet.
But you've figured it out now?
Just show me if you found my dad or not.
There was a time we tried to house them all in jails.
Remember that?
Why didn't that work?
They didn't have me.
This is the guy Tom wanted you to see.
Hey!
Come over here. Show us that beautiful face.
"We care."
What was that?
Maybe he just wants to be treated like a human?
Maybe he wants you to mind your own business.
I haven't seen them that aggressive before.
They've just had their life energy sapped.
You know, the least we could do is treat them with some dignity.
Enough.
Okay.
Paging innkeeper.
Transport pickup request on line one.
You need a lifeguard?
I-- Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.
You didn't.
You volunteer?
-What sector? -Fifteen.
I grew up there.
Really?
Yeah.
There's probably more people when you were there.
Strange times.
Strange circumstances.
-Strange new realities. -Yeah.
Well, the city's so empty. I never meet anyone new.
I still meet strangers. There's always someone new.
Well, that is very nice for you.
Central.
Hi, uh, this is patrol volunteer J1987,
reporting a stray in wooded area near Hubert.
All transports are on other calls now.
-All of them? -Afraid so.
Can you wait with it?
Does the inn have vacancy?
I don't have that information.
Well... it better.
Are you in a safe location?
- Sure. - Okay, just stay calm.
They're not hostile.
Yes, they are.
Just maintain visual for now,
and I'll send the next available transport.
Shit!
Don't make me.
Fuck it.
Come on.
Fuck.
Shit!
Hey!
No! No!
No!
Stop!
Dad?
Dad!
Wait!
Dad!
- You call it in? - Yes.
Are there any more?
No.
Wait! I need your tag number for the report.
I-- I don't know, it's in my logbook. And can we just wait?
What's the issue? You don't know your own tag?
It's your quadrant registration and the first three digits--
Right, right, okay. Three-- 344121.
This is transport.
Additional pickup requested near you.
Dad?
Dad!
At least you know he's still alive.
I always knew that.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Feeling great, actually.
So you're taking your meds?
Of course.
Come on.
Geez. You know, I don't know why you do it.
Me neither.
What is that you're eating? It smells terrible.
It's potato salad, and it smells great.
Stop changing the subject.
That's a late arrival.
We're only open for a few more minutes. What do you want?
So I still have time for a drink?
How'd you find me?
There's only a handful of bars open.
And frankly, you kinda smelt of booze when we first met.
That is, um, terrible detective work.
- Uh, I'll take your coat. - Oh.
Thank you.
So?
Feeling okay?
Yeah. You?
Uh-huh.
Curious, though.
What dose are you on?
I, um...
I don't take meds.
Cheeky. Why not?
My mom was medicating when she turned,
and to me, it didn't help.
Yeah, yeah, but that was before they--
Figured it out? Yeah.
That's what everyone keeps telling me.
But I don't think they figured anything out.
I think those people-- things, whatever--
they're getting worse.
At least the ones I've seen.
And I wonder if it's the meds.
Is that your informed medical opinion, doctor?
And I haven't needed them.
Hmm.
Do you worry about, you know, getting caught?
Takes character.
What about you?
-Fairly high dose. -Mmm.
Sensitive type.
Oh, yeah?
What's wrong with that?
Nothing at all.
Pass me his coat.
Both coats?
Yes.
-As in, you're both leaving? -Yes.
Together? In your coat?
Just pass me the fucking coat.
Okay.
Stay warm.
Hey, handsome. Sleep okay?
You kept me up too late.
In a good way?
Yeah, well, I'm exhausted.
And I have to go to work.
So thanks for that.
You okay?
You should get going.
You got it.
Thanks for the memories.
Hey there, sweet thing.
Hi.
You walking home by yourself this morning?
The car's just up there.
That's pretty far.
Not really. It's just around the corner.
Well, why don't you hop in here? I'll give you a lift.
Not today, Jason.
Come on. I'm lonely too, you know.
Nice and toasty in here.
You know where to find me.
Let me know if you need anything plowed.
Fuck.
Dad?
Dad!
Damn it!
Oh.
- Hey, Nat. - Where are you?
Uh, sorry I'm late.
And that dude?
Uh, no, um, last night was fine.
Uh, he turned out to be not so nice this morning. Uh...
- You okay? - Yeah, I'll be right there.
Okay? I just need to check in on something.
Okay, well, you're late.
I'll see you soon.
Come out with me for patrol tonight. It'll be fun.
-No, thank you. -Come on.
You said you wanted a distraction.
This is how we do it.
I really don't do well on those.
Better than spending the night alone.
I-- I don't wanna see one of them.
You won't.
Can we play that tape you have
with those old songs you got from your dad?
For my dad. It was something I made for him.
Sorry.
I might be persuaded to play the tape for you,
provided you don't bring any of that potato shit along.
Why are these houses even being maintained?
Like, why do all that?
Keep the illusion that everything is
going back to the way it was? Who knows?
Maybe it could.
You know, if you wanted to,
you could snoop in a different house every night.
Wanna?
Wanna what?
They're just houses. They won't hurt you.
How about this one?
-No! -Come on. It'll be fun.
Breaking in? Aren't you supposed to protect them from that?
Yeah, so we're covered.
I think it's a bad idea.
You wanna know why I'm doing so well?
'Cause I've let go of all the rules that used to exist.
Well, you know, some of us like the rules.
Have you noticed that
the universe isn't exactly following its own rules?
I swear, half the time,
I'm not sure what's real and what's a dream.
It's all blending together.
I can assure you, this part is real.
How are you with a real screwdriver?
Decent.
Okay.
Wow.
Can we live here?
I know, I wish we thought of that sooner.
Okay, I'm gonna check it out.
Dad!
Dad?
Beth?
Beth, get down here, now!
-Now what do we do? -Good question.
Can you call a transport?
I could if I hadn't have left my phone in the car.
We can use the phone here.
It'll be disconnected all winter.
Oh, fucker! I knew this was a bad idea.
Oh, God. What do they want? Why are they doing that?
We gotta lock the door.
I think we might've busted the lock coming in.
Hey, hey, we can deal with this.
You know, there's gotta be a back door.
I was already back there. There is no back door.
I knew it was a bad idea coming in here.
Yeah, about that.
What?
The reason I wanted to come in here
is-- is because--
- Because? - Yesterday I saw--
Wait. You knew this place was hot?
Yes, but I think it's my dad.
Great. Where's your dad now, huh?
I still don't know.
I can't believe you didn't tell me.
Look, forget that, okay? This is the plan.
I'm gonna go out there and draw them away from the car.
What? That's fucking crazy.
No, I'm gonna draw them south down the street.
Great. And then what do I do?
Take the keys and drive north.
Wait, what are you gonna do?
You're gonna drive around this whole block
behind the house and meet me on the south side.
We're fucked. We can't do this.
You know what? We can.
Okay, go, go, go!
Oh.
Go, go, go, go, go!
-Are you okay? -Look, I found my phone. Whoo!
They'll have to send more than one truck this time.
This is the frigging apocalypse.
Nah.
I can't believe you lied to me.
I didn't lie. I just left some information out.
Why didn't you tell me you saw your dad in there?
I knew you'd freak out for no reason and not come.
That is a reason.
Come on. It got the blood pumping.
Ever since it got dark everything is so, ugh.
We need this.
Just because you have some witchy immunity to strays,
doesn't mean you can drag me into dangerous situations.
-I'm not immu-- -Shut up!
You don't take your meds
and you regularly interact with them.
You're such a straysist.
You don't contract it from them.
It's a previously unknown condition
affecting the cerebral cortex predicated
-by the lack of sun-- -I know the bullet points.
Nat...
whatever it is I've got,
I think my dad understands it somehow.
I'd like to find him and ask him.
Bullshit.
That was a really selfish thing you just did.
Got you out of the club.
You could just apologize.
Hey, I thought I'd come by and see how you're...
What the fuck?
This is Central.
Hey, I'd like to request a transport.
Can I get your 20, please?
Hello?
I can't send a transport if I don't know where you are.
Come on.
Okay. What? Huh?
Come on!
Goddammit, you fucks.
What do you want from me?
You need some help?
All right.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That should be a enough.
Let's give it a push, huh?
Whoa. You're pushing. I'm driving.
-Okay, you ready? -Yeah.
And go!
Okay.
Well, no need to thank me. All in a day's work.
Thank you.
You're very, very--
Stop!
You have to stop.
I can't.
They're coming for you.
What you're taking from them, eventually they'll want it back.
Wait!
- Central. - I have a pickup.
Another one?
Another one.
He's there with you?
Yes. He's in the bed with me.
I'm reporting to have you pulled from patrol.
Just send me a transport.
All our units are presently engaged.
All of them? I need to get him out of here.
I've only got, what, an hour or so
before he gets active.
Then it sounds like you better get busy.
Quite the crowd you run with.
What's going on?
How the fuck should I know? They get weirder every day.
This is because of me.
It's a heart injection so you have to administer--
Shut up! Put it away and fix the window.
From now on, do us a favor and stay away from here.
I am sorry about the patrol thing.
You're lucky I'm desperate for friends.
I shouldn't have taken you into that house.
Well, at least it wasn't boring.
There's more.
What?
Something's happening that I don't understand.
I keep having these dreams.
About your mom?
Yes.
But there's also something new and it's just about me.
These dreams are so vivid,
but they're not real.
And yet they're connected to something real.
Something in me.
Do you think it's possible for the things we do
in our dreams to change our lives while we're awake?
You wanna know what I think, Beth?
I think you need to take your meds
like all the rest of us.
Like, did that not occur to you?
The only thing I see that's different about you
is that you're avoiding all responsibility
and you put everyone else at risk.
Maybe.
I can't tell what's real anymore.
Is that any way to treat a friend?
Well, if it isn't the dynamic duo.
What? It's a public space.
What do you want?
Oh, little old me? Well, I am so glad that you asked.
You see, what I want is to protect
the sick and healthy population of this city--
-Oh, God. -As is my duty.
But you see, I can't because now I'm suspended
from my job, thanks to the ruckus you caused this morning.
What? Are you fucking kidding me?
Oh, I wish I was.
Shit! I'm sorry.
Seriously, what the hell was that about?
Does nonsense just follow you wherever you go?
'Cause that's a real problem for some people
and I wouldn't put it past you.
I'd say that theory isn't too far-fetched.
I know, okay? The weirdness, it's my fault.
But how and to what degree I can't figure out.
Explain.
Well, how should I put this?
With most of the recent strays,
I was sort of with them before they turned.
So what? That's fine.
Everyone knows that it isn't sexually transmitted.
Right.
But I'm still tied to them.
Epidemiologically?
Emotionally.
Okay. This is an odd question,
but how's the wiring in your place?
Come again?
Well, some of the older places, they have bad grounding,
half-assed repairs.
God knows no one does inspections anymore.
I haven't had any issues.
My dad did it and he's an electrician.
But-- but what does her electrical panel
have to do with the strays?
Surely you've noticed that they interfere
with electrical systems when they show up
and are deterred by electrical fields?
Tell me more.
So, this is what it takes for you to have me over.
Why do they cause these electrical disturbances?
Well, it's not just that.
They seem to really avoid large electrical fields.
And you've seen this?
A few times. They don't like it at all.
Why?
I don't know. Hm.
You know, maybe the three of us should snuggle up together
tonight and create our own energy field for protection.
Thank you for your insight.
I'm staying here tonight, Beth.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Well, I'd be happy to stay with you both.
Finish your explanation.
Well, there's not much else.
But does this have anything to do with the guy
that you were looking for?
My dad?
I don't know.
Really, I'll be okay by myself tonight.
I got you. I-- I wanna stay.
Maybe you could stay in my room and I can stay out here.
I'll be fine.
Plus, I wanna check out your futuristic UFO bathtub.
I love baths.
You sure you're gonna be okay tonight?
Yeah, absolutely.
What about her?
Goodnight, Tom.
Nat.
Nat? Nat?
Oh, fuck!
Nat?
Oh, fuck.
Bruno?
Bruno, have you seen Natalie?
Hello. Due to a high volume of calls,
we're unable to assist you at this time.
What part of don't come back here was unclear to you?
Have you seen Natalie? The friend I was here with before?
No.
They just got like this when I showed up?
A few minutes before.
It's like they know when you're on the way now.
How am I doing this?
Come on. You know them better than anyone.
What have you done? What have you been up to?
Nothing.
How come everyone's turning except you?
Half the sickles I put in here have some connections to you.
I don't know. Get off me.
But you do know.
I should intake you right now, throw you in there with them.
Please. My friend is out there,
and I don't know if she's okay. I have to find her.
Only you can figure this out.
Look, whatever it is I'm doing to them,
I'll find a way to stop.
But I think it's-- it's happening in my dreams.
In your dreams, not in the world.
Does that make it any less real?
The results here are pretty real.
Well, my dreams must be too.
If your friend has turned and you are the reason,
well, perhaps you're also able to reverse it.
How?
If you take it from them,
they must be able to take it back.
Just help me find Natalie.
It's the first step for me to make this right.
She knows this place. She might have wandered inside.
Just stay here.
Nat?
-Fuck. -She's not here.
She was with you last night when I left.
No. She ran off last night right after you.
-I'm trying to help her. -Bullshit.
She probably turned 'cause of you.
I-- I didn't mean to.
It is you. You're the one doing this.
No, we just need to make sure she--
You need to stop.
Hello. Due to a high volume of calls,
we're unable to assist you at this time.
Dad.
Did they follow you here?
Maybe... maybe you'll be safe here.
The energy confuses them.
I realized if I could avoid them, maybe I could...
turn it around.
This is where Mom was heading.
Why?
I think she knew it was coming.
She wanted to show us where to go.
Why are you avoiding me?
I need you.
It's the reason I'm here.
Why?
I couldn't put you at risk.
I have the same ability you do.
I'm already at risk.
I need your help.
Beth, connection is the problem.
The only way to stay safe is to stay away from each other.
My friends...
it's my fault.
When you connect with someone, you take something.
You take and you take until there's nothing left
and that person is lost from the world.
Is that really the way it is?
It is now.
There's no other solution.
Is that happened to Mom?
I'm not gonna let that happen.
Can I take this?
Stay.
I might not be able to help you out there next time.
Goodbye, Dad.
Beth, wake up!