THE LIFE INSTITUTION

SHAKE MY HAND.

[click]

[SCOTT]
Martyn, Martyn! It's okay. Just tell me what happened.

[MARTYN]
I–

[sigh]

Okay.

Statement of-

[SCOTT]
No, come on. You don't need to do that.

[MARTYN]
...
Alright.

Last night.... I saw Charles Fairchild— Uh, that's Grian's real first name. We all started calling him Grian after Uni for a reason I don't remember and I guess it stuck.

Well- I- I think I saw him. I'm not sure. He- no.. It nearly looked like him, but... well, wrong.

[SCOTT]
Wrong?

[MARTYN]
It was late at night, and I could absolutely be remembering wrong—but... Grian wore glasses, didn't he? this... this thing. It wasn't wearing glasses. and it had sharper, more fox-like features than Grian did. I- I got a picture. if you need it.
Its hair was darker too. I mean, I wouldn't call Grian blonde, but he wasn't exactly a brunette either. I think he described his hair colour once as... mousy?
It got his eye colour right, at least. Deep brown, nearly black in the dim lighting of the alley we met in.

It held its hand out to me, saying something about how it'd "been a long time" or something like that. I wasn't listening. I didn't want to shake its hand, either, for a reason I don't think I could put into words.

I tried to turn its hand away, claiming we were way too close in college to be shaking hands, but it insisted. It said it had been far too long, and that we hardly knew each other anymore. It seemed incredibly intent on me shaking its hand.

[SCOTT]
You didn't, right?

[MARTYN]
Of course not! But I was worried—I asked him where he'd disappeared to, why he left the institute, anything to try and figure out what happened to him.

It didn't answer, just shook its head and held out its hand again. I had half a mind to walk away right then. Except...

[SCOTT]
Except...?

[MARTYN]
I'm... not sure what came over me, but I just had to know the truth. It wouldn't tell me. I think thats when I realised just how... "Not-Grian" it was.

I left at that point. I think it tried to follow after me- but- but I run quite often, so it wasn't able to catch up.

Thanks, Scott.

[click]

[click]

[SCOTT]
Uh, Scar.

[SCAR]
O-Oh! (scar quickly hides something behind his back. A tape recorder?) Yeah?

[SCOTT]
What did grian look like while he worked here?

[SCAR]
Oh, uh... Sorta round-ish features, kinda birdlike in a way? He'd obsessively clean his glasses- those bastards would literally blind me if he happened to be facing a lamp. Uhh... He had brown-ish-blonde hair. Cant seem to remember the word right now!!
(scott groans)
...What?

[SCOTT]
Our job just got harder, buddy.

[click]