Whispers On Set

Chapter 8

The next morning, we headed to the house Rosco was so worried about. I asked what was wrong. "Normally," said Rosco, "Everyone we've interviewed has been male."
"So?" I asked.
"So," said Rosco, "The person we're interviewing is a woman. Rhonda Bush."
"Does that mean she has powers, too?" I asked.
"No," said Rosco. "Well, not technically. But... she's pregnant."
"Oh," I said. I thought for a moment about what that could mean. "Do you have any more information?"
"That's it," said Rosco. "I guess we'll see when we get there."
We drove for a while longer. Rhonda lived in a small two story apartment complex, with about a dozen apartments or so. Unfortunately, her apartment was on the second floor, and there wasn't an elevator, so we'd be hauling equipment upstairs. As usual, though, we just approached with Cammy's bag and left everything else in the van. Rosco knocked on the door. "Is anyone home?"
A very pregnant woman came to the door. She was wearing a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants, and her hair was in a messy bun. She smelled like a smoker, too. There were bags under her eyes. While pregnancy wasn't easy, she looked completely exhausted. Her fingers were twitchy. "Who are you?" she asked.
"We're independent filmmakers," said Rosco. "We're here to film a documentary about the people of Eastby, and were wondering if you would like to be a part of it."
"Why me? How did you get this address?" asked Rhonda.
"Another resident of Eastby gave it to us," said Rosco. "Bill Hertz."
Rhonda sighed. "DHS didn't send you?"
"No."
"I'm not in trouble, am I?"
"No," said Rosco. "Look, ma'am, we're in the same boat as you. We're stuck here, too. Just trying to do what we came here to do."
Rhonda leaned in close and whispered. "You're not trying to escape, are you?"
"No," said Rosco. "We just want to make a documentary."
I wanted to escape. I wanted to go home. I didn't want to be stuck here. But while Rosco's works were keeping me here, his tone implied that he wished he could escape, too. "You're not going to make me do anything weird, are you?" Rhonda asked.
"No," said Rosco with exasperation.
Rhona huffed. "Fine," she said. "My place is a bit of a mess."
"Thank you," said Rosco. "We appreciate it."
We entered the small apartment. Rhonda's kitchen looked it belonged to a twenty year old dude's apartment — dishes were piled high in the sink, there were crumbs and half open bags of chips strewn about, and I could see some mold growing on a loaf of bread. Suddenly, I was worried about this Rhonda's mental health. The rest of the apartment was in similar disarray, but her bedroom was relatively neat. The bed wasn't made and dirty clothes were on the floor, but Rosco chose to film in the bedroom. Cammy made the bed and pushed the clothes behind it while Rosco and I grabbed the lighting and sound equipment. It took a few trips, but we got everything up the stairs without too much trouble. I noticed a black SUV was parked in the parking lot near us that wasn't there before. A reminder that we were always being watched.
It didn't take long for us to set everything up. Rhonda sat on the bed. Cammy did her best with the makeup, but there was no hiding the defeated look in Rhonda's eyes. "Camera?" Rosco asked.
"Rolling."
"Sound?"
"Speeding."
"Mark it."
"This is 'Secrets of Eastby,' scene four, take one." Cammy slammed the clapper.
"Okay," said Rosco. "Could you tell us your name?"
"My name's Rhonda Bush," said Rhonda.
"You're pregnant, is that correct?"
"Yeah," said Rhonda.
"Can you go into more detail about that?"
Rhonda fumbled in her sweatpants pocket for a cigarette. She pulled it out, lit it, and took a drag. Rosco paused. "Isn't smoking bad for the baby?"
"I don't care anymore," said Rhonda. "My husband, Andy. Like everyone else, he got powers a few months ago. Right around when it happened."
"What could he do?" asked Rosco.
Rhona took another drag. "His bones got really dense," she said. "Like, so dense he could barely stand. It took him a while before he could even walk again..." She put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry."
"What happened to him?" asked Rosco.
"He's dead," said Rhonda. She had tears in her eyes. "Shot and killed. Bullet went right through his ribs. You know they told me, if it had hit him in the rib, he probably could've shrugged it off. Even if they shot him in the head, he might have been fine. But the bullet slipped right through."
Rhonda took a moment. "Cut," said Rosco. "Rhonda, just breathe. I'm sorry for making you bring up a painful memory."
Rhonda sobbed for a while. Cammy sat on the bed with her and rubbed her back. "Do you want something to drink?" she asked. "We have bottled water."
"Please," said Rhonda. Rosco looked at me, and nodded his head toward the door. I went to go grab some water out of the van. I thought about Janice for a moment. She probably thought something was up. I hadn't even attempted to reach out to her, as far as she was concerned. I wanted to. How could she know what we were going through?
I headed back in and gave Rhonda the bottle. She opened it and had a sip. "Thank you," she said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," said Rosco. "If you don't want to talk about this, it's fine."
"No, this is good," said Rhonda. "This is good. It's good to have a record of him somewhere."
"All right, then," said Rosco. "We can start filming when you're ready."
Rhonda wiped her face. "I'm ready," she said.
"Okay. Quiet on set. Camera?" Rosco asked.
"Rolling."
"Sound?"
"Speeding."
"Mark it."
"This is 'Secrets of Eastby,' scene four, take two." Cammy slammed the clapper.
"Rhonda," said Rosco, "can you tell us a little more about your husband?"
"Sure," said Rhonda. "He was a kind man. He worked at the antique store down the road. I had to shut it down after he... passed. But I've been taken care of."
It didn't look like she had been. DHS was keeping her alive, but they weren't doing anything to help her living situation. She should've been in a hospital, or somewhere else. Anywhere but this wreck of an apartment. "Tell us a little bit more about your pregnancy," said Rosco.
"I'm going into my ninth month," said Rhonda. "I got pregnant just before the incident. I'm worried, though. So far, only men for some reason have had anything happen to them in Eastby. Women weren't affected at all."
"None?" asked Rosco.
"Only the men," said Rhonda. "But in here... my son. John. I don't know what's going to happen to him. Will he have some horrible defect, too? I want him to live a normal life. A happy life. But I don't know if that's going to be possible..." Rhonda put her head in her hands again. This time, though, she only took a few seconds before pulling herself back together. "I just want my son to be happy and healthy."
"Have you seen or talked to any doctors about this?" asked Rosco.
"You've probably seen the white tents around," said Rhonda. "Some of them are medical tents. There isn't a real hospital in Eastby. We've got a clinic, but it doesn't have much room for the amount of people. During the incident, things got overloaded fast. Nobody could keep up. There were riots. People got shot at. Still get shot at. Some people tried to kill the DHS agents that came here and took our rights away. Others tried to hide their powers, or escape in silence. Nobody was able to. If you ask me... they planned the whole thing, and framed it as an accident."
"Do you have any proof of that?" asked Rosco.
"No," said Rhonda. "But think about it. People start developing strange abilities, and the government is on top of it before anyone can even leave Eastby? That's not normal. I think they knew what they were doing from the start. It's the only way to explain how they got here so quickly, and why they're still here."
"Do other people think that way, too?" asked Rosco.
"I don't know," said Rhonda. "I don't talk with other people that much. After Andy, I keep to myself. This town is dangerous. I'm important to Homeland. I'm the only woman who got pregnant with a son, and stayed alive this long. I know at least two other women around my age that were killed trying to escape."
"Did you try to escape?" asked Rosco.
Rhonda shook her head. "I knew the risks," she said. "I couldn't do that. Not like this."
"Do people still try to escape?"
"Not like they used to," said Rhonda. "Sometimes, they'll accidentally let someone slip in. But they never, ever let people out. The only reason Eastby isn't overcrowded is because people keep killing each other."
"How long do you think this lockdown will last?" asked Rosco.
"I don't know," said Rhonda. "I hope it's over soon. This can't continue, I know that."
"When you do have your baby, what are your next steps going to be?" asked Rosco.
"I don't know," said Rhonda. "DHS will watch over him for a while. Knowing them, they probably won't let me see him much. That pisses me off. But I can't stop them. If they think he's safe, they'll probably give him back. Maybe. But he could die early, too. Or maybe he'll be strong. I hope he's strong. Andy was strong..."
"Cut," said Rosco. "Rhonda, thank you so much for sharing your story with us."
"It's fine," she said. "You three... you're good people."
"Thanks," said Rosco. "I can't imagine how difficult it is for you. I know this isn't polite to say, but would it be all right if we came back to film some B-roll later? Just additional shots, things like that."
"If I'm not in labor," Rhonda said.
"It would be nice if we could have your son on the doc," said Rosco. "To show the world how healthy he is."
"I'd like that," said Rhonda, "but I don't think the DHS will let you."
"We'll see," said Rosco. "Thank you for your time, Rhonda."
We packed everything up relatively quickly. As we got the last of our stuff downstairs, I hesitated for a moment.
"What's wrong?" asked Rosco. "You coming?"
"I want to clean up," I said. "This house is a mess. She's been through the ringer. It's the least we can do."
Rosco sighed. "You're a good guy, Mike," he said. "Fine. I'm gonna go buy some cleaning supplies. We'll help out. Take care of the trash and I'll meet you back here in thirty."
"I can just meet you at the motel later," I said.
"No, I'll help," said Rosco.
"Me too," said Cammy.
"Okay," I said. "See you in a bit, then."
Rosco and Cammy drove off. I knocked on Rhonda's door. "Hi," I said. "We, uh, wanted to help you out a little. Just do some cleaning. I noticed your kitchen was a bit of a mess. Would you let us help you out?"
Rhonda smiled. "You don't have to do that for me."
"We want to," I said. "This... it's not right. It's the least we can do."
Rhonda opened the door. "Thank you," she said. "Really."
I nodded and got to work on the kitchen. I started with the sink, and then moved on to cleaning up the trash. Getting rid of the moldy bread, sweeping up the crumbs, throwing away the empty bags of junk food. It was a big project. Rosco and Cammy showed up to help not long after, and we had the whole place spotless in just a few hours. We couldn't get rid of the cigarette smell, but what we did would have to do. Rhonda tried to give each of us a $20 bill. "It's the least I can do," she said.
"We can't accept that," said Rosco.
"Please," said Rhonda. "I'd feel better."
Rosco smiled. "Fine." He took the money. "Thank you, Rhonda."
"Thank you," she said. "If you need anything else from me, please. Don't hesitate."
"Just rest," said Rosco. "Worry about your son, not us."
We got in the van and Rosco drove off. "That was a nice thing to do," said Cammy.
"Do you think they can hear what we're talking about in the van?" I asked. "I'd bet you good money the motel's bugged. Most houses, too. Do you think they bugged the van while we weren't looking?"
"Hard to say," said Rosco. "I'm sure they're tracking us. I don't know if they bugged us, though."
"What's happening here," I said, "Rosco, we have to end it."
"That's easier said than done, bud," said Rosco.
"I'm serious," I said. "This can't go on. It's awful."
"And what do you suppose we do about it?" asked Rosco.
"We get that documentary done," I said. "And into the hands of someone who can do something about it."
"I don't know how you're planning on doing that," said Rosco, "but if you've got a plan, I'm all ears."
"I don't have a plan yet," I said. "But I'll think of something. We can make it out of here, if we have the right help."
"Maybe," said Rosco. "Let's just focus on the documentary for now, okay?"
"Yeah," I said. I would think of something. I had to.