INT. BLUE MESA HOTEL LOBBY
[FOOTSTEPS, ROLLERBAG ACROSS LOBBY FLOOR, DING]
ODETTE: Hello, and welcome to the Blue Mesa Hotel. Are you checking in?
GRAHAM: I sure am. I believe I have a reservation. Should be under the name Anderson. Graham Anderson.
ODETTE: Yes, sir, there you are. We have you staying with us for six days, correct?
GRAHAM: Not a sir, but yeah, sounds right. And I requested to be put in room 1421.
ODETTE: Ooh.. The Writer’s Room. I hope you brought a blank notebook.
GRAHAM: Does it have to be blank? Notebooks don't stay blank for very long around me.
ODETTE: Not a problem, we have some for sale in the gift shop. I definitely recommend picking one up. You don’t want to miss your chance to talk to the writer.
[KEYBOARD CLICKING]
ODETTE: Oh, shoot.
GRAHAM: That doesn’t sound good.
ODETTE: Unfortunately Mr. Anderson, your room is being cleaned at the moment, but it should be ready very soon.
GRAHAM: Mrs. Anderson. But yeah, no worries.
ODETTE: You can leave your luggage here with me and if you’d like... we have our world famous ‘Never Ending Open Mic’ going around the clock in the Lobby. It’s just past me and to the right. Treat yourself to a free show before your trip gets started.
GRAHAM: Thank you.
ODETTE: My pleasure, Mr. Anderson. And I’ll be sure to have someone let you know the minute your room is ready.
GRAHAM: Thank you.
GRAHAM (V.O.): According to a Buzzfeed article I skimmed, the Blue Mesa Hotel's NeverEnding Open Mic claims to have been going continuously operating since June 1, 1937 at 8PM. One act after another. Comics. Poets. Storytellers. Singers. Rappers. Everyone and anyone is allowed to perform their art. Fifteen minutes at a time.
[WOOD CHAIR ON FLOOR SCREECH]
GRAHAM (V.O.): I found a seat in the back. Onstage a young white college guy strummed four chords on an acoustic guitar. I thought he might start singing, but nope. Just strumming away. I typed the following note into my phone: my first impression of The Blue Mesa Hotel was far different from what I expected to find when I arrived. It was strange, for sure, but in a normal way. Floral patterned couches. Navy blue carpet. Fake silk plants. Generic pastel paintings. The scariest part of this hotel seemed to be its 1990s decor.
JACK: Mrs. Anderson?
GRAHAM: (waking up from a daydream) That’s me.
JACK: If you’ll just follow me I’ll escort you to your room.
INT. HALLWAY
JACK: Room 1421 or The Writer's Room is going to be all the way to the end of the hallway here. And lucky you, it only shares one wall with another room so you won’t have to hear voices coming through the walls. I mean noisy neighbors... Not ghosts. Did you bring a notebook?
GRAHAM: Odette at the front desk let me know to pick one up.
JACK: Oh… you got a turquoise one. Nice.
GRAHAM: They were all turquoise.
JACK: Still nice. And speaking of nice, did you know Room 1421 is usually where we put our Guests of Honor.
GRAHAM: I'm a guest of honor? Really?
JACK: Well, no. You just booked it. But lots of real famous celebrities have stayed in that room. Jimmy Carter. Russell Crowe. Chris O’Dell. Scott Stapp before that thing happened with the cows.
GRAHAM: Well now I know you're messing with me because no one would ever refer to Scott Stapp as a guest of honor.
JACK: You got me. But Scout's Honor, I did hear that Stephen King stayed with us when he was writing the screenplay for Maximum Overdrive, but that’s not exactly something we like to brag about.
GRAHAM: Hey, I kinda like that movie. When the vending machine kills that guy with sodas... it's pretty funny.
JACK: I don't think it's supposed to be funny.
GRAHAM: Well, thanks...
JACK: Jack. If you need anything else while you're here. Just give me a call.
GRAHAM (V.O.): Instead of reaching for a tip, Jack hands me a piece of paper with his name on it. No number. No email. Just his name. Jack Piano. Fucking weirdo.
JACK: Also, I wanted to ask... is this going to be on the show? I mean, me, am I going to be on the show?
GRAHAM: Oh, I didn’t realize you knew who I...maybe I’ll find a way to work you in.
JACK: Would it help if I told you I was abducted by nordic aliens?
GRAHAM: Were you?
JACK: No, but I’ve been trying... (pause of laughs) I’ll definitely let you know if I ever get them to pick me up.
GRAHAM: Thanks, Jack.
[DOOR CLOSE]
GRAHAM: (V.O.): Standing inside of Room 1421, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for Amy waking up here lost, confused and alone. I thought for sure something might look out of place. But the room, just like the hotel itself, was a bit of a letdown. A queen size bed. A window you can’t open. Curtains that smelled like stale cigarettes. A nightstand. A copy of the Gideons Bible. A desk. A chair. And a closet. In one corner of the room an old twenty-seven inch Box TV was mounted against the wall. No secret tunnels or passageways. No portals to another realm. No sketchy hotel employees with shifty eyes. So far, nothing I’d seen from this hotel would indicate that it had such a strange history tied to it.... until I went into the bathroom and noticed the copper clawfoot bathtub.
DOCUMENTARY NARRATOR: The writer's room is haunted by the ghosts of all the writers who stayed at the hotel back in the early 20th Century. But they aren't here to scare you. To moan or boo in the night. They're just here to do what they do best. To write. To open the lines of communication place a blank notebook and a black pen on the desk. Open the notebook. Leave the first ten pages blank. And on the eleventh page write a short message. Close the notebook. Leave the room for at least two hours. When you return open the book and read your reply.
[PAGES TURNING IN NOTEBOOK]
GRAHAM: I had a few hours before I was scheduled to meet with Dan Thompson, the handler for the cadaver dogs, I’d hired to search the Carson National Forest. So I decided to try it out. Sounds like roadside hocus-pocus, but like I said, I had some time to kill so why not play along. I bought a notebook in the gift shop. Skipped to page 11 and wrote a simple, Hello.
SOUNDS: PEN WRITING IN NOTEBOOK
EXT. GAS STATION
GRAHAM: Daniel?
CADAVER DAN: Yessiree, Cadaver Dan’s the name and Blackjack’s my game... but I am not good at it. It’s Graham, right?
GRAHAM: That’s me.
[TRANSITION NOISE, TRUCK DOOR OPEN, DOG WHIMPERS]
CADAVER DAN: This pretty lady right here is named Lucy, after Lucille Ball, of course, and the shy one in the back...
GRAHAM: Aww, he’s a cute little guy.
CADAVER DAN: Don’t let him fool ya. He looks young because he’s small, but he’s an old little mother fucker. We call him Mister Feeney— cute son of a bitch ain’t he?
EXT. FIELD
CADAVER DAN (to dogs): C’mon. Let’s go.
GRAHAM: So, how does all this work? Do they just lead you around until they find something?
CADAVER DAN: Not exactly, no. What we’re going to do is basically let them run a little wild and see what they can find.
[DOGS PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER]
GRAHAM: I take it they’ll let you know if they find something.
CADAVER DAN: Yeah for sure. They’re being a little hyper right now, but thats just normal dog shit. Once they alert on something, you’ll see, it’ll be real obvious. They want that treat.
GRAHAM: Don’t we all.
CADAVER DAN: (laughs) I know that’s right.
GRAHAM: Oh... you uh... brought a bottle with you.
CADAVER DAN: Want a swig?
GRAHAM: I’m good.
CADAVER DAN: Suit yourself. (drink) You’ll probably change your mind once we get to walking.
GRAHAM: Do they always work in pairs?
CADAVER DAN: Actually each of em is gonna work alone. That way if one alerts, we can use the second dog to sort of double check. Lucy is usually pretty solid, but Mister Feeney be bull-shittin’ sometimes.
CADAVER DAN: On the phone you said this is for your investigation or something?
GRAHAM: Yeah, we’re hoping to find a hiker who went missing in June of last year.
CADAVER DAN: Shit, really?
GRAHAM: That didn’t sound hopeful.
CADAVER DAN: Ah. Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky. So which, uh department or branch or whatever are you from? (beat) Not that it matters. I’ll go hunting cadavers with anybody really.
GRAHAM: Actually it’s for an investigation podcast.
CADAVER DAN: (excited) No, Shit? Man you shoulda told me. I’ve actually got my own podcast. It’s called ‘Autopsies & Automobiles,’ we talk about weird ways people have died. (beat) And cars.
GRAHAM: Sounds... interesting.
CADAVER DAN: My wife wanted to call it Caskets & Milkshakes, but I told her that sounded like we were gonna be talking about drinking people. Like we’re some damn Gary Recipe Podcast. (drink) In my line of work, cannibalism is not exactly the rumor you wanna have started about yourself.
GRAHAM: Can't imagine that'd be good for business.
[DOG RUNNING, BARKING]
CADAVER DAN: Sometimes I wonder though... (pause)...what all the hype is about... you know? Those Gary’s seem to love it. Must be something about it.
GRAHAM: (awkward) uh...
CADAVER DAN: I’m just fucking around. (drink) Humans are disgusting.
GRAHAM: (V.O.): On day one with Cadaver Dan and the dogs, we focused our search around the The Black Mountain Campground and North Fork Urraca Creek. We covered a large area. Lots of walking and dog barking, but nothing that constituted a hit.
INT. BLUE MESA LOBBY NIGHT
[THE LOBBY IS PACKED WITH PEOPLE AND ENERGY. A RAPPER IS PERFORMING ONSTAGE.]
GRAHAM (V.O.): The lobby of The Blue Mesa was alive with action when I arrived back around 8pm.
RAPPER: (Onstage) Yeah. This truck like Schwann's we serve pushups. Cause life crooked, the shit that ain't never shook us, he was staring at the wall saying that it's hard for him to look up.
GRAHAM (V.O.): A large bald man was dressed like a baby holding a practical joke sized baby bottle and freestyle rapping over Tv Show theme songs.
RAPPER: (Onstage) In my spot we wasn't given a lot. Took a lot of heart. Hustle until you get you a knot. Is you a shark or a fish that's how we paint it out. Fuck all those records my circle small as a Cookie Crisp. Big Gangsta aint gotta flex on a book and shit. If there's a problem I'm really gonna try to look at shit...
GRAHAM (V.O.): Apparently in Taos, at the Blue Mesa Hotel at 8pm, this kind of thing drew a crowd. When I got back to my room I noticed I’d received a reply from the writer. Underneath where I’d written ‘Hello,’ in a very flowing feminine cursive handwriting, it read, “How Are You Doing, Graham?” And then below that “Fine or Not Fine At All. Circle one.” Again... not exactly the nightmare fuel I expected to be doused in at The Blue Mesa Hotel, but I'll bite... (pause) I circled, Not Fine At All and added, “Who am I speaking with?”
EXT. CARSON NATIONAL FOREST
[APPROACHING THUNDERSTORM]
GRAHAM: (V.O.): On our second day with Dan, Lucy and Mister Feeney we planned to comb through the area from Burn Peak to Webster Pass, Lookout Peak and up north to Trail Peak forming a nice triangle on the map and covering two full square miles in Distance. It was an ambitious plan, but, not impossible, with the right conditions. We didn't get those kind of conditions.
GRAHAM: You feel that?
CADAVER DAN: That teasing rain is finally gonna let us see something. (whistle) Lucy. Let’s go. Graham, how bout you and me go grab some grub? I know where we can get the best damn Wings in New Mexico.
GRAHAM: Eh... you know what. Yeah. Fuck yeah.
CADAVER DAN: Hell yeah. I can drop the dogs off on the way. You’re gonna love this place. Only one thing wrong with it.
GRAHAM: What’s that?
CADAVER DAN: the son of a bitch who owns the joint ruined my life.
GRAHAM: Then why do you want to eat there?
CADAVER DAN: Fate is a mother fucker, man. But the wings are delicious.
INT. CADAVER DAN'S TRUCK/EXT. HIGHWAY
GRAHAM: Where’s this place at?
CADAVER DAN: It's kinda tucked away in the back of a weird little hotel. You walk in, they got some weird shit on stage or whatever. Walk past that and keep to your right. You’ll smell em before you see em.
GRAHAM: The Blue Mesa Hotel?
CADAVER DAN: Winner. Winner. Chicken Wing Dinner.
GRAHAM: That’s actually where I’m staying this week.
CADAVER DAN: Fuck that place. (drink) I wouldn’t sleep in that hotel if they paid me sixteen dollars an hour.
GRAHAM: You’re telling me you believe in all the Ghost stories?
CADAVER DAN: I hunt Cadavers for a living, man. Fuck yeah, I believe in Ghosts.
GRAHAM: It all seems so cheesy. I feel like I just walked into the fourth movie of some stretched thin horror franchise.
CADAVER DAN: Don’t worry. If you’re at the Blue Mesa more than a couple days... Fate’s gonna find ya. And he’s gonna fuck with ya. (drink) (pause of a few beats) You ever see a dead body, Graham?
GRAHAM: Umm...
CADAVER DAN: Shit, say less.
[THUNDERSTORM]
INT. FATE'S WINGS BLUE MESA HOTEL
[SETTING TRAY DOWN AT TABLE]
CADAVER DAN: Here we go. Dozen lemon pepper. Dozen Atomic Sauce.
GRAHAM (V.O.): While Dan and I tore through the wings, a small woman rode a unicycle and balanced six spinning plates on her fingertips and nose. Her impeccable balance was on full display while I felt completely overwhelmed with my life.
CADAVER DAN: There’s that little motherfucker right there.
GRAHAM: Who?
GRAHAM (V.O.): With one atomic sauce finger, Dan pointed across the room to a small man in a purple and green velvet suit. The man is chatting up a woman wearing... how should I say this... a lot of Turquoise.
CADAVER DAN: This is classic Fate. Her husband’s probably in the bathroom right now. Fate saw his opportunity to screw something up so he’s sliding right in there. Guy is gonna come back in a few minutes. See this going down, and then they’re gonna get into an unnecessary fight. All for what...
GRAHAM: I think I’m finally catching on... Fate is that guys name. And he’s the guy who you think ruined your life.
CADAVER DAN: Yeah. What did you think I was being all fucking cryptic? No. (drink) That motherfucker Fate is a real son of a bitch. Stay away from him.
[Fate walks by their table.]
FATE: Hey Dan. I didn’t see you come in. How are the wings?
CADAVER DAN: How’s it going man... (under breath) fuckin’ dickhead.
GRAHAM (V.O.): Dan gives Fate one big orange thumbs up which he slowly morphs into a middle finger as Fate looks away.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
GRAHAM: (V.O.): The notebook was laying open on the desk when I returned to my room. The reply was, “Hard to Explain. Do You Want to Meet Me?” I, of course, wrote back “yes,” I mean what else could I possibly say. At the time I was convinced it was just someone who worked at the hotel sneaking in and writing in the notebook.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - LATER
GRAHAM: (V.O.): I fell asleep watching Atlanta and woke up again to the sound of my neighbor violently coughing. Now fully awake I decided to venture downstairs.
[SHUFFLE OF CLOTHES, DOOR CLOSE, ELEVATOR]
INT. HOTEL LOBBY
GRAHAM (V.O.): Who would do open mic comedy in the middle of the night.
TOM: (onstage) Money to spare every time you die... Yep. Just keep at it.
GRAHAM (V.O.): A middle-aged sweater clad comedian and his cat. That's who does open mic comedy in the middle of the night.
[CAT HISS]
TOM (onstage): Somebody call security.
GRAHAM (V.O.): They each had their own stool and mic. The man would do the set up and the cat would meow the punchline. There were only a few of us in the crowd. And no one laughed. But the comedian was having an absolute blast.
TOM (onstage): Who are you?
[CAT HISS]
GRAHAM (V.O.): It was Three Thirty-Seven. I was supposed to meet Dan in four hours, but that is when Fate showed up.
TOM (onstage): Somebody call security.
Fate sits down at table across from Graham.
FATE: Don’t I know you from somewhere?
GRAHAM: Possibly.
FATE: Oh, I know... Boomshakalaka guy!
GRAHAM: You got me.
FATE: The Graham Anderson. In my hotel. How can I be so lucky? What brings you out here to little ol’ Taos?
GRAHAM: I’ve been looking into the Buddha Kline disappearance.
FATE: And you’re here now watching bad stand up comedy, why? Do you believe he’s backstage... or something?
GRAHAM: I couldn’t sleep. Thought I'd at least enjoy a show while I did the whole middle of night zombie shuffle. I’ll be back out there beating the bushes again tomorrow morning. Or today I guess I should say.
FATE: Sounds like the long day ahead of you has already started. Let Fate here buy you a round. What’s your drink?
GRAHAM: Oh, this is actually just soda. No hard stuff for me.
FATE: What could one drink... possibly hurt?
GRAHAM: uhhh... No hard stuff for me.
FATE: Why not? We all know this is basically a vacation. Go on...Just for tonight... live like its still the 90s and you’re still the guy shouting Boomshakalaka into every American living room... Oh well, I was just trying to be polite. Fate’s not going to twist your arm. Do you still hang out with the rest of those SportsCentral guys?
GRAHAM: No, we, had a bit of a falling out.
FATE: That’s too bad. You guys seemed like you really had some fun.
GRAHAM: Yeah for a time we really did.
FATE: Lot’s of wild parties... just you, all of your friends. And the woman you love.
You have a couple drinks... get behind the wheel... maybe it starts raining... But you don’t want to stop. You decide to keep going. She’s asleep in the passenger seat. Completely unaware of what awaits her. And then..
[FINGERSNAP]
TOM (onstage): Somebody call security.
[APPLAUSE FOR BACKGROUND STAGE ACT OVERTAKE SCENE]
GRAHAM (V.O.): The sudden roar from the small crowd pulled my attention away for just a second. And when I turned back, Fate was gone.
INT. HOTEL ROOM
[DOOR CLOSE, LOCK]
GRAHAM: ...looks like I’ve got another message.... what the fuck?
GRAHAM (V.O.): Scrawled into the notebook was a message, “Open The Closet Door.” Whoever had written it had pressed so hard the paper tore. The message was scratched back and forth as if it had been outlined and outlined over and over.
[KNOCKING FROM INSIDE CLOSET DOOR - LIGHT]
GRAHAM: Who’s in there? This isn’t funny. I’m done with the game, I quit. I just need to get some sleep so come on. Let’s go.
GRAHAM (V.O.): I thought it might be Fate. Like this was just some game he liked to play with tourists. I'd swing open the closest door and Fate would be sitting there grinning and laughing at me.
[KNOCKING REPEATS]
GRAHAM: I’m serious asshole. Stop with the fucking theatrics.
[KNOCKING REPEATS AND INTENSIFIES]
GRAHAM (V.O.): If this really was part of the act, fucking bravo, standing ovation... Charged with fear I ran to the closet door and flung it open.
[DOOR JERKED OPEN]
GRAHAM: What the....
GRAHAM (V.O.): The closet was empty. I closed the door.
GRAHAM: Good one guys. good one.
GRAHAM (V.O.): I turned back and was going to close the notebook when I noticed that there was another reply. Again, in flowing cursive. “We all come back.”
EXT. CARSON NATIONAL FOREST
GRAHAM: Sorry Im late.
CADAVER DAN: You look like shit. (laughs) Have a long night?
GRAHAM: Yeah, it was a pretty wild. I watched a guy do a two-man stand up comedy routine with a cat.
CADAVER DAN: Tom and the Cat?
GRAHAM: Seriously? You’ve heard of him?
CADAVER DAN: Yeah, I saw him at the Chuckle Bucket a few years ago before it was shut down. Funny guy. First cat was funnier, though.
GRAHAM: New Mexico is a strange place.
CADAVER DAN: The Land of Enchanted Weirdos.
GRAHAM: I also... had a little run in with Fate.
CADAVER DAN: Graham, listen to me. I’m not speaking in riddles either. Keep your distance. He’s no good for anybody. (drink) Well, that’s not true, I did see Fate give this random guy ten grand for like... no reason. Five minutes earlier he was tossing nails under random car tires in the parking lot. Fate just kinda does whatever he wants, when he wants to do it, and doesn’t care what any of us have to say about it. (drink) I can see why you thought I was being cryptic.
GRAHAM (V.O.): On my third and final day searching with Cadaver Dan, we planned to search the area between Gold Hill and Black Mountain. Lucy showed interest at Pioneer Lake, sniffing and pawing at the water, and again at the Caribel Mine, she seemed to lock in on something... but never signaled and eventually we moved on. From there we headed Northwest...
EXT. CARSON NATIONAL FOREST - LATER
GRAHAM: They really caught Mr. Kool-Aid?
CADAVER DAN: That’s what it looks like. Twitter is blowing up. I just saw the headline. I haven’t had the chance to read much about it, yet.
GRAHAM: Think they’ve got the right guy?
CADAVER DAN: After this long they wouldn’t make an arrest unless they knew for sure they had their man.
[DOG BARKING WILDLY]
GRAHAM (V.O.): Lucy was three hundred yards ahead of us when she started barking...
CADAVER DAN: You have something Lucy?
[DOG BARKING WILDLY]
GRAHAM: Does that constitute a hit?
CADAVER DAN: It appears that way, yes. (drink) Here hold this. Usually I would want to double check, but, I don’t know... With the way she’s indicating... I’d say let’s go ahead and take a look.
EXT. CARSON NATIONAL FOREST - CONTINUOUS
[FOOTSTEPS ON LOOSE ROCKS]
CADAVER DAN: Watch your step. We need to call this in. Don’t touch anything.
GRAHAM (V.O.): Dan promised he would call me with any updates. I went back to the Blue Mesa. I vibrated with anxiety while i and watched a pair of teens in tae-kwon-do uniforms kick boards. This could be it... We might have actually found him.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
[DOOR OPEN / CLOSE, THROW THINGS ON BED, SHOWER]
GRAHAM (V.O.): On my last night in town I decided to do what I’d been putting off since my first night in town. Talking to the locals. Before heading out I left another reply in the notebook in big square letters I wrote, ‘Fuck off'.
INT. LOCAL TAOS BAR - NIGHT
GRAHAM: Do you have a moment to talk? I’m in town asking people about—
LOCAL 1: ooh, is this about Mr. Kool-Aid? I can’t believe they finally caught him.
GRAHAM: Have you heard about any people going missing from this area?
LOCAL 2: Last year a Senior at my high school went missing three months before graduation. She was coming back from seeing her boyfriend in Pecos. They found her Mazda abandoned just off the highway. Door open. Radio on. Everything. But no sign of her. As far as I know she’s still listed as a missing person.
LOCAL 3: Oh yeah. All the time. There’s stories about the Gorge. About the forest. Aliens. Government black-ops helicopters. The hum. All kinda stuff. But I’ve personally never seen anything.
GRAHAM (V.O.): I was finding that around sixty percent of the people inhabiting Taos at any one time are tourists who are just here to enjoy the skiing and art. It was already late when I heard Jack, the Blue Mesa Bellhop, calling my name.
JACK: Graham Anderson! I thought that was you!
GRAHAM: It's me. The lady with the big red glasses.
JACK: Look at ya Graham, you've got your microphone and your notebook. Ironed your pants and everything. If I'm not mistaken it looks like you're out here trying to get a little sample of the local flavor.
GRAHAM: That's exactly what I'm doing. Yeah.
JACK: And you didn't call me? Graham you should've come to me first I would've hooked you up.
GRAHAM: I should've called Jack.
JACK: That's right. You should've called Jack. Oh hey Graham, this is my sister Pat. Pat, this is Graham, the uh... Podcaster.
GRAHAM: Nice to meet you, Pat.
PAT: So you’re a famous podcaster? Do you know Lauren Lapkus?
GRAHAM: I don’t know who that is.
PAT: She’s brilliant. How do you not... (pause) Do you even listen to podcasts?
GRAHAM: Fair enough. I’m new to the medium, but I do have a few in rotation. I like Casefile.
PAT: Ew. Gross. You ever listen to The Drabblecast?
GRAHAM: That sounds familiar.
PAT: It’s so damn good. Check it out.
JACK: (under his breath) Better than your bullshit show.
GRAHAM: (off guard) What?
JACK: (deflect) What? (Pause) How much longer are you in town?
GRAHAM: Tonight is my last night actually. I fly out tomorrow at noon.
JACK: Then we’ve got plenty of time. I insist you let me and Pat show you around. We can give you a real taste of Taos.
