Depravity

It, um, it takes a while.

How do you know when it's coming?

You listen.

Okay.

New? What's that?

Here. You just move in?

Yeah, today.

Uh, I think my movers got lost, so...

What floor? Eleven, I think.

Ah, Harry's old place.

I'm Grace. Alex.

I'm on the top floor, too, so we'll be next-door neighbors.

Nice to meet you, Grace. Nice to meet you, too.

You, uh, do you go to local university or...

Yeah, law school. Second year.

Oh.

Good for you.

Scary to think there's been another one. Another what?

She's the fifth woman in this neighborhood in less than a year.

All of them just vanished.

Never found a body.

Cops are starting to think we have a serial killer living in the area.

Jesus, tell me this is temporary.

Afraid of the dark, Alex?

Yeah, only when I'm in confined spaces.

Yeah, well, it does this now and then.

Here.

Okay.

See that power switch there?

Yeah. So if this happens, turn it off.

Count to five, and then you turn it back on.

Nine times out of ten, it works. What about the tenth time?

You hit the alarm button, and you wait for Manny.

He's the super. He gets it going from the basement.

Gotcha.

Just like...

I'm done in this thing.

Welcome to The Lancaster, Alex.

So, he's moving in today? Yes, ma'am, he is.

Oh, he's gorgeous. Trust me.

He said he played professional football.

Really? Mm-hmm.

So, what happened to him?

A Duret hemorrhage.

Like a concussion?

A play broke down, and I was scrambling.

Suddenly, this massive lineman hit my legs out from underneath me

and sent me airborne in parallel with the turf.

At the same time, this-- I mean, this guy was huge, this semi with feet.

He was going for my waist, but he, uh, he hit me head-on instead.

Helmet to helmet, just crack.

Shit. Yeah. Whole stadium heard it.

Oof, I was out cold for over 12 minutes.

I didn't see or hear anything.

Um, and, uh, before I took that hit to the head,

I'd already tallied up four prior concussions.

So this time, the team docs made me get an MRI,

and that's when they found all that bleeding on the brain, so I was very lucky.

How's that lucky?

Well, a Duret hemorrhage is usually found during an autopsy,

'cause the outcome is almost always fatal.

Oh, my God.

So, I kept this

to remind myself I've been given a second chance. You know?

Of course, now I'm at risk for early dementia.

I get, uh, these killer mood swings.

I don't sleep much,

and my judgment, reaction time and balance are all out of whack.

But them's the wages of football, right?

So, do you, like, miss it?

The game? Yeah.

Adoration?

The-- The groupies? The money?

Privilege?

Feeling like a small god?

No.

No.

So, Aria, what do you do? Oh, I just got out of grad school.

Art history major.

And for achieving that higher education,

I get to intern at the local art museum.

Okay. She is a curator.

In training.

How do you train for that?

You give tours.

Like-- Like, a lot of tours.

A lot of tours? Yeah.

I'm, uh, I'm Alex. I just moved in across the hallway, so...

Have a good night.

Hey, Ms. Kelly. What brings you down here?

I'm just giving Alex a tour.

That's Manny. He's the super.

Yeah. No, I'm not the super. I prefer concierge.

Yeah.

Manny's been, uh, playing detective.

Yeah.

So, that's the map of the area.

And-- And the picture shows where those girls were last seen.

What are the-- the numbers next to the lines?

This is the distance from Lancaster.

Anyway.

So, how's the old lady treating you so far?

Old lady?

The Lancaster.

Oh.

Yeah. She's got lots of quirks in her. She does.

I wonder how she felt about that party last night.

Oh, you mean Mr. Evers?

He does that occasionally.

What's his story? What's his deal?

No one knows much about him. You know, he keeps to himself mostly.

He wasn't keeping to himself last night. That's for sure.

That's the strange thing about him, you know?

Like, sometimes he'll have, like, all these parties.

And then, like, sometimes he'll show up with some date.

And then, suddenly, they'll be mauling each other. But then, like, nothing.

Silence from his place.

Nothin'.

That Mr. Evers character, has he ever--

Has he ever made a pass at you or Grace?

No.

Yeah, when I first moved in, we actually used to talk.

But...

But what?

I don't know. He was just weird. Just too weird.

Like, the way he looked at me sometimes,

it was like he saw something in my face he just wanted to pluck out.

It's a vivid image.

Yeah, well, he's just a creepy guy that lives down the hall.

Yeah, every building has one.

Laundry room.

The elevator comes down here, too.

It lets off between here and the old furnace room.

This building's got, what, like, 60 units?

58.

You ever think about all that's happened behind these walls?

But I bet every old building like this has its dark stories to tell, you know?

I wanna show you something.

Manny leaves this open so I can come up here and run.

Oh, my God! Even in the rain, you can see for miles.

How'd you get that scar?

Uh, we should probably go.

I am sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I was just curious.

No, it's-- It's fine. Forget it.

Sorry.

Very recent ex-boyfriend.

I'm still working him out of my blood, you know.

Like, mourning, I guess.

How about tomorrow?

I'll let you know.

Okay.

So, what are you gonna do for work now?

I don't know.

Sounds stupid, but it's a lack of action.

The thrill. You--

You get used to it and... you miss it.

So, I don't know.

I get the feeling you don't know who you are anymore.

What do you mean by that? Sorry, I--

I didn't mean it as a cut or anything. Just...

I mean, you don't really, do you?

Hi!

How was your little tour with Aria?

Insightful.

Yeah, very insightful.

Sure. Mm-hmm.

Oh, for God's sake, hold those doors.

Oh...

I just got back. I heard voices.

Yeah, we ran into each other.

Okay.

I've had my taste of the bizarre for the night, so...

Good night, Alex.

Good night, ladies. Bye.

Sweet dreams.

What the hell was that? I don't know. Maybe the--

Alright, I'm starting to feel stupid.

What a man, though. Coming over to protect the womenfolk.

He was scared, too.

Come on. Fess up.

- I nearly wet myself. - Oh.

What the fuck is that?

Isn't that Evers' place?

Old buildings, right?

Mr. Evers, right?

You think that Evers killed his latest bimbo,

tossed her in the incinerator,

and you're sober?

Look, last night, did we or did we not hear a scream?

I heard something. I don't know if scream's the right word.

I mean, it sounded like a scream.

Yeah, okay, but it-- it could have been the elevator.

It could have been anything. This building's ancient.

Okay, what about those weird thumps? That metallic sound?

Could have been old pipes, yeah?

Or could it come from something heavy moving through the walls on Evers' side?

Wait. So?

So, come here.

- You know what this is? - A bad paint job?

A laundry chute from before this place was renovated.