A Quiet Place Page #5

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39.

THE WORST IMAGINABLE

THING HAS HAPPENED

40.

THE CREATURE IS INSIDE THE SHED.

Mia goes white.

Looks to her BABY...

The infant is about to WAKE UP!

THE BABY WIGGLES. YAWNS INTO ITS BREATHING MASK.

The monster doesn’t move. It has no idea Mia is here. In

fact, it probably has no idea where “here” even is. But the

second it figures it out, it’s ALL GOING TO BE OVER.

Mia removes her shoes. Tip-toes to the crib. One foot

precisely placed in front of the other. Lifts her newborn.

THE MONSTER STIRS, SENSING SOMETHING.

Mia carries her baby out of the shed, mouthing “Shhhhh” the

whole way, as the baby’s eyes

...BLINK OPEN!

INT. FARMHOUSE - DAY

Mia rushes the waking baby into the house.

INT. FARMHOUSE, DEN - DAY

Through the den.

INT. FARMHOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY

Through the living room.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

Into the basement.

Down the stairs.

MIA STEPS ON THE NAIL!!!!!!!!!!

STABBING ALL THE WAY THROUGH TENDON AND MUSCLE.

MIA RECOILS.

WRITHES IN PAIN.

42.

She looks ahead. And then, as if to confirm her findings,

something appears on the far horizon...

BLACK SMOKE RISING OVER THE CROPS -

EXT. GRAVEL ROAD - DAY

-- we find John fanning a small FIRE. He has made a SMOKE

SIGNAL for April.

EXT. SILO, ROOF - DAY

Relief washes over April’s face. She recognizes the pattern

in the smoke. Knows it’s her father.

She dismantles her sundial. Collects the BUTTONS into her

pocket.

Takes a HARD STEP on the platform and -THE

RUSTED METAL BUCKLES -SUDDEN

AND EXPLOSIVE -AS

SHE FALLS INTO THE SILO -AND

LETS OUT A SCREAM!!!

INT. FARMHOUSE, BASEMENT - DAY

--which ECHOES ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE DEAD AIR TO THE

FARMHOUSE.

Mia hears the FOOTSTEPS above her suddenly retreat from the

house.

She looks out the window in time to glimpse the creature

running off into the crops.

Mia grabs the baby and hobbles back to the shed.

EXT. GRAVEL ROAD - DAY

John puts out the FIRE. Notices CORN STALKS crackling with

movement.

43.

EXT. WELL - DAY

Will, who is now retrieving WATER out of the well, hears the

monster’s ROAR reverberate all around him.

INT. SILO - DAY

April lands on her stomach with a TREMENDOUS SLAP on the

layer of ROTTEN GRAIN that fills this structure.

It is 140°F inside the steel silo. And there are MAGGOTS and

WORMS everywhere.

April looks up to the broken platform.

She can almost reach it.

April tries to stand.

BUT HER ANKLES BEGIN TO SINK.

THE GRAIN IS LIKE QUICK SAND.

THE MORE SHE MOVES, THE DEEPER SHE DROWNS.

UNTIL HER ENTIRE BODY IS SUBMERGED.

AND WE CAN NO LONGER SEE HER FACE.

THE 80,000 BUSHEL GRAIN BIN DEVOURS APRIL ALIVE.

Five seconds. That is how quickly someone can become engulfed

in flowing grain and unable to get out.

Thirty seconds. That is how quickly someone can be completely

submerged in flowing grain and suffocate.

Zero. That is how many people can survive being buried under

grain without air for a few minutes.

EXT. GRAVEL ROAD - AFTERNOON

John sprints after the movement in the crops.

INT. SILO - AFTERNOON

April’s body thrashes in the dark. Fleeting trickles of light

come through as the grain stirs, but it’s mostly BLACK.

April takes huge desperate breaths. She tries to swim to the

top. The grain wraps her body tighter with every movement.

44.

SOUNDS OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD START TO FADE AWAY

A tiny shaft of light punches through just long enough for us

to glimpse WORMS crawling into April’s hair and clothes.

...the least of her problems.

Because she’s starting to die. There’s no oxygen left to

breathe. Her esophagus is only gulping down heavy grain.

All we hear now is the SOFT LULL OF ASPHYXIATION. It sounds

like marbles grinding in a glass jar.

BOOOOOM!!

Pounding.

BOOOOOM!!

Outside. On the walls.

BOOOOOM!!

Again. The pounding grows louder and more intense. It travels

through the grain like a distorted sonic -

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

The wall RUPTURES below. Grain starts spilling outside. April

is carried with the current, edging closer and closer to the

puncture hole. Closer and closer to DAYLIGHT.

Someone has saved her. Maybe Will? Maybe her father?

That’s when April hears the HISSING sound behind her head...

NOT SOMEONE. SOMETHING.

She pulls at the grain, clawing/thrashing, flailing her arms

and legs, moving to the daylight as fast as she can, and we

see -

EXT. SILO - LATE AFTERNOON

-- thousands of yellow beads pouring out of ripped steel at

the base of the silo, creating a hazy diffusion in the air.

April spills into the golden fog.

SHE RUNS FOR IT.

We hear the familiar sound of RUSHING WATER ahead -

48.

IRIS:

I think I like it better when you

don’t say anything to me.

Iris storms out of the room. A DOOR SLAMS down the hall.

John sits in stunned silence.

JOHN:

I don’t know what’s gotten into

her.

MIA:

You act like she doesn’t exist.

John’s confused. He was expecting Mia to take his side.

MIA:

You don’t talk to her anymore. You

don’t tell her you love her.

JOHN:

She knows I love her.

MIA:

She needs to hear you say it.

FLASHBACK:
INT. FARMHOUSE, IRIS’ ROOM - DAY

John sits next to Iris.

JOHN:

I, um... Iris, I need to tell you

something.

Iris hides her face.

JOHN:

I got this nasty crow problem,

and... and I’m worried if I can’t

solve it, we’re gonna lose an

entire harvest season.

(beat)

Do you think you could help me?

Iris looks at her dad.

FLASHBACK:
INT. PICKUP - DAY

John drives his PICKUP TRUCK. Iris and April ride shotgun.

49.

IRIS:

(excited)

It’s called a frequency generator.

It shoots out weird noises at

different pitches and amplitudes

that humans can’t hear. It’ll drive

the birds completely INSANE, they

won’t know what hit’em. Much better

than your lame scarecrow idea.

JOHN:

(impressed)

Where’d you learn about this?

IRIS:

Diplo.

JOHN:

That an App or something?

Iris looks at John like he’s from Mars.

JOHN:

(winks)

Just playin’. DJ Diplo foreva.

Iris laughs. John laughs too. Feels good to be talking again.

FLASHBACK:
EXT. ABE’S ELECTRONICS - DAY

John pays for the SIGNAL GENERATOR. Nearby, Iris and April

play with an INSTAX POLAROID CAMERA.

APRIL:

Dad, please?

IRIS:

Please, Dad?

John buys the girls the Polaroid camera. Before they leave,

John takes a PHOTO of Iris & April (the one we saw earlier).

FLASHBACK:
INT. PICKUP - DAY

John drives the girls home. Something on his mind -

JOHN:

Iris, uh, I wanted to say... well,

and maybe I don’t say this enough.

But I wanted to say...

50.

IRIS:

Yeah?

John thinks about what Mia told him. How he doesn’t

communicate with his daughter. How he never tells her he

loves her. He thinks about how this could be that moment.

IRIS:

What is it?

A traffic light up ahead turns yellow. John drives right

through it.

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