Bird Box Page #17

That’s it, go on outta here.

It retreats. Malorie still keeps her eyes closed. Messy with

afterbirth. Her breathing shallow.

Edgar leans close.

EDGAR (CONT’D)

You did it.

Malorie shudders, clinging to her child. Edgar stands upright

and sneers:

100.

EDGAR (CONT’D)

It was that new fella. Gary.

Malorie doesn’t answer. She’s beyond words.

Edgar limps for the door.

EDGAR (CONT’D)

Gonna have to put him down.

At the top of the stairs, the old man looks back at the room

a final time. And on Malorie, alone with the two infants.

With that, he leaves.

Malorie shakes from the trauma. She hears the baby Girl let

out a weak cry from under the sheet.

With effort, Malorie finally opens her eyes and zeroes in on

the place where the Girl has been hidden.

She crawls to the other baby and cradles her with her own.

Malorie sits there.

Holding the two infants.

All is quiet.

No birds chirping.

No screaming or shouting.

No crashing of furniture.

The rain has stopped.

Just Malorie and the two newborns. And then...

A phone rings.

Malorie’s posture stiffens. She waits.

It rings again.

She sees the scissors on the floor. The clamps.

And the towels.

INT. UPSTAIRS HALL - MOMENTS LATER

Malorie descends, still cradling both babies.

She wears a stretch of towel as a blindfold.

The boy and girl are covered as well.

And she’s snipped and clamped her umbilical cord.

From the ground floor, the phone continues to ring.

101.

Carefully, cautiously, she crosses the hall.

Her foot steps on a body. In a pool of blood.

Malorie trembles. And steps over the body.

INT. FOYER - MOMENTS LATER

Malorie descends the last few steps and nearly slips on more

blood in the entry. The front door hangs wide open.

She passes by another body on the floor.

The phone rings. For the tenth time.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Malorie sits down on the couch.

Felix’s body is seated on the other end of the couch.

But his head is missing.

The phone rings loudly on the coffee table.

Malorie’s hand reaches out... finds it.

Just as it stops ringing.

Malorie brings it to her ear, hopeful-MALORIE

Hello? Hello?

A faint dial tone bleeds out, audible from here.

MALORIE (CONT’D)

No... No no no-She

hangs up and presses asterisk-6-9.

Holds the phone to her ear again, in time to hear the high

octave three tones preceding:

AUTOMATED VOICE:

(filtered)

We’re sorry but that number could

not be reached. Please hang up-With

a trembling hand, she sets the phone down.

And she begins to cry.

With head in hands, she sobs.

All the while, blood seeps toward her from Felix’s body.

102.

EXT. BACK LAWN - DAY

The sun hangs low over the lawn, where a fire burns.

A bonfire made of a pile of bodies.

Malorie stands a dozen paces away, hearing it burn.

She wears a scarf over her eyes.

And carries a pole on her shoulders.

Water jugs dangle from the pole.

In this pose, in this light, she looks like Lady Justice.

Among the burning bodies: The ADOPTION FLYER she took from

the hospital so long ago. “You have a choice!”

It catches fire.

SERIES OF SHOTS:

The months tick by:

1) Malorie opens the phone book, red pen in hand.

2) Malorie holds infant Girl in a rocking chair to the sounds

of Frank Sinatra on the radio. The house is a mess.

3) A fire burns in the fireplace. The babies are close for

warmth. Malorie’s breath is visible.

4) The phone book. The final name in the Z alphabet. Last one

in the book gets a red line through it.

5) Malorie hangs up the phone in defeat. Utterly alone.

INT. NURSERY - NIGHT

A year later. The two crib-forts sit in the room.

Covered by a blanket.

Malorie arrives. Trembling.

Holding a hypodermic needle in her hand.

Outside, something bumps against the house.

A tree, maybe. The wind.

Malorie approaches the cribs.

Draws back the blanket.

Inside:
Boy and Girl. Each maybe a year old.

Asleep. Fitful sleep.

Malorie cries silently.

Reaches in with the needle.

103.

The pointy tip is charred black from heat.

Pointed straight down. Shaking in her grip.

It hovers over Boy’s left eyelid.

An inch. Less.

Malorie’s fingers reach and open Boy’s eye.

A breath from receiving the needle.

Something creaks nearby. Something stirs.

Malorie looks up and recoils in surprise.

Girl sits up in her crib.

Looking at Malorie. Head tilted.

Just watching. Innocent. Confused.

Malorie puts a hand to her mouth.

Drops the needle.

Slumps against the wall. A mess.

For a long time, she sits there.

INT. BATHROOM - DAY

Eyes and nose red from tears, Malorie steps in.

Stares at her reflection in the mirror.

She reaches out, picks up a pair of scissors.

Brings them to her face...

And then starts to cut her own hair.

PANNING to the mirror...

It’s now the end of the haircut.

Short-cropped. A warrior’s cut.

Malorie hardens her face.

She’s made a decision: Survival. But on her terms.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Two years later.

Boy and Girl are both nearly the age of the opener.

Playing with simple toys.

Sounds of HAMMERING nearby.

Malorie reinforces a wood plank over a window.

Muscular arms. Still short hair.

When she’s done, she steps back.

104.

MALORIE:

All right. Going out for dinner.

You remember the rules?

The children nod. Malorie nods back, like a sergeant.

She crosses past a wall now covered with a giant Riverbridge

city map, likely taken from a municipal building. The map is

riddled with push-pins. She’s covered a lot of ground.

Before Malorie leaves for the back door-

GIRL:

Malorie?

MALORIE:

Yes, Girl.

GIRL:

Do you think you’ll get to letter

‘K’ again today?

The phone book rests open again on the coffee table.

Its place marked by the pen.

MALORIE:

(beat)

We’ll see.

EXT. WOODS - DAY

Quiet. Stillness.

Malorie crouches, following a string.

Her boots crunch under the winter ground.

The string leads to a rabbit trap.

Something furry caught inside.

Malorie feels it: A dead rabbit.

EXT. BACK LAWN - DUSK

Malorie, still blindfolded, carries two dead rabbits tied

together, marching cautiously toward the back door.

Her hand searches for the fence line.

Finds it. Her familiar landmark.

She takes a breath. Distantly...

A phone rings.

105.

Malorie perks up. Hurries for the back door.

Abandoning the rabbits.

She gets to the back door.

Struggles with the keys. Rinnnng!

INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

The phone rings loudly in here.

Boy and Girl stand arguing about it.

A door slams and Malorie runs in-

GIRL:

We don’t know what to do!

MALORIE:

I got it-

She grabs the receiver and answers, breathless-

MALORIE (CONT’D)

Hello!

RICK (V.O.)

(filtered)

Hello, is this Malorie?

MALORIE:

Yes! Yes, that’s me, yes.

RICK (V.O.)

(filtered)

My name is Rick. I got your

message.

MALORIE:

Rick what?

RICK (V.O.)

Holland.

Malorie flips through the book to the ‘H’ entry.

ECU:
“Holland, Richard.” Circled in red.

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