Gothika Page #2

He taps on her hood and heads back to the site. She

shifts into reverse and makes a U-turn.

EXT. OLD MAIN ROAD - NIGHT

Miranda drives down the curvy road toward an old bridge.

Something definitely creepy about this deserted place -

INT. MIRANDA'S CAR - MOVING

Miranda dials a number on her cell phone, gets themachine.

MIRANDA:

(into phone)

Hi, it's me. Are you there? Pick

up, pick up. I'm on my way but I

just got detoured so I'm...

A bump on the road makes her drop the phone on the

passenger seat. She reaches for it and when she looks up

we see:

POV THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

A TEENAGE GIRL stands smack in front of us. Naked.

About to get pummelled by us.

BACK TO SCENE:

Miranda swerves to avoid her and slams into the railing.

METAL SCREECHES as she struggles to regain control of thecar and finally BRAKES TO A HALT -

She looks in her rearview mirror: the girl is standingback there. Drunk or high or in any case completely outof it.

MIRANDA:

(into phone)

Stay on the line. Don't go

anywhere. The weirdest thing

just -

(the phone cuts out)

Hello? Hello?

(CONTINUED)

8.

CONTINUED:

She stares at the dead phone. Punches the buttons on it.

No go.

MIRANDA:

Wonderful.

She tosses the phone on the seat and hops out of the car.

EXT. ASHLEY BRIDGE - NIGHT

Miranda cautiously approaches the girl, who is now notmoving. Just standing there. Her back to us.

MIRANDA:

Hello? Are you hurt? Hello?

Nothing. As we get closer we see she is covered inbruises. Clearly something horrible has happened to her.

MIRANDA:

Were you in an accident? Were you

attacked? It's okay, I'm a doctor.

(beat)

My name is Miranda Grey...

And now she turns. Young, seventeen tops. Busted lip,

black eye. Miranda pulls off her coat, wraps it aroundthe girl -

MIRANDA:

You're in shock right now, that'sperfectly natural. I'm going toget you to the hospital. Okay?

The girl suddenly grips Miranda's arm. Hard.

MIRANDA:

Don't be scared. It's going to befine.

Now the girl is touching Miranda's face. Her movements

desperate, smothering. Like the movements of a drowning

person. Miranda tries to push the girl's hands back down.

MIRANDA:

Hands off me, okay? Tell me yourname, do you remember your name?

The girl tries to speak but no words come out. Instead

she produces a strained, wettish sound. Creepy as hell.

And now she is prying Miranda's mouth open and she's muchstronger than expected and Miranda is panicking -

(CONTINUED)

9.

CONTINUED:

MIRANDA:

What are you doing? I'm trying tohelp you --?!

The girl opens her own mouth wide like a snake. And as

Miranda muffles a scream, blood starts leaking out of thegirl's eye sockets and from wounds all over her body.

SLAM CUT TO:

INT. BEDROOM - DAWN

Miranda wakes up in a cold sweat. Just a bad dream. A

beat.

FAINT at first but GROWING LOUDER, we hear a REPETITIVE

SOUND outside. Like an ECHO of some sort, but vaguelyfamiliar: THWIP, THWIP, THWIP.

Miranda takes a deep breath, reaches for the glass ofwater on her bedside table. Except... it's not there.

She turns to her husband but he's not in the bed. And

now she glances around the room and realizes this is nother bedroom.

She climbs off the bed and walks in the dark. Trips oversomething. A TRAY that CLANGS LOUDLY. Her heartbeat

goes haywire. She feels her way along the wall to asmall opening in the door. A glass pane.

She peers through the glass at the empty corridoroutside, realizing what this must mean, realizing she'sinside a cell.

She jiggles the handle and pounds on the door, frantic -

MIRANDA:

Hello? Somebody help me!

EXT. WOODWARD INSTITUTE - ESTABLISHING - DAY

CAMERA SOARS through the tall iron gates, past the guard.

Now we spot the source of our continuing THWIP THWIPsound: sprinklers watering the impressively-kept gardens.

The expansive complex is more Victorian campus than drabprison, with separate wings (male and female), researchunits, libraries, gym and volunteer outpatient center.

10.

INT. WOODWARD INSTITUTE - VARIOUS SHOTS

A bored group of female patients listen to a socialworker lecturing them. A janitor mops a long corridor.

Patients study at the library under the watchful eye oforderlies.

A doctor and two orderlies hold down a patient having anepileptic fit (we'll soon know her as SHELLEY). Theyforce a biting block in her mouth to avoid her swallowingher tongue, prepare a syringe.

Institute director Phil Parsons at a meeting with otherdoctors, discussing a patient's progress on a chart.

Now we are MOVING up the main building's wall and THROUGHlarge windows into -

INT. FEMALE WING STAIRS

Pete rushes up two steps at a time, passing by a NURSEWITH A CART OF MEDS, who nods respectfully as he goes -

INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE MIRANDA'S CELL

An ORDERLY unlocks the door for Pete. Through the glasspane he can see a visibly upset Miranda arguing with thehead nurse: a tough as nails woman in her 50's: IRENE.

ORDERLY #1

Sleeping beauty is awake.

Peter forces a smile, enters -

INT. MIRANDA'S CELL

MIRANDA:

Peter, what the hell is going on?

Pete nods at Irene: it's okay, he'll take it from here.

PETE:

How do you feel?

MIRANDA:

How do you think I feel? Is this

a joke?

Peter is half-listening to her, half-signaling to thenurse with the meds to come in. Miranda catches all of

this, growing more agitated. She wears the uniform all

patients wear:
a white T-shirt and sweats. Her weddingring is gone.

(CONTINUED)

11.

CONTINUED:

MIRANDA:

What are you doing?

PETE:

Giving you something to calm down.

MIRANDA:

I don't need to calm down. What I

need is an explanation

Pete grabs the meds from the nurse. Irene and the

attendant step closer to help. Miranda feels them

closing in on her. Peter's tone is infuriatingly gentle:

PETE:

Just take this and we can sit down

and chat.

MIRANDA:

Why here, why not in my office?

She looks at the silent faces around her. No sympathy.

Or maybe too much sympathy. Either way it's unnerving.

MIRANDA:

I don't want an anticonvulsant, at

least give me Valium.

PETE:

(nods at nurse)

Fifty milligrams.

MIRANDA:

Jesus Christ, you're gonna knockme out? Ten milligrams.

PETE:

(final offer)

Twenty.

The nurse complies. Miranda stares at the meds, tryingdesperately to put this into some kind of perspective.

MIRANDA:

How would you feel if you woke upin a goddamn cell, dressed like this?

PETE:

We can discuss it at length afteryou take your meds.

Awkward nods from Irene, the nurse and the attendant.

Pete holds Miranda's gaze. Miranda takes her meds.

(CONTINUED)

12.

CONTINUED:

MIRANDA:

Okay. This better be good.

Pete motions for the others to leave them alone. One byone they file out and lock the door behind them.

INT. MIRANDA'S CELL - LATER

Miranda paces. Alone with Pete, she is even more upset.

PETE:

Miranda, this is very awkward.

Technically I shouldn't even betreating you but the court hasgranted us a waiver until you'retransferred. So whatever is said

here won't leave this room. I

won't tell Parsons, I won't tell

anyone.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes