Lost Souls Page #16

PETER (CONT'D)

Hang on, get it up, go on, higher.

MAYA:

Your 33rd birthday. The transformation

will be a perversion of Christ's rising

from the dead. Townsend discovered it

in one of Lareaux's books.

Peter goes to the window, grabs one of the lightweight

curtains and uses the knife to shred a piece. He takes it

and bandages Maya's arm.

MAYA (CONT'D)

It'll happen at the exact time of your

birth.

PETER:

(he stops)

That can't be right.

(as he ties off the dressing)

My birthday's tomorrow.

With Peter and Maya in the foreground, we see, although they

don't, that Birdson sits up, his eyes open, staring at a

point above Maya and Peter. A horrible rictus smile moves

across his face. Birdson's eyes roll back into his head

until only white remains. Then he begins to jerk

uncontrollably, his face contorting into one frightening

expression after the next. Peter grabs the fish knife,

moving in front of Maya.

Birdson's limbs begin to torque out of control. He convulses

on the floor then suddenly sits up closer to camera. His

eyes roll back down into a normal position. His face becomes

calm. He looks at Peter and Maya. A horrified look crosses

Birdson's face as his arm rotates backwards, bones snapping

and muscles ripping.

Involuntarily spewing from Birdson in ever-changing animal

like voices.

BIRDSON:

(in Latin)

My demon of anguish, help me create

confusion and suffering forever and

ever... and ever...(geni tormentorum,

mihi commoventi perturbationem

miseriamque in saaecula saeculorum, in

saecula saeculorum, in saecula

saeculorum...)

ECU:

Birdson's head turns on his neck in unnatural manner, his

body still convulsing. As he stops speaking, his head snaps

back around so he's facing Peter and Maya.

Suddenly, the chandelier above them flickers, the globes

EXPLODING and showering them with shards of glass. Birdson's

entire body begins to vibrate, urine seeping out from beneath

him. Then, horrifyingly, a horn like protusion begins to

push out from the upper edge of Birdson's head, growing,

straining...until finally the horn BURSTS through blowing his

head apart. Birdson falls back onto the floor. And as

Birdson finally dies, Peter looks at the corpse, then drops

heavily onto an arm of a chair. Drained, Maya sits next to

him. They lean against one another, together in trauma.

MAYA:

He couldn't stop us and that's how he

was punished.

(insistent)

Peter, what time were you born?

PETER:

I don't know.

(pulls in a breath,

overwhelmed)

Probably have a copy of my birth

certificate...my apartment.

EXT. RURAL ROAD - NIGHT

Peter's Range Rover moves at a fast clip down side streets

and back roads.

INT. RANGE ROVER

Highway's dark, except for Peter's headlights, as they roll

up and down a hilly back road. Trees lean in on both sides.

The effect is eerily like driving in another world.

Maya flips through Lareaux's book. A bible she took from

Townsend's house sits on her lap. Looks over at Peter a

moment.

MAYA:

There's nothing else here.

PETER:

What's the bible for?

MAYA:

Comfort.

Peter shrugs. He starts to drive poorly. His fatigue is

showing. Maya looks up as:

POV:

Up ahead, the road begins to parallel a lake. Glimpses of

black water can be seen through the trees. She powers down

her window to get some air. Maya looks over at Peter. His

face appears normal. Then, she seems to hear a soft sound -

GASPING FOR BREATH. Then:

The car suddenly drifts into the other lane, heading straight

for a guard rail which outlines the lake. Instinctively,

Maya lunges for the steering wheel.

MAYA (CONT'D)

Watch it!

She manages to twist it just enough so the car misses the

rail, but careens off the road.

The car RIPS through the bushes with an EXPLOSIVE ROAR and

SKIDS down the bank and plunges into the lake below. And we:

DISSOLVE TO:

An enormous SPLASH of water as Peter's car disappears into

the lake, the water BUBBLING and as we go under, we see the

windshield CRACK and SPLINTER and then we HEAR a ROUGH

SCREECH of brakes. A horrendous long skid and...

MAYA (CONT'D)

PETER!

EXT. BACK ROAD - CONTINUOUS

The car has come to a final stop, sitting sideways in the

middle of the road, leaving huge skid marks behind it. The

windshield's untouched. The road empty.

INT. RANGE ROVER

Peter's breathing hard. Maya's trembling, her hands on the

wheel.

PETER:

What the hell's the matter with you?

EXT. RANGE ROVER

Maya pops her seat belt and bolts from the car, leaning

against the door, her breathing still LABORED. Peter gets

out, moving around to her. He sees she's having difficulty

breathing. She chokes out a cough. His anger turns to

concern.

PETER:

Are you alright?

MAYA:

(softly)

Sometimes, when I feel weak, I have

these...visions.

PETER:

What do you mean?

MAYA:

I see things. My worst fears. You need

to know something, Peter. I was

possessed once. Like Birdson. It took

Father Lareaux six days to pull me out

of it.

Peter grabs hold of her, an impulsive move, ambiguous in its

intent and unknown even the Peter, then:

MAYA (CONT'D)

I'm scared I'm slipping back.

PETER:

(scared himself)

We're going to do this.

MAYA:

You have to say that.

PETER:

(a smile emerges)

That's true.

Maya smiles back.

EXT. COUNTRY MARKET - NIGHT

Just past midnight. A small, dirty white stucco and wood

country mart. The only light is a stark, household flood.

TWO PEOPLE leave the market, carrying a six pack and a few

munchies. They hop into their car and take off.

And at the edge of the lot, Peter's car is parked.

INT. COUNTRY MARKET

Peter and Maya SNAP the lids of their coffees. Somewhere a

radio is ON. Maya moves to the AGING CASHIER as Peter walks

over to a wall of generic first-aid remedies. HE grabs the

largest band-aids there. And as he joins Maya at the

counter, we see it's the cashier's radio.

DEEJAY:

(filtered)

Two minutes.

Cashier looks them over as he turns up the volume.

DEEJAY (CONT'D)

(sarcastic)

Now this daylight thing is up to two

minutes and scientists say sooner or

later, we'll be losing like fifteen

minutes a day.

OWNER:

(rings them up)

Five-twelve.

Peter pays. Out of pennies, the cashier pulls out a new roll

and bangs it open inside of the register.

DEEJAY:

Now I'll never be on time for work.

EXT. MARKET

Peter and Maya sit on the edge of the curb, sipping coffee.

Maya pulls out her cigarettes and lights up. She offers him

the pack. He gratefully takes one, lights up and inhales.

PETER:

Why did you lie to me about your

parents' deaths?

MAYA:

I was desperate. I knew you wrote about

murders. I needed a way in.

Suddenly a car motors toward them. Just as a DEER decides to

cross the two-lane road. The car's HIGH BEAMS startle the

deer, it stops, snaps a stunned look at Peter and Maya. A

moment of stillness, then it gallops to safety just as the

car speeds by. Suddenly, quiet again.

PETER:

Close call. For the first time in a

long time, it's really hitting me.

Life's tenuous.

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