Lou Page #5

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INT. DOWNSTAIRS (LOU’S HOUSE) - NIGHT

Lou grabs the handle to the basement door, stopping short.

Hannah, following close behind, slams into her back.

LOU:

Just stay put.

HANNAH:

Where are you going?

LOU:

To feed my cat and get my guns.

Lou opens the door and disappears down the stairs.

24.

INT. BASEMENT (LOU’S HOUSE) - CONTINUOUS

Lou descends the crooked wood steps. She passes a prehistoric

GENERATOR, crossing to a cardboard box in the corner.

ANGLE ON BOX-

A bundle of SQUIRMING KITTENS suckle on an EXHAUSTED MOM CAT.

Lou grabs a bag of cat food and dumps it on the floor. She

shoves an empty water bowl beneath a leak from the window.

LOU:

(to cat)

Good luck.

Next, she moves to a METAL UTILITY CLOSET. A used paint stick

is shoved between the handles, keeping the doors shut. Lou

pulls out the stick, taking spider webs with it.

The doors open, REVEALING AN ARSENAL of weapons. Lou is not

happy to see them. Nonetheless, she selects TWO HANDGUNS and

a LARGE HUNTING KNIFE.

Then the LIGHTS flicker out. For good this time.

INT. KITCHEN (LOU’S HOUSE) - CONTINUOUS

A GENTLE HUM comes from the basement as the generator kicks

in. The lights dimly return showing Hannah at the kitchen

table, her head between her hands.

Lou appears from below with the weapons, placing them on the

table. Hannah balks at the knife and guns.

HANNAH:

What do you think you’re going to

do with those?

Lou opens a cupboard and pulls packages of AMMUNITION from a

CROCK POT. She drops the boxes beside the guns.

LOU:

I’m going into the woods. I’m going

to find your daughter. And I’m

going to kill the man who took her.

Hannah stares at Lou, not quite believing what she’s hearing.

HANNAH:

The man who took my daughter is a

monster.

25.

LOU:

I’m good at killing monsters.

EXT. WOODS (SAN JUAN ISLAND) - NIGHT

Wind, rain and leaves whip around, every which way.

The usual STORM SOUNDS prevail plus the sounds of WELL PACED

WALKING and HEAVY BREATHING.

A LOOMING FIGURE dressed for the extreme conditions trudges

into frame. This is PHILIP LEVINE (40’s), a man with dark

brown eyes who most would consider handsome. He’s also the

man in black who attacked Hannah.

Philip’s strapped into a heavy-duty CHEST HARNESS. From the

back of the harness, two cords extend to an ALL TERRAIN CART.

And mounted to the cart is a PLASTIC PLAYHOUSE CASTLE. It’s

pink, pretty, and completely out of place in the wilderness.

SUDDENLY -- an alarm on Philip’s wristwatch begins to BEEP.

ANGLE ON WATCH-

A DAY-GLO TIMER illuminates, counting down from 00:10.

00:
09

00:
08

INT. KITCHEN (LOU’S HOUSE) - CONTINUOUS

Lou looks at Hannah.

HANNAH:

I don’t know Lou. I just don’t-

LOU:

You came to me because you need

help. This is how I help.

Outside, there’s a LOUD EXPLOSION.

ANGLE ON WINDOW-Down

the hill, a BALL OF FIRE burns near Hannah’s trailer.

HANNAH:

My car. My car just-There’s

another EXPLOSION. Closer. The windows RATTLE. Lou’s

truck goes up in flames. Lou’s eyes narrow into a focused

rage. The line has been crossed.

26.

LOU:

Hm.

EXT. LOU’S YARD - MOMENTS LATER

Lou strides across her yard, the backpack and rifle case

slung over her shoulders. Her handguns are holstered by her

hips.

Hannah stumbles along, struggling to keep up. And behind her,

Jax follows; a WHITE GARBAGE BAG has been wrapped around him

as a make-shift raincoat.

HANNAH:

(yelling over the storm)

So it’s true -- what people in town

say about you?

LOU:

(keeps walking)

What do they say?

HANNAH:

That you’ve done things in your

past. Bad things that can help me

get Vee back.

LOU:

If the things I’ve done in my past

help get your daughter back, are

they still bad?

HANNAH:

I don’t know. So you’re not just

some-

Lou stops at the edge of the yard, only a couple steps from

the dark woods. Rain and wind swirls around her.

LOU:

-- some old lady?

HANNAH:

I was gonna say, “someone like me.”

LOU:

I can assure you, I’m not someone

like you.

(beat)

Are you coming?

Lou holds the HUNTING KNIFE out to Hannah. Hannah hesitates.

27.

HANNAH:

He’s a crazy person, Lou. He’s not

right in the head. You’re gonna

need help. A lot of help.

LOU:

I thought you were help.

Hannah looks at the knife...into the woods...back at Lou’s

house.

Then she grabs the knife and straps it around her waist.

With only a few steps forward, Hannah and Lou fade into the

woods. Jax makes sure they’re gone before starting back

toward the house.

Beat. Then:

LOU (O.C.) (CONT’D)

Jax! Come on!

He reluctantly turns and follows them into the trees,

tripping over his garbage bag raincoat.

EXT. HUNTING SHACK (WOODS) - LATER THAT NIGHT

A decrepit, forgotten structure buried deep in the trees. Its

broken windows glow with a SOFT LIGHT.

INT. HUNTING SHACK (WOODS) - CONTINUOUS

A one room building, damp from the storm. RAIN POUNDS on the

corrugated metal roof. An electric camping lantern glows next

to the PINK PLAYHOUSE CASTLE, giving us a better look.

It’s thick and plastic, one of those backyard children’s

toys. The only differences are the METAL LOCK attached to the

door and the HEAVY DUTY WHEELS at its base.

Philip kneels beside it, UNLOCKING the door.

ANGLE ON PLAYHOUSE INTERIOR--

Vee sleeps soundly inside. Philip watches her, smiling, happy

to see his daughter. He adjusts her blanket under her chin.

PHILIP:

Sleep tight Vee.

He gently closes the door. Then he reaches into his pocket,

removing a BRIGHT RED PLASTIC EGG.

He places it on the shack’s floor and DIMS the lantern.

28.

EXT. FRIDAY HARBOR (SAN JUAN ISLAND) - DAWN

The sun rises behind a veil of clouds. The waves are rough

from the high winds, but at least, it’s stopped raining.

INT. BEDROOM (RANKIN’S HOUSE) - DAWN

A CLOCK RADIO clicks on, playing an OLD COUNTRY SONG. A dark

form rises from bed. The light flicks on. It’s Rankin.

He swings his legs to the floor. They land next to the pants

he walked out of the night before. He speaks quietly to the

bed’s other occupant.

RANKIN:

I know I just went to bed but it’s

gonna be a helluva day, Millie.

(rubs his eyes)

Costa Rica sounds pretty good right

about now. A nice little cabana on

the ocean. They’ve got monkeys

there. They just walk around like

they’re at a zoo. But it’s your

backyard. Monkeys in your backyard.

Can you believe it?

He turns, facing the other side of the bed. IT’S EMPTY.

There’s no Millie. Still, he pauses to listen to her reply.

RANKIN (CONT’D)

Of course, I’ll be careful. I

always am. Cross my heart.

He smooths the covers over the empty spot. From the sad

expression on Rankin’s face, we know that side of the bed

used to be the center of his universe.

RING!

The moment is interrupted by Rankin’s phone, RINGING on

bureau. He looks at it. This can’t be good news.

As he stands, the RINGING morphs into a BEEPING SOUND and

we’re with-

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