Marlowe Page #5

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until it’s too dark and the blackness eats up the light and

the mouse disappears beyond under the house.

Marlowe carefully moves toward the light coming down from

the house from the holes in the floor in the kitchen.

He sees the subfloor and feels safe but just as her arrives

at the subfloor a large, dark spider drops down from the

upper floorboards and lands in a defensive position right in

front of him.

He turns and runs for the light outside but the spider is

quicker and races in front of him and turns as Marlowe

catches up.

The spider stands on its back legs about to lunge its fangs

down into Marlowe when the spider is knocked completely off

its legs and tumbles into the dirt.

A mouse about Marlow’s size and age stands looking at him,

holding an old, short butter knife.

He turns and they both see the spider standing up, trying to

see what happened.

The new mouse turns and Marlowe instinctively turns with him

and they both scamper off.

They reach a wooden post which they climb up and through a

hole in the floor and enter a burrow of mice.

EXT. FRONT OF HOUSE - DAY

Cole waits in the yard outside. He walks back and forth

occasionally trying to call Marlowe but the mouse does not

return.

Cole sits on the ground with the flashlight and tries to see

under the house but it’s too dark.

After a long while, Cole moves up to the porch and

sits on the porch swing, rocking slightly back and forth.

Eventually Cole lies down on the swing, closes his eyes and

goes to sleep.

INT. MOUSE BURROW - DAY

The mouse burrow is full of excitement and curiosity as each

mouse, older and younger, all come and examine the mouse in

human clothes.

They touch him, they sniff him, they lick at him and he

seems to be a mouse but his attire is completely different

than anyone in the colony.

Finally a very old mouse with graying fur and nose whiskers

comes down the row in the small burrow tucked up in a wall

somewhere in the house.

The older mouse examines Marlowe carefully doing everything

the other mice have done. After smelling him for a long

time the older mouse sits in front of Marlowe and thinks

about this new addition to the family.

Finally the older, larger mouse stands up and takes a step

closer to Marlowe. He leans down slowly and Marlowe begins

to feel something awful in his stomach.

As the head of the older mouse came closer and closer

Marlowe finally decided to do something so he smiled.

The old mouse jumped away and instantly other mice

surrounded Marlowe and drove him back.

They drove Marlow into a small crease in the wall which

formed a tiny room.

He stepped back into the crease of wood and noticed that it

had been carved out or scratched out by many, many claws and

it took a long time.

He had never seen mice act in this manner even though his

clothes were obviously different than the rest.

He could see outside the crease two very large and ugly

mice standing guard.

EXT. FRONT OF HOUSE – EVENING

Lloyd

Son? Cole? Wake up Cole, wake

up.

Cole wakes up and sees his father standing over him. It is

night and no lights are on. He realizes he is on the porch

swing.

LLOYD:

What are you doing out here Cole?

COLE:

I – I came out to lie in the sun

and I guess I fell asleep.

Cole looks around for Marlowe but there is no sign of the

aleene.

LOUISE:

Come on into the house Cole

and get ready for dinner”

COLE:

Yes mom.

INT. THE HOUSE – NIGHT

Cole bounds upstairs as fast as he can and rushes into his

room and closes the door.

He hops over to the toy house and takes off the roof but

Marlowe is not home

Cole puts the roof back on and sadly walks out and closes

the door behind him.

INT. DINING ROOM – NIGHT

The family all sit at the dining room table and eat a huge

supper the like which Cole couldn’t remember in his short

life time. There was steak and potatoes and green beans

with butter sauce, thick dark gravy for the potatoes and

whole milk just cold enough to drink.

There was berry pie for desert and vanilla ice cream to put

on top.

Lloyd and Louise had bought a bottle of wine and coffee and

it was a great celebration as dad and mom took turns telling

the story of selling the ring and pushing all the money into

mom’s purse and then rushing off to the grocery store where

they laughed and laughed as they bought food for dinner and

weeks beyond.

At the end of the meal Cole did his chores in the kitchen

and then brushed his teeth and put on his pajamas and laid

down in bed while his mother cozied him up with pillows.

She told him the story of Christ and why they prayed to him

every day and how he had answered their prayers even though

Cole new it was Marlowe who had answered those prayers.

LOUISE:

What’s the matter Cole, why are

you crying?

COLE:

I don’t know mom. I can’t say.

It’s a secret.

LOUISE:

All right Cole. When you get

ready to tell me, I’ll be ready

to listen. Now you go to sleep

and let the sleep fairy take you

away to your favorite place so

you can play. Good night.

COLE:

Good night mom. And thanks.

Cole pulled up the covers as his mom shut off the light and

closed the door but not all the way.

Cole sat in his bed and waited. He waited and waited and

waited until he fell asleep waiting.

He woke up in the very early morning while it was still dark

outside. Cole carefully climbed out of bed, grabbed his

flash light and Swiss Army knife and headed out the door.

EXT. FRONT OF HOUSE - NIGHT

He carefully closed the screen door so he didn’t wake up the

cat or the dog.

Cole climbs down the steps until he reaches the ground and

there he turns to one side so he can look under the porch.

He snaps his light on and a huge rat, sitting right under

the edge of the house, hisses at Cole and bears his ugly

teeth.

Cole rolls backwards in fright and gives out a small yelp

but no one in the house can hear.

He pats the ground trying to get his hand to locate the

light. He finds it and shakes the flash light which bounces

back on but the rat is gone.

Cole looks further under into the darkness trying to figure

out if he should crawl under to find his friend.

Cole, on his hands and knees just waits as his mind weighs

both sides of the question.

A slow, low growl comes closer and closer to Cole. He turns

his light around and right behind him is a gray coyote with

his teeth bared at Cole.

The dog door slams shut and Smoker jumps off the porch at

the coyote who runs quickly back toward the hills and the

pack.

The front door slams open and Lloyd steps out with a double

barrel shot gun. Lloyd sees Cole with the light.

LLOYD:

What was it son, the coyote?

COLE:

Yes sir.

LLOYD:

Did you see it close?

COLE:

Real close dad. He’s gray with

really big teeth.

LLOYD:

All right Cole, you go on back

to bed now and if you ever hear

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