Mimic Page #14

JOSH:

(Whisper to Peter)

New York's finest.

Monumental archways give way to naves as big as Notre Dame.

Josh flashes the ultra-violet light over an abandoned

underground encampment, made of cardboard walls, electrical

wiring, elaborate debris kitchens. The walls are completely

taken by layer after layer of hand carved initials and

messages. Everything from "Kilroy was here" to

elaborate quotations from the bible.

JOSH:

There's really people living down here?

LEONARD:

Mole people. This section was pretty

popular, all the way to Fulton Street...

Their flashlights shine in a haze of brown dust. The air is

heavy.

LEONARD:

Substance abusers, mental cases... Then

about a year ago, Poof! All gone. Rumors

got started... Someone found a couple of

stiffs...

They work their way down a steep incline. They're covered in

sweat.

LEONARD:

Down here's the land of talk, see? So the

wildest version goes the farthest. They

mark that area with a sign or a drawing,

and its as good as closed.

(chuckles)

We had one fella... for years said he was

Bela Lugosi. Got him on Geraldo.

Peter's cellular rings. He picks up -big static-

INTERCUT WITH:

MORGUE:

Susan's got the phone up on her shoulder, clamped against her

ear. Raymond's cranking out a bunch of Polaroids. Color shots

of the insect, from every angle.

SUSAN:

It's me. Can you hear me?

PETER:

(phone, barely audible)

Yeah, barely. We haven't found

anything down here. Nothing...

Jeremy goes to the fridge for a beer.

SUSAN:

I have.

The fridge light plays over the large insects jaws. It makes

out a few new ridges and valleys. Raymond snaps a couple of

Polaroids.

SUSAN:

I'm on my way. I've got something for you

to look at...

Susan notices something weird and undefinable about the

contours of the claws... But she can't put her finger on

it.

BACK AT THE TUNNEL

PETER:

We'll be back at the platform in...

LEONARD:

20 minutes. If you don't go sight-seeing

anymore.

PETER:

(To phone.)

20 minutes.

(Beat.)

Susan?

The call is lost. Peter tries to change frequencies, but it's

useless.

Peter replaces the phone in his pocket. He walks off.

LEONARD:

Funny. Shoulda seen some track

bunnies by now.

JOSH:

What?

LEONARD:

Track bunnies. Rats. They're

usually around.

No one notices the OVERCOAT MAN carving on the wall.

CUT TO:

INT. MANNY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

On Manny's dining room table, a heap of unpolished shoes has

accumulated. The radio is playing a sad, elegiac Tango.

MANNY:

No, no, please understand... I can't

wait that long.

Looking disheveled and tired, Manny clutches the phone,

listening intently.

MANNY:

Please. I write it down.

(he writes)

2... 8... 7... 3. What does this mean

"case number"? Okay. So, now what? When

can you...?

He holds a color snapshot of Chuy sitting on a mailbox.

MANNY:

No, I can't wait...no, listen...

Click. Manny slowly hangs up. He stares at his notepad, at

the number 2873.

MANNY:

Hijos de puta.

He crumples it up, throws it away, crosses to the window,

picks up Chuy's last wire figure-

FIGURE, CLOSER

Another human-looking figure, long and thin, but with

something slightly off about it.

It has six limbs instead of four!

MANNY:

frowns, looks down at the dark flophouse across the street.

MANNY:

Mr. Funny Shoes.

Distant thunder is heard.

BATHROOM CABINET

Manny takes a STRAIGHT RAZOR from the bathroom cabinet, opens

the blade.

EXT. SUBWAY STATION - DAY

Susan arrives at the stairs leading down to the subway

station. A COUPLE passes her on their way up.

A sign over the entrance says "STATION WILL CLOSE FOR REPAIRS

AT 3 PM - TOKENS ONLY". Susan looks around- the area is semi-

deserted, a bit creepy.

She takes a deep breath, descends.

INT. SUBWAY - DAY

Susan pushes through the turnstile, enters the long corridors

of gleaming tile, a somewhat de-humanizing atmosphere,

straight out of a George Tooker painting.

Very creepy. Susan's footsteps ECHO in the empty tunnel.

She sneaks a nervous glance over her shoulder- nobody is

following her-

PLATFORM "A" DELANCEY

Susan observes the locker room door impatiently. A small crew

of REPAIRMEN are dismantling a row of fluorescent lights.

She sits and waits.

CUT TO:

INT. DEEP IN TUNNEL

Peter, Josh and Leonard walk through a darker area. The

floor beneath them suddenly changes, becomes tile.

JOSH:

(Sniffing)

Smells like acid.

Peter stops, looks around.

PETER:

Ammonia.

Josh walks to the right, where the smell seems to emanate

from. At last they come to

INT. VAULTED AREA - CONTINUOUS

Josh LIGHTS a flare, sets it on the ground, walks ahead. The

ominous RUMBLE of a subway is heard in the distance.

A cracked WATER MAIN above. Water dribbles to the ground.

JOSH:

Peter...

PETER:

Yeah...?

JOSH:

There's some weird sh*t here.

PETER:

Weird sh*t...?

JOSH:

Take a look.

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