SHIVERS Page #2

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Hobbes steps back to watch. Tears spring into his eyes. He

picks up another scalpel and perfunctorily sticks it into

his neck. Blood spurts into his mask and soaks through to

the other side. Hobbes sinks to his knees before the blazing

corpse and struggles to draw the scalpel through the tendons

of his neck.

INT. RENTAL OFFICE -- MORNING

Merrick and the Svibens sit across from each other at a long

table strewn with floor plans and maps. The river which

surrounds the complex can be seen through the glass walls of

the office. Merrick taps one plan with his finger and slides

it over to Benda.

MERRICK:

Now you take a look at that one,

Brenda, and tell me if it doesn't

suit you down to the ground. That

one has the big view, the panoramic

view...

INT. TUDOR'S APARTMENT -- MORNING

In his bathroom, Nicholas Tudor is cleaning his teeth with

microscopic attention to detail using an elaborate compressed-

water device called a water-pick. Tudor is thirty-nine, not

happy with his work as an insurance appraiser, and has

recently adopted a general air of terse, sullen desperation

as his primary mood.

His wife, Janine, calls to him from the kitchen, where she

is just putting the finishing touches on breakfast.

JANINE (V.O.)

Breakfast is just about ready, Nick.

Tudor pointedly doesn't answer, but continues with the water-

pick until he is completely satisfied. He carefully packs

the machine away, then leaves the bathroom.

In the dining room, Janine is putting breakfast on the table.

Tudor sits down without a word and begins to eat. Janine

returns to the kitchen and comes back with a cup of coffee

in each hand. She puts one cup in front of Tudor, sits down,

starts to drink the other one. After a pause, she speaks.

JANINE:

Can I call you at the office?

TUDOR:

What do you want to call me at the

office for?

JANINE:

I don't know. I just thought I might

want to call you. I don't know.

TUDOR:

I won't be at the office except to

sign in.

(he eats heartily,

not looking directly

at Janine)

I've got a lot of claims to check

out. All over the place. Garages and

more garages.

(noticing Janine's

silence, he finally

looks up)

I'll come home right after work.

Janine continues to toy with the food in her plate. She shrugs

once, as if to say, 'Big deal, so what?' Tudor ignores her

and finishes breakfast.

INT. A HALLWAY -- MORNING

Tudor leaves his apartment, closing the door behind him (we

see the number clearly).

He walks down the hallway on automatic pilot, obviously

preoccupied, turning the corner leading to the elevators

without perceiving what he is seeing.

At the elevators he hesitates for a moment, then presses the

UP button. When the door opens, he steps in.

INT. ELEVATOR -- MORNING

In the elevator are Merrick, the rental agent, and the

Svibens.

MERRICK:

We're going up.

TUDOR:

Oh. Well, I'll go along for the ride.

MERRICK:

(after a pause, to

the Svibens,

indicating the

elevator)

Wood-grain paneling, strong, silent,

fireproof, fast, cushioned ride.

Everything you could want in an

elevator.

Nobody says another word until the doors spring open and

Merrick, after a wink at Tudor, hustles the Svibens out of

the elevator.

As the doors close, Merrick's voice floats back to Tudor.

MERRICK (V.O.)

Notice how the entranceways to all

the apartments are recessed and

individually lit... Nope, it's down

that way, Brenda. That's it...

Recessed and individually lit...

Once the door has closed, Tudor presses the button for the

top floor. As the elevator ascends, he takes out his wallet

and removes a key from a zippered compartment.

INT. HALLWAY -- MORNING

Tudor fits the key into the lock of Annabelle's apartment.

He knocks gently and then opens the door. After a pause he

steps in and closes the door behind him, not wanting to be

seen by anyone who might know him.

INT. ANNABELLE'S APARTMENT -- MORNING

As soon as he is inside the apartment, Tudor knows that

something is seriously wrong. Smoke hangs in the air and the

smell of burned flesh attacks Tudor's nostrils. He is on his

way to the bedroom when he sees Hobbes's foot around the

corner of the dining room.

Tudor approaches the dining room with his hand over his nose

and mouth.

Annabelle's corpse is still smoking where it lies on the

dining-room table. Hobbes's body is twisted into the fetal

position at the foot of the table, one hand still clutching

the scalpel stuck in its neck, the floor beneath it bright

with blood.

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