The Shape of Water Page #7

DUANE:

Hey, Zelda, want a smoke?

ZELDA:

That sh*t’s not good for you,

Duane.

DUANE:

Feels good.

ZELDA:

It does, doesn’t it?

She looks at Elisa.

ZELDA (CONT’D)

C’mon Elisa, just one.

Elisa shakes her head, looks at a VIDEO CAMERA above them.

DUANE:

They can’t see us, they push thatcamera up at break time. With thebroom

Lou points at a dirty broom.

LOU:

This here’s a blind spot.

DUANE:

Hey, Elisa, how come you always

taking all them boiled eggs at the

cafeteria? Can’t nobody eat seveneggs a day.

ZELDA:

Mind your own, Duane. Leave heralone.

DUANE:

Girl can’t speak but she sure can

eat.

58 INT. LONG CORRIDOR - NIGHT 58

Elisa pushes her cart down the corridor.

59 INT. LAB - NIGHT 59

Elisa enters the lab with her cart and equipment. Closesbehind her- hears a plaintive whimper- not unlike that of awhale.

Much to her surprise- The Amphibian Man is on a plinth.

Chained to a large METAL PLATE ON THE FLOOR. Chains on his

neck and arms, force him to kneel.

He looks at her. She looks around: Surgical instruments areready. Lights are centered on the creature.

The creature howls in pain- gasping. Elisa drops her lunch

bag-

-an egg rolls out-

She moves closer- tries to free him when-

CLACK! The DOOR begins to OPEN. She picks up her stuff and

hides.

Strickland ENTERS. Removes his jacket. Pops a few sticks ofgum in his mouth. Pulls out the cattle prod.

The creature howls for help. Strickland raises thecattleprod.

STRICKLAND:

Miss me? I took a candy break.

This? Is it this that scares you?

You should be used to it by now...

He shocks the creature.

STRICKLAND (CONT’D)

There you are again. Making that

god-awful sound. Is that you

crying? Is that what it is? You

hurting? Huh? Or maybe you’re

angry? Yeah. Maybe you’d like to

get another bite at me.

Elisa watches him go over to the plinth, staring down the

creature.

The creature’s fins “fluff up” and change colors. It hisses.

Strickland sucks his candy and cattleprods it- makes it go

wild.

STRICKLAND (CONT’D)

I can’t tell- Are you begging?

‘Cause to me it’s just the worst

f***ing noise I’ve ever heard.

Elisa’s horrified to realize she left one of the BOILED EGGS

out. It’s inches from Strickland’s foot. He kicks it. It

rolls.

Strickland picks up the egg. Looks around.

Elisa hides, she can barely breathe.

CUT TO:

INT. CORRIDOR “B” - SAME 60

ZELDA pushes her cart down the corridor. Sees Elisa’sabandoned.

Looks around.

ZELDA:

Elisa?

HOFFSTETLER goes by in a Golf cart. By his side: a FIVE STARGENERAL, Fleming and a group of MP’s and technicians await by

T-4.

CUT TO:

61 INT. LAB - SAME 61

Strickland walks towards the bank of medical monitors.

Elisa tenses.

The door opens. Hoffstetler et al, enter.

STRICKLAND:

General Hoyt! Welcome, Sir!

Everything’s ready. Good to haveyou here, Sir!

Technicians pour in. Elisa hides.

GENERAL HOYT:

Good God. Is that it?

(matter of fact)

Much bigger than I pictured.

STRICKLAND:

Ain’t that something? Ugly as sin.

The natives in the Amazon

worshipped it-

GENERAL HOYT:

Well- It sure doesn’t look like

much of a God right now, does it?

Strickland takes a pill or two. Hoffstetler Examines thecreature: BLOOD in his hands.

STRICKLAND:

They were primitives, sir. Tossedofferings into the water; flowers,

fruits, crap like that... Tried to

stop the oil drill with bows andarrows. That didn’t end too well.

HOFFSTETLER:

What happened? He's bleeding. Youcannot keep doing this-

STRICKLAND:

It’s an animal, Hoffstetler. Just

keeping it tame.

Elisa watches from her hiding place.

GENERAL HOYT:

(flips through folder)

“Oxygen osmosis- dioxide exchange.”

What are we lookin’ at here, Son?

HOFFSTETLER:

This creature, Sir- I’ve never seen

anything like like it. Ever. It can

alternate between two entirely

separate breathing mechanisms...

STRICKLAND:

Mudskipper can do that.

HOFFSTETLER:

You want to put a man in space for

days, weeks even, he’s going to

have to endure conditions the human

body just wasn’t made for. But this-

This means long-term survivability

in space. This gives us an edge

against the Soviets.

GENERAL HOYT:

How long can it breathe outside the

water?

STRICKLAND shows him a CHRONOMETER. Ticking.

STRICKLAND:

Really- Thirty minute intervals.

It’s been out now, about... twenty

eight- so we should start to see

the effects.

They wait. The creature suffers.

STRICKLAND (CONT’D)

Reality, is, Sir- We don’t know

jackshit about this thing-

GENERAL HOYT:

Soviets want it- We know that much.

Those cockeyed bastards- They send

a dog up into space- We get a

laugh. But next thing we know- they

send a human up -- a Ruskie,

orbiting our planet, doing God

knows what? And then who’s

laughing? Krushchev. That’s who-We

let him put a dog in space, he

laughs, puts a commie in space, he

laughs, puts missiles in Cuba. Have

we learned nothing?

STRICKLAND:

Give'm a dog, they take Cuba.

GENERAL HOYT:

You got that right.

They laugh. The creature spasms in pain.

HOFFSTETLER:

Sir. I would advise-

They watch as the creature struggles to breathe.

HOFFSTETLER (CONT’D)

We need to get him back in the

water-

STRICKLAND:

Let us go over the mark for once,

See where it takes us.

The creature starts convulsing. Elisa steps out from behindthe monitors, ready to act. Hoffstetler sees her. His eyes

stop her.

Strickland waits: looks at the chronometer.

STRICKLAND (CONT’D)

Scientists- they are like artists:

They fall in love with their

playthings.

He looks right at the creature, who’s gasping, in agony. Thesecond hand on the chronometer crosses the minute mark.

STRICKLAND (CONT’D)

Now- Over here, Sir- right here-

you see?

(mirror signals his

ribcage)

The creature has a thick jointedcartilage separating the primaryand secondary lungs- Am I

explaining this correctly, Bob?

HOFFSTETLER:

(overlapping)

Yes- but we’ve been able to get-

STRICKLAND:

It makes the X-rays inconclusive...

HOFFSTETLER:

In principle, yes but, See? This

STRICKLAND:

Sir- If we want to get the edge on

the Soviets- and I know we can- we

have to vivisect this thing. Takeit apart. Learn how it works.

HOFFSTETLER:

No- no- That would defeat the

purpose-

The creature faints and releases a large pool of urine on the

slab.

Elisa, watching, is in agony, barely able to restrainherself.

HOFFSTETLER (CONT’D)

Sir? He’s passed out- Please.

General Hoyt glances at Strickland, who checks the stopwatchand shrugs.

Relieved, Hoffstetler gives the signal, and the techs rush

around the creature. He uses his keys to free it from the

collar and manacles.

HOFFSTETLER (CONT’D)

Put him in the tank- The tank. Let

him pressurize.

(beat)

General Hoyt, Sir: You cannot-

under any circumstance-kill thiscreature. You cannot-

GENERAL HOYT:

Count these with me, Son- there’s

five of them:
That means I can do

whatever the hell I want. You wanna

plead your case? I’ll listen

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