They Page #15

---

CASHIER:

Need

anything else?

PAUL:

(weak)

No.

The

cashier rings him up.

CASHIER:

Four

thirty-two.

Paul

flips open his wallet. His face drops into shock.

There's

nothing inside his wallet. No credit cards. No money. No driver's license. Not

a thing.

CASHIER:

(cont'd)

Something

wrong?

Paul

can barely speak.

PAUL:

Um

... I must've brought the wrong wallet. Sorry.

Paul

walks out of the store.

EXT. CORNER STORE - NIGHT

Paul

stops outside, running his fingers through his hair, digging them into his

skull.

PAUL:

(shaking his head)

That's

not possible ... that's not possible ...

A:

SHAPE grabs his shoulder. Paul spins around.

A:

HOMELESS BAG LADY stands behind him. Pleading eyes. Dishevelled and caked with

grime. She holds up the drooping sleeve where a hand once was.

BAG:

LADY:

Help

me. They took my hand.

Paul

stumbles back. Horrified.

BAG:

LADY(weeping)

They

took my hand ...

Paul

turns and starts running. Faster than he's ever run in his life. Disappearing

down the dark street.

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT

Small

and trendy. Young clientele.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT

Julia

sits at an empty booth. Staring at various black and white photographs of

graduation. The four friends are sitting together on the back porch, smiling

for the camera.

She

squeezes her finger to help numb the pain, her mind turning.

JULIA:

(to herself)

Joey

...

(then)

Terry,

what were you talking about?

Julia

flips to another photograph. A picture of Julia, Paul, Sam, and Terry on the

UCLA campus. Dressed for graduation.

Julia

shakes her head. Her eyes are locked on the faces of her friends.

JULIA:

(cont'd)

There's

four of us. There's only four of us.

Beat.

She

studies the picture ... Beat. Julia sits up in her chair.

A:

revelation crosses her face.

JULIA:

(cont'd)

(a whisper)

Who

took the picture?

Julia

looks like she's falling into a deep hole. Her mind is racing for answers.

FLASHBACK:

INT. CABIN - LIVING ROOM - DAY

JULIA:

I've

been fantasizing about a guy.

TERRY:

Anyone

we know?

FLASHBACK:

EXT. CABIN - FRONT DRIVEWAY - NIGHT

The

BLOND STUDENT sits back on the hood of a sports car. The tattooed "S"

insignia visible on his shoulder.

TERRY:

(V.O.) (cont'd)

There

were five of us. He came up in his own car.

FLASHBACK:

EXT. SAM'S HOUSE - GARDEN - DAY

Paul smiling his killer grin at Julia. Wearing his

white shirt and gold and blue striped tie.

TERRY:

(V.O.)

He

was Paul's best friend --

FLASHBACK:

INT. SAM'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY

The

BLOND STUDENT loosens his gold and blue striped tie from his white shirt collar

as he undresses.

TERRY:

(V.O.) (cont'd)

--

they always wore the same thing for Christ sakes.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT

CLOSE:

ON Julia's HORRIFIED FACE.

JULIA:

(completely lost)

No

...

FLASHBACK:

INT. SAM'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY

The

BLOND STUDENT standing half-naked in front of Julia. Holding a pair of ripped

jeans.

JULIA (cont'd)

I'm sorry. I was just using the ...

(laughs)

Really.

I'm sorry.

STUDENT:

I'll

forgive you this once.

FLASHBACK:

INT. CABIN - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Julia

turns her head and gazes at ...

THE:

BLOND STUDENT ...

Sitting

in a chair. Smoking a cigarette. Smiling down at her.

TERRY:

(V.O.)

It's

just a fantasy.

FLASHBACK:

INT. CABIN - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Candles

have been placed around the room. Paul and Terry are asleep on the floor.

Blood

drips over the SUPERMAN TATTOO on Joey's shoulder.

Julia

slowly awakens to the sounds of JOEY SCREAMING over sickening RIPPING SOUNDS

like cloth being torn in half.

There

are silhouettes on the wall of

THREE FIGURES tearing off pieces of something in the room. Large flaps. Chunks.

Moving rapidly and ferociously.

Julia

spots Sam SCREAMING across the room.

SAM:

(shrieking)

JOEY!

Julia

turns her head in the direction of the ripping and tearing sounds. Her eyes

slowly widen as her mouth drops into a soundless, petrified look of horror.

A:

hand with midnight skin, six fingers, and punctured with steel rods covers her

eyes.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT

A:

plate SMASHES on the floor.

Julia

is jolted out of her thought, looks over to find a WAITER picking up the

pieces. The lights flicker in the shop. This unnerves Julia completely. She

starts gathering the photographs together.

She

becomes aware of the pain in her finger again. Looks at the scab.

JULIA:

(a whisper)

Terry's

legs ... Paul's headaches ...

A:

thought crashes like thunder in her head.

JULIA:

(cont'd)

Oh

no ...

Julia

quickly grabs a knife from the table. She gets up and walks straight to the

ladies restroom.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - RESTROOM - NIGHT

Cramped

and dirty. Julia holds her finger over the sink.

With

the point of the knife's blade, she begins digging into her finger. The pain is

immediate. Julia grimaces, tears forming in her eyes, as the wound blossoms

bright red.

Blood drips into the sink.

Julia

drops the knife into the sink and pinches the wound. Squeezing hard.

A speck of metal flashes inSIDE the wound.

Julia

continues squeezing, tears rolling, fingernails digging into the wound as ...

THE:

TIP OF A METAL SPLINTER PUSHES UP THROUGH THE BLOOD.

Julia

starts pulling it out of her finger. The splinter rises from the wound ... and

rises ... and rises ...

More

blood spatters into the sink.

Julia

is GASPING and CRYING as the pain becomes excruciating. The glittering splinter

is five inches long and growing.

The splinter is pulled out. It's seven inches

long.

Julia

drops the splinter into the sink. She moves away from the counter, back towards

the living room, unbelieving, horrified ...

She

stumbles towards the door.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT

Julia

walks out of the restroom. Stops cold.

Everyone

in the coffee shop is staring at her. The customers. The waiters.

The

lights are dimming. A lack of power.

Julia

forces herself to move. She goes to her table, picks up the photographs, and

suddenly notices that in the graduation pictures --

SAM:

AND TERRY HAVE DISAPPEARED. ALMOST AS IF THEY NEVER WERE A PART OF THE PHOTOS.

PAUL AND JULIA ARE TOGETHER IN EVERY PICTURE -- ALONE.

Julia

grabs the photographs and turns around.

The

customers in the coffee shop are standing now. Their eyes are dark shadows.

Something about the way they stand is completely unnatural. All wrong.

Panic

begins to settle in. Julia quickly walks to the door.

WAITER:

Julia?

She

turns. The waiter stands behind her. Eyes burning.

WAITER:

(cont'd)

(menacing)

Why'd

you take it out?

That's

enough. Julia gets the hell out of there.

EXT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT

Julia

bolts out the door and rushes across the street. She reaches her car, disarms

the alarm, and gets inside.

INT. RANGE ROVER - NIGHT

Julia

drops the photos into the passenger seat. Starts the car. The CELL PHONE RINGS.

She answers it.

JULIA:

Hello?

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - MARKET STREET - NIGHT

Paul

on a pay phone. There's panic in his voice.

PAUL:

Julia.

It's Paul.

JULIA:

Where

are you?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes