They Page #3

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SAM:

Wrong.

Perfect awareness.

(beat)

Kids

have a perfect awareness of everything around them. Every sound.

Every shadow.

Everything

gets quiet.

SAM:

(cont'd)

The

Boogeyman could be real. So could monsters. Just because you've never seen them

doesn't mean they aren't there.

Silence.

The car engine purrs softly. This is starting to make sense. And it's spooky.

PAUL:

All

right. I'm creeped out. But my bullshit alarm is going off.

SAM:

You

just can't handle it.

PAUL:

Right.

Because it's bullshit.

JULIA:

Serial

killers aside, my take on this subject is very simple. If I don't have a

picture of it -- it's not real.

TERRY:

Okay,

is this conversation like a radio station? Can we just change the channel?

Because personally, I'd like to get to sleep tonight.

Terry

has just finished saying these words, when --

AN ANIMAL runs out of the woods into the

middle of the road. A black shape in the headlights. Eyes flashing in the dark.

PAUL:

JESUS:

CHRIST!

Paul

SLAMS on the brakes. Too late.

WHAM!

The RANGE ROVER SMASHES into it,

throwing the shape into a ditch at the side of the road.

The

Range Rover swerves and comes to a SQUEALING HALT.

INSIDE:

THE ROVER:

Everyone

catches their breath. A moment of dead silence.

PAUL:

(cont'd)

Everyone

okay?

TERRY:

(nods)

We're

fine.

JULIA:

What

was that?

PAUL:

I:

think it was a dog.

Julia

unlocks her door.

JULIA:

We'd

better check the car.

She

steps out of the Rover. The others follow.

EXT. FOREST ROAD - NIGHT

The

hazard lights are switched on. Paul walks around to the front of the Rover.

The

bumper is dented.

PAUL:

Look

at that. There's a couple thousand dollars out of my wallet.

TERRY:

You

can probably get someone to pop it back.

PAUL:

Sure.

For a couple hundred dollars.

Sam

looks down the road. He can barely make out a large form resting lifeless in

the ditch.

He

starts walking towards it.

JULIA:

I'm

sorry about your car, Paul ...

PAUL:

(begrudging)

Yeah,

well. Sh*t happens.

The

conversation becomes distant as Sam walks slowly up the road, moving past the

yellow flashing HAZARD LIGHTS which CLICK rhythmically ... click, click, click

...

Sam

approaches the ditch. Darkness is all around.

....

click ... click ... click ...

He

kneels down alongside the body of the animal. Very little is visible of the

corpse except for its dark, mangled form sprawled across the dirt.

Sam

picks up a stick and pokes at the body. Nothing happens.

He

pokes at the corpse again.

The

hind legs of the corpse suddenly twitch. A reflex action. Sam leaps back. The

life nearly scared out of him.

A:

flap of hairless skin slides away from one of the animal's hind legs. Sam leans

forward to get a better look, becoming simultaneously repulsed and fascinated.

SAM:

Hey

guys!

PAUL:

What?

SAM:

Take

a look at this.

JULIA:

Is

it a dog?

Sam

glances at the dead corpse and back to his friends again. He looks shaken.

SAM:

I:

don't know.

The

rest of the group moves down the road. A weird unease has started to settle in.

Paul

and Julia kneel down in front of the corpse. It's almost unrecognizable. The

darkness smothering the road keeps them from getting a handle on any of the

body's features.

PAUL:

It

looks like a dog to me.

SAM:

Did

you see the leg?

PAUL:

What

about it?

Sam

takes the stick and gently pushes away the flap of torn skin for a better look.

The group leans forward.

A:

deep bleeding wound has been exposed. Through the torn flesh and blood pumping

over charcoal skin, the group can see bones flashing into the moonlight. But

intermingled with the animal's skeleton are ...

PIECES:

OF METAL ...

Glittering

and clean. A series of connected stainless steel threads and pallid bone that

have grown together.

SAM:

Ever

seen anything like that?

PAUL:

No.

SAM:

It

looks like steel. Like someone put steel into its body.

PAUL:

I:

don't think it was put in there. It looks like it grew that way.

JULIA:

That's

impossible. What kind of animal has steel in its skeleton?

Terry

steps forward tentatively.

TERRY:

What

are you looking at?

JULIA:

Are

you sure it's dead?

PAUL:

Come

on, honey. It's a dog. Not a zombie.

SAM:

Julia?

Where's your camera?

JULIA:

It's

in the car.

PAUL:

I've

got it.

Paul

races back to the Range Rover and opens the passenger door. He withdraws

Julia's camera.

Julia

takes a step back into the middle of the road. The wind is sifting through the

trees, creating a soft HISSING noise as the branches dance and twist in the

shadows.

Paul

returns and hands the camera to Sam.

SAM:

You

want to turn it over?

PAUL:

I'm

not touching it.

Sam

kneels down. He points the camera and shoots.

The

camera flash cuts through the darkness and falls upon the corpse. But only for

a millisecond of clarity.

Twisted

metal. Skin. Appendages. Madness.

Both

of the young men stand frozen, thunderstruck, staring down at the misshapen

shape in front of them. A long period of amazed silence follows.

SAM:

That's

wrong. That's all wrong.

Paul

shakes his head.

PAUL:

That's

not a dog.

TERRY:

(stunned)

What

were those things coming out of its back?

Paul

starts recoiling. His stomach is getting weak.

PAUL:

That's

not a dog.

The

cool summer wind WHISTLES through the trees around them.

SAM:

(sickened)

That

doesn't even make sense.

JULIA:

Paul

...

Paul

looks over at her.

JULIA:

(cont'd)

Let's

get in the car.

SAM:

We

need some flashlights.

TERRY:

(hushed)

Screw

the flashlights.

SAM:

What

the hell is it?

PAUL:

Dude.

We're outta here.

Julia

and Paul walk briskly to the Range Rover. Sam and Terry follow them, glancing

back over their shoulders.

SAM:

What

the hell is it?!

Paul

tosses the camera into the Rover's back seat. He SLAMS the door shut. Julia

opens the front passenger door.

A:

soft THUMPING from the woods. Almost like footsteps.

JULIA:

Get

in the car.

Julia

hops into the front seat and SLAMS her door.

INT. RANGE ROVER - NIGHT

The

atmosphere is quickly turning into panic. Paul jumps behind the wheel as both

Sam and Terry close their doors.

SAM:

I:

want to know what that thing was.

Paul

presses the automatic door lock. THUNK.

JULIA:

Paul,

start the car.

PAUL:

Keys

...

He

searches his pockets. They're empty. He checks his jacket.

SAM:

I:

want to know what it was.

PAUL:

Will

you shut up?

Paul

fishes out the car keys from his jacket pocket. He starts the ignition. The

engine ROARS to life.

JULIA:

Go.

A:

heavy THUMP. Right outside the back window. Sam and Terry instinctively look

towards the rear hatch.

TERRY:

There's

something behind the car.

JULIA:

GO!

Paul

hits the gas.

EXT. FOREST ROAD - NIGHT

The

Range Rover disappears into the night.

The

calm and unnerving quiet of the woods are left behind. The wind WHISTLES

softly.

EXT. SANTA MIRA - FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - NIGHT

A:

fast food joint at the side of the road.

INT. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Everyone

is sitting quietly at a table. Fast food leavings are littered across their

plastic trays. Nobody is saying anything or looking at one another.

Finally

...

SAM:

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