They Page #4

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I:

want to get the body.

Everyone's

face drops into shock. Paul almost laughs.

PAUL:

You

do that. We'll wait for your ass right here.

Sam

leans forward in his seat. Intense.

SAM:

Nothing

about that thing looked right. Absolutely nothing. There was metal in its

skeleton.

TERRY:

Maybe

it wasn't metal. It might've just looked like metal.

SAM:

There

were f***ing gears, for Chrissake.

PAUL:

Fine.

Go back out there. Do whatever the hell you want. But count me out. I'm done.

JULIA:

We've

already got a picture, Sam.

SAM:

Let's

get a few more then. I want to get a good look at that thing up close.

TERRY:

(adamant)

I'm

not going back there.

SAM:

Let

Julia decide. It's her camera.

The

group stares at Julia. She remains silent.

PAUL:

Your

call.

Julia

stares back at all of them. A moment.

A:

small CHILD begins CRYING and SCREAMING in the restaurant. Julia flinches at

the unexpected sound, glancing over at the child's parents as they quiet him

down.

She

rises from the table.

JULIA:

I:

have to use the bathroom.

She

walks straight into the bathroom.

After

she's gone ...

TERRY:

I'm

not going back there.

INT. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - BATHROOM - NIGHT

Large

and poorly lit. Several closed bathroom stalls face a row of sinks and a huge

mirror.

A:

toilet FLUSHES. Julia leaves one of the stalls and pulls the door closed behind

her. She moves to the mirror, washes her hands, and retrieves a brush from her

purse.

Water

DRIPS from one of the leaky pipes in the bathroom while the fluorescent bulb

over the mirror CRACKLES softly. Julia is about to brush her hair, but

something unnerves her. She c*cks her head slightly. A feeling.

She

turns around and checks out the bathroom. The doors to the stalls are all

closed shut. Empty and quiet.

She

starts brushing her hair. A few moments pass. Then, she stops and listens to

the water DRIPPING from the pipe. Julia turns back around and looks at the

bathroom.

One

of the stall doors all the way at the end is now slightly open. Not much. Just

enough to reveal a patch of darkness and gloom within.

The

sound of water dripping abruptly stops. Silence follows.

Julia

looks like she's about to crawl out of her skin. She quickly shoves her brush

back into her purse and leaves.

INT. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Julia

walks towards her friends as they collect themselves. Everyone is slow getting

their stuff together.

JULIA:

I:

want to leave.

PAUL:

Hold

up. We're coming.

The

CHILD starts CRYING again. Pointing at the bathroom.

This

disturbs Julia further.

JULIA:

Paul?

PAUL:

Okay.

Slow down.

The

group leaves the table.

EXT. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS

The

group emerges from the restaurant. The parking lot is almost deserted. No

people are in sight.

Julia

moves leisurely towards the Range Rover, just ahead of Terry and Sam -- but

she'd walk a lot faster if Paul's arm weren't draped around her shoulder. She

looks tight and nervous. Her eyes scanning the parking lot.

The

cars are empty. Sidewalk litter dances in the wind.

Inside one of the parked cars, a featureless

SHAPE is sitting behind the wheel. The shape turns and stares at them.

Everyone

piles into the Range Rover. Julia throws a nervous glance back at the SHAPE in

the car.

He's

still watching them.

Everyone

piles into the car.

INT. RANGE ROVER - CONTINUOUS

Paul

starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. Julia relaxes into her

seat, relieved.

EXT. SANTA MIRA - TOWN STREET - NIGHT

The

Range Rover heads off into the woods.

EXT. CABIN - NIGHT - ESTABLISHING

A:

rustic home surrounded by huge pine trees and beach grass overlooking the

ocean. There are no neighbors in sight. Paul's Range Rover is parked out front.

INT. CABIN - BASEMENT - NIGHT

The

basement is saturated in a bright red light. Julia is developing a photograph

within a small basin. Paul and Terry are seated on the stairs. Sam is pacing.

SAM:

How

much longer?

JULIA:

Thirty

seconds. It's coming out.

SAM:

I:

still think we should get the body.

We

could drive out there, haul it into the car ...

PAUL:

I'm

not loading that thing into my car.

I:

don't give a sh*t what it is. It's not coming back here.

Julia

lifts the developed picture out of the basin.

JULIA:

Done.

She

switches on the light. The group crowds around her.

SAM:

What

is it? What does it look like?

The

photograph is blurred. The body is indistinguishable.

JULIA:

Damn.

SAM:

What

happened to the picture?

JULIA:

Out

of focus.

SAM:

What

do you mean it's out of focus? I took the picture. The flash went off.

JULIA:

Sam,

this is a professional camera with a zoom lens. You can't just point and shoot.

A:

quiet moment as they stare at the picture.

PAUL:

Well,

so much for that.

Sam

looks at the picture, then at his friends. With a look of somber frustration,

Sam quietly turns and charges up the stairs, taking two at a time.

After

he's gone ...

TERRY:

It's

not a big deal. Whatever it was.

(then)

He'll

get over it.

EXT. SANTA MIRA COASTLINE - BEACH - DAY

Cloudy

and overcast. A set of colorless waves CRASH into the rocks. Sam and Julia and

Terry walk just beyond the rippling surf, arguing with each other.

SAM:

I:

can't get over it. That thing looked wrong. Completely wrong.

JULIA:

Of

course it looked wrong. Paul rammed it with his car.

SAM:

What

about the blood? It wasn't red ... it was black -- it was like ... oil

coming from a busted engine.

JULIA:

I:

must've missed that.

SAM:

Let's find it. Cut it up. Study it.

TERRY:

(measured)

Sam,

I realize that you're an extroverted comic book artist and I'm a neurotic. But

it's only now at this moment that I'm wondering why we're dating.

Sam

turns back to Julia --

SAM:

I'll

pay you to take me back.

JULIA:

You

don't have to pay me. Take the car.

SAM:

The

Rover's a shift. I can only drive an automatic.

JULIA:

Ask

Paul.

SAM:

He's

out running. Besides, you heard him last night. He'd never do it.

Julia

stares at him.

JULIA:

It's

a dead animal.

SAM:

So

come with me. You take the pictures this time. If it's just a dead animal, then

you're right and I'm wrong. But if it's not, we've got a picture of it.

JULIA:

A:

picture of what?

Beat.

SAM:

A:

monster.

A:

set of foaming waves HISS as they slide along the sand.

Julia

stands with her arms folded. There's something really creepy about it which she

doesn't want to admit.

JULIA:

Monsters

don't exist.

SAM:

What...?

(pause)

Sayin'

yes ... or saying no?

Julia

stares at him, deadpan. Sam just stares right back.

EXT. FOREST ROAD - DAY

The

same lonely stretch of road from the night before.

The

Range Rover appears around a corner and pulls over to the side of the road.

Julia opens her door, camera in hand, and gets out. Sam follows her lead.

SAM:

This

is it?

JULIA:

I:

think so. You can see the way the road turns sharply to the left. The rest of

the drive was straight.

SAM:

You've

got film, right?

JULIA:

A:

new roll. You can have all the pictures you want.

Julia

and Sam start searching the ditch. Feet crunching in the dirt. Moving away from

the car.

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