They Page #7

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JULIA:

Wasn't

me.

A:

moment.

PAUL:

Well

damn, Julia. Your monster isn't just noisy, he's also inconsiderate.

He

kisses her on the cheek and takes off. Julia stands alone in the empty hallway,

a chill running down her spine.

INT. BEDROOM CLOSET - DAY

The

door slowly creaks open. Julia stands in the doorway, surveying the closet -- a

cluttered and claustrophobic space despite its size. Clothes draped on hangars.

Cardboard boxes stacked on shelves. Shadows.

Julia

moves inside and pulls a string hanging from a light bulb which acts as a

switch. Tick-tick. The bulb stays dark. She tries again.

Tick-tick.

The

light still won't come on.

Julia

carefully looks through some of the clothes. Nothing. She kneels down and

checks the floor.

A:

long CREAKING behind her. The natural light fades.

Julia

looks over her shoulder, a bit skittish, as the closet door eases back towards

the doorjamb. But there's nobody there. Just the faintest hint of a draft.

Julia

keeps searching through the clutter. Moving shoes and boxes out of the way.

Searching.

Then,

she spots something glittering in the ribbon of light coming from the closet

doorway. A small object resting in the corner. Julia reaches down and picks it

up ...

A:

PIECE OF METAL ...

Small

and intricate with erratic markings. Twisted and strangely ornate. The shape

and texture of the metal is almost completely alien.

Julia

holds the metal into the light. Extremely curious. Behind her, a shadow moves

...

CRASH.

Julia SCREAMS, dropping the object and whirling around as a cardboard box

SMASHES down behind her. Tumbling from one of the shelves above. Old shoes

scatter across the floor.

Julia

catches her breath. Heart pounding.

On

the floor, the metal object sparkles in the light. A draft HISSES through the

open closet door.

EXT. FOREST ROAD - DAY

The

Range Rover races down the empty road.

INT. RANGE ROVER - DAY

Julia

sits behind the wheel. Her eyes intense. She looks over at the passenger seat

where both her purse and the metal object are located.

EXT. SANTA MIRA - FOREST ROAD - DAY

The

Range Rover streaks out of the woods towards Santa Mira.

EXT. SANTA MIRA - LIBRARY - DAY

Julia

walks up the front steps leading to the library -- a weathered building that

overlooks the town square. A banner hangs over the front entrance. It reads ...

WELCOME TO THE FOUNDER'S DAY FAIR

INT. LIBRARY - READING ROOM - DAY

The

stacks are deserted and still. Julia sits at a reading table, flipping through

a book, surrounded by long rows of bookshelves.

INTERCUT:

- THE BOOK

Julia

flips from page to page, allowing momentary glimpses of various drawings:

vampires, werewolves, witches, a ghastly thing crawling out from under a

maiden's bed.

ON:

JULIA:

as

she puts down the book and grabs another from a stack on the table. She opens

it and starts paging through.

CLOSE:

ON - THE BOOK

As

Julia finds a drawing of a sleeping child. Just beyond the bed is an open

closet door, the horrid face a MONSTER watching the child from within.

Julia

shivers down to her soul. A familiar feeling of late.

A:

slight SQUEAKING catches her attention. She looks across the reading room to

find --

A:

YOUNG BOY:

Ten

years old. Tow-haired. Sitting a few tables away but almost directly opposite

her. He's wearing a Superman shirt.

He

smiles timidly and waves. Julia waves back.

A:

THUMP behind her. Julia turns and looks over her shoulder. She barely catches

sight of a shadow slipping across the wall in the stacks.

The

SCRAPING of chair legs against the cold floor. Julia looks back towards where

the BOY was sitting. The chair is pushed back and empty.

Another

THUMPING in the stacks. Then silence.

A:

feeling of anxiety washes over Julia as she grabs some of the books and leaves.

EXT. CABIN - NIGHT

It's

getting dark. Moonshadows shift across the lawn.

INT. CABIN - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Soft

rock seeps from a pair of portable compact disc player speakers. Paul removes a

lid of grass and some zigzag papers and starts to roll a joint. Everyone looks

pretty toasted. Cardboard boxes and candles

are everywhere.

Sam

is sitting off to himself. He's still drawing on his pad. Julia is reading one

of the books from the library.

JULIA:

(takes a hit)

Monsters.

Symbols and dream images. Now you see, I don't agree with that. I think

everything has some kind of physical representation. People can't just come up

with this stuff.

PAUL:

You

did a good job last night.

Julia

hands him the metal object from the closet.

JULIA:

And

this? What do you make of this?

PAUL:

Where'd

you find it?

JULIA:

In

the closet you didn't leave open.

TERRY:

What's

she talking about?

PAUL:

(wearisome)

My

girlfriend believes in the Boogeyman.

JULIA:

I:

never said it was the Boogeyman. Maybe it's some primeval energy that causes a

response in human beings. This could be the physical representation of that

energy.

PAUL:

Julia.

It's piece of sh*t.

TERRY:

I:

disagree.

Julia

turns hopefully to Terry --

JULIA:

Yes?

TERRY:

It's

the physical representation of a piece of sh*t.

Pot-induced

laughter. Julia takes back the object.

JULIA:

You're

not being objective about this. Have either of you ever been scared? Really

scared?

PAUL:

I'm

scared right now that you've smoked too much.

JULIA:

Paul

...

PAUL:

Okay.

Sure. I've been really scared.

JULIA:

Like

when?

Beat.

PAUL:

Maybe

when we hit the dog.

Sam

looks unsettled.

SAM:

You

mean this?

Sam

tosses his sketch pad into the center of the floor. Everyone leans forward,

getting a good look at Sam's detailed drawing of --

THE:

ANIMAL LEG ...

Completely

fleshed out with distinct mechanical parts hinged into flesh and bone. Almost

as accurate as a photograph.

SAM:

(cont'd)

That

thing we hit on the road. It wasn't a dog. It wasn't some primeval force,

either.

(then)

It

was a monster.

Julia

picks up the drawing as Paul peers over her shoulder. The picture looks

particularly unsettling in the flickering firelight.

It

almost looks alive.

INT. CABIN - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

It's

late. The fire is dwindling. Terry and Sam have both passed out. Julia relaxes

on the floor, staring at Sam's drawing while resting in Paul's lap.

JULIA:

I:

can't believe Sam drew this.

PAUL:

I:

can. He's been acting like a freak.

Beat.

JULIA:

You

think we could've been wrong?

PAUL:

About

what?

JULIA:

About

the dog. Maybe the next day when Sam and I went back to the road ... maybe we

found the wrong body.

PAUL:

Can

we drop this? Please?

JULIA:

I:

just want to know ...

PAUL:

(clipped)

Stop.

JULIA:

I:

just want to know what's going on.

PAUL:

Nothing's

going on. Here, give me the drawing.

JULIA:

I'm

not done yet.

PAUL:

Your

hands are shaking. Come on, Julia. Give yourself a break.

She

hands the drawing pad to him. Paul puts it on the couch.

JULIA:

We

need to talk about this.

PAUL:

Tomorrow.

Just relax.

Paul

begins stroking her hair. Gently and repeatedly.

JULIA:

Just

for a minute.

Julia

looks really tired. She closes her eyes for a moment as Paul's steady breathing

fills the room. The she opens them, turns her head and gazes at ...

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