Totem Page #3

---

Here.

So, you don't believe me either?

I thought you wanted

practical Todd.

You know what? I want patient Todd.

Okay, um...

Maybe you need

a change of scenery,

you know?

I mean, at least next year,

we'll be a thousand miles away.

Actually, I was thinking

of staying here.

What do you mean?

We're going to Boulder.

Not if I go to college

in the city.

Why would you stay?

My family needs me.

They'll be fine.

They've got Robin now.

Got it. Patient Todd.

Yeah.

Oh, Abby!

I told you. It was Mom.

No, Abby.

She did "Itsy Bitsy."

She asked about the necklace.

I need you to not

talk to this thing.

But I like her.

Abby, I am your sister.

I need you to trust me, okay?

Do you trust me?

Yes.

Whatever this thing is,

stay away from it.

What the hell is happening?

Robin... Robin, can you take

Abby to her room, please?

I'll help you...

Please, Robin!

Okay, okay.

What happened, sweetie?

Dad...

Kellie,

are you doing this

to sabotage us?

Sabotage what?

You know what.

You think that I did this?

Maybe...

Maybe whatever was bothering Mom

is bothering Abby now, too.

What does that mean?

We both know...

Mom was acting weird

towards the end.

That's not true.

She was depressed.

I think we're all just

a little on edge right now

and reading into

the wrong things.

Okay, so what about my room?

Maybe the shelf just couldn't

handle the weight.

A testament to your hard work.

I'm sorry,

do your self-help books

tell you to ignore

all danger to your family?

All right, that's enough.

What...

Whatever this is,

we're still a family,

and we can act like one.

Totally.

Yeah, I gotta go, too.

Okay, come on, Abby.

Jump up.

Ugh...

So what does

Newton's first law tell us?

Ms. Caldwell?

Ms. Caldwell?

Newton's first law.

Um...

An object?

An object that is at rest?

An object that is at rest

will stay at rest

until an external force

acts upon it.

And an object in motion

will not stop

until an external force

acts upon it.

Hey, got a second?

Oh... Bernard.

What's up?

You've probably guessed

that I've steered clear

of meeting you

these past few years.

Yeah, I thought that

might be the case.

Well...

I came to apologize.

It's just that at the time,

I didn't know

what to think of it...

considering you knew her.

Look, James and I

didn't get together

until three years

after the funeral.

It's a circle of friends.

Things happen.

I was surprised as anyone

that he asked me out.

She's not an easy act to follow.

Well, I'm...

I'm here to explain, not accuse.

I was just being a dad.

I'm fine with it, now.

Life goes on.

It's such an uphill

battle as it is.

Kellie, huh?

Yup.

Likes to be in

charge, doesn't she?

She's a handful, all right.

With her, you gotta fight,

or roll over.

Don't worry.

I'm not going anywhere.

Well...

good luck with that.

So, did it show up again?

Nothing that'll convince them

that they're in danger.

Well, uh...

what made it appear last time?

The cat.

Let... let me

call you back.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.

Meow.

Meow.

Hi.

Why are you doing this?

Leave us alone!

Leave us alone!

You want this?

What are we gonna tell Abby?

He ran away,

or we sent him to a farm

where he could play?

I-I don't like it.

Why were you up so late?

I don't even understand

what happened.

I told you what happened.

Dad, listen...

Look, whatever Abby's

talking to,

it's real.

Dad.

Okay, it did this.

And it's not Mom.

It's pretending to be her.

I think...

I don't know, I think it

wants something from Abby,

to pull her away from us.

I'm in.

Look, I'm open to the idea

that something's here,

that there's a...

You know, that there might

be something here,

that maybe

it's your mother, or...

Does part of you

wish it was her?

Yeah, I'd have

some questions, I guess.

People lose their rings

all the time.

I mean, Todd's dad

loses his three times a day.

It doesn't mean that she was...

Don't wanna talk about that.

You don't have to fix this, okay?

We'll figure something out.

Hopefully soon,

before Robin goes running

for the hills.

You're very protective

of your sister and me.

You know, I think when

your mother died,

you took on too much

responsibility for a 12-year-old.

It's fine. No, it's not.

It's not fine.

But now I'm grabbing the wheel.

What do you mean?

I mean, you're wired

to protect us because...

Because I didn't do my job.

But that's my fault, because

I should have been stronger.

So I'm being demoted?

No, you're being freed.

You don't have to

protect us anymore.

What are you gonna do?

About this?

I don't know, I don't know.

I'll figure it out.

Here.

Honey?

Hey, what are you doing?

Sweetie?

Sweetie?

Everything okay, Ms.

Caldwell?

I'm sorry.

Hey.

You all right?

I got to go.

I heard you freaked out in class.

It's nothing.

Well, in Sociology they were

talking about totems,

and some cultures think

that physical objects

tie spirits to the real world.

Yeah, and?

The necklace,

you said you had some

kind of effect on it, right?

Like it was... hurt?

I mean, that sounds

exactly like what they

were talking about.

Did they, um...

Did they say

if they could get rid of it?

No.

I mean,

this isn't Hogwarts, Kellie.

My family needs to know

what this thing really is.

Abby? Abby?

Wake up. Where is it?

Where's my necklace.

What?

Abby, where is my necklace?

What?

Where is my necklace, Abby?

Abby!

She wanted it.

Where is it, Abby?

Where is the necklace?

I don't know.

Abby, where is it?

What?

Where is my necklace?

I don't know.

Tell me where it is right now!

Where's my necklace?

There!

You can't have her!

Mommy?

Abby?

Hey, hey, hey!

Dad, see? It's

getting stronger!

Hey, take Abby!

I'm calling Bernard!

Should we pack our bags?

Hey, thanks for coming.

Thanks for coming.

I'm gonna... I'm gonna take the

girls over to your house.

And then I'm gonna...

I'm gonna clear up here.

Then we'll get a...

Then we'll come back...

Clear up what? What... what

the hell is going on?

Jesus, Todd!

Oh, my God.

Not a good time.

You told me to come

when I knew something.

Yeah, but learn to read

the room, man.

Okay.

I know how to use Google, Todd.

No, look. I took these

pictures at the library.

Okay. A totem is something

that meant a lot to the person

when they were alive.

And now, they're bound to it...

in death.

You said when you

interacted with it,

it affected this thing, right?

It... definitely didn't

like being burned.

I could feel it

through the necklace.

Okay, so see here?

If you destroy it, it should

sever the connection,

and I think that we might be

able to get rid of this thing.

What's that coming out of it?

I don't know. Who knows what

happens if this thing works?

Yeah, we need to get

everyone out of here.

They need to be safe.

You guys are telling me that...

that a ghost is doing this?

Yeah, something like that, yeah.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes