EXT. BIRD’S EYE OF TOWN – NIGHT

Gray clouds restrict the moon’s light causing an unsettling glow in the haze. We descend toward a pasture surrounded by trees. What use to be farm land has gone unkept, making it a dreary wasteland. We glide through this terrain, passing a rundown barn en route to our focus:

A COTTAGE that rests in the middle of the pasture.

INT. COTTAGE – ROOM

The room is narrow, shaped like a rectangle. The walls are cracked, patched and faded birch wood. A lone table pushed against the wall in the middle of the room, two chairs, and a small TV is all that furnishes it.

A woman, 40ish with graying hair, and teenage boy, sit silently eating dinner. The women sips TOMATO soup delicately, while the boy stares at his blankly.

The women looks at the boy as if to speak, but holds her tongue; instead turning on the TV.

The light and noise jars us momentarily as a BREAKING NEWS report begins.

INT. TV

Newscaster
I am here outside Rock ‘N Skate where the body of
a nineteen year old girl was found stabbed to death.
Details are scarce, but the similarities to recent
murders is unsettling. Serial Killer Daniel Crest
is still at large…

The TV is abruptly shut off. We are left to stare at the black screen for a moment, then we slowly pull back to view the woman and the boy.

INT. COTTAGE – ROOM

The SON looks at his MOTHER intently, unsettlingly. His stare is patient. His mother finally breaks and looks up at him.

Ryan
(almost as a whisper)
Say something.

The mother does not break eye contact, but stays silence. The son whips his head away in disgust. We can see the anger swelling in. The conflict of it rising, him forcefully controlling it, and then it breaching the surface once again.

He turns back toward his mother, but not at her.

Ryan
(restrained)
This can’t be taboo all the time.

Mom
There is nothing to say.

Ryan
(with the last strand of control)
This guy is my father.

Mom
I don’t have any answers. Is that what you
want to hear?

Ryan
No. I want to hear you saw this coming.
That you know how to fix this. That a guy
at gym class slipped me some LSD and
I will collapse in a ditch somewhere and
wake up to find everything normal.

Mom
Jacob is gone. There is no way to fix that.

Ryan shutters at the mention of his brother. There is something inside him that wants to justify everything. That wants to remove the truth. His mother’s words pierces the calm of denial. He cannot speak. He grabs his jacket and leaves.

His mother picks up her plate, brings it to the sink and begins washing it.

EXT. PASTURE

The fog has thickened. As Ryan walks through the pasture we lose the sight of him. Coming into a thin path of fog the moonlight finds a way to brighten the pasture. As a shadow we see Ryan walking through the pasture and up a steep hill.

From the corner of the frame we see half of a FIGURE.

EXT. TOP OF HILL

Ryan makes it up the hill and goes to a house. He pulls on a cell phone and punches in some numbers.

INT. JANET’S ROOM

JANET, seventeen, lying sprawled out, prone, she is serene. A black sheet loosely covers to the small of her back.

A CELL PHONE begins to vibrate and then plays DMX’s line,

“1,2, meet me outside, meet me outside, meet me outside”.

Janet wakes. Grabs the phone and silences it. She checks the number and goes to her window.

EXT. OUTSIDE JANET’S HOUSE

At the top of the hill the sky is clear. The fog becomes backdrop, as Janet appears at her window. Her blonde hair flows evenly just past her shoulders. Her eyes seem green or hazel depending on the light. They wake up when she see Ryan.

CUTS TO:

EXT. BARN

The inside of the barn is dank. The rain has started to fall intensifying the fog and mugginess.

The barn is empty except a workbench and a stash of tools in a corner. We rise up to the loft. Bails of hay are set up like a nest and a giant pillow of loose hay. Janet and Ryan are intertwined.

Janet
If my parents realize I’m not in my room
hell will break loose.

Ryan
The hell with hell. Where evil enough
as it is.

Janet
True.
(beat)
For the record we should find a better
spot. As “Outlaw” as this is a bed or
Jacuzzi would be a nice change of pace.
It would be easier on the back, too.

Ryan
(with a wicked smile)
Come now, your back sore in the morning
is what helps you sleep in the first place.

Janet
(returning the smile)
Afraid of a little extra work?

In one motion Ryan turns her on her stomach. He pulls her arms back, holding her wrists with one hand. With the other he softly touches her check, brushing the hair away from her face. He leans down toward her, kisses her neck and whispers in her ear.

Ryan
Getting you to sleep is what helps me sleep.
I am always up for a little extra work.

There is a tenderness to his actions, but an intensity that is a little frightening. Slipping through the open barn door is a FIGURE. Tall and strong he paces himself as he enters. He looks up to the loft, hearing Ryan and Janet. Staying in the shadows he goes the workbench and looks over the tools. He selects a CROWBAR and heads to the loft.

Ryan and Janet are oblivious that someone else has entered the barn. They are lost in the world of each other.

As the figure steps on the ladder to the loft there is a loud CREAK that echoes. A sound that brings Ryan and Janet instantly to their feet. Looking to the ladder they see the figure climbing. Ryan’s face shines, knowing who it is. Without hesitating he kicks the ladder sending it and the figure – his FATHER – to the ground.

Ryan breathes deeply trying to force the panic down. He looks to Janet who is shuttering. Almost too scared to move.

Ryan
We’ll go out to the roof.

Away from Daniel Crest they head out a window and on to the first floor roof.

INT. ROOF

It has started to pour. The teasing rain and fog have grown into a nasty storm. Lightening and thunder disrupt any sense of balance. On top of the roof they are elevate more then ten feet, with no clear way of climbing down.

Janet
Now where?

Ryan
Jump.

Janet
I can’t run with a broken leg.

They are soaked from rain already. Stuck in their indecisiveness Ryan’s dad joins them outside, seeing them on the roof. They are seemingly helplessly trapped.

Daniel Crest props up the latter from inside and begins to climb up to the roof. CROWBAR gripped tightly in his right hand.

Ryan
Go back inside jump into the hay and go get help.
I’ll distract him.

Janet
But…

Ryan
One of us has to get help. Go inside! HURRY!

With tears in her eyes she nods her head yes.

Daniel reaches the roof and stands to Ryan as a showdown, each waiting for the other to make the first move. JANET runs out of the barn and back toward Ryan’s house. Ryan takes his eyes off his father and looks to Janet causing him to do the same. In that instance Ryan charges at him sending them both flying off the roof.

Crashing to the mud they both wince as they struggle to their feet. They circle each other. Ryan does not back down. This is a fight long in the making. Even before Jacob. Ryan’s seeded hatred gleams in his eyes, making the lack of expression in his father that much more unsettling.

Ryan is the aggressor, but he is careless. He lands a few punches, before a switch of balance allows Daniel to land a shot that sends Ryan to the ground. Stunned and scared Ryan tries to get to his feet. His dad places his foot at his neck, bends down and picks him up his ankle. Ryan squirms to no avail. Daniel bends down and picks up the crowbar, slides his hand to the base of it and readies it to engage when…

Ryan’s MOTHER slams a shovel into the back of her husband. He drops Ryan and turns to see her.

Mom
Ryan, run!

He does. Again the mom hits him with the shovel. Then she follows Ryan. Daniel Crest lays face down in the mud. Rain sinking him.

INT. COTTAGE – ROOM

Ryan and his mom rush in. Janet jumps out holding a bat, dropping it when she sees it’s only Ryan and his mom.

Janet
I called the cops. They’ll be here soon.

Ryan
Good.

They embrace. All they can do is wait.

INT. BARN – OUTSIDE

Crest stands tall. Shakes off the mud and walks, with a quickened pace, toward the shack.

Fifty yards away he stops. Police sirens and flashing lights surround the house. He pauses. Then turns away.

INT. COTTAGE – ROOM

Another chair has been pulled up to the small wooden table, where Janet, Ryan, and his mother sit.

A policeman comes in.

Police
You’re safe now. My men are going to secure
the area. We’ll leave a few men here tonight,
but it is unlikely he will return. He’s on the
run. We will track him down.

Ryan and his mom look up, knowing who is attacking them, knowing that he will be back. If not tonight, sometime. They will never again feel safe.

Janet, though, is relived.

Janet
Thank you! Thank you!

Police
(off Janet)
It’s my job, Ms.

He tips his hat and goes back outside. Ryan and his mom exchange a look.

Janet
(to Ryan)
Would you take me home?

Ryan
Sure.

Putting his arm around her they start to leave, but before Ryan walks out the door he turns back and makes eye contact with his mother. Her face is full of repression. The process where she forces herself to forget. Ryan knows this well. He does the same thing.

CUTS TO:

INT. WOODS

The police find it harder to “secure” the house then they thought. On either side of the house are woods. Which they now attempt to search. Two policemen, flashlights in hand, enter the woods.

Officer Bender
See anything?

Officer Jones
No.

Officer Bender
Let’s go back. We’re not going to find anything
here. Not in this weather. Let the FBI do more
when they get here.

He turns around and his partner isn’t there.

Officer Jones
Bender?

He turns back. In front of him is

Daniel Crest.

He doesn’t have time to scream. A knife pierces him. He falls into the mud. Crest looks up, seeing the house, and heads for it. There are three other policemen outside the house, under a roof that looks like there once was a porch that went with it. They stand around talking. They don’t see the threat so, to them, it isn’t there. Their car’s light shines out, making them unable to see the path in front of them. And that is the path Crest walks.

Officer Johnson
There is no way he is going to show back up here.

Officer Smith
We should stick around though. For her piece of
mind.

Officer Johnson
Yeah, I know. I just wish it wasn’t raining.

Something bumps into their car, causing its lights to sway. The officers see this and move toward the blind spot.

Officer Smith
Bender? Jones?

There is no answer. Suddenly they are

RUSHED at. Officer Jones is stabbed and falls. The other two try and retaliate, but the fight is being won by Crest. Ryan’s mother hears the commotion and comes outside, seeing her husband, darts for her car and drives off. One of the officers is violently shoved to the ground leaving the other one on one with Crest. Crest pushes him against the cop car and throws him against the windshield. The other cop pulls out his walkie talkie and calls for backup. In the second it takes to do his Crest bashes the skull of the other officer into the windshield. His head breaks the glass and he falls slightly into the car. Crest jumps off the hood of the car and grabs him by his legs. Pulling the cop toward him he severs his neck on the broken glass of the windshield. The remaining cop charges to help, but upon seeing the carnage is frozen in terror. Crest has no hesitation in his reaction. He grabs the neck of the cop and squeezes. The cop struggles but has no answer. In one motion Crest snaps the cop’s neck and goes after his wife. .

CUTS TO:

INT. STREET

The road is curvy and wet. The Crest driven cop car comes into view, gaining on her.

It reaches her, bumping the car from behind. She turns her head around. He is right on her. She turns back, seeing a CLIFF ahead. She tries to swarve but can’t in time. Her car flies over. Crest’s car follows.

They crash. Both cars are destroyed. We are left in a moment of dead silence. Absorbing what we have just seen.

The mother, bleeding from the head, tries to climb out the window. Sliding out she collapses upon putting pressure of her leg. She picks herself up and looks around for Crest. She walks to his car. He is there, not moving.

She bends down and looks at him. Pitied. Then his

ARM grabs her. She is able to push herself away. He struggles but is able to release himself from the car. He stands facing her. She is shaking.

Mom
Please! Daniel!

He doesn’t say anything. He starts walking toward her. She backs away. He stops. He motions for her to come to him. She doesn’t. He starts walking to her again. She doesn’t move. He walks right up to her and looks in her eyes. Then he kisses her.

Mom
Daniel.

She wants to believe she has found good in him. Her eyes brighten. Even after all that he has done she wants to love him, wants to forgive him. Then she is

STABBED in the back. Falling to her knees, she is stabbed again.

Her eyes grow hazy as she falls into the mud.

The police are now at the scene, looking down from the cliff.

Daniel Crest walks away and into a patch of woods. We see Ryan and Janet appear at the top of the cliff as well. They make their way down. The police have found his mother’s body.

Seeing what his father has done, all Ryan can do is turn to Janet. Huddled with her, tears trickle down his cheeks. Trying to stop them only makes them seem more painful.

Police
Call an ambulance!

They all stand there, as the rain falls, absorbing the carnage. Ryan seeing the fall, the fate of his mother. We float up to the sky. Seeing the landscape of the woods that Crest has disappeared in.



To request a full copy of this or other scripts please email andrewwooster@hotmail.com


Bloodline | Starlit |

Starlit: First Ten Pages FADE IN EXT. STREET – NIGHT The street has a small town feel, yet is at the end of a city. The street lights seem dimmer then they should. As if this was a house someone left a long time ago, but overlooked turning off the lights. A forgotten place. It is lined with abandoned, worn down, warehouses buildings. The street ends abruptly, a cement wall with ivy clinging to it blocks passage. Over the top of the wall we can see trees and hear the current of water. The sidewalk has only five cars. All pulled up to the one place on this street that has life. From the sky we descend floating closer to the TWILIGHT FLAME INT. TWILIGHT FLAME – CONTINUOUS We enter the front door and observe the nightclub; pausing slightly at the moment our eyes first can absorb everything. Like when you walk into a baseball stadium and see the field for the first time. Our attention is captured by a VOICE – at first, then by the one singing. A girl. Early twenties, blonde hair, crystal eyes. Innocence at first glance, but you can see it is a façade. An aura she created to hide herself. Like the makeup she wears. It’s a song you’ve heard a million times, by a million different pretty faces, but all the words suddenly make sense. We stay on her, in kind of an uninhibited leer, until the song ends. We circle back and see the crowd from her point of view. The applause isn’t that great; there are only a handful of people there. The overhead music comes on. A mix of jazz and blues. All the lights on the stage go out. If you were just to walk in the place now it would take you a minute to realize a stage was even there. The girl walks off the stage and over to the bar. Before she is settled on the stool the bartender puts in front of her a COSMO, a diced up cherry sits at the bottom of the glass. She looks up. We see the person who gave her the glass. He has slicked back hair, and tinted glasses. A charming, yet seedy looking mid fifties man. Les Drink up and get back on stage. Michelle It’s two a.m. Les Yeah. And we stay open to three. She puts down her glass and looks at him. Michelle There are like seven people here. Les shrugs has shoulders in a ‘yeah, so’ gesture. Michelle (seductive-like) Do you really want me to get overtired? Les (blowing her off) I can always find some way of sleeping. Michelle (under her breath) Ass-hole. This isn’t an argument, but rather, tired banter. A scene played out many times before. The thought at the back of your mind at first glance is proven true. The thirty year age different not withstanding – Les and Michelle are lovers. It’s maybe a little creepy, yet somehow you can see why Michelle, a young, vibrant, beautiful girl, would allow herself to be touched by a balding old man. Les has fire in his movement and the kind of borderline cockiness that only a few can pull off. But those who can are magnetic. She finishes her drink and walks back toward the stage. We zoom back so we see them both in the shot. Michelle reaches the stage, but doesn’t stop. She goes through a door and into the back hallway. We do a 180 and see a mirror image of the last shot from the other side. We see that Les is looking at a girl. An exotic beauty. One that high school boys put pictures of on their walls. She looks up, and sees Les staring at her. She plays the game. Blushing and looking away. Then, finally, returning the look, smiling lustfully. The girl moves away from the table. We see the silhouette of a person she was sitting with. Their physical details are undistinguishable. She makes her way to the bar, but goes past it. Les’s eyes follow are as she passes him. The sign she is heading for reads, ‘restrooms’ only she veers away from it and to a door covered by a silky red sheet. She moves it aside, opening the door and walking into the hallway. Obviously knowing exactly where she is going she makes her way. INT. MICHELLE’S DRESSING ROOM We see the singer, Michelle, at her vanity. She stares into the mirror with a still intensity that is a little unsettling. There is a knock that breaks her out of her trace. She jumps in her seat slightly before turning to the door. She gets up and answers it. Seeing the girl on the other side she shows surprise. Michelle Oh, Josie. They embrace in a longing way, without barriers. Lovers, best friends, sisters. You are not sure their relationship, only knowing that it is deep. Michelle It’s been two weeks. Where have you been? Josie Some times you need to just disappear for a spell. I hope that never happens to you. But it does some times for me. Michelle Where did you go? Josie If I explained how and where I disappeared it would make it harder the next time to do so. Josie sits on the couch and slips off her shoes. Michelle follows her, only still standing. Michelle I don’t want you to ever leave again. It’s been so empty here without you. Josie Les doesn’t want me around any longer. That is clear. I have to find a new place to belong. Michelle We can go together. Michelle sits down next to her, taking her hand. Josie No. I couldn’t let you. Your place is here for now. We won’t loss all contact. I’ll call. I’ll stop by like this. Michelle What if Les sees you? Josie He saw me tonight. He doesn’t dislike me enough to permit me from seeing you. They pause. Josie There is one thing. Do you remember the necklace I gave you? Michelle Of course. She reaches to her neck and pulls into view a heart shaped necklace attached to a silver chain. Josie Can I see it a minute? Michelle removes the chain from her neck and gives it to Josie. Taking it from her she opens the locket, nothing is inside it. She gives it back to Michelle. Michelle What? Was there suppose to be something inside? Josie I guess that is up to you. From her pocket she pulls out a similar looking necklace, only with a gold chain. Josie I want you to have this. Josie takes Michelle’s hand and places the necklace inside it. Josie Hold onto this for me, please. Michelle stares at it, not knowing what to say. She looks up at Josie. Michelle For how long? Josie Until I come back to reclaim it. (beat) I must go. She kisses Michelle and slips her shoes back on. Josie Bye. Michelle Bye. Michelle watches as she leaves. Then goes to her vanity. Opening a drawer she pulls out a jewelry box. She opens up the bottom, reveling a secret compartment. In there she places Josie’s necklace. Putting hers back on she makes her way back to the stage. EXT. TWILIGHT FLAME – STAGE As Michelle steps on the stage we see Les from the bar watching her. We move around the club to the table where Josie had been sitting. The person she was with no longer is there. Michelle starts to sing. DISSOLVES TO INT. ALLEY – EARLY MORNING It is too dark to see clearly. The streetlights are dim and too spaced apart. The night is starless. No one is around except two figures that are tripping their way down the alley, leaning on each other. The figure on the right is muttering but we can’t understand what is said. We get closer and, as they bob in and out of the shadows, we can see the one to the right’s face. It is the girl from the nightclub. Josie. She starts to ramble. She is clearly out of it. Josie You must think I’m a slut…why not? I would if I were you. Don’t feel bad at all. I bring it on myself. I wait, I lay and wait, and then take a chance. Sometimes, not a lot, but sometimes, things work out fine. They really do. Cause you know I would like kids someday. I mean not tomorrow. Let’s not get crazy. But, yeah, someday they would be nice. How about you? You want kids? I bet you do. You seem like the kid loving kind. They stop. Josie leans against a nearby building wall. We still don’t see the other figure. Josie is under the light now. Her lip is bleeding. Eyes glazed over. She stays silent. She acts sort of like she is catching her breath. For a moment there is no sound. Josie You know, it isn’t lost. Not lost or stolen. It’s just been sill-a-ly misplaced. (beat) I had this dream once where I was floating. I was floating through a day in in my life. I really was. I was floating above myself and I saw how everyone looked at me. How men looked at me. I heard what they said when I was in my office. I heard what women said about me when they thought I was out of earshot. Even what you really thought about me. And you know what I learned? There are no good people out there. I mean just plain nice good people. Josie just gets the word “people” out when a knife is jammed into her stomach. Sighing softly she falls to the ground. Again she is stabbed. We see the side and the arm of the other figure, of the attacker, but nothing more. She lays motionless on the ground. We see the side and the arm of the attacker, looking at her. We stare into the darkness which is its disguise, but see nothing. Then the side and arm is pulled back into the darkness that protects the person they belong to. We hear soft steps as the person, killer, walks away. FADES TO BLACK