"THE CRAFT" (1996)

Red Wagon Prods. Doug Wick, Producer

Several thousand feet above.Los Ange:..es.

The afternoon sun streaks through layers of smog and haze.

A word is handwritten across the screen: strange.

Another word: afraid.

AN EXTREME CLOSE UP -

A beautiful young face, SARAH, seventeen years old.

The delicate curves ofher features, her Bottice2..lihai::-,her creamy skin, don't hide apervasive sadness.

S.ARAH' S_VOICE. Something stra.ngeis going t·ohappen here. I can't tell if I'm afraid or not. Nervous. I wish I could snap my fingers like magic and it would be a month fror.i. now. A year...

Sarah sits next to the window, writing in'a'diary. Her father, ROGERBAILY, and her stepmother, ~ENNY, are beside her, getting ready for landing. ·

Sarah looks out the window.

AERIAL SHOT -

The plane..entersframe below us,·banks left and moves do·..v-r. into the murk.

Confusion-- dozens of PASSENGERS, SKYCABS, all rnar~'l.ero: PEOPLE swarm around Sarah, her father,Jen..'l.y,asther:::.:-ee try to find a taxi.

IN~. CAB - AFTERNOON.

Ignoring her parents' chatter, ~,rah lies back, s:ari~g o~: the window, listless, mesmerized by the city as i: g:..:.des:0:/.

: j

I .. VAR:ous A!.'JGLES-OUT THEWINDOW

ON A STREET CORNER - A WOMAN screams to high hell at her KIDS, little ones, who hold her hands, numbed by her ragir.g.

:NA CENTER DIVIDER - An old Datsun has been neatly compressed into oriethird its original size by a huge deli.verytruck. POLICE and PARAMEDICS are all around. Two BODIES :ie underneath blood-soaked white cloth covers. ONLOOKERS gape. SOMEONE is crying hysterically.

IN THE NEXT LANE - A jacked-down, customized, white-on-white BMW,.cruises by. One of the darkly tinted windows is rolled down. A slumped-down GANG-BANGER with a shaved head and wr~paround glasses leers at us.

ON A SIDEWALK - A towering, psychotic, HOMELESS MAN with rotting dreadlocks holds a sign aloft: "December 31, 1999 will be the erid.PREPARE!!"

Old Los Angeles: the CAB takes a turn up a hilly street.

A hodgepodge of styles: rustic lodge turned Seventies party·

bouganvillea. Eucalyptus tr·eescreak in the breeze. .

But mostly, it's isolated; there doesn't seem to be a single house anywhere nearpy.

Roger pays the cab.·

A helico:p,terBUZ.ZESoverhead.. Theylook up.·

The room is huge, with wood beam ceilings, a stuccoed-over stone fireplace.'All of the.Bailey's possessions are stacked in the middle of the floor, draped with furnit~re pads.

Jer.nytouches aMexican light fixture.

Jfil."Nl It's certainly got personality...

IN':'.KITCHEN -

Sarah walks•into the kitchen, painted laquer-red, ~ith Japanese lanterns and shoj:..screens.

The room is a hitherto unachieved shade of cadmiu."Tlyellow. Sarah comes in, sees at it and sighs'.

She opens a double-door closet, but it only leads OC'TSIDE with a several story drop and no railing or balcony.

Roger and Jenny come in, .seethe Doorway to Nowhere.

Her remark annoys him.

Sarah is rummaging aro.undin the huge pile of stuff. Behir:d 1.er,the set•tingsun streams through the front door.

A figure-is moving up the .f::::-ontstep$i,.completely silhouetted.

BEHIND SARAH -

doorway. The shadow holds up a snake.

G I.NONE INSTANT:

..,,•

Sarah t:.:..::-ns,andseesadi.::-tyVAGRA...'J':'·,.,rithholloweyes, smiling, snake in hand.

Sarah shifts into another mode.

v.:..GR.ANT'SPOVOFSARAH- SOMETHING WEIRD IS F.APPENING:BRIGH':' LIGHT starts to ema~ate from behind Sarah. And her face starts to CHANGE...

Startled, the Vagrant drops the SNAKE, steps back.

The SNAKEwriggles towards Sarah. She scrambles away, knocking a chair over.

Roger sees the Man, picks up a fireplace poker and charges at him.

·ROGER Get the fuck out of here! !! !!.

The Man j_ogsback, confused. Roger slams the door, breathes ..

THROUGH A WINDOW - The Vagrant is running away, up the hillside.

ANGLE - The snake is slithering across Roger's foot.

He raises the poker and slams it down with a fleshy PLO:t--.."K.

~NT. SARAH'S ROOM- NIGHT

Sarah sits on a mattress which has been made up for bed. She eats Chinese food from a container. Roger stands i~ ~er doorway.

;(j

that lives in Griffith park ...Suthe's

I . never hurt anybody ...You're not going to I be spending any tine here by yoursel:.

Jenny or I will always be around.

s;,..p_;...H Ididn't say anything.

Roger goes.

garden.

Sarah.takes the photo from a packing carton, touches the glass.

~ ~_J. Sarah lies there,-eyes·op~n.

OUT THE DOORTO NOWHERE - It's very dark.

A breeze rustles the trees. We hear the clock T:CKING .

IN~. BEDROOM - MORNING

This is a different bedroom, fully furnished, very subdued.

A teenage girl is getting out of bed, BONN:E STEWART, so~ber, ·pale, covered in a longs1eeved nightgown. She puts her 1-:a:.r up in·a ~OI_1ytailwhile·shegets r.el,:"bearings.· ·

Bor.niepulls qut a grey Catholic school uniform. She st~ps and :oaks in her full-length closet mirror. She slips 1-:er nightgown off.

We are looking OVER HER SHOULDER, but we see just enough c: ( ·-\ some very extensive, reddish scarri~g across her sh01.....:..ders, _\:;) chest and arms.

Something awful.happened to her.

Bor_.ielooks in her own eyes, doesn't like what she sees.

BO:NNIE Yeah.

IN~. KITCHEN IN HANCOCK PARK - MORNING

An attractive, well-coiffed black MOTHER, is just finishing a

to the tastefully decorated

BREAKFAST NOOK

which contains an extremely handsome black family: FATHER, BROTHERS, SISTERS and ROCHELLE MACK, 16,·model-pretty and

uniform look glamorous.

Rochelle scoops up some scrambl~d eggs, her second helping, ·and wolfs them down.

Rochelle's Mother watches this,c~re~ully.

ROCHELI.:E To get :nybooks. Is that alright?

~ \3 An ongoing tension between them.

Rochel:e is crouched over the toilet, an empty package of plain doughnuts·lying nearby. She wipes her mouch, flushes the toilet. A KNOCK on the door.

Rochelle very carefully and silently folds up ~he doughnut wrapper and puts it in her bookbag.

She picks up stray crumbs as she goes to the door.

,.·~..,-~~~j ,,,-./ NANCY DOWNScomes·out ·of the bathroom. She wears the same uniform as the others, but with a white-trash vibe: bleach~ ·blonde hair, toomuch makeup, an ankle tatoo.

Nancy is face to facewith RAY, paunchy, unshaven, in Rote- Rooter cover-alls. As the two maneuver past each other in the tiny hallway, Ray looks down her shirt.

Nancy scratches her cheek while giving him the 'finger.

He laughs a smoker's laugh which turns into a smoker's q:01...:.gh. Then he lights up~

EJ Nancy's mother, GRACE, is out.cold on the bed a..1nidsta·11:...::e bottle, an over:turnedashtray, a TV Guide.

No response. Nancy goes to the purse on the bedside table, opens the wallet: _afew singles, coins. Nancy takes it all.

,

Nancy steps outside th~·dilapidated TRAILER set in the backyard of an even more· dilapidatedolclBUNGALOW.

Nancy scans for a seat amid sea:of·HISPANIC WOMEN,all chattering on in Spanish.

Nancy sits in back. Across the-aisle are two ninth grade BOYS in school uniforms. They whisper to each other when they see Nanc·y.

One of them starts miming a blow job.

Nancy turns.

The Boys are afiaid.

BUSES and CARS deposit swarms of uniformed STUDEN'!'S:The school has a fading elegance: graceful stuccoed buildings, cracked, patched and tinged with graffitti.

CHR:S HOOKER, TREY HANTHAM, MITT ROGERS, and a handful of other JOCKS hang by the water fountain, perched on either side of the hall.

A spindly-looking lower-class BOY, has to walk through t:hem.

Trey and Mitt merely glare at the boy. This is enough to r:i.ake him sprint off.

Bonnie, Rochelle and Nancy are approaching. The Boys silent as they pa_ss.

I

~

Trey coughs art:.:·.illyspir:tingouttheword 'scum fuck' or ':uckme' or 'blowjob'. Other boys followsuit, except Chris, who seernsannoyed.

Nancy g:ares at Chris: SOMETHING BETTNEEJ.~THEM.

So many men, so 1ittle ammunition.

DOWN THE HALLWAY -

Once they reach -:heirlockers, Bonnie pulls out a strange paperback.

I ANGLE - A huge, rather macho-looking, uniformed female SECtJRITYGUARD.

The girls LAUGH.

INT_.FRENCH CLASS - DAY

Bonnie sits in.French class, trying her best_ to avoid t.he gaze of MONSIEUR THEPOT, the rakish,. fortyish French ::.e·acher. He speaks only IN FRENCH and is SUBTITLED.

g

j

lC> 7HEPC':" How did you spend your ~eekend? At the beach? At a rock concer:? Looking for girls?

Mitt looks lost.

THEPO':' Cherchez les femmes? Hrnmrl'm?Lesfemmes?

Thepot makes ·anhourglass shape in the air.

The class LAUGHS. Thepot is not amused.

Heads turn. Thepot smil~s.

Thepot is im~ressed.

ANGLE..-BONN-IE She .staresat Sarah.

The boys :augh, except forChris.

Thepot keeps talking in French but it FADES AWAY as we

MOVEIN on Sarah. She's watching something.

UP AHEAD- Bonnie takes a pencil and stands it on its lead :,:1 point, balancing it with her inqex finger.

She stares at the pencil and.concentrates.

She takes her finger away, and the pencil stays standing.

Sarah watches, mesmerized.

Bonnie turns to Sarah.

The pencil falls.

Bonnie's expressionless stare shoots through Sara·h.

Class hasn't started yet. Nancy and Rochelle are at a rear lab table.

ANGLE - LAURALIZZIE, a muscular, blonde swimmer, jokingw1:~. her LAB GROUP.

Bonnie rushes in, excited.

ROCHE:SLE Who?

Sarah wanders in, confused. She talks to a TEACHERup front who directs her to take a seat. Sarah comes to the Girls.

Nancy crosses her eyes.

Sarah walks off.

Too late. She's at another table.

NANCY

__ She's a .freak.

Sarah is eating lunch by herself when she notices Roc~e::e, Bonnie and Nancy across the way, staring at ~er.

•1

~ Someone sits down at her table. It's Chris Hooker, from \:.:_7 French class.

SARAfi So many people have been rude, it's hard to keep track.

Chris very artfully yawns and stretches, turning his head to see the Girls. ·

WITH THE GIRLS - Bonni~ is watching closely.

Chris sneaks a nervous look at Bonnie.

Nancy's hand goes on Bonnie's shoulder.

BACK WITH CHRIS AND SARAH

8. SARAH

What?

•_.,.1 CHR:S They're wi-:ches.

He touches her hair. /I:

He buries his face in it and sniffs. She tries to pull away.

· SARAH Nothing, I guess.

Annoyed, she finally swats him out of her hair.

Chris smiles his shit-eating grin and gets up ..

u CHRIS

I think you'll be there.

)_____·-···

s.;.R..AH ·:-::ir.kagain.

Ee ·.var:.dersof:,takingsoneFrenc:.Fries from a SPINDLY ?RES~~, smili~g back at us.

EX:'.FOOT5A!..LF:EtD- ·DAY

Several cars are parked next cb.the fietd ~ith several

but mostly watching their BOYS doing scrinmages.

ANGLE - BEHIND SOME TREES - We spy Sarah, doing her best r-.ot to be seen. She scans for Chris on the field.

Saz:-ahturns.Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle are right there.

BONN!E Some. ofthese football dicks make their

·~ girl.friendscome watch them practice. As \,___j if it's interestin9. ---

Really?

~he girls laugh, even Sarah a little.

Corne on.It's a really cool mall, and really unique because.there's a Gap and a Benetton and a Mrs. Fields Cook~es and a Brookstone, so, it's like different from all the other malls.

'NANCY Or you can stay ar..dwatchChris.

They start walking off. Sarah thinks for a second, tpen follows.

CUT TO - A CLOSE UP

A SNAKE sli-:hersat us.

Sarah lurches away.

..L

n.

~ The girls watch this. Rochel:e ~ears a bright red beret, \:!J} Nancy red high tops.

Nancy leads them out of the pet store.

Browsing_.

BO~"'NIE It's a little conservative for me.

Bonnie.twists a new red scarf around her neck. Sarah looks around, nervous. ~ bitd1y SALESMAN is eyeir..gthem_.

They look at Sarah~

The girls LAUGH, moving to the door.

They all make ab-line for the exit... except Sarah ~ho stands right in front of the Salesman.

She touches his hand.

SARJ._f-! EXC'..lSeme ...

~HE SAI..ESMAN'SPOV -Sarah loo~ing straight at him.

Sarah's eyes are riveting.

Every-:hingbehind her is bright.ening,FAD:NG TO a shimnering v\1HIT:S,.u:::::t.i.2.:..t.meltsdown.Sarah'.sshapeisdarkeningIN':'O· SP.ADOW,dissipating.

BEHIND SARAH'S BACK - Nancy waves the girls away. They run.

BACK IN THE VISION -

Sarah's shape thins and twists into a wire hanger. :t fa2.2.s.

W:..th·aCLPl.i.'JG,.everythingsnapsback·toNORMAL.

The Salesman bends over, dumbstruck, to pick up a wire hanger.

Sarah stands over him,·hoiding up a shirt.

The Salesman rubs his temples and sits down qn the floor.

EX':'.MALL- AFTEP-NOON

The three Girls wait just outside the mai·nencrar.ce,-:asSa=a~4 comes out.

J

SARAH Nothing.

Bonnie and Rochelle give a look.to.Nancy.

Rochelle·,sberet, Nancy's high tops, and Bonnie's scarf. Together with Sarah they march through a graffitti-splactered part of town.

Long silence.,.

Sarah walks ahead.

The girls all look at ·each other.

I

Dark, Catholic, and decrepit. The proprietor, an ethereal Latina with a lined face, narnedLIRIO, eyes the Girls warily. Sarah browses the occult paraphenalia.

Rochelle comes over and hands Sarah a book.

; ..Jl.

ROCH:::LLE

- This is better. You put spells and power

thoughts in it. Then don't let anyone read it, ever. Except maybe us.

Roche:.leslips some incense into her pocket and wanders off.

Nancy approaches a PAINTING surrounded by candles and mirrors. ~he PAINTING is of a woman, a witch probably, enveloped in electric iight, deep in the throes -0fecstatic pain or pleasure.

A small plaque below reads: 'Invocation of the Spirit.'

Bo:ir:.iewalksup.

BONNIE--

~ That'.snice, Nancy. ~J. The girls stare at the painting.

WITH SARAH - She continues to browse. Books, ~edallions.

She picks up a boxed set of candles, red, black, white. She smells them.

'Just then, a MIDDLE-AGEDCOUPLE enters the shop. They nod co Lirio, then disappear behind a black GUrtain in the back of the store. Sarah is curious.

She approaches the curtain.

s~ddenly a wrinkled hand stops her.

:.IRIO That's not for you.

Lirio sees an old ring on Sarah's hand.

LIR:O A beautiful ring. It was your mother's.

2.l SARAH (taken aback) Yes.

·~irio looksat thebox·of candles, the book.

They go to the counter. Sarah pays.

~irio gives her a small book covered in Old English scr~pt and engravings.

·creepy smile..

Sarah goes to the girls.

·:EXT.CANDLE SHOP - CONT.

(-~1 ·.Ast:heytrudge off. .._,____:./

~ANCY I can't believe you paid. Ic's so embarrassing.

zz.

.. @

Sarah trudges up the driveway. It's dark, and the hills are q..iiec.

Sarah's father and Jenny are sitting in the dining room 2.ookingvery agitated. When Sarah comes in, he jumps up.

ROG~R It's seven o'clock in the evening. W~ were this far away fromcallir.gthe , I po1 ice.\

This stops him cold.. Sarahruns upsta_irs.·

Sarah has passed out on her bed, still in her clothes. She has lit a dozen or so of the CANDLES from the store.

The breeze from .theopen Doorway to Nowher~ light:.ytosses the flames to and fro.

Sarah BREATHESheavily while she sleeps.

The sound.of her BREATH is growing deeper, cavernous, like some huge beast·...·andit synchs with the BREEZE from tr:e window. · ·

The CANDLESare blowing out and relighting with each BREEZE, with each breath.

Sudden2.y~he PHONE RINGS.·Sarah dives for it.

The BREEZE stops.

VOICE What are you wearing?

~

Who is this...? Oh.

v

This Friday. After practice. A real date. :'11 buy you dinner and you'll give me sex.

CHR!S' VOICE I'll take ~hat as a yes. Later.

CLICK.

She lies back, slightly annoyed, but rather more excited.

Sarah and Chris lie beneath the dilapidated neon 'Ambassador Hote·l' sign. Chris kisses her, rapaciously, bending.her body around his_,stroking her ever'JWhere.

His rnoutn goes down her chest, as he opens buttons on her uniform blouse.

Sarah is :1.otemotionallyengaged. She watches a srr.og-r:'...:ed sunset.

Just then, Trey and Laura Lizzie round a corner, hand·- hand. Sarah smiles at then, e~barrassed.

LAl'.JRA It was nice.to meet yo~, Sarah.

Bye, Laura.

Laura and Trey descen4 a ladder.

'

Chris dives back into Sarah. He star~s unbuttoning his pants, pushing her down. ~·

Chris dives away from her, panting.

He catches his breath .

Itis cool.We can ju_st,you know ...hang.

He stuffs something back·in.his pants·and zips up ..

He puts-his arm around her, gives her a polite peck on the cheek, and checks out the sunset.

Awkward.

':'heTeacheris lecturing. Sarah and the girls TtlHISPER.

BONN:::E Do-you know wha~ they're saying about you? About what happened at the Ambassador with Chris?

·SARAH What???

Sarah is mortified. She turns around.

Laura Lizzie and her LAB GROUP look away, avoiding Sarah. But one o: them nudges Laura and they all laugh. ·

Rochelle ...

Sarah is walking toward her locker when she sees Chris, Tre;/, Mitt and the other Jocks in their formation on either side of the hallway.

·She wave;:_s,thendecides to·keep going.

C::.riswon'tlook at her as she passes.

T:::-eycoughsouta 'hosebag'. Mitt coughs out a 'used 1..:.p hole'.

Sarah just keeps going.

·rNT. KITCHEN - NIGHT

Roger and Je~~~y·andSarah sit around the ki:chen :ab:e, eating di~-~erin SILENCE.

Roger's about to say something to Sarah, but he's not sure how to from his thoughts into words.

Sarah looks at him.

What?Why don't you just say it...? You never just say what it is.

Roger gives up. Sarah shakes her head. They eat in SILENCE.

Sarah is washing dishes. Jenny comes in with-dirty pl.at.es.

Sarah lies on her bed, eyes red from crying. She lookswan, empty. She gets up and locks her door.

She goes to her desk and opens a drawer. Inside: amidst pencils and pens, an EXACTOKNIFE. She picks it up and goes into

She goes to the mirror and cuts open a vein on each wrist with the knife.

Blood drips down onto her white tile floor.

·she reaches for a glass and fills it with water from the tap.

A little blood drips in too'.

She drinks·the pinkish water.

She wavers, and the glass drops, SMASH!

Water, blood, shards of glass on the floor,all ar01..:.::d::er feet.

Blood still drips down her hands, off the tips of her fingers.

She looks in the mirror. She's pale.

She falls to the floor, into a pool of red.

J

2.7.

CJ ANGLE - There's knocking on the bedroom door.

POG"}..'"DING.Thedoorrattles.

Sarahwants tomove, to get help, but she's frozen.

She tries to speak. She tries to move her arms. But nothing.

The door BOWSin with an attempt to break it down WHAM!

Then it's quiet.No one's trying to heip.

TIGHT ON SARAH'S FACE - She's crawling to the door. Her body is like lead.

Gradually we PULL BACK to reveal she is on her bed.

There's no blood.

She rubs her wris-ts: they're normal.

$he rolls over on her back,· burying her face in her arr.ts.

There's a distant KNOCKat the front door.

VOICES.

Sarah gets up, peeks out.

ANGLE~ DOWN THE STAIRS

Roger is talking to Nancy, Bonnie and Rochel:e.

(..,__·--::).......TheGirlsstartwalkingout.

Sarah watches them go fora beat, then:

rtJait..

T~e Girls hear her and t~rn back, see her a~ the top of ~he st.a.:.rs.

Sarah runs to her closet.

Rochelle's glacialMother drives.

SILENCE.

Nancy ~ak~s a lewdgesture by slipping her tongue through her fingers.

Bonnie and Rochelle GIGGLE.

Green hat, .greenKeds, green T-shi+t and green Swatch Watch pile out of thecar. -Rochelle waves goodby~ and they march up to the box office as the car drives off.

The Girls lead Sarah away, down the street.

EXT, HOLLYWOOD SIDE STREET.,-.NIGHT

Dark and seedy. Abandoned cars and empty lots.

Sarah braces as they approach ...

The Girls parade stalwar~ through the mass psychosis.

:9

Sara~ steals glimpses from the corner ofher eye: BEGGARS, ?IMPS, CR::::?PLES,RUNAWAYS,DE.ALERS.Noise.,SCREAMING, S::::RENS, LAUGHTER.

:•,'iththeirgame faces, theGirls pass unnoticed.

A S:'REETWOMAN shufflesby, clutchinga dirty, crying BABY.

Please... my baby needs food ...

Sarah stops, heartbroken.

The Gir:s keep walking. The StreetWoman ~otices Sarah.

Suddenly Sarah has become a target. Everyone is lookir;.gat her. Someone jostles her. A PIMP turns around,.scoping her out.

Honey child... I like your styie...

He's blocking·.herway. She looks for theGirls.

But they're gone. From down thebo,ulevard, a weird ST?.EET

PREACHER spies Sarah. i '

She turns and runs, and hits smack dab into a dirty Vagrant. He is familiar.·

Sarah recognizes him: he stood in the doorway with the snake.

He holds her arm.

Sarah SCREAMSand pulls away, running straight INTO STREET -

A car HONKS. Another SCREECHES to a ha:t right at Sarah's feet.

:JRIVER You fuckin' idiot!

A.NG~E- The·vagrant is coming after her, into the lanes of traffic.

The Gir~s have ccticed where Sa~ah is. They see the.Vagrant.

'VERYQUICK: Bonnie, Rochelle and Nancy .eachthinking something. They are cool.

A speeding SPORT TRUCKwith monster wheels catches the Vagrant.

His legs get caught under the wheels. He SCREAMS as his legs are crushed.

People YELLING.

A hand comes out o-fnowhere and·grabs a dumbstruck Sarah. It's Bonnie.

Motorcycle Cops descend on the scene. Pandemoni:.i.m.·

The-four Girls sprawl on the grass, in the dark. We only catch glimpses of their faces whe~ the light of distant headlights pass·esover them. The wind ::..sRUSTLING throughthe t.rees.

BO:NNIE

~ ;...

He ~as coming after you. He deserved .......

\,J

:SONNIE Man invented God. This is older than that. She's the trees, the rocks, the ground, everything.

·NANCY - It's kind of a transexual, I guess.

Sarah nods quietly.

BONN~E I guess we finally four:dour fourth.

One time we chanted all night over an algebra test. The next day we all got the same grade.

I I I ROCHELLE '

Three 'F's.W~ should have studied.

They laugh.

(-~ Sarah turns to face the breeze. ·"1.....-...:...,,..;..J'

I

_c_jI

~ ~~)' Rochei'lesteps up in a bat:iingsuit.

~X~. SCHOOL ?OOL - DAY

The whole DIVING TEAM, including Laura Lizzie and her Friends, as well as several COACHESare watching.

R·ochelleputs her shoulders back, balances, and concentrates.

She bounces up and down and springs out.

Rochelle is thrown, her body contorts, and WHAM!

FROM UNDERWATER -.She belly flops.

The COACHwinces.

La~ra and her friends clap politely.

Rochelle strt1,gglestothe surface;

Lau~a and her Friends are just getting dressed when Rochel:e :::1ears,wrappedina towel.

Laura and her friends walk off.

BY ROCHELLE'S LOCKER -

,1

She opens the door, sighs.

j

ROCHELLE

@ Where are my clothes?

:~T.COACHESOFFICE - DAY

Roc~elle, wrapped in a man's bathrobe, talkswith :he Coach.

Rochelle stands there.ANOTHER COACHcomes in.

OTHERCOACH

LOOKING INTO THE BOYS LOCKER -

Rochelle stands there, numb, as a janitor fishes her clothes out of a urinc;t1witha rake. A lunky FOOTBALL PLAYER takes a leak in the background.

Something ~licks in Rochelle.

~NT. F.ALLWAY- DAY

Laura and her Friends are walking along TALKING and LAC'GH::;G.

Sarah comes :owards them.

(-..,.-) She bisects Laura.'·sgroup,physically brushing up against: "~ Laura.

Her fingers grab several strands of hair, and yar,k.

LAU?_; Ow~ You pulled my hair out!

SAR.;H Sorry. :t must have gotten caught on my :ting.

They walk off. Sarah smiles, clutching the hair.

All the Girls are staying over. The Horne ShoppingNetwork drones on while Bonnie is busy braiding Laura's hair ir..toi::-.e

Rocheile lights a candle, WHISPERS something.

Nancy is cutting cake into pieces, pouring wine into a cup on a tray. She passes it to Rochelle who is on her right.

Rochelle drinks. Sarah takes the tray.

,SARAH Do.you think the ancients used fat-free lernon·twistfo.rtheir cakes and wine ceremony?

Nancy sips the wine, eats a piece o~ cake.

N.A.."'l'CY Rochelle, shut the fuck up! Jesus...

3or::iiepic~sup the black and white PEOTO of SAR..~'SMOTHER..

A COUPLE OF TABLES AWAY-

Ch=is, Trey, Mitt and the otter Jocks shooting the sr.it. Chris' back is to us.

The guys chuckle. Mitt sees something, looks really embarrassed.

Shut the fuck up .

Oh shit. (smiles) Hi Sarah. ,.

Sarah, sitting with Rochelle, has j~st heard a~l o: ~:::...s.7:-.e Boys are laughing.

(.=:~) FLASH! A camera snaps off. ,,,_..,.,-

BOnnie stands in front of the boys' bathroom ·t1:.:htr:eca...-:-.e::-a as Chris comes out.

@ CHRIS

What's the deal?

Sarahhas her little spell book. Rochelle is cutting the picture of Chris into a small pentagon.

\ } fair. Whatever it is. I m~an, don't pull

·his limbs from his body or anything like that. On second thought, you can if you want to.

Rochelle and Nancy laugh.

Rochelle pastes thepicture of Chris into the book, upsidedown. Nancy holds out a red candle'and drips wax arou:1d the edges. She has a handful of red rose petals.

She runs her hands over her skin.

ROCHELLE· Beauty.is a trap. Men use it to :.mprison women. Real beauty is internal.

Nancy raises her cigarette and takes a drag..

Nancy, Bonnie and Sarah are sprawled on Rochelle's floor, eating Snackwells. Rochelle comes in with two containers, handing one to Sarah and Bonnie.

Sarah sticks her fingers inside the mixture of oil and.herbs.

Nar:cydoes. Candles are lit. Bonnie slips her shir-:over her head, exposing her back.

Sarah dips a cloth in t:i.eoiland lightly swabs the scarred area.

• I NANCY I Sort of ...Not really .

We've been doing it two weeks now.

Bonnie looks at her skin. She's sickened. She starts co cry.

Bonnie crawls into a corner, covering her scars with her arms, crying.

The Gir.lsjust wat,ch,.helpless..

Nancy nods.

The Girls·step on an empty ·busbehind Sarah whil.eshe :u.-nbles. with her__w~llet· for.thefare-.

DRI\TER No credit cards, honeybunch.

He looks over, shocked. He. looksinto Sarah's eyes. He :alls C--~; quiet. '-..__/ HIS POV - Behind Sarah, everything is turning whi t.e,wr.i:..e she turns to shadow -- We've seen this before ...

_J

T::eDr:.•;erst.aresather, until she walJ<saway wit::out payi~g. He shakes his head, woozy.

Sarah sits with the Girls. Nancy leans up to her.

Sarah smiles.

Cranking up the hill, into the Angeles National Forest.

The bus stops and the Girls.pile off.

He raises an eyebrow.

The Gir~s walk along apath.

Intense green. Sunlight flaring off their faces, their hair. off··theboughs of trees, off the grass. BUZZING insects, RUSTLING trees, BIRDS.

~he Forest is·alive ..

Nancy walks in front. She starts taking off her shir~~ She steps out of her skirt, pulls off her shoes.

Bonn:.esees Sarah watching Nancy.

- ..,'.

IN A MEADOW - Nancy liesdot...minsome tall grass. ~::e:ee_:::g of the earth against her body is ecstatic.

..,,_1•

@ EXT. MEADOW - :.ATER

Sarah has her shirt off, holding it against her front. 3onr.ie,still fully clothed, rubs a mixture of oi: and herbs on Sarah's·back and arms. She looks blissfully re2..axed.

Rochelle reads fro~ her little book. The images and voices DISSOLVE into one another.

o:SSOLVE -.Bonnie sensually caresses a·huge rock.

'DISSOLVE -Nancy reads.·Sarah.rubs ointment on her feet.

DISSOL'i/E-Rochelle sits on the low bough of a tree, naked.

·DISSOLVE - Bonnie brushes a flower across Sarah's cheek.

DISSOLVE - Sarah has her feet in a small stream, ~aked, he~ chest pressed against her knees.

-=- BONNIE (readir..:g) ...I can't remember for about five minutes before we hit the wall. But when I came to, there were sparks coming from a huge saw trying to cut me out of the car, and I was on fire...

:HSSO:..'JE-Nancy·floatspe-rfectlystil2.,face up, in a small pond, the sun glimmering all around her.

She looks up, still shaken by this past event, closes t:.er book.

She's the only one still fully clothed. Ever..1oneislooking at her.

Slowly, Bonnie unbuttons her biouse,.slips it off. She pulls off her skirt.

··\_-r"!!?...__-,..~.'} The. SCAR covers more than half her body, in jagged strokes ,,,__) across her c"hest,arms, shoulders, knees·,as if someone had splashed paint on her and swirled it around.

She looks so vulnerable.

Bonnie relaxes; even gives a pained little smile. She gets:.:::: the water.

Sarah swallows and picks up her book.

··SARAH As long as I remember, I could do it. Wish things, the visions. And I always felt sick. Like the world didr.'tneed a freak like me. A·mother would have been nice. Somebody to teach me it was actually a good thing. Then one day I realized I would rather be dead. But I didn'_tdie. I made i: here, where I finally belong. It's been a long road, but I :inally found :hese three. Now we make four.

I

?he other girls are moved. Rochelle comes over and kiss~s her on the cheek .

® . St::::-angeshadowsarefallingon them. They look up.

A giant fluttering of BUTTERFLIES, hundreds of them, drifts overhead. ·

The.Gir:s are still. The butterfiies descend. They start ·to rest on Sarah's shoulders, on Bonnie's_head, everywhere.

Amazed looks between them.

·BoI"'..nie,Rochelle,NancyandSarah are al 1.c·overedwit!'la thick blanket of butterflies.

They are flushed with awe.

EXTREMECLOSE UP OF CHRIS HOOKER

He rubs his hands over his face. distiessed, distracted.

ANGLE - A .PAGEfull of questions IN FRENCH.

Chris' pe~cil starts.to write something in French, then it wanders down the page and writes, 'Sarah'in flowery script.

He lifts his gaze across the

past all the STUDENTSenmeshed in their Frend'. test to see: SARAH. He just keeps looking at her.

Finally Sarah glances up -tofind Chris, who smiles his dopey smile at her.

THEPOT

·_ .Regardez lapage,_ Mssr. Hooker... Mssr .

..Hooker!

Bonnie looks at Sarah. They st~fle giggles.

EX~. SCHOOL - DAY

Sarah and Bonnie are moving with the CROWD towards t!'le CEAPEL. Each is struggling wic!'lalarge stack of books.

Chris catches up with them.

CHRIS· Sarah ...how's ithangi~'?

The Girls keep walking.

Sarah doesn't want to look at Bonnie. She's afraid they'll both bust "J.Plaughing..

SARAH

~·· Have you told your friends? '~~~)

They go i.nto:

Th·e Chapel is f.ullas Sarah, Eori..nieandChrisencer, bovf,a.:-.:1 make their way up i:heaisle.

Just.when they are in :ror.tof t~e whole cong=eqatior.,Sarah smiles t.oBonnie and turr;:stoChris, in full view of everybody.

Chris kind of checks out the crowd in the corner of his eye and laughs nervously. He definitely doesn't want to do.this, but he can't help himself.

Sarah hands him the stack.

Bon."'lie·sgoontop. They girls head for a seat, and C:-.ris follows.

Everyone has j~st seen thi~.

o IN THE.CROWD - TREY and MITT and tne other JOCKS.

KIDS start LAUGHING. Everybody.

Chris turns bright red, gritting his teeth, but ·smiling.

Artangry PRIEST starts SHUSHING·p~ople.

::NTHE CROWD ._Rochelle and Nancy see.

ROCHELi..E It was on Chris! ~hat's right! How ~unny. You had like the total crush on him...

·)Tar.cysteams.

IN~. HOSPITAL LOBBY -NIGHT

Bonnie and her Mother, MRS. MACK, are waiting, nervously. Bonnie has ·a small suitcase.

A young DOCTORapproaches.

BO~"'NIE Yeah ...

The Doctor is going over a lotof paperwork. Bonnie's ~other is signing in several places.

DOCTOR

" I've told.you this before, but•I want to" J n,,__...,_,.,..,J

be really clear. This i:Sa very experimental procedure, and we cannot make any warranties regarding results or side-effects. I can tell you unofficia:ly th~t there is little to no risk. This form of gene threpapy is non-invasive. Painful, but non-invasive...

Bonnie looks up sharply at the word 'painful'.

EXTREMECLOSE UP -'OF A ROBOTIC NEEDLE

The Needle is loaded with a clear·gel.

FROM ABOVE - Bonnie is awake, on her stomach. Her Mott.er:.s holding her hand. Bonnie's scars look especially bad, in :~:.s cold, bright light.

1he ~eedle descends into Bonriie'sback.

EXTRE.'111:ECLOSE UP -Ithoversa millimeter above the scar tissue.

Bonnie breathes.

?he Needle suddenly starts jut~ing into the skin, in rows, in rapidfire succession, like a sewingmachine, going RAT-TAT- TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

Bonn.:.eSCREAMS.

The Swim Team are all vying for themirror, fussing witr. ,.

':!

their hair and clothes;CHATTING. Rochelle wa2.ks in.

LAu"RA Rochelle, I have to tell you, I was actually impressed with that last dive today.

They all nod and say yes. Rochelle is ready to believe her.

Everybody LAUGHS. Laura high fives several of the Gir:.s,as she turns back to the mirror, combing her long brown mane.

Suddenly, Laura is holding a handful of hair. The Girls notice. Somebody GASPS:

scalp where the hair came out.

Rochelle watches, without expression.

(~-=·) ,,L-i/ INT. · HOSPITAL HALLWAY-N:GHT

Nurses scurry about.

Sarah is there, with a gift basket from the Girls. Outside it is raining.

Bon.'1.ie·buriesherfacein her arms.

-BONNIE It would be so much easier if I .could give up.

A tear runs down Bonnie's cheek. Sarah instinctively catches it on her fing~r.·

She·takes a glass and rubs the tear on the bottom of the glass.

Sarah opens the carafe and pours in some wine. She :.igr:csup the sage stick. She douses the sage in the wine, it SIZZLES turning the liquid dark purple.

Sarah dips her fingers in the wine, and, pulli::gback Bonnie's sheets·,she flicks the liquid all over the bar.dages.

Bonnie closes her eyes.

BONNIE

(~_.z_'<i_G It feelswa.:-rn. ,·~~J Sarah WHISPERS something, continuing to flick the liquid.

Outside the window there's a gust of WIND.

Suddenly the window flings open, and a GUST OF WIND blows·

EXTREMECLOSE UP - Surgical sissors are cutting bandage.

Bonnie, draped in an elaborate surgical shroud, ·sitsw:.-:hher Mother and several NURSES. The Doctor pauses.

~ to·rnakeseveral passes before we can see ~_) results.

Bonnie nods.

The Doctor cuts the section on Bonnie's back, behind her right:shoulder, where she can't see. He peels back the bandages.

RED FLAKY SKIN. A Nurse takes a picture with a DIGITAL CAMERA. The skin appears on a COLOR ENHANCED COMPUTER SCREE:.~ where Bonnie can see it.

The Doctor·.takesa swab·and·dips it in solution: He w::..pes away the flaky material.

~he Doctors face goes blank.

DOCTOR

(__; Just a ninute. ~

He c~ts some more, swabs some more.

BO!'-.'NIE ~r.~atdoesit :oak like?

The N:..irset.akesapicture.The image appears on the COMPC"TER SCREE.."'J..

Mrs. Mack looks at it and starts crying. ;r•' Bonnie something beautiful happens inside her.

We ·seeBonnie's back. Underneath a layer of slimy disinfectant and flaky bits:·glowing HEALTHY SK:N.

The ~actor runs his hands over Bonnie's back.

Sarah is huddled with Rochelle andNancy in the back, while a TEACHERDRONESON reading an announcement:. Thirty or so STt1JE.'\\JTS,stillnotfullyawake.

Nancy looks over at:

THE ENTRANCE- Bonnie swings in,wearing a black cape.

Scattered CHUCK::..ES.

As she crosses in front of thewh6le room, Bonnie nonchalantly drops the cape. Her knee-length p:aid ~ni:orm skirt:has been hiked up to a mini, ar:dshe wears a c:ir:g'.J tank top instead of the requisite blouse.

But most importantly, her skin, of wr~ich we see qui:e a is ;lawless, no scars, nothing.

I I

5L

~ Mouthes drop. WHISPERING. Everyone is staring. \,J Especially Trey and Mitt.

The girls sit together admiring Bonnie's new look. The sun glints off them. They are fluid, smiling.

BONN:E Sarah brought me through it.

She and Sarah hold hands.

They laugh.

Sarah nods at something.

ANGLE - Chris, Trey and Mitt are all clumped together a:.:he

I

edge of the lawn, smiling at them.

i

The Girl~ laugh.

"Ashadow falls over them.

AN ADMINISTRATOR

TV SCREEN - We see DR. BRUCE HENSEL.

DR.· BRUCE

A Westside dermatologist is making c:aims

©'

of a very important discovery. Use of a certain skin production gene can cause s.ignificancreduction in scar tissue...

I.

Nancy and her Mother, Grace;·are watching TV. Her mother drinks a tumbler full of Scotch and ice. She smokes.

Suddenly the LIGHTS GO OUT.

Grace.gets up and teeters down the hall, Scotch in hand, throwing open the .doo·rcothe

MASTER BEDROOM

where Ray is asleep still in his·plumber's uniform.

Grace comes over and kicks him. He just lies there. She kicks him again,.and this time he grabs her foot, pulling her down onto the bed. The tumbler of Scotch.falls.

GRACE

- ·Ray!

He's holding her down, roughly. I~ looks harsh. But she's fami2.iarwith it. He starts to pulls his pants down.

MOVING IN ON NANCY sitting quietly in ~he darkness, ( :~ overhearing.

Something falls over, CRASH.

Nancy gets •up andruns out the door.

All fou.rGirls..TV. Pe¢iicures.The phone RINGS next to Rochelle.

Sarah shakes her head. Bonnie takes the receiver.

BOm,JIE · Sarahdoesn't feel like talking to you.

Bonnie hangs up, and they all LAUGH, except Nancy who hangs ov·erthe_ledge o.fthe Doorway to Nowhere. Bonnie r.otices.

Nancy stews.

The phone RINGS. Bonnie lifts it;:upand puts it back dowr. without even interrupting her pedicure.

/ \ \----j ROCHELLE ~✓ She's white.

-. ::~ NANCY If it weren't forCatholic charity I wouldn't even be in school with you guys.

The Girls a·re·amoving black frieze against·the.dazzling Golor of approaching dusk. ·

They move in circles around a fire, holding smoking smudge- sticks aloft.

Two frozen dinners twirl in the Microwave Oven. Grace is pouring two beers

Nancy, in a thin robe, comes out of the bathroom, and ge~s a Diet Coke out of the little fridge. She has to carefully scoot around Ray to avoid brushing up against hi.:n. ··

Sarah swats him. He laughs.,coughs..

@ Grace slaps him.

Ray grabs her a::msand flings her down onto the floor.

Ray pu:i..:,sback;.;ithaclenchedfistwhen Nancy lets loose an unearthly SCREAM.

And the MICROWAVE OVEN EXPLODESin a spray of sparks.

The lights in the trailer FLICKER and OFF ·andON.

Ray is puffing with anger. He steps back, sits down.

Grace looks at Nancy.

The c;:urtains~avecaught FIRE. ~ ~ ··Gracejumps up, takes a dish.towel, and smothers the flames.

SMOKE every,,.,here.Thealarmstarts BEEPING.

Ray tries to stand up. He winces. He's having trouble breathing. He stumbles to the floor.

1 I GRACE Ray ...?

·Ray is strapped down with an oxygen mask in his ·face, delerious, monitoring tabs 1acrosshis chest, an erratic BEAT issuingfrcirna machine.

The ambulance lurches to and fro as it weaves through traffic. Nancy and Grace sit next to.him in between PARh'1EDICS .

Sudder..ly-the-BEATjumpsfaster, then stops.

The Paramedics start YELLING to each other, working on

Nancy stares coldy at Ray.

Grace, in ablack dress, sits therewith a t~:.er f'..lllof Scotch and ice.Nancy, also inblack, looksout thewindow.

The door K..~OCKSti~idlY and isopened by IDA, the neighbor, ~ith an arrangement of flowers.

Up steps gangly young JEFF, ina bad suitwith a briefcase. Ida lingers by the door, not-too-discreetly listenir.gi~.

·n--·/ I'm f:romInte.rstateInsurance. I know·

this is a difficult time, but it is procedure to ask just a few questions before we can start processing the policy.

He opens his briefcase and p~pers fallout onto :he floor.

Outside the door, Ida does a littledance.

I:JA Praise Jesus! He shall provide!

Grace sits back, stunned.

~7

~ Nancy can't help it. Shes~iles .

ANGLE UP - A HUGE NEO-DECOAPARTMENT BUILDING

Bon:iie,Rochelle and Sarah get off a bus and make tl:leirway towards ·thebuilding.

There's a DOORMAN and a RECEPTIONIST behind a huge console. The Girls check in.

The Girls amble across the plush carpeting. Nancy opens huge double doors to:

:NT. APARTMENT~ DAY

Spacious. Huge dramatic windows.,marble fireplace. But no furniture, except for a JUKEBOXand a couch made from t:-..e rear-end of a '.57Chevy.

-.: n,._,.__✓, BONNIE

Cool.

Grace is in the KITCHEN, fixing a drink. Rochelle pours over the jukebox.

Grace··tot_tersin,her highball TINKLING.

Nancy leads the others into

HER BEDROOM -

A k:.r:g-s:.zebedar:ddozensof shopping bags filled with new clo-.:hes.

Suddenly 'Who's Sorry Now?' ~choes through :he giant space.

deep in the throes of an ~mpassioned lip-synch of the SONG.

Nancy SLAMS h~r door closed.

Nancy looks s~raight at Sarah and comes towards her.

A half-eaten pizza, Haagen Dahz, cigarettes. The Girls crowd -•··;·a, around a full lepgth mirror which has bee.nlaid down sideways ·o-,, .......,/to accomodate all·of them..

Sarah closes th~ book.

Nancy smiles.coldy.

Sarah staies at Nancy's reflect:.on.~hey :ock gazes.

(~) SARAH falls into shadow.

Ber.ind her there is a tremer:dous:.:GHT [l:.keinthe s:ore. ar.don the bus l..

·_.-.----.-x---..···-··_;.:5!:---l'lll-i.X.'

:i •I Her silhouet~e collapses i~toa SLIP OF SMOKE.

Then everything goes back to normal.

NANCY

i

Wow.

Sarah scoffs.

They turn to.Nancy in _themirror. ShE!closes her eyes. They wait. C Nancy places her hand on Sarah's.

W:i,thoutanylight theatrics, Nancy MORPHSinto a MALE VERSIOt-J of herself.

Rochelle and Bonnie burst into hysterics, knockir:g themirror over - CRACK.

Behind Sarah is a huge SNAKE about to crawl up Sarah's back. Sarah SCREAMSand lurches away .

The SNAKE dissolves into nothing. •

,.---:------

Sarah is still shaken.

,, ,d

Rochelle luxuriates in the hot water, in seeming solitude

Rochelle looks down.

ON THE FLOOR - a clump ·ofhair, not just stubble, lo:-ig strands.

She turns off tAe water and reaches for a towel.

We hear.'WHIMPERING.

We.FOLLOW A TRAIL OF HAIR around a co;rner.

towels, another draped across her head. She looks freaked.

She pulls the towel off her head.

I '

UNDERNEATH - .A ravageddome of scattered hair cll.l.IT'.ps,BUMPS,. BOILS, and festering SCABS.

Behind Rochelle, another of LAURA'S FRIENDS sees this.

Other GIRLS.come1 pushing Rochelle back. They GASP at Laura's scalp.

• Rochelle and Laura lock gazes: cold exchange.

:N7. BONNIE'S ROOM - LATE NIGH7

~he four Girls are assembled, channel surfing, smoki~g. Nar.cy ~olls on top of Rochelle, co reach an ashcray

She pinches her on.the bμtt. LAUGHING.

·NANCY No, but it sounds like a guy I dated in ninth grade.

BONNIE'S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Nancy, Bonnie and Sarah are kneeling around Rochelle wholes on her back, arms folded over corpse-like. ':'heor.lylight.s from the TV which drones on.

SARAH· Okay, you you just hold out the one finger, and·youlift, but you have to _ .thinkshe's incredibly light, like she's made out of air.

The three Girls stick their index fingersunderneath Rochelle

0 and life. -

Not::-:.ingr:appens.

They try again, this time with more focus.

Suddenly the TV switches to a TEST PATTERN, filling the room with weird PURPLE LIGHT.

Rochelle's eyes are closed. She starts tomove upwards, but it's hard to tell how far.

FROMABOVE - Rochelle is drifting towards us. An inch or.so, but then more: six inches, a foot, three feet. Final:y they let her go.

She opens..hereyes~ midair .

Bonnie is flabbergasted.

NAl."JCY No thanks.

Sarah lies down. Nancy and Bonn::.esticktheir fingers underneath.

Sarah's already lifting up, drifting ar.dwafting like a clo~d of smoke.

Sarah passe~ Rochelle ~ho remains at about a three foot •height, slowly rotating, rotisserie-style.

Bonnie folds her legs into the lotus position and lays her arms down to meditate.

She lifts up a few inches but remains rigid, legsakimbo.

Sarah is bouncing off·the ceiling, emotionally and literally.

Nancy glowers and simply pushes against the floor~i:h ~er right arm. She flies upwards.

While Bonnie and Rochelle li:1gerdown below, Sarah and ~~a::cy bounce arour.dabove, play::·.:.l;yshovingandpushing, :...;..::;GE::-JG and SHRIEK:NG. .

BONNIE

(0~~-·.:_3 Sarah's the big witch on the block today. ·-----

?1ANCY ~ did it.

Nancy shoves her and Sa.r'ahcrashesinto a hanging light. fixture.'Everybody LAUGHS.

;..-~-=-:t~-·····.· Oh my God!

Suddenly there's POUNDING.

Suddenly-all of the Girls~' Bonnie, onto her butt st.ill in the lotus position, Rochelle, right onto the floor on her belly, Nancy and Sarah, through Bot".nie'slaceycanopy or.':.o opposite edges of her bed, all of them SHRIEKING.

~I Her mother walks away.

They wait and listen, wincing with pain.

NA.'1'>..JCY

~

Bonnie, we broke your bed.

"-,~J

BONN:E (rubbing her derriere) Nevermind. I broke my butt.

Bonnie's Mother gets back inbed. Bonnie's FATHER rol:s over.

She turns out the light.

PAVEMENT WHIZZING BY -

A bright yellow Mustang Convertible slips into frame. Sonnie, Rochelle,·Sarah and Nancy, who isdriving, ·TALK and LAUGH..

Bonnie looks more· 'done',bigger hair, mo~e makeup.

They come to an intersection and a ratty PICKUP slides in next to them, the DRIVER, a low-budget Romeo. He leers at the girls.

The Girls smirk.

DRIVER .I Didn't· we all meet at a party s·omewhere?

NANCY· Yeah, that's right. And your name is Dick ... Dick,Hole, isn't it?

The Giils al~ laugh.

j1ANCY Yeah, I_'m abitch...

The LIGHT t~rnsgreen and the PICKUP peels out. Nancy guns-~ to cacch up with him.

The DRIVER looks over.

DRI1/ER'S P.O. V. -AstheGirl's·_carslides up n!::xt':ohim,we

see Bonnie, Rochelle, Nancy and Sarah all have THE FACES OF DOGS: a Labrador, an Afghan, a Bulldog and a Dalrnacian, respectively. ·

They all BARK and wave at him.

The Driver is bug-eyed.

DRI'i/ER Ahhhh!

He swerves away, and CRASHES into a parked car rtJHAM!

Nancy guns it down the street, LAUGHING with Rochelle and Bonnie.

Sarah look~ exhilarated,,but worried.

ROCHELLE AND BONNIE· Party-pooper! Party-pooper~~cooper! Super-duper-party-pooper-scooper

Roger Ba.flyis standing in the doo:n•1aywithChris.

Roger closes the door after him. Sarah peeks out from a · doorway.

Sarah rolls her.eyes..

·,,JA

It's late. Sarah's in bed:

Sarah gets up and goes to the window.

CHR::S Why don't you answer the phone?

·cHRIS Oh ...I guess that's a good reason. Shit. I think about you a lo:.

The ~ront door opens and Sarah's father comes out ~ith a broom, hold~ng it fourth.

He starts prodding Chris away.

He runs off, stumbles, keeps going.

Sarah doesn't laugh.

Nancy comes home. It's.late. We hear LAUGHTER..

THROUGH THE DOORTO HER MOTHER'S ROOM-

We see the back of a strange man doing something, and Grace, lying next to him.

Nancy comes fo:i:ward.

Gradually revealed: the man, a JUNKIE, is fixing up a wor-ks, getting ready to inject himself with a HYPODERMIC.

Grace rouses, but.she's wasted, siurririg.

GRACE: Hi, honey.. .Ooops..I know·I said I wasn't gonna do chis shit, but ...

She laughs, falls back.

,JtJNKIE (:oSarah)

You want me to fix you up?

Nar.cyactuqlly thinks about :t for a second, then walks away.

The four Girls come in, jingling the little met.allicSKELETON BELt.·

,,,,

The proprietor, Lirio stands behind the counter.

The Girls star~ selectiong candles, herbs, books.

A sly glance from Bonnie. Sarah wanders over to Lirio. She leans in so the other girls can't hear.

Undo"? When youopen a floodgate, how do you undo it? You unleash something with a spell. There's no un-doing. It must ru.."1 it's course.

Lr'RIO It's not for you to judge suffering ...

Bonnie comes up and deposits her bags of herbs, candles, staring-at :he BLACK CURTAIN.

Lirio s:arts ringing up the purchases, saying nothing.

Nancy has picked up a book. She reads to Bonnie:

(reading) ...To invoke a god is agreat deal; it is a guarantee of happiness, of power, even omnipotence. To invoke a god is practically the same as being a god oneself ...

IN THE BOOK - An illustration of a WITCH, seemingly electrified, eyes bright with ecstasy.

Lirio has heard this.

- try to fill itwith the Spirit. Like food

or drugs or sex:

/ ,,\; T:ieGirl.slaugh. Liri::steps up to Nancy. She looks very ½Y grave.

L::RIO You can use the spirit or he can use you.

71 • I I

@ Nancy takes the book and moves off, nonchalantly.

The Girls have all paid, their things all in shopping bags.

She smiles at Lirio. Nancy bends down behind a shelf, handing Sarah her bag.

SARAH· What are you doing...?

Rochelle and Bor..niehustleSarar.out.

Nancy climbs behind some boxes and lies dolNI'l.

Sarah, Rochelle and Bonnie watch the candle shop froma table. ~ \,,J Actually, Bonnie is watching a group of good-looking GuYS at a nearby ·table.

Bonnie smiles at ONE GUY.

The Guys..,.alllaugh,ernbarrased.

ROCHELLE I Look.

ANGLE - the light inside the store GOES OUT.

Mu:fled VOICES as the Girls appear outside the door.

A l.itterof pickled FETAL PIGS bob in a dusty jar of formaldehyde.

Nancy crawls.,9utfrom behind ~he boxes, brushing against·the

Nancy freezes.

Ancient and musty, filled with memorabilia, various religious icons.

Llrio rises from a daybed and turnS·the television.down, listening.

~ Nancy covers her riose,slinks over to the door, and, holding ~--_) the skeleton bell still, opens the dobr;

The Girls all see the pigs. Rochelle stifles a gasp.

She waves them on. They tiptoe through the pigs.

ANGLE - MOVINGTOWARD THE BLACKCURTAIN.

Sarah doesn't look pleased.

~~;.51 We follow the girls as they move toward the cur~ain a~d through the doorway.

~!A:N7AIN:NGONE CONTINUOUS SH07, we find·i~ very br~g~t on the ot~er side. In fact, we are outside and IT IS DAYTIME.

s~~ll in ONE SHOT, we move around the girls and see behind chem, where we came from, nothing but a broad expanse of open space, la,....n,trees,.afewSTUDENTS.

Sarah, Rochelle, Nancy and Bonnie come to a stop, dazed, utterly perplexed.

Sarah looks at her watch.

-~-- ·o·.· ROCHELLE

This is just like that time I blanked out after drinking eight Kamikazes at Fung Lums except this time I'm not waking up in a.pool of egg-roll vomit.

Sarah ru:isoff.

SARAH" I don't know.

A CRACK OF L:GHTNING! And a s:ow roll of Tnu'NDER

The Mustang slips around a curve, going just a :~:::e t8c fast.

NT. NANCY'S CAR - CONT.

Nancy and Sarah are embroiled in a heated discussion.

SA..ttAH You're missing the point:.I know we £fill,_ but the point is whether or not we should.

Nancy's taking the curves even faster now, closer·to the edge.

We've accomplished what we set out to do. I think ~e should stop.·It's-like wh~t Lirio said, throwing·thin~s out of balance. We might get something :1.ow,but we'll pay for it later.

Rochelle shrugs. Bonnie takes a long drag from a cigare~:e and glares at Sarah.

I

NA.."JCY Are you part:of this cir.cleor not?

Suddenly, a pair of headlights·flashes around a·corner, Nancy swerves away .. ThecarSPINS out and slams sideways INTO A

WP.AM!!The Girls are thrown around. A window is shattered. ·

Nancy kicks open her door and jumps out. She pulls the other Girls out.

They huddl·e.in the rain, in shock, wondering what to do next.

Sarah stares at Nancy.

Nancy comes in; soaked.

The place is empty.

Nancy hits the jukebox. Connie starts belting out 'Fal:in;.·

Nancy sees a note, 'Went to Vegas ~ith Greg. Not ~u~e when we'11 be-back. $ in drawer. Mom.'

Nancy looks in the drawer: Some crumpled up twenties.

She pours a glass of wine.

(_~ Nancy sits on the couch across from t:.:.ejukebox,an el':'.pty ~ wine bottle and glass next.to her.

I I

Suddenly she throws the wine bottle at the glass do~e O'.:er- the turntable.

'I

The dome smashes, the record skips,the machinery S?.l:\.F..KS,and the juke box dies.

CLOSE UP -A NOTE IS PASSED: "Let'sgo to the beach."

ANOTHER NOTE: "Youwant a tan?"

ANO':'HER:"No, ·shit-head."

Nancy and Bonnie are writing notes to each other, Rochelle· passing them back and fourth ..

Sarah sits next to them, actually paying attention to t~e droning TEACHER. Nancy sees thisand leans over.

_Nancy is incensed. She grabs Sarah arm.

The other three face Sarah.

NA.."JCY r:Jewar.ttogive thanks to Manon. Small sacrifices. Rochelle's going to offer her brain. Except that might be too small.

Rochelle ignores theremark.

Sarah thinks ...

The girls are pensive as thebus makes itsway up PCH. The only other pass·enger isa SLEEPINGWOt,-1'.A."J.

·Four black silhouettes fileacross the sandagainst the coloring sky. Breezes flap theirclothes.

Rochelle steps·in Nancy's footprints, .Bonnie·in Rochelle's,.. Sarah in :aonnie's ·.

Nancy carries a tiny ·sNAKEin a jar.

Bonnie, a BUTTERFLYin another jar.

Rochelle, a PARAKEET in a tiny wooden cage.

Sara~, a baggie.with a GbLDF]SH.

Bon..."'lie.finisheslayingaringof stones in the sand. Nancy starts a fire in the middle.

Sarah looks .atthe snake in the.jar.

·sARAft When I was at my lowest, before I tried to, you know, kill myself, I thought everything had turned into snakes. Everything ...

SARAft No, it's small....I don't care.

7:

-~does bo=her her.

® The serpent is very powerf"..l.l.

~ac~ girl places her offering inside the ringand sits.

The Girls each lighta black cand:.e.':'heystand ar.dmove in a circle.

n The WIND stirs, blowing_ the·Girls'hair across·their faces.. ·,.J

Sarah is shocked.

The SUN nears the horizon. Sarah gets up and walks away.

F~s~ are jumping up above the surface of the water.

ROCHELLE

r®.:;,·I•:..•• We want:this...

' ···.·····

The GOLDFISH flips and flaps violently .

Please, Sara.h ...

Nancy holds out her hand.

Sarah slowly comes forward. They all clasp hands.

FAR OUT AT SEA;_ A bolt of LIGHTNING charges down from a cloud to kiss the ocean. A slow, delayed Rl.JMBLE..

The PARAKEET beats again.stthe cage, forcing its head through. slats,.

0 The WIND·thrashes.them:.

The SKY·turns dark.·

Nancy's eyes roll back in her head. She falls to the ground·.

The jars with the SNAKE and BUTTERFLYshatter. The SNAKE slithers off and the BUTTERFLYis tossed away in a violent ·gust.

The wooden cage snaps apart and the PARAKEET flaps free.

The bag bursts open. The GOLDFISH lolls on the sar:d.

Nancy :s thrashing violently.

The ground ac:ually shakes, AN EARTHQUAKE. 1· ' 1-~~ Sarah looks at Nancy, the ocean, the snake.·sidewindi:::gaway. "<,;,,., She feels the ground shaking. She's awed, terrified.

I

Sudden:y a huge BOLT 0: L:GH'!'NINGDESCENDSON US, finger:ng

Everythir.gturns WHITE -

Then BLACK -

FADE UP -

Bonnie and Rochelle are waking from a sleep. Sarah sits beside them, dazed.

The GOLDFISH pathetically flaps on the sand.

\

Sarah gently picks it up and carries it t6 the water a~d lets it go..Then s.he:seessomething.

The ocean is calm now. Not a cloud in the sky. Aridtwen:.y yards.out we·see NANCY, standing ·onthe surface of the •,iater.

Sarah is transfixed.

Rochelle and Bonnie watch as Nancy walks to shore.

Nancy has a weird detached gleam.

A SIREN. The Girls turn.

UP THE BEACH there is some kind of cornrr.ot:on,CROWDSof ONLOOKERS,A TV NEWS VAN.·And a .COASTGUARDjeep flasl:::..::g:.:s cherz:y-reds.

The Girls get up to investigate.

IN THE MIVST OF THE .CROWD-

We dip down to find... A GREAT vvHITESHARK, dead, eyes a::d r I mouth bleeding, having beached itself far onto shore. ~7 ~men Nancy sees it, she starts laughir.g.

WE LI:T UP to see:

~.LL&..ONGTHE COAST, more SHARKS, some even bigger, perhaps FIFTEE..~,alldead, beached, bloody.

Sarah backs away, horrified. She feels n.auseous.

Rochelle and Bonnie look blank. But Nancy just keeps laughing, her eyes glazed over in demented bliss.

She gets down and kisses the sand.

,· ·__·(9 INT. BUS -DAY \1,.,,.,__...../ As they ride home. Bonnie sits by herself.

Sarah WHISPERS to Rochelle:

Nancy faces the sun, all of the.windows on her side of the bus down. She takes ln the wind, practica:.lydrinkirigit, her hair blowing around violently.

·.sudderi.ly_allthelights on the bus SPARK and sputter 0u-:.

THE DRIVER is freaking. His controls are seizing up.

The.BUS swenres.

Nancy smiles at Sarah: a frightening smile.

,........,......_

A..~IDTHE LUNCHTIMECHAOS - We fir.dSarah eating her -:......_... silently, Chris hunched over her shoulder.

She turns to him.

He smiles.

:'d

It'sas nice a place as we can imagine Chris choosing. He wears a coat and tie. Sarah's a little underdressed.

r!JJ'.\ \,..,.....,.__,..,/)

A beat.

Chris...

Chris drives and Sarah rides silently. He turns up a quiet mountain drive.

There's nothing up here. He parks the car. Tur~s oF~ ~~e lights... Quiet.

:NT. CAR -NIGHT

He sidles over toSarah.

·. SARAH

Even·if you end up drowning1

He wraps his arms around her tightly.

Long·pause.

He starts to stick his hand inside her blouse. She pu:.ls away, but he's too strong.

'.

He rips open her shirt. She s:ar:s fighting ::.1mof::.S::e reaches for the door handle, opens it.

o...

® They spill out, but he's still on top of her. He's pulli~g up her skirt, unbuttoning his pants.

He's shaking, panting, ~ike an animal.

Sarah is terrified, crying. She controls herself.

She kisses him.

He smiles, lets go.

She reaches to touch hiredown there. His eyes flutter witr. pleasure.

Then she wrenches her face as if squeezing. He HOWLSwith pain .

She gets Up and runs.

He clutches at his groin.

Sarah scrambles through the bushes and trees in total darknes-s.

The branches are reaching out at her, scratching her skin, as she'runs.

(Z,;7 Sarah stumb!es up the street, across the lawn, c:::-yi~g,s=~-- clutching at her ripped clothes. She makes it up the ~ran= steps and rings the DOORBELL.

Roc~el:e's ~other opens the door.

Sarah sceps_back into shadow, turning away awkwardly.

Rochelle's Mother steps back suspiciously.

Rochelle runs to the door. Bonnie right behind her

Sarah is slumped on Rochelle's bed wrapped i~ one o: her bathrobes, eyes·red from crying. Rochelle uses a darnpcloth to wipe clean some of the scratches and cuts. Bonnie watches, nervous.

We MOVE AROUND SARAH. The Girls are quiet.

Behind Sarah, in a shadow, something MOVES.

Sarah whirls around.

/ NANCY ''~::.:,:,,; ...I'd say you do~'t trust me.

~\ NANCY \_·;.}r;j~} Shut che fuck up. ''-----P

(touching a scrape on Sarah's cheek) I wan~ to talk to Chris about this...

A glass of water sitting on a table across the room SHATTERS.

NANCY·' When Chris hurts you.·He hurts all of us. We act as one.

She kisses Sarah on the cheek.

Nancy walks along the sidewalk. As she passes ur.der.each· STREET~P', it flickers.

Nancy is TALKING to herself, in angry bursts.

A lamp SHATTERS with a BANG in a shower of SPARKS.

(:-:') A big hCal.1.·forniaTudorMd.ansionwi~hdrun~enKIDS spill.:..r::g?'.'- "-,~-· onto t e 1awn. BMW's an sporty N.1.ssansJam every conce.1?ao_e parking spot.

\ Shoulder to shoulder revelry. The drunken Dionysian cult that is·Football. Banners and crepe paper in ~he Footbal team colors: red and black.

THE FRONT DOOR

Nancy makes an e~trance. Heads turn.

Nancy scans the crowd.

Chris -ison a bed, ensconced by Trey and Mitt and ·several other Football·JOCKS. Chris takes swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniels, VERY DRUNK~

They laugh.

AT THE DOOR - A GIRL runs up.

He hands the bottle to Mitt and .stumbleso.ut.

INT, STAIRWELL -·CONT~

On the grand staircase we. findChris at the top ar~dNancy .at the bottom. They meet in the middle.

She nods towards a bedroom off a landing.

IN~. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

Ct=is walks in, Nancy right behind him.

T~e door SLA..~SSHUTon its own.

Chris ·...:h,irlsaround.Nancysmilesathirr,.Theroo:nis dark and romantic.

Nancy is on her knees. She starts to unbutton his fly.

He grabs her hands.

Nancy rubs her hands over her face, contortir.gher features.

Nanc·y,shands run over her face one· moretime ar.dshe TRANSFORMS INTO SARAH.

Still delerious from drink, Chris does a double t.ake.

CHR~S What the fuck...?

He reaches dovm.and takes her in his arms, kissing deeply, rapaciously. @

A CAB pulls up and Sarah, Rochelle and Bonnie get out.

They move up the front walkway.

Rochelle and Sarahmake their way through the CROWD. Someone pulls on Rochelle's arm: it's Laura Lizzie, in a wig, looking terrified. ··

ROCHELLE.

Sarah is talking to SOMEGIRL who points upstairs.

A TRICKLE OF BLOODruns down Laura's forehead.

Sarah rnoves·awaytowards the stairs

The display on a digital clock has gone HAYWIRE.

Objects on tables, pictures, boxes, are MOVINGon their own.

Chris, eyes closed, isdeep in the throes of making love to ...we can't tell at first.·..Nancy.

His eyes open and he gets a good look at her.

He stops, rolls away, freaked.

CHRIS

(3. Nar:cyLAUGHS.

The door opens and Sarah steps in.

NANCY-· Sarah's one too ...

The door THUNDEROUSLY SLAMS SHUT.

Nancy starts FLOATING UPWARDS,her feet hang t~o feet o~: -:~e ground.

· CHRIS Mother fucking shit...

She s~ar':sFLOATING TOWARDS CHRIS.

He backs up, terrified.

BEHIND HIM - Open French doors, a balco:::i.y,ar:dapre-c:.;:;:.:cY..:.s d.r-op.

9:. NANCY I think you're such a worthless piece of woman-hating crap that yo~r case is terminal.

Nancy's face contorts into a GROTESQUE VERSION OF HERSELF and she FLIES at Chris.

His back is to the railing. Three stories below GUESTS mingle.

Nancy ROARSwith LAUGHTER.

Then: She lightly taps her index fingeron Chris' forehead; and he falls back.

FALLING,. SLOWMOT~ON, through space, towardsa FLAGSTONE TERRACE.

His head meets the gr·oundand we hear BONES SNAPPING. ~ \,__}

CLOSE UP - KNUCKLES being cracked.

Sarah watches, sickened, as a MALE DETECTIVE ar:dhis BUTCH FEMALEASSISTANT talk to her. Roger stands in the doorway.

Sarah shuts down and turns to the window. ':'heDetec.tivelooks ar.•.,-r1oyed.

... DETECTIVE· ...Okay.Thank you, Sarah. That was~ helpful.

OUT SARAH'S WINDOW -

Sarah watches.

The Detective and Assistant get in :.heirunmarked c.;,R,:.he Detective giving Sarah a look as theydrhre off.

Sarah turns inward, darkens.

Sarah covers her face and rolls onto her bed.

Roger leaves her alone.

· Sarahhears aNOISE in the bathroom, something small ROLLING.

An EXACTO KNIFE teeters off the sink, onto the tile floor.

Sarah looksat theknife, terrified.

The Detective and Assistant enter the building.

As they approach Nancy's door.

Nancy faces the two.

DETECTP/E She said you pushed him.

Nancy is blank, cool.

9.3

@ . Well ... Sarah is a liar.And she'll

suffer forher sins.

IN~. SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHT

Sarah lies there, unable to sleep. There's a slight SCRATCHING sound.at the window, lurking behit.dcurtains.

Sarah gets up and checks the latch.

More SCRATCHING.

She moves the curtain back.

OUTSIDE - Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle are floating midair outside her second Story window~·Their faces are chalk white.

·n,_•-'·_,,..__· NANCY

They all fly towards the window, SMASHINGit in. Glass f:ies everywhere. Sarah is flung against the far wall.

They all.keep flying toward Sarah, their hands grabbing at her neck, grinning and GIGGLING, trying to stracgle her.

Then _Sarahwakes up.

Quiet.

Except··forsome.slight SCRATC_HINGsound·at the window, lurking }2ehindthe _c_urtains.·

Sarah just stares at it.

lNT. B.ALLWAY- DAY

MOVINGthrough the throngs of ST"wENTS.

() Everyone is WHISPERING, staring at Sarah.

A GIRL is faced away to another G:RL, pulling books out o: her locker.

Eer friend nudges her. The Girl turns, pales, and hurries off, mortified.

Sarah just stands in the middle of the hall, paralyzed, everyone watching.

Sarah comes in. GIRLS whisper to each other and hurry out.

Sarah fi~ds a

· STALL- and locks herself in. She irmnediatelystarts crying, sobbing, but trying to remain silent, trying to not lose it -entirely.

With her face buried in he_r arms,she doesn't notice:

The LATCH on the stall door slowly SLIDES OPEN by itself.

The DOOR qpenS. ·

A jolt runs through Sarah as she looks up to see Nancy, Rochelle and Bonnie.

Sarah stares at them all.

V<i"hat?

Nancy and the Girls mirnicktheir neck-strang.:..ingmovements from Sarah's drea~.

Sarah is shocked. They laugh.

· They start off.

Sarah runs.up.to the door.

Sarah comes in..The place is empty. She sees the black curtain. She moves to it.

Just as she's about to reach it, a hand touches her shou:der and Sarah whirls around.

It's Lirio.

Sarah hugs her, starts crying. Lirio leads her to a chair.

·LIRIO I could see this trouble coming. The blonde one.

(; ·.. SARAH Q (nodding)

She killed someone at school. You have t~ give me something to fight them off.

~irio looks disturbed by this.

®'

I can do nothing for you, child.

Suddenly a strange BRE~ZE moves through the store, like a huge inhurnanBREATH.

Sarah looks over: the black curtain is blowing open, light spilling·from inside.

Lirio takes Sa-rah'shand.

She leads Sarah through the doorNay into:

This is an old atrium with hugely overgrown trees and plants obscuring the light from above except·for a small pool of

sun, sits an .-ANCIENTWOMAN, The Witch,·o'r1.anoldwooden. cllair.·.Sheturns toSarah. She has one milky grey eye and· one eye the color of blood.

She smiles, revealing rows of rotting brown and missir.g teeth.

She waves Sarah to come over.

Lirio pushes Sarah forward, pas':the dozens of BIRDCAGES hanging from the.gnarled bows. There are LIZARDS on the walls, BUTTERFLI~S here and there.

T:iearthfitically wrenched HANDof the Witch touches Sarah's cheek. By the way theWitch looks off we know she is blir.d.

Sa~ah sits at.the Witch's feet.The Witch takesSarah's hand and touchesher _dJlg. She laughs,delighted and demented, babbling on in SP.r..NISH.

More SPANISH from theWitch.

The Witch tightens her·grip on Sarah, CONTINUING.

~ think I remember her... \.·...__./j Sarah is softly crying. Lirio holds her.

Suddenly the place is ripped apart in a BLAST. A huge FIREBALL pours in through the door from the shop.GLASS fal~s from the ceiling. The three Women are rocked to the ground.

The wall into the shop has crumbled, theplace is on FIRS, utterly destroyed.

Then suddenly, the entire sc_enemelds back to i';'snor.nal state.

Silence.

Sarah anq Lirio.are·terrified.

A GIGGLE from out front of the shop. A silhouette of Nancy moves past a window.

The old Witch makes a remark.

SARAf! I'~ getting out of here.

·The old Witch grabs Sarah'sarm, talking toher ernestly.

SARAf! What ...?

Sarah.runs in the shadows, the sound of SIRENS comir:gcloser.

everywhere.. . .. . . She darts into·a street and SCREEECH! a BMW Station wagon almost hits her.

Inside the car are Rochelle and Bonnie.

SARAf!

Why?

Sarah isn't sure.

Rochelle op~ns the door. Sarah comes forward.

Bonnie drives and Rochelle looks straight ahead.

Silence.

Sarah leans forward into the front seat area.

··ROCHELLE Where do you want to go?

No answer.

Bonnie presses a button that locks the doors all around.

Sarah leans back, wary.

NANCYis right there, sitting up in the cargo section.

bJ Sarah jolts, heart pounding.

Nancy c~irnbsup next to her.

iOO NANCY Sarah?1/ilhat'sthematter?You don't look sogood.

Sarah looks in the rear view reirror.Bonnie won't meet her g2.are.

Nancy ·pullsout.an ax, swings it around violently and buries it in her Sarah's chest.

Death SCREAM from Sarah.

Then the ax vanishes.

Nancy smiles coyly.

Sarah is hyperventillating.

·They come to an intersection.

Sarah looks blank.

Suddenly she explodes in movement: SLAMMING her fist dow:ic::;. the button ta unlock the doors, DIVING out of t::iecar.

, I i aoNNIE Bhit!

Bonnie grabs a -leg,Nancy. somehair, but it's too late. Sar:ah slips aw~.

Sarah is running up a huge old flight·o·fcrurnbling stairs flanking a HILLSIDE.

Bor~~ietakes after her.

( ··~ us. 'C::;; UP THE STAIRS - Sarah is panting, heaving, stiii r~~~~~g ~p the hund.redsof steps. She pa;_;_ses,:.ooksback.

The B.Mi:'1peelsO'J.t.

Nancy HOOTS raucouslyand itechoes up the hill. ·

Hair askew, dirty, exhausted, Sarah trudges up a curving hillside road.

Headlights.hit her frombehind.

She moves out of the way. It's·a WOMAN and a CHILD in a STATION WAGON:

The WO~...ANlaysonthe HORNand speeds past her.

The place looks dark and quiet ..Sarahlimps up the fronc walkway.

~J INT. FRONT HALLWAY -..NIGHT \,-__J Sarah turns the lights on.

She checks into the LIVING ROOM, KITCHEN ...nobody. She sees the phone table.

ANGLE - The Yellow Pages are open to the airlines seccion. on· a small pad are written a FLIGHT NUMBER and a DEPART~"RE T:~.

Suddenly the ANSWERING MACHINEkicks on.

Just.behi:id.Sarahsomething explodes in SGC}ND... j,...;,s:. the phone RINGING. Sarah grc;bsit.

:.J2 (laughing, it turns into...) NANCY'S VOICE Pretty good, huh? Your parentsmust care a lot about you to just jump on the next flight. Especially when flying is so dangerous...

BEHIND SARAH - The TV bursts on playing THE NEWS.

ON THE TV - footage of a·devastating PLANE CRASH SITE.

ANGLE - The note reads: "Flight 321 - Global"

Sarah drops the phone. Her eyes flutter.

She falls down:,woozy, .butdoesn't pass·out; She sits there.

Dizzy. WE SPIN AROUND HER.

And something else: The °lightsare FLICKERING. They go OUT.

Quiet, dappled MOONLIGHT through the windows.

SARAH - Is losing touch, beyond afraid, sick wit:idoom.

She picks up the phone. It's dead. She presses on thehook. Nothing.

She gets up, locks the front door and moves upstairs.

Sarah looks out her window.

Dark and quiet.

The OOORBELLrings.

..(~_) She slowly tiptoes.down the steps.

The OOORBELLagain_.

ABOVE THE WALL ir.the staircas·e,behind Sarah, t:ieshadows of tree branches sway slightly in the night:breeze. .. @ l·lehearsoft HISSING.

The '!'REESP.ADOWSgr...-~fullyturnintot:ieSHADOWS .ofGIANT SN.:...:-:;:s.

Sarah does not see this.

More. HISSING.

She -movesto the front door, silently. She .peeksthrough a side window. There's nobody outside.

She very c:autioslyopens the door. All ·quiet.

Then: the DOORBELL'rings again.

ANGLE - The BUTTON IS PRESSED without anybody pressing

Sarah's. eyesgo wide.

She backs away:towards the street, backing down the front steps, ~hen stops.

She's ~tandingon something strange. HISSING.

She looks down·:.She'sstanding on SNAKES, dozens of them.

The CAMERAPULLS BACK to reveal the front walkway, the lawn, ,I the sidewalk, the street, are all composed of a HUGE TEEMING ·MASS OF ~HOutSANDSAND THOUSANDS OF SNAKES.

It's an ocean. It completely surrounds the house.

Sarah turns very slowly. She sees it all.

She starts shaking.

She ~an't catch her breath.

The SNAKES hang from the trees. They cover a CAR. They po~r · out of a mailbox.

A snake starts to spiral up her leg towards her :r~~er t~~g~.

She shakes the sriakeoff and tips ·for;.;ardontothe sa::e::a·:e:: of the porch and back into the house.

.......' --....

Sarah robotically comes in, closes and locks the door.

Faint girl GIGGLING.

Sarah·turn~ and runs into the

INr. KITCHEN - NIGHT - CONT.

LOOKING O:JTTHE KITCHEN WINDOW - The Hillside is composed of snakes, just like the front.

At the front ooor, something is POUNDING.

Sarah runs out.

:NT. FRONT HALLWAY - CONT.

The front door is BOWINGwith the monstrous force of a huge creature pounding with all :ts might. POUND, POUND. Sarah sees through the window the silhouette if SOMETHING INHUMAN.

A She backs.up the .stairs.She ducks into "'-..,/'

She locks her door, shoves her dresser in front.

We hear the front door break down - S~.ASH!!!

Huge FOOTSTEPS coming up the stairs.

Deep,.inhuman BREATHING (we've heard ·itbefore) .

The doorknob turns. A massive body POUNDING.

Sarah runs into

We hear furniture THROWN out of the way, SMASHING.

POUND! The wooden slats on the bathroom door splir:ter. POL~"":)'.

Sarah,.backs up, panicked, out of ideas.

Shebacks into her shower, closes the door, hudd:~ng in ~~e corner, on the wet tiles.

SMASH!! The bathroom door shatters.

':'HROC:GH:'HEBt,11PYSHOWERGLASS -We see arr.assiveBEAST, vague, h~nched, BREATHINGdeep resonantbreaths.

It sees Sarah in the shower,moves to her.

It moves clpse to theglass.

The door opens.

As the glass passes, the shape turns intoNancy, grinning.

ON SARAH - Itreally makes no difference toher now. She's shifted into another mode: cornered animal.

Nancy leans in c:ose.

Nancy's hand is reaching for something... the shower handle. She turrisit o~ full blast.

Nancy slips away.

Sarah just sits there·getting soakeduntil finally, slowly,· she gets up and out of thestall.

Totally doused and dripping, she walks out.

There are no qroken doors, no signs of the Huge Beast.

BEDROOM - CONT.

All is normal.

Except_...ON THE DRESSER - The black and white photo of Sarah's Mother in the garden.

IN THE PHOTO - The trees are swaying gently,°Sa;;ah'sMother looks up and calmly smiles at us. Sarah moves on.

HALLWAY - TOP OF THE STAIRS -

Sarah co~es out, looks.down numbly, starts down the steps.

/ ., She c.ornesinand stands in themiddle of the room. '/'Jea.:::e "c;;) MOVINGAROUND HER.

Light and shadow.

Af'.emptychair. GIGGLING. Now Rochelle sits there. ~ '\y Light shifts. Now Rochelle is over by :he window.

An empty archway:

Sarah looks: Bonnie in the.archway now.

Nancy dips down from a shadow over Sarah's head, f:oatir:g.

Now she ' sgone.

(softly)· I'm not going ·tokill myself...

Now a huge BOA CONSTRICTORis gracefully and silently lowering itself from the ceiling, unseen by Sarah.

Suddenly-the SNAKE coils around Sarah's neck ar..dwraps around.

Her eyes bulge and she paws at the SNAKE but it's.too tight.

It starts to lift her off the ground by the neck. Her :eet kick vio.:ently.

The SNAKE MORPHS INTO A ROPE. Sarah is being hung PY tr:e ~-

Nancy watches.

Sarah gives a silent scream as her neck SNAPS.

She falls to ~he gro~nd.

No snake. No rope. She kneels there choking, rubbing her neck.

Sarah gets up.

Sarah looks OUT THE WINDOW -The landscape is normal,·wir.hout a single_snake.

Sarah waiks to the front hall.

Just as Sarah pulls open the door she is met by Roger, ~enny and A FAMILIAR WOMAN.

Dad ...

She throws her arrnsaround him.

He :ooks in her eyes.

'ROGER I want you to meet someone. ,'.

_The Womanc6rhesforward.

' ROGER Sarah, this is your mother.

Sarah looks at her, in shock, not understanding.

She hugs Sarah who is speechless, on the verge of tears.

Sarah pulls back to get another look at her, but it's NANCY, who kisses Sarah on the lips, then pushes her dowr.on the floor.

The front door SLAMS CLOSED.

Nancy leans down in 'frontof Sarah.

NANCY.

- Give me your hands.

Without thinking, Sarah does. And before she can even reac:, Nancy has taken the Exacto knife and slashed through Sarah's wrists.

Blood runs. Sarah stares at its

Nancy smears theblood up her a::-m. r<~ v

She gets up and runs tothe door, but Rochelle is there to block it.

Nancy grabs a pen and starts writing a note.·

Nancy puts the pen and the note in Sarah's hands, and she drops them.

ON THE FLOOR - The note and thepen are smeared i~blood.

Sarah runs upstairs, panicked, bumping inco thewall.

~ANCY Iwish sh~_would relax.

She bounds in, holding her wrists out, bumping into a dresse:=- and knocking ~he PHOTOof her mother off che table.

The glass cracks.

She stumbles into

THE BATHROOM -

Where she opens the medicine cabinet. She fumbles for some bandages, but the box only has a few small band-aids.

Sarah sl!_psto the floor, crying, hopeless.

She sees the photo on the floor. She crawls to it, touches the glass. She thinks.

Nancy and the girls are sitting there. Rochel:.e and Bonnie look very glum.

G ROCHEL:..E

I was just thinking...

J

NANCY ·

Jesus. Go upstairs and ·seeif she's dead yet.

Rochel1e ·is going f.rom·roomto.room.

She meets up with Bonnie.

They see blood drips and smears on the floor.

·BO~IE - She was in here.

The drips lead over to double doors. Rochelle opens them ~o reveal

A LONG, S~RANGE-LOOKING HALLWAY.-

With flickering sconces.

They step fo:t"w'ard.

--- .

DOWNSTAIRS- WI':'HNANCY- CONT.

We hear distant SCREAMS.

Shegoes upstairs.

~NT. SARAH'S ROOM- NIGHT

Following the.drops of blood, she goes to the double doors, opens them, seeing the HALLWAY.

Nancy stops. Shepicks up a book and throws it into the hallway.

The BOOK vanishes, causing a soft gas~. The IMAGE OF ~HE HALLWAY DISSIPATES like fog.

Nancy .t_urnsaround.

~ out of the bathroom comes a SCREAMINGbloody Sarah, shoving Nancy out thedouble doors.

Nancy flies out into the darkness.

And then ...silence.

Sarah creeps forward andpeers into the BLACK.

A CRACK of THUNDER and the skies FLASH, illuminating Nancy who lies motionless on thepavement, her neck is at an impossible angle.

Rochelle and Bonnie are climbing out of the bushes ~earby.

A'BREEZE_stirs the trees.

A HORN honks.

Roger and Jenny are getting out of a TOWTRUCK. ·sarahcomes out the front door, walks right up and hugs her father.

(seeing her wrists) Sarah!

She passes out in his arms.

FADE TO BLACl<

FADE UP -

Sarah lies in bed, her wrists bandaged, ina daze.

A NURSE stands over her.

The Nurse goes. In.file Rochelle and Bonnie who has her arm in a sling.

0 ROCHELLE -

How are you?

Sarah just stares at them.

ROCHELLE·.. And you were totally right about not ·abusing the craft. Not that it really matters ar?,yrnore.Welos.tall·our powers ... Do you still have .anypowers?

Sarah looks at them for a long time.

3onnie and Rochelle fu.'nbleforthedoor.

n,,..._.,/:JISSOUJE':'0-

BY .:'HECHILDREN'S SECTION -MOTHERS and YOUNG DAUGHTERS .•.:e fil:..r.gin.AYO'C.JNGGIRL seesSarahsetting up chairs in an alcove.

(to her.mother) Mommy, that's the best reader!

She kisses her daughter and goes.

Sarah sits in front of the room with some fifteen YOt'NGGIRLS very intently listening.to her read a story. · · · ~ \...__./')

·SARAH So the Old Woman packed up her basket and went home ...

Sarah checks around: no adults in sight. She :oaks at the Girls.

I 'i

The lights starts to DIM.

...But late that night all the anima:.:sin the forest came out to the wishing well ...

Vecy gradually, as if through a mist, a.WELL appears just behind Sarah..

A DEER walks from behind a bookshelf.

A OWL flaps in and perches atop a shelf.

RABBITS hop by.

BUTTERFLIES flutter down.

J

THE GIR~S - are wide-ey~~- G

SA.R.A.T-J: And even though :he Old Woman had warned them about the well, chey decided co try it anyway... They would have to learn c~e lesson themselves...

A BLACKBIRD lands atop the book.

Sarah turns the page.

FADE OUT -