INT. HILLTOP-NOON

One might describe the scene as beautiful, if one could get by the child's
coffin.

A wooden sign in the dirt reads.


A wilting man in his late forties sits on the grass next to the, much too small
box.


The wilting man's face trembles.

Behind him, a respectful thirty feet away, stand a group of about sixty
people, equally still.


EXT. SUPPER TABLE – AFTERNOON

An enormous handmade wooden table sits in the center of a small village of
log cabins. All sixty members of the village are seated for the meal.

The women wear bonnets. The men have their farmer's shirts rolled up at
the sleeves.

A man in his late forties stands. He has the eyes of a child; innocent and
pure. This is EDWARD WALKER.


Beat. Eyes look up one by one. Edward Walker stands silently, appearing
suddenly overwhelmed. A hand reaches up and squeezes his arm. Edward
Walker looks down to wilting man we saw earlier. They look at each
other quietly.

Walker turns back to the table.


Walker sits. Movement begins across the table as hands begin to pass bread
and corn and meat.

AND THEN WE HEAR IT, THE SOUND CARRIES THROUGH THE
AIR AND BLEEDS INTO THE VILLAGE. IT COMES FROM THE
WOODS.

SCREAMS. IT IS NOT HUMAN.

All movement at the table stops, except for a TALL BOY at the end of the
table. He is barely in his twenties. He is mentally handicapped. He starts
clapping wildly.

Everyone else sits uncomfortably still. No expressions on their faces. They
wait.

THEN THE SCREAMS SLOWLY START TO MOVE AWAY.

The boy's clapping slows and then stops as well. The happiness trickles
from his face.

The rest of the table waits till the last of the nonhuman screams have moved
away. And then quietly hands start reaching across the table again.


EXT. WATER PUMP – LATE AFTERNOON

A group of women and girls are washing and drying the wooden bowls and
plates at a hand water pump that stands in the ground.

A strong older woman pumps the handle. Bursts of water spurt out from the
pump's mouth. Two girls are holding bowls under the water. One girl gets
splashed by the other. They both start laughing. The older woman makes a
disapproving noise with her mouth. The girls looks over, nod and return to
washing the bowls; little grins on their little faces.


EXT. PORCH – LATE AFTERNOON

Two young women sweep the porch of a cabin. One of the young women
starts mimicking the other's movements. They begin to sweep in synch.
They both begin to smile as they sweep. They begin to move around the
porch like dancers.

They're giggling stops as one spots something. They both stop dancing.
They look down at the base of the post that holds the porch roof up. There
are two RED WILDFLOWERS peeking out from the fist full of weeds.

They bend down quickly and yank the red wildflowers out. They move off
the porch and kneel down in the dirt next to the porch.

They use their hands to a dig a small hole in the dirt. They put the crushed red
wildflowers into the hole and methodically bury it.

The two young women stand, look around, and wipe themselves off before
returning to the porch and picking up the brooms again.

EXT. COURTYARD BELL – LATE AFTERNOON

A MEDIUM SIZED BRASS BELL hangs from a wooden t-post. A hand
reaches out and takes hold of the rope that dangles from its side. The hand
pulls once strong and hard.


EXT. STORAGE CABIN – LATE AFTERNOON

Men stow away farm equipment. Hoes and sickles are stacked neatly in
piles.

A LONG BELL TOLLS.

The men stop working. They put down their tool where they stand. One
man leans into the storage cabin to tell those inside.


EXT. WATER PUMP – LATE AFTERNOON

The older women usher the girls into an orderly line as they leave the area of
the water pump. Dirty dishes are left on the ground.


EXT. CLUSTER OF CABINS – LATE AFTERNOON

We see the courtyard. There are clusters of cabins on every side.
We watch as one by one everyone in the courtyard and everyone coming in
from the fields, disappears into different cabins like ants retreating into ant
holes.

INT. CABIN – LATE AFTERNOON

We are in someone's home. A group of about eight women and children
walk in through the front door. They move to the back of the small cabin
where a woman reaches down and pulls on a handle in the floor.


INT. DIFFERENT CABIN – LATE AFTERNOON

We are in another two-room cabin. A group of men wait their turn as each
man climbs into the trap door in the floor.

When the last is in. The final man reaches up and brings down the trap door,
closing them all in.


INT. UNDERGROUND ROOM – LATE AFTERNOON

A collection of two men, four women and three children are huddled
together in a four by eight space in the ground. The adults have to sit down
to fit in this space.

A THIN STRIP OF LIGHT FALLS ON THE FACES from the seam in the
trapdoor. All we hear is the nine of them breathing. Their eyes all stare at
the CRACK OF LIGHT.

A child coughs. A woman reaches over a couple bodies and pats the
coughing child on his back. The child settles. They all return to staring at the
light. Beat.

THE BRASS BELL SOUNDS AGAIN.

The two men reach up and open the door. LIGHT POURS IN.

One by one, they all climb out of the four by eight space in the ground.

INT.FAMILY CABIN – LATE AFTERNOON

The men, women and three children walk out into the afternoon light. One
woman immediately grabs a broom and continues cleaning the porch.

The community returns to doing their chores.


EXT. CABIN – NIGHT

We are in the darkness, looking into the LIGHT OF A CABIN WINDOW.
We see a child's bedroom - A small bed - A small wooden desk. On the
child's desk there is nothing.

The wilting man lays curled up on the little bed. He stares out with red eyes.


EXT. CABIN – NIGHT

In another cabin we see a woman pouring water from a jug into a large white
bowl by the side of the bed. We see her speak to her husband who sits
reading in bed. She leans over and begins washing her face with the water in
the bowl.


EXT. CABIN – NIGHT

Three children kneel and pray by their bedside. Their parents begin blowing
out the oil lamps in their room.


EXT. TOWER – NIGHT

A young man blows his nose into a handkerchief. He wipes his face and
resumes standing. His eyes gaze down quietly. The ORANGE LIGHT
FROM THE TORCH LIT NEXT TO HIM, FLICKERS ON HIS FACE.

He is standing on a platform, thirty feet in the air. It is a tower on the edge of
this community. He is keeping guard.

Arms folded, he stares at the darkened woods.


EXT. SCHOOL HOUSE – MORNING

A group of children carrying cloth bags with books in them, crowd around
something in the dirt.

Edward Walker moves through the tiny gathering.


Edward Walker parts the final layer of titillated children. He stares down at
the thing on the ground. Beat. His expression becomes grave.


It takes a moment before a little boy steps forward. His eyes never look up.


PHILIP shakes his head, "No." Everyone watches Walker who turns and
looks down again quietly.

IT IS HARD FOR US TO SEE THROUGH ALL THE TINY LEGS AND
FEET OF THE CHILDREN. THERE IS SOMETHING DARK AND
MOIST LYING IN THE DIRT.

INT. CLASSROOM – MORNING

The classroom is overcome by whispering. Walker uses chalk to write the
date, "October 5, 1897" on a gray slate board framed in wood.

He turns to the children who age from seven to twelve.




Another hand shoots up.

Now the children become quiet.


Beat.

Walker gazes out at the classroom of concerned children.



Walker watches the image of foxes scamper through the minds of the
children.


Walker winks at Donald. No one raises their hand.

One by one, the children reach into their cloth bags and retrieve their
notebooks.


INT. MEETING HALL – AFTERNOON

We are in one of the largest cabins. Wooden chairs are scattered throughout.
This is some sort of gathering place.

Twelve of the chairs have been brought together in a circle. Twelve of the
oldest members of the village are seated in the chairs.

The wilting man and Edward Walker are among them.


A small gentle women with her air tied back, looks up. TABITHA sits to
Edward Walker's side.


The two women slowly turn to Edward.

All eyes turn to the wilting man, AUGUST NICHOLSON. He appears
exhausted. August nods as he shuffles the papers in his hand.


The group nods quietly.


THERE IS A KNOCK at the far end of the room. All attention moves in that
direction.

Another man in his mid forties steps in. He carries a tiny smile, his eyebrows
are raised.


The group looks to one another. This is unusual.


The man with the raised eyebrows steps out. Beat. The door stays still for a
moment, and then it opens.

A sinewy young man in his twenties steps in. His deep-set brow and dark
green eyes never look up as he walks forward to the group.

There are many glances to a pretty elder in her forties. Edward looks to her
as well. She stares back with the identical dark green eyes as the boy. She
shakes her head slightly; She doesn't know why he's here.

The young man slows to a stop a few feet from them. His hands brings a
paper up. He begins to read carefully.


The woman with green eyes moves forward in her seat without knowing it.


His green eyes flick up, just for a moment... He returns to the paper.


August Nicholson goes still.

Beat.


The young man with green eyes lowers his hands with the paper and stares
at the group.

No one move at first. Edward Walker begins to smile.


The young man with green eyes stands quietly before the group.

INT. CABIN – NIGHT

The pretty woman with green eyes sits on the edge of her bed in her night
robe. She hear her son descend the ladder from the loft space he lives in.

ALICE HUNT watches him through her bedroom doorway.


LUCIUS turns to face her.


Beat. Lucius stares.


Alice lies back in her bed. She pulls the covers over herself. She gazes at her
son from the pillow.


Her eyes close.

Lucius watches his mother become quiet. Her breathing becomes steady and
soft.

Lucius walks into her room and takes the quilt from the rocking chair and
gently places it over his mother's sleeping shoulders. He whispers in her ear.


Lucius walks out of his mother's room and exits the cabin quietly.


EXT. TOWER – NIGHT

FINTON COIN is a skinny boy with big curly hair. He is on the platform
tonight, thirty feet in the air.

The trap door opens as Lucius climbs up. Finton immediately relaxes.


Lucius shakes his head. "No."

Lucius shakes his head again, "No" as he takes his seat in the corner. Beat.


The two young men fall into silence; one sitting, one standing. And then out
of the silence-


Finton turns to the sound of Lucius' voice.


Finton doesn't notice the expression on Lucius' face as he sits in the
shadows. Finton shrugs his shoulders and returns to looking out. Beat.



EXT. APPLE ORCHARD – DAY

Along the hilltop runs a group of twenty apple trees; their branches bursting
with deep red pickings.

On the ground near the trees are baskets filled with apples. A few are
toppled over.

Standing in a tight group a few feet from the abandoned baskets are a group
of women. The same quiet fearful expressions on their faces.

They stare at something at the base of a tree. We can't see what it is, but we
can HEAR THE FLIES BUZZING around its dead carcass.



INT. MEETING HALL – AFTERNOON

Every member of the village is jammed into this little building. The elders
are standing towards the front of the room.

Alice Hunt's green eyes look compassionately over the gathering.


An uncomfortable murmur flutters in the meeting room.

EXT. COURTYARD – AFTERNOON

We pick up Eward Walker as he leaves the meeting hall with the rest of the
congregation. A young woman in her early twenties catches up to him. She
has a round attractive face. She is the lively sort. She practically bounces to
his side.

KITTY WALKER takes his arm and whispers in his ear as they walk.


He looks at his daughter as they turn the corner onto a path where they are
alone. Kitty beams at his side.







Edward nods his head.

Now Edward stops walking.

Edward starts walking again.




Kitty sees the expression on her father's face.



Kitty's face returns to beaming.

He looks down at his eldest daughter. He nods, "yes."

She hugs him tight as they come to a stop in the far end of the courtyard at
the base of the medium sized town bell.


Kitty nods earnestly. Beat. Edward Walker gets lost in his thoughts again.


Edward looks down and sees the concern in his daughter's eyes.

Beat. He then reaches up and pulls long and hard on the rope that tolls the
brass bell.

We see in the background everyone stops what they're doing and begins
walking in lines towards the cabins.

We watch as people walk in from the stream and from the orchards. They
disappear quietly into the cabins.


EXT. FIELD – AFTERNOON

Lucius stands at the edge of a field of crops. He methodically removes the
clumps of dirt from the prongs of the tools he's used on the soil that day.

Lucius' hands stop their work. He turns and looks over his shoulder at the
young woman that stands before him. She rises on her tip-toes and returns to
earth again. Lucius never lets go of his tools. He nods hello to her.


Lucius stares.


Lucius continues to stare.


Lucius blinks his green eyes. Kitty takes this as a positive gesture and smiles
sweetly.

Kitty finishes her flurry by rising up on the tips of her toes and returning to
earth again.

Lucius stares.


INT. WALKER CABIN – NIGHT

Kitty is wailing.

Edward carries his youngest daughter in his arms as his petite wife holds
their next two youngest on their laps. They watch with concern as Kitty cries
loudly from her bedroom

Kitty is being consoled by her closest sister. Kitty has her head in her sister's
lap.

IVY WALKER strokes the hair of her older sister gently. Ivy is thin, almost
too thin. Her long blond hair falls over her sharp striking face.

She wipes the tears from her sister's cheeks. Beat. Ivy begins to sing softly.


Edward and Tabitha Walker hold their three youngest girls and listen quietly
from the other room.

Ivy wipes the last tears from her sister's face. Ivy's voice fills the cabin and
wraps them all like a blanket.


INT. AUGUST NICHOLSON'S CABIN – NIGHT

Lucius knocks on the half open door with his elbow. He waits a moment and
pushes the door open. Lucius carries a large pile of firewood in his arms as
he steps into the cabin.

He sees the wilting man, August Nicholson, sleeping in a chair.

Lucius moves to the hearth. Some of the kindling falls off the pile onto the
floor. August stirs awake. He sees Lucius kneeling with the wood.


Lucius nods.


Lucius nods again and starts making a pile next to the hearth. Beat.


Lucius turns. August has his eyes closed. Beat.

August doesn't reply. He is fast asleep in the chair.

Lucius returns to the pile. He transfers the last of the firewood from his
arms.


Lucius turns to see August, eyes open this time, staring into the corner of the
cabin.


Lucius follows the elder's gaze to the corner of the room where a WOODEN
BLACK BOX, one foot by one foot, sits on a table all by itself.

Lucius turns back to August.


Lucius watches as August Nicholson's eyes slowly close again. Beat.

Lucius rises to his feet. He walks across the cabin to the door.


Lucius looks back. August stares sleepily at him.

August's words are so soft, the crackle of the fire almost covers them.

Lucius waits till August is asleep again. The young man's green eyes stare
quietly at the wilting man.


EXT. BORDER – NIGHT

We are at the edge of the village. Yellow cloth flags are attached to the trees
that create the natural border between the grassy slopes and the woods. The
yellow flags and torch lit lamp curve into the distance as far as one can see.

A fifteen-year old boy in overalls stands on a stump right at the edge of the
grass. His back is to the woods. His arms outstretched at his sides. His body
makes the form of the crucifix. He is trembling.


A group of young men are huddled behind a rock ten feet down the slope
and watch the fifteen-year old on the stump.

CHRISTOP CRANE is a thin, tall, very neatly combed young man.


The young men fight each other for best view.

The fifteen-year old's eyes are filling with water. He's straining to hold up
his arms.

WE ARE IN THE DARKNESS OF THE WOODS, WE ARE BEHIND
THE BOY, WE SEE THE SILOHUETTE OF HIS SLIGHT FIGURE
STANDING ON THE TREE STUMP.

The boy makes a noise – a slight whimper. A NOISE IS HEARD FROM
THE WOODS.

The boy stiffens. He whispers out to the boys behind the rock.


Christop pops his head out.


A BRANCH SNAPS IN THE WOODS.  The fifteen-year old's eyes flick up.
All the heads from behind the rock peek out.

The boy LISTENS desperately. He wants to look behind, but he doesn't.

THERE ARE NOISES IN THE WOODS. THE SOUND OF LEAVES
BEING CRUNCHED.

The boy begins to shake.

A LARGE BRANCH SNAPS. The fifteen-year old lets out a SMALL
SQUEAL as he lowers his arms and jumps from the stump. He starts
running.

He runs past the young men in hiding behind the rock. As he does, they start
running too. Everyone evacuates in a hurry. They all start racing down the
slope back to the FIRE LIGHTS FLICKERING in the distance from the
village.


INT. VILLAGE COURYARD – NIGHT

The gang of young men, are moving at a fast walk through the courtyard,
trying to catch their breath. The fifteen-year old walks in the center receiving
various pats on the back. His face is still ashen.

The group walks by a contemplative Lucius.

He doesn't look up as they  pass in a flurry of youthful conversation.

Lucius moves silently in the opposite direction, the weight on his shoulders,
almost visible.


EXT. SCHOOLYARD FIELD – DAY

The mentally handicapped young man we saw clapping at the supper table is
wrestling in the dirt with two young men who try to restrain him.
He is strong and quick. The two young men end up in the dirt over and over
as the mentally handicapped young man slips them and throws them down.

The children watch the dust and dirt kick up as the three continue scuffling.

EXT. SCHOOLHOUSE - DAY

A trail of dark blood runs down the forehead of a hysterical child. Kitty
gently escorts him off the playground.

They pass Ivy seated on a bench that overlooks the back of the schoolyard.

Kitty speaks over her shoulder as she climbs the steps into the school
building.


Ivy nods. Kitty and JOSEPH disappear into the school building.

Ivy takes hold of the wooden cane lying next to her. She rises from the
bench. She moves towards the NOISE OF THE PLAYGROUND. The
wooden cane moves deftly back and forth in front of her.

Her STRIKING BLIND EYES focus on nothing.


EXT. SCHOOLYARD – DAY

The wrestling has gotten fierce. NOAH PERCY is almost pinned when he
suddenly throws them and frees himself. The two young men immediately
go for his legs.


Noah stops and stares at Ivy.

The two young men on the ground stop. They realize they are holding each
other's leg.

Noah stands as the two young men lie on the ground. Noah smiles sweetly
at Ivy.


EXT. QUIET ROOM – DAY

A heavy lock is undone. The tall wooden door swings open. We look into a
small cabin. It has only one room. It has a wooden chair in the center. A few
potato sacks have been piled in the corner. The room is dusty.

Ivy and Noah stand and look in. Noah holds her arm.









This makes Ivy laugh. Noah laughs too.

Ivy puts out her hand to shake.


Noah shakes hands, up and down big, like the elders do.

Ivy taps her cheek. Noah leans down, for he stands a good six inches taller
than her, and kisses softly once.


Noah is beaming. Ivy closes the door to the quiet room.

Noah looks back. Ivy takes off. She's a good ten feet down the path before
he turns to see her not there.


EXT. RESTING ROCK – DAY

Noah is bigger, stronger and faster, but he has a hard time catching the blind
young woman running ahead of him. She moves effortlessly. She does not
use her stick. She knows every step of these hills. She taps a tree as she runs
by. She is laughing as she runs.

Noah passes her just as they finish. They both are out of breath as they reach
the rock formation.

One rock juts out at the base of an enormous wall of rock buried into the
side of the hill. There is shade here. This is Resting Rock.

There is someone sitting there when they arrive. Noah goes right over and
sits with him. Ivy sits and catches her breath before looking in their
direction.


Lucius stops eating the biscuit he has wrapped in his handkerchief for his
lunch break. Beat.


Lucius stares at the striking girl with the sweaty face and messed hair.

Lucius gazes quietly at Ivy as if she was a sorcerer. Noah just smiles. Beat.


Lucius fights a smile. Noah runs off after some nearby birds.

Ivy smoothes her wrinkled, dusty frock. It is an uncharacteristic nervous
gesture.


Lucius' smile melts away.



Lucius is about to say something when Noah comes back. Noah sits down
between them. Lucius turns his piercing eyes back to his biscuit.

Noah reaches into his pocket. He clutches something in his hand. He puts it
into Ivy's lap.


She feels it in her hands.


Lucius glances over. He goes still. Beat.


Ivy's face changes as she holds the RED FLOWER.


She holds it out to a saddened Noah. Her hand is trembling slightly. He
takes it back after a moment.


Lucius gazes at the flower in Noah's hand.

Beat. Ivy's head turns a quarter turn towards Lucius.



Lucius and Noah look at each other. Beat.



EXT. BORDER – AFTERNOON

Ivy's fingers trace along Noah's arm. She finds his hand. She moves over his
finger that is pointing. She turns and faces that direction.

Beat.


Noah nods.


Ivy, Noah, and Lucius stand at the top of the hill and stare. Beat. Lucius
turns and starts walking down the hill.

INT. MEETING HALL - AFTERNOON


Lucius' green eyes look up from his paper.


Lucius stares at the group of elders seated on the wooden chairs before him.
Alice watches her son lower the paper at his side. He just stands there. Beat.


Lucius eyes drift down. He tilts the paper slightly as he tries to read the
words at a steep angle at his side.


Edward smiles.


Lucius brings the paper back up.

Edward Walker sits up just a bit at the sound of his daughter's name.


Lucius looks up. He doesn't look down when he says the next six words.


Lucius returns his eyes to the paper.


Beat.

Lucius slowly lowers his paper. He exhales very slowly. The elders just
stare.


EXT. SCHOOLYARD – AFTERNOON

Noah makes monster sounds. He holds his hands up like claws as he slowly
chases the pack of laughing and screaming children around the playground.

The group of elders have gathered at the edge of  the schoolyard. They watch
Noah carefully as he runs around with the other children.

Noah bares his teeth and growls as he catches one of the laughing ten-year-
old boys in the pack. Noah picks him up and throws him to the ground hard.
The child starts crying.


Noah stops acting like a monster. He runs and hides behind the other
children.

The elders watch as the teacher pull Noah off the schoolyard. Noah is
throwing a slight tantrum as he is led to his punishment.

INT. HUNT CABIN – NIGHT

Alice Hunt sits at her small table. Hands folded on her lap.


Lucius sits across from her. His eyes flicker from the lamp light on the shelf.


Lucius is shaking.

Alice is sincerely unsettled by the sight of her son on the verge of yelling.


Alice lowers her eyes. Beat. She speaks in a softer voice.



Alice's eyes lock on his.


Lucius stands from the table. He moves across the small room.

Lucius points to the black box seated in the corner of the room on a small
table. It is identical to the one we saw in August Nicholson's house.




Alice looks ready to rise from her chair to stop him. Lucius doesn't move.
Beat.

Alice visibly composes herself. Her hands return to her lap.



Alice stares quietly at the stranger before her.

Alice instantly rises from the table and moves into her room with great
dignity.


Lucius doesn't even understand what he said. Alice walks back out of her
room.


Lucius is flustered. He gathers his thoughts and looks to his mother. Beat.


Alice gazes upon her son.


Alice moves back to the chair she started in. Lucius takes his seat across
from her. Beat.

Alice cleans some dust off the table as she speaks.


Beat. Lucius thinks of other things as he says the words.

Alice shakes her head, "No" to herself. They both sit at the table plowing
through their own thoughts. CANDLIGHT flickers on this painting of a
mother and son at a wooden table.


EXT. BORDER – DAY

We are at the edge, where the grass ends and the woods begin. On every tree
that touches the grass is a yellow slash of paint. Every fourth tree holds a
flag of the same color.

Two young men replace a broken flag. They both wear hooded cloaks that
touch the ground. The cloaks are a mustard-yellow.

The young man, who has been boosted up, loses his balance. He quickly
grabs a branch and steadiest himself. He looks down to his partner. They
share a tension filled look as they glance into the forest. They work as if they
are on a tight wire.

A third young man in a mustard yellow cloak passes them. Lucius carries a
wooden bucket of yellow paint. He nods to them as he passes.

Lucius walks along the perimeter of trees. He stops a handful of trees down
the line. The paint on this tree is fading. Lucius dips the handmade brush
into the bucket and puts another coat on the tree.

He picks up his bucket and continues on. He glances over his shoulder as the
figures of the two young men get smaller and smaller. Lucius keeps walking.

He passes the large tree stump.

Now he slows to a stop again. He looks to the woods... Seventy five paces
away from where he stands, nestled between two thin trees, is A BUSH
BLOOMING WITH RED FLOWERS.

He looks down the line of trees to the two young men; they move along the
perimeter and slowly move out of sight.

Lucius steps to the edge of the grass. His shoes are inches away from the
dirt of the forest floor. In the dirt, clearly visible to the eye, are groups of
LARGE CLAWED FOOTPRINTS. The indentations from the claw points
dig deep into the soil.

Lucius does not acknowledge any of this. He stares quietly into the woods,
lowers his bucket to the ground. Beat.

HE STEPS OVER THE FORBIDDEN LINE INTO COVINGTON
WOODS.

Lucius takes the last few steps to the bush. He reaches into it and snaps off a
branch. He straightens up.

And then for the first time we sense him pausing.

He turns and looks slowly over his shoulder.

THERE IS SUDDEN MOVEMENT. LEAVES AND BRANCHES SNAP
AS WE SEE, FIFTY FEET AWAY, THE DARK FORM OF A HUMPED
CREATURE, STANDING UPRIGHT. IT SUDDENLY MOVES. WE SEE
IT STRIDE AWAY INTO THE DENSENESS OF THE WOODS.

Lucius turns and starts walking. Branch in hand, he moves at a calm even
pace as he heads back to the bucket with yellow paint.


EXT. WALKING PATH – NIGHT

Lucius moves along a walking path. He passes by a LAMP LIGHT.

He gets pulled from the strong current of his thoughts by the rattling of a
bush. He sees someone crawling around in the foliage.


Lucius watches as Ivy Walker crawls out and stands. She looks in Lucius'
direction.


Ivy runs her hands over her frock. Dirt and leaves fall off.


Lucius stares at Ivy who has dirt and leaves in her hair. She bends down and
picks up her cane.


Lucius nods.


Ivy smiles.

There is an awkward moment.


EXT. WALKER BACK PORCH – NIGHT

Ivy and Lucius arrive in silence to the back porch of the Walker cabin. In the
LAMP LIT windows we see Kitty and her younger sister talking.


Ivy climbs the stairs and stops.


Beat.

Beat.




Beat. This affects Ivy.


Lucius nods. Ivy climbs a few more steps and stops.
She turns.


Lucius looks a little confused.

Lucius raises his eyebrows.


Lucius stares at the striking blind girl who stands in the shadows with a
mischievous smile.


Ivy turns and walks into the house. We see through the open back door as
Noah leaps out from behind a water basin and scares her. Ivy starts chasing
the tall boy around the room playfully.

EXT. TOWER – NIGHT

Finton Coin sits huddled in the corner of the tower perch. His knees are
tucked into his chest. There is an oil lamp on the floor by his side.

The oil lamp moves as the tower creaks. Finton sits up. THE LAMP LIGHT
ON FINTON'S TENSE FACE FLICKERS AND THEN RETURNS.


SILENCE. Finton crawls over to the trap door in the floor. He listens a
moment before reaching for the rope handle.

He pulls back the wooden door slowly.

Finton looks down the ladder that drops twenty feet away to the ground. The
thick legs of the tower can also be seen.


SOMETHING PASSES UNDERNEATH. IT IS DARK IN FORM AND
MOVES DEVILISHLY QUICK INTO THE SHADOWS.

All the air leaves Finton Coin's lungs.

Finton shuts the trap door quietly. He moves the wooden bolt into the lock
position. All his movements are slow and trancelike.

Finton places his hands on the railing and pulls himself up. He steadies
himself on his feet. And then peers over the railing.


EXT. COURTYARD – NIGHT

People of the village move normally through the courtyard.

AND THEN THE WARNING BELL SOUNDS IN THE DISTANCE. IT IS
VERY DIFFERENT THAN THE PRACTICE BELL IN THE YARD. ITS
SOUND IS DEEPER MORE POWERFUL AND RESONANT. ITS
SHORT REPEATED RINGING ECHOES THROUGH THE AIR.

Everyone in the courtyard suddenly freezes and then starts running.

Everyone except Lucius. He turns and looks over his shoulder towards the
direction of the tower.


INT. WALKER CABIN – NIGHT

Kitty and Ivy look up as they dress their little sisters for bed.

THE DISTANT REPEATED SOUND OF THE WARNING BELL silences
all the chatter.

Beat.

Kitty turns to Ivy.


Kitty scoops her little sisters off their bed and moves directly towards the
trapdoor in the back of the cabin.


EXT. CABINS – NIGHT

Lucius ushers a group of people into a cabin. He closes the door and shuts
them in. He moves quickly across the path to a woman who tries desperately
to close the shutters on her cabin. The shutters stick on their rusty hinges.
Lucius comes over and closes it shut.

He turns as a SHADOW PASSES OVER HIM.

Lucius ducks into the darkness by the side of the cabin. There is movement
all around him.

HE WATCHES AS A CREATURE MOVES SLOWLY TOWARDS THE
FRONT DOOR OF THE CABIN.

Lucius steps back farther into the shadows. He presses his back against the
side of the cabin and loses sight of the creature.


INT. WALKER CABIN – NIGHT

Noah jumps up and down, agitated and excited. Kitty tugs at his arm as she
pulls him towards the trap door. She looks across the cabin and sees Ivy
standing in the open front door.


Ivy looks out in the direction of the STRANGE SOUNDS.


Kitty leads Noah down into the crawl space where the two younger sisters
wait frightened and silent.


Ivy turns and looks back at her sister, strain and strength on her face.

Kitty walks down into the underground room with Noah and the children.
Only her head can be seen as she watches her littles sister, across the cabin
stand in the doorway to the outside.

Ivy puts out her hand through the open doorway. She holds it out to the
darkness.

THE WARNING BELL RINGS OVER AND OVER IN THE DISTANCE.

STRANGE SOUNDS CAN BE HEARD THROUGH THE WALLS IN
THE BACK OF THE CABIN.

Kitty listens to them, tears fill her eyes. Her head turns back to Ivy and
screams across the cabin floor.

OUTSIDE:

THERE ARE SHADOWS ALL AROUND THE WALKER CABIN.

A HUMPED CREATURE EMERGES FROM THE DARKNESS. IT
STARTS RUSHING TOWARDS THE PORCH.

Ivy holds her hand out as she stares blankly into the darkness outside. Tears
stream down her face. She is terrified.



THE LARGE DARKENED FIGURE OF THE CREATURE CLIMBS
ONTO THE PORCH.

A HAND GRABS IVY'S HAND.

SLOW-MOTION: Ivy turns as Lucius moves with her through the doorway.
They close the door shut quickly and bolt it. Lucius and Ivy run together
across the cabin. Lucius never lets go of her hand.

They reach the open trapdoor. Lucius helps Ivy in and then follows her
down. His arm spears out and grabs hold of the rope handle. The door shuts
over their heads.


INT. UNDERGROUND ROOM – NIGHT

REAL TIME:
Six individuals huddle together in the darkness. A TINY STREAM OF
LIGHT FALLS ON THEIR FACES.

SOUNDS OF SCRATCHING AND CLAWING CAN BE HEARD ON
THE WALLS OF THE CABIN. THE DISTANT SOUND OF THE
WARNING BELL IS MUFFLED IN THIS UNDERGROUND SPACE.

Kitty holds her little sister tight. Noah claps his hands joyously in the small
space he has to move.

Lucius and Ivy are crouched together close to the stairs. Their faces are
almost touching. They both stare up at the crack in the door and listen. They
both breathe hard; their breath falling on each other.

Ivy's face tilts slowly to her lap. Lucius' hand is still holding hers.


INT. UNDER GROUND ROOM #2 – NIGHT

A large number of men and women are crammed together in another
underground room.

THEY LISTEN AS NOISES AND GRUNTS MOVE AROUND THEM
OVERHEAD.

INT. UNDERGROUND ROOM #3 – NIGHT

A group of children are huddled together in the darkness of another
underground room. The children's hands cover their ears. They try to block
out the SOUNDS STABBING AT THEM THROUGH THE CRACKS IN
THE TRAP DOOR.

We see their tiny bodies jerk with every sound.

Their scared faces dissolve into the darkness.



EXT. VILLAGE – DAY

A gentle breeze pushes leaves around in circles. There is no one in the
courtyard. There is no one on the walking path.

The front doors of the cabins ate closed. On each door are TWO RED
SLASHES OF COLOR FORMING AN "X". The crimson markings are
seen throughout the empty village.


INT. MEETING HALL – DAY

All members of the village, young and old, are gathered together. THE
SOUND OF SOME CHILDREN WHIMPERING can be heard in the tense
silence.

Edward looks at the faces.

Beat. Edward suddenly looks older. His childlike eyes flicker with emotion.


August touches him on the shoulder in a brotherly way to stop him from
speaking. August looks out over the congregation.

A note is passed from the gathering. Vivian Percy is the closest of the elders
and accepts it. She checks the front and back for an inscription. She looks
out over the room of faces.


The room of faces do not respond. Vivian opens it.

Vivian turns to the elders at her side.


They all nod. Vivian throws a quick look to Alice before turning back to the
paper.


Whispers fill the meeting hall. Alice closes her eyes. August looks down.

Ivy sits in the crowd. She stares blankly at a point in space.

There are nothing but murmurs for a moment. Edward Walker silently steps
forward. The crowd moves aside as he walks through them.

He moves to the back corner, where the crowd parts and reveals Lucius
sitting against the wall. His eyes are red. Tears fall from his cheeks.

Edward Walker kneels down in front of him.


Walker's face trembles with emotion as he stares at the young man. Edward
Walker leans forward and whispers in the young man's ear.


Lucius looks up. The two men stare at each other. The crowd goes quiet
around them. The overwhelming pride and emotion in Edward Walker's
eyes slowly start to change Lucius. He grows stronger with every second he
gazes at his elder.

INT.CLASSROOM – DAY

Vivian Percy claps her hands.




She stares at the quiet faces of the children.


The children nod gently. They are ready.


EXT. CLEARING – DAY

A collection of fifteen men and women are constructing a wooden canopy.

Noah Percy helps cut a rope that tethers one of the frames of the canopy to a
statue in the ground. An elder holds the rope and points. Noah slices it. He
laughs when the rope splits. He waves the knife in the air joyously. The
elder quickly takes the knife away from him and smiles.

Edward and Tabitha Walker guide the others as the two sides of the canopy-
frame are brought up into their standing positions.

They look up at the structure for their daughter's wedding with wonder in
their eyes. Beat.

They are gathered by the others and begin tying garlands of flowers to the
frame.


EXT. RESTING ROCK – DAY

Lucius unwraps his biscuit from his handkerchief.


Lucius looks up to find Ivy standing before him.


Lucius doesn't say a word.

Ivy lets out a breath.


Ivy turns and walks away. Lucius' green eyes watch her as her as he brings the
biscuit to his mouth.


EXT. SUPPERTABLE – AFTERNOON


Edward Walker looks to Kitty at his side. Christop sits across from her. They
are both dressed in white. Edward smiles to them as he takes a seat.

August stands. It is unexpected. Eyes watch him.

Beat. August takes a seat.

The table is covered in a feast of foods. Hands start reaching across the
table. The business of a festive dinner begins.


EXT. BORDER – AFTERNOON

The SOUND OF WOODEN FLUTES AND HAND MADE
INSTRUMENTS CAN BE HEARD IN THE AIR.

Two young girls in mustard yellow cloaks lead two young men in hooded
cloaks. The girls walk procession-like with flowers in their hands, The two
young men carry a wooden box with rope handles.

The group stops ten feet from the border into the forest. The girls turn
ceremonially together and wait for the young men to open the lid of the one-
foot by one-foot square box. The girls then toss their flowers in the box and
step aside.

The young men raise the hoods of their cloaks over their heads. The lid is
closed and the box is picked up by it's handles again. The girls stay where
they are as the young men carry the box right to the edge of the forest.

There the lid is reopened. The two young men reach down and pull out the
contents of the box. The flowers the girls threw in the box, trickle off the
blood red surface of the LARGE SLAB OF MEAT.

The two hoods turn and look into the forest. About five feet into the forest is
a large flat rock. Its surface is stained dark from dried animal blood.

The young men start swinging the meat to gain momentum. On the third
swing, they throw the large slab of meat into the air and over the forbidden
boundary. It makes a SOUND as it lands on the rock.

The young men glance at the forest for a moment, and then turn and walk
back to the girls. They turn and start walking in a procession back down the
hill and towards the MUSIC.

EXT. CANOPY – AFTERNOON

A canopy of flowers and vines has been made on the grass next to the
stream. Candles hung by string are tied throughout.

A quartet of young musicians play on stools. Vivian Percy and the children
sing next to them.

Kitty is dressed in a beautiful simple white frock. Christop looks neat and
handsome. They stand on either side of August Nicholson who holds a
weathered book in his hands. He quietly quietly instructs the couple where to stand
and what to do

The some of the guests are seated in wooden chairs, some are seated in the
grass.

Ivy is seated on the grass nearby with an older woman with thick gray hair.
We have seen this woman sitting with the elders many times. This is MRS.
CLACK.


Ivy turns to Mrs. Clack and smiles.

Beat.


Ivy can hear the change in Mrs. Clack's voice.



Mrs. Clack fixes her frock with her puffy hands.

August Nicholson turns to the congregation. He calls out.


Everyone in chairs and on the grass stands for the ceremony.

EXT. CANOPY - NIGHT

The MUSIC IS LIVELY. The musicians are up on their feet. People are
dancing.

Kitty and Christop stand side by side and greet each family of the village.
They are presented handmade gifts wrapped in twine. Kitty is glowing as she
accepts the wedding gifts.

Ivy steps up and hugs her sister tight.  Kitty hugs her back and lets go. Ivy
keeps hugging. Kitty realizes Ivy is crying. Ivy kisses Kitty on the cheek and
finally lets go. Kitty watch with confusion as her sister moves away.


Kitty forces a smile and accepts the next gift.


EXT. CANOPY ENTRANCE – NIGHT

Edward and Tabitha Walker greet the elders that swarm around them and
congratulate them.

Alice Hunt steps up and kisses Tabitha. She moves to Edward who finishes
shaking a man's hand.


Alice puts out her hand.

Edward smiles at her. Alice smiles gently back.

She lowers her untouched hand back to her side. They both nod at each
other. Alice steps away.

She is flustered. She holds her hands nervously as she walks. Alice turns and
glances back over her shoulder.

Edward Walker is greeting Vivian Percy. HE SHAKES HER HAND as she
congratulates him.

Alice turns back and keeps walking. She looks around to see if anyone is
watching her. Her face is bright red with embarrassment.


EXT. CANOPY – NIGHT

The swirl of dancing captures more and more people.

Ivy stands to the side. Kitty's hand reaches out from the dancers. Kitty takes
hold of her sister and pulls her in. Ivy resists for a moment and then lets
herself join the celebration.

EXT. BORDER – DUSK

Long deep shadows fall in the woods.

The two young men in yellow hooded cloaks walk the final steps to the edge
of the forest. They look to the flat stained rock in the woods. THE SLAB OF
MEAT HAS BEEN REMOVED. A fresh stain sits where the raw meat used
to be.

The young men turn quietly and head back to the little girls. They lower
their hoods. They nod their heads to the girls who then smile. The four start
walking towards the music in two lines of two.


EXT. SLOPE TO CANOPY – NIGHT

Lucius Hunt sits along the slope that leads to the wedding canopy. THE
MUSIC AND LAUGHTER FLOAT THROUGH THE AIR.

He looks down to the CANDLELIT GLOW of the flowered canopy. Almost
everyone is dancing.

SOMETHING MOVES IN THE DARKNESS BEHIND HIM.

Lucius looks back over his shoulder.

THERE IS A RUSTLE IN THE BUSHES ON THE SLOPE ABOVE HIM.

Beat.


A LOW GRUNT. WE SUDDENLY HEAR SOUNDS OF SCURRYING.

Lucius rises to his feet immediately.

EXT. CANOPY – NIGHT

Ivy is in the thicket part of the dancing. Her hair has come loose from its
upturned position. She laughs as she turns in circles with her sister and
friends.

THE FIRST SCREAM MIXES WITH THE LAUGHTER AND
DISAPPEARS.

The dancing goes on.

THE SECOND SCREAM CAN BE HEARD MUCH MORE CLEARLY.
Ivy is among the first few who stop dancing.


EXT. SLOPE TO CANOPY – NIGHT

Lucius leans down and picks up an oil lamp that has been knocked to the
ground. It is one of a few that have been strung along a walking path.

Lucius  looks to Covington Woods in the distance. THERE IS THE
DISTANT SOUND OF BRANCHES SNAPPING.

Lucius turns as the SOUND OF A SCREAM CUTS THROUGH THE
MUSICAL DIN FROM BELOW.

He stares down at the warm glow of the canopy. He can see everyone has
stopped dancing. There is commotion.

Lucius wheels in the direction of the tower. We see a young man in a yellow
cloak standing sentry. We see him standing bored – elbows on the edge of
the railing.

Lucius watches him for a moment, then turns back confused.

EXT. CANOPY – NIGHT

The dance floor is full of confusion.

A few YELLS SPIKE THE AIR.

Ivy is unintentionally bumped a few times as people start panicking. She is
separated from her sister.

Ivy puts her arms out. She tries to move out of the knot of people.

PANICKED CONVERSATIONS GET LOUDER ALL AROUND HER.

She is bumped two more times. She struggles to keep moving in the crowd.

A HAND TAKES HOLD OF HERS. She feels Lucius leading her out of the
congestion. She holds his hand tight as they move towards the entrance of
the canopy.


EXT. CANOPY ENTRANCE – NIGHT

Lucius and Ivy emerge amongst a group of elders that are gathered around
two young boys. The boys are around ten years old. They are terrified.
Everyone close at hand listens in hushed silence.

Edward Walker is seated in a chair. The boys stand before him at eye level.

The boys nod. They are both crying. Beat.

Ivy moves next to her father. Edward takes her hand. Edward looks at the
boys.


Ivy gathers the boys close as Edward stands. He turns to the worried crowd
around him.



EXT. WALKING PATH – NIGHT

A SNAKE OF HANDHELD LIGHTS MOVE SLOWLY towards the
village.

The members of the village move in a group led by elders. Lucius walks
towards the front holding one of the lanterns.

Kitty and Christop move in the middle and walk in tense silence.

The procession moves towards the DIM LIGHTS OF THE CABINS.

EXT. COURTYARD – NIGHT

The elders have already moved into the courtyard. They walk in stunned
silence.

Lucius and the young men are next to follow.

When Kitty arrives her hands move to her mouth. Christop stops in front of
her.

THE COURTYARD BEFORE THEM IS LITTERED WITH DEAD
ANIMALS. CHICKENS, AND SQUIRRELS AND RACOONS. THEY
HAVE ALL BEEN SLAUGHTERED AND SKINNED, THERE ARE A
HANDFUL OF SKINNED ANIMALS DANGLING FROM ROPES TIED
TO THE POSTS OF THE HOUSES.

The villagers move like ghosts through their courtyard. Edward Walker
moves amongst them. He walks up to one of the hung animals and with
shaking hands, slowly unties the knot and lowers the animal to the ground.

A young man walks up to Edward Walker, hesitates and then taps him on the
shoulder. GERALD speaks in a whisper when Edward turns.


Everyone is moving towards doorways. Christop is trying to pull a stunned
Kitty through the chaos.

Elders usher people towards the nearest porch.

Lucius picks up two children in his arms and moves them to a doorway.

Ivy follows a group of people into a cabin.

Kitty stands in HER BEAUTIFUL WHITE WEDDING FROCK. Christop
tugs at her arm. She finally is pulled across the littered courtyard and
disappears into the darkness of a cabin.

EXT. SHED – NIGHT

Alice Hunt stands alone by the open entrance to the shed.

Edward Walker approaches her. She steps away so he may look inside.
Edward steps into the doorway of the shed. He stares quietly into the
shadows of the food shed. Empty cages hang open throughout the structure.

Alice speaks softly from outside.


Edward's eyes move to the doorjamb. He sees the fresh torn wood at eye
level.


Beat. Edward stares into the darkness of the shed.

EXT. CANOPY – NIGHT

There is no one in the wedding canopy. THE CANDLES HAVE ALL BUT
FLICKERED OUT.

A handful of chairs lay on their sides.


EXT. TOWER – NIGHT

Two young men stand in the tower. One man eats leftover cake from a
wooden plate. He cuts a piece off and hands it to his partner.

They eat wedding cake as they stare into the darkened woods.


INT. IVY'S BEDROOM – NIGHT

Ivy lies in bed. She is awake. THE MOONLIGHT STREAMS IN
THROUGH THE HALF CLOSED WOODEN SHUTTERS.

THERE IS THE SMALLEST OF NOISES OUTSIDE.

Ivy gets out of bed. She moves to the window slowly.

Her outstretched fingers reach the shutter first. She pushes the shutter open.

She stares out into the darkness.


EXT. WALKER PORCH – NIGHT

Ivy walks out with a shawl over her night dress. She moves to Lucius who
sits on the stairs of the porch.

He turns as she sits down next to him. Beat.




Lucius nods silently. Beat.





Beat. There is an awkward moment. Ivy searches for something to say.


Lucius shakes his head lightly, "No."

Beat.



Beat. The wind blows stronger. They see leaves move all around them.

Lucius looks at her.


Beat.



Ivy is surprised by the strength in Lucius' voice.

Ivy sits in the moonlight. Tears stream down her cheeks. A hand reaches out
and wipes a tear. This causes more tears to fall.

Lucius Hunt leans forward and kisses Ivy Walker on the porch of her
father's home.


INT. WALKER BEDROOM – MORNING

Ivy and Kitty sit on their old bed together. Ivy squeezes her sister's hand.


The two sisters sit quietly. Kitty moves the stray hairs from Ivy's face.


Ivy closes her eyes.

The two sisters sit holding hands in the room they used to share.


INT. MEETING HALL – MORNING

A woman in her twenties stands before a committee of five elders.




Beat. Alice nods.

August Nicholson and the rest of the elders stare quietly at the woman. Beat.


BEATRICE nods and starts out.


The elders look up to find Beatrice still in the meeting hall.


Alice is taken a little off guard.


She glances to Edward and Tabitha who smile back. Alice turns to the
woman.

Alice gently looks down.




EXT. MEETING HALL – MORNING

A line of villagers wait patiently outside the doors of the meeting hall cabin.

Beatrice walks out and lets the next person in.


INT. HUNT CABIN – MORNING

Lucius Hunt opens the front door to his cabin.


Noah Percy stands in the doorway sobbing. Beat.

Noah walks in. Lucius closes the door.

Noah doesn't answer. Beat.

Lucius heads back to his desk. Lucius folds the piece of paper he was
writing and places it in the drawer.


Noah shakes his head. He move to Lucius.


Lucius barely sees THE SHARP BLADE.

NOAH AND LUCIUS  STAND EYE TO EYE. BEAT. NOAH PULLS OUT
THE BLADE FROM LUCIUS' STOMACH.

WE WATCH LUCIUS FOLD TO THE FLOOR OF HIS CABIN.

NOAH, STILL CRYING, CHANGES THE GRIP ON HIS KNIFE AND
BENDS DOWN OVER LUCIUS.


INT. PERCY BEDROOM – MORNING

Vivian Percy is helping Robert with his vest. She gently straightens out his
collar. They've done this routine many times.

THERE IS A NOISE FROM THE CABIN'S ENTRANCE.

Robert Percy places his eyeglasses on.



INT. PERCY CABIN – MORNING

WE ARE MOVING THROUGH THE PERCY CABIN. THE MAIN
SITTING ROOM IS EMPTY. WE SEE THE FRONT DOOR IS OPEN.
WE MOVE TOWARDS IT.

THERE IS A NOISE, A CREAKING THAT GROWS IN STRENGTH. WE
MOVE TO THE FRONT DOOR AND THEN THROUGH IT.

WE ARE ON THE PORCH. THE CREAKING SOUND IS VERY LOUD.
WE TURN AND SEE NOAH SEATED IN A ROCKING CHAIR. HE
ROCKS BACK AND FORTH CREAKING ON THE NOISY WOOD OF
THE PORCH.

HE TURNS AND LOOKS OVER WHEN HE FEELS HIS PARENTS
PRESENCE.

VIVIAN AND ROBERT PERCY STAND FROZEN LIKE A BAD
PAINTING.

NOAH POINTS AT HIS WET SHIRT.

INT. MEETING HALL – MORNING

The elders look away from the man who stands before them, They turn to
the SOUNDS OF COMMOTION COMING FROM OUTSIDE THE
MEETING HALL CABIN.

The door opens, a short flustered man enters. THE NOISE AND
GROWING COMMOTION SPILLS INTO THE MEETING HALL.

A couple of the elders stand.



Beat.



EXT. WALKING PATH – MORNING

Ivy and Kitty step off their porch together. They make their way down the
walking path. There is a GROWING SOUND OF VOICES ahead of them.

Two people come rushing past.


One of the girls stops and comes back. She speaks in a frantic whisper.

HELEN runs off.

Ivy's face changes. Beat.

Ivy lets go of her sister's hand. She starts moving away.


Ivy does not respond. Her walk becomes quicker and quicker. Kitty stares
after her as her sister breaks into a run.


EXT. COURTYARD - MORNING

WE HEAR IVY COUNTING UNDER HER BREATH AS SHE RUNS.


On the twentieth step she reaches the end of the path and makes the turn
around a cabin into the courtyard.

THERE IS A COMMONTION ALL AROUND HER. SHE HEARS
KNOCKS AND DOORS OPENING AND CLOSING. ELDERS YELL
OUT.

Ivy runs past all the voices. She runs past all the frantic people and
movement.

THE SOUNDS OF COMMOTION ARE BEHIND HER.

She crosses the entire courtyard, brushing people as she runs.

She reaches the quiet part of the village; the part not searched yet.

Her feet hit the walking path stones similar to the ones near her house.

She drops her walking stick and keeps going.

She reaches a turn in the path and goes in the wrong direction before
realizing and changing directions. She starts running again. Her hair comes
flying out from its bindings.


She comes to a quick stop and puts her hands out. She feels the wood of the
front door of the Hunt cabin.

She pushes it open.


INT. HUNT CABIN - MORNING

She steps into the silent cabin.

Ivy uses her hands to find the first piece of furniture. It's a chair. She walks
around it.


Ivy moves slowly across the room, heading towards Lucius' loft.

Her foot HITS SOMETHING. SHE STOPS.

She is now standing in the middle of the cabin. Ivy bends down and gropes
with her hand. Her hand comes back dripping.

Ivy kneels to the ground and searches with her hands for Lucius' head. She
finds his shoulders and pulls with all her strength to get him onto her lap.

THERE ARE VOICES AND NOISE OUTSIDE. FOOTSTEPS ARE
HEARD.

A young man steps into the doorway. He is instantly stopped by what he
sees. He quickly runs away.

WE HEAR MANY FOOTSTEPS NOW.

Edward Walker is the first one in the doorway. He begins shaking his head
violently. Tears instantly fall over his anguished face.

WE HEAR MORE FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.

The area behind Walker gets filled with villagers.

Edward Walker gathers himself for a moment. He speaks to those closest
behind him.

A handful of those in shock behind him, leave.

Ivy Walker sits on the floor of the cabin with a bloodied lump of clothes and
flesh in her arms. She looks in the direction of her father's voice.



EXT. SICK CABIN – DAY

The entire congregation of the village waits outside the sick cabin. Everyone
is silent. All watch the windows of the narrow cabin.

A FLAG OF WHITE FLIES at half mast next to the cabin.

Ivy walker listens TO THE SNAP OF THE WHITE FLAG.

A door to the cabin opens. Mrs. Clack walks out and approaches the group.
She glances at Ivy and then looks to the group.


Some women in the group begin to cry. Parents hold their children a little
tighter.


Ivy concentrates on the SOUND OF THE FLAG. She listens to the
RHYTHMIC SNAPS. Then slowly, her face begins to tremble. She finally
begins to cry.

INT. THE QUIET ROOM – DAY

The heavy wooden door to the quiet room is being unlocked. Robert Percy
turns from the door. His face ashen. He steps aside.

Ivy moves to the door. She opens it.

Next to the sacks of potatoes, in the corner of shades, Noah Percy sits in the
only chair in the room. He sits eerily straight up. When he sees who it is, he
smiles. The CHAIR CREAKS AS HE STANDS.

Ivy walks straight to THE SOUND. She reaches for his face. Finds it... and
CRACKS HIS FACE WITH A VIOLENT SLAP. Noah covers his face with
his hands. She slaps him again and again. Her hands hitting his ears, his
hands. She stands there hitting him. He stands there taking it.

Robert Percy takes hold of her and gently pulls her off him. After a moment,
she stops raising her hand. She lets herself be quietly taken form the room.

The door is closed again. Locked again.

FROM INSIDE THERE IS A SUDDEN BURST OF SCREAMS. IT DIES
DOWN TO A WHIMPER.


INT. SICK CABIN – DAY

One of the oldest of the elders, VICTOR, stands near the door to the sick
cabin with Tabitha and Edward Walker.

In the background we can see Alice Hunt sitting next to the only occupied
cot. There are low sounds coming from the lump that is Lucius.

The three elders in the doorway, speak in whispers.

Beat. Edward turns to Victor.


Victor shakes his head,

Beat.


Tabitha's eyes move to her husband's. Victor looks directly at Edward who
stares back quietly. Beat.



Beat. Edward's eyes are tearing up.


Tabitha and Victor stare in stunned silence. Beat.



EXT. WALKER PORCH – DAY

Ivy Walker sits still in a rocker on the porch of her cabin. She does not look
over as her father comes onto the porch and stands by her. Beat.

EXT. WALKING PATH – DAY

Edward and his daughter move along a walking path. Edward leads her off
the path onto the grass. They continue walking.

They stop walking.

They stand next to a worn shed hidden in tall grass.

Edward opens the lock on the small shed.






INT. SHED – DAY

WE ARE IN THE DARKNESS OF A SHED. LIGHT POURS IN AS
EDWARD OPENS THE DOOR. He steps in.

He puts out his hand and helps Ivy inside.

Beat. Ivy steps forward. Her hands go out – searching. Her fingers reach into
the shadows of the shed.

She touches something. Her hand glides over the GLISTENING FUR. Her
fingers graze the TEETH. IT MOVES.

Ivy pulls back and stifles a scream with her own hands.

Edward catches her.


Edward holds her gently.


WE SEE IN THE DARKNESS NOW. HANGING FROM WOODEN
RAFTERS ARE NINE OR TEN SUITS OF FUR AND CLAWS. EACH
ONE HAS A HUMP – EACH HAS DARK AND LIFELESS EYES.

THE COSTUMES CREAK AS THEY SWING SLIGHTLY ON THEIR
HOOKS.

EXT. BEHIND OLD SHED – DAY

Ivy is seated in the grass with her back to the shed. Edward stands near her.


Ivy nods as if she understands.







Beat.

Ivy's face begins to tremble. Edward kneels down.

Edward Walker reaches out and takes Ivy's hand in his. He places a TINY
FOLDED PAPER in her hand and closes her fingers over it.


Ivy looks up. Edward holds his hands tight over his daughter's closed
fingers.


Father and daughter are crying. They are leaning towards each other now.
Their foreheads almost touching.

INT. WALKER CABIN – DAY

Edward Walker sits at the small table next to the stove. He waits outside the
open door to Ivy's bedroom.

Through the doorway we see her packing a cloth bag. Her yellow cloak lies
on the bed.


EXT. COURTYARD – DAY

Ivy moves through the courtyard. Her walking stick moves steadily back and
forth. Her cloth bag is stuffed and hangs against her back.


EXT. RESTING ROCK – DAY

Ivy sits in her yellow cloak. Her hood is up over her head. She sits on the
enormous rock embedded in the base of the hill.

Her hand moves under her hood. She looks like she's wiping tears, but we
cannot see her face.

Ivy just sits there... gathering strength.

THERE IS A NOISE. She looks up. Two cloaked figures emerge from the
path. They stand in silence across from her.

INT. SICK CABIN – DAY

Alice sits in a chair to the side of Lucius' bed. Lucius lies under the sheets
asleep. His hair is damp. His face is white. His breathing is shallow and
labored.

THE SOUND OF THE DOOR TO THE CABIN OPENING AND
CLOSING CAN BE HEARD.

Edward walks into the cabin. He moves towards Alice and Lucius. They are
the only three in the cabin. Beat.


Alice looks up. Beat.


Now Alice stands.


Alice starts crying. Edward wants to touch her. He leans towards her.


Alice looks at the man standing so close to her. She looks in his childlike
eyes.

They stand together, almost touching. They both are trembling. Beat.

Edward gently nods and steps away. Alice slowly takes a seat next to her
son. She holds her son's hand tight.


EXT. BORDER NEAR CREEK – DAY

Three cloaked figures move towards the line of trees at the start of the
woods. The two large figures flank the smaller one. They all carry cloth bags
on their back.

There is a creek to their right. It travels from the woods into their valley.

The three stop at the border.

We see their faces under their hoods. Ivy Walker is in the center. To her one
side, is Christop Crane. To her other side is Finton Coin.

Ivy's fingers run over the yellow slash of paint on the tree bark. She listens
and hears the SNAPPING OF THE YELLOW FLAG ABOVE HER.
YELLOW FLAGS SNAP IN THE DISTANCE ON THE EITHER SIDE OF
HER.

Finton glances to the soil and sees the claw marks in the dirt just in front of
them. He looks over to Christop who has seen them too. Finton looks like he
may faint on the spot.

Ivy is the first to move. She holds out her stick and takes a step. Her foot
presses into the dirt amongst the large clawed footprints. The others follow.

Ivy steps into the woods. She makes it to her sixth step before Finton's
trembling hand touches her shoulder. She turns to him.

Ivy turns and faces back the way she came. Christop stands on the other side
of the border. He has not stepped into the woods with them.


Christop stands crying at the forbidden line.








Finton looks at Ivy wearing her yellow cloak. Her hood is up. He realizes the
truth in what Christop is saying.

Ivy stares in the direction of Christop's voice. Her eyes are steeled.


Christop wavers for a second. Beat. He is still crying as he backs away.


Finton watches as Christop backs away. He turns and moves down the slope
out of sight. Beat.


Finton turns and finds Ivy walking into the woods. Her walking stick taps
trees as she moves.

Finton stands where he is. He lets her get ten feet away before running and
catching up to her.


EXT. TREE TOPS – DAY

We look down from the branches of the trees. Below us is a bed of leaves
and dirt. The leaves come to life and begin swirling in agitation. The wind
moves through the trees like a presence.

Down below, two specters in yellow move through the woods. Their hoods
pulled tight over their scared faces.

EXT. BACK OF SICK CABIN – DAY

The elders have gathered behind the sick cabin.

They wait and watch as August Nicholson comes around the corner. He
hurries over.


Everyone turns to Edward. He gathers himself before he speaks.


The elders are stunned. Mr. and Mrs. Percy stand like ghosts.

August stares at Edward.




Beat.


Edward looks to August and smiles.

Edward stares at Mrs. Clack.


Beat. They all stand in silence.


EXT. WOODS – AFTERNOON

Two torches have been lit and fit atop two thick branches stuck into the
ground.

We hear the SIZZLE OF TINY RAIN DROPS AS THEY HIT THE
FOREST FLOOR. Ivy and Finton tie a heavy cloth trap by its corners to
nearby trees. They are racing the growing drizzle around them.


EXT. TENT – LATE AFTERNOON

Finton and Ivy are seated with knees to their chests under the cloth tarp.

THE OVERWHELMING SOUND OF A DOWN POUR ECHOES
THROUGHOUT THE FOREST.

Finton stares through the gray wall of pounding rain all around him.
Everything is a blur.

In the haziness of the world of trees around him, THERE IS A THING OF
DARKNESS. Finton leans forwrd a bit as he stare more intently.

Rain continues to cloud and obscure his view. THE THING OF
DARKNESS FAR AWAY SEEMS TO FLICKER AND MOVE.

Finton's mouth opens a bit as he stares. THE THING OF DARKNESS
SEEMS TO GET SMALLER AND THEN GETS WASHED AWAY BY
THE RAIN.

Finton waits and watches. There is nothing to be seen but the constant
downfall of rain. Beat. Finton turns to Ivy. She remains huddled and quiet.
Finton turns back to the rain and looks around nervously.


EXT. TENT SITE – DUSK

The rain has stopped.

Finton stands with his bag over his shoulder. He peels away layers of soggy
cloth from the torches.


Finton turns and walks slowly over to Ivy who stands by the tent. Beat.

Beat. Ivy continues to stand with her back to Finton.


Ivy does not turn to face him. Beat.


We see Ivy's face. She is frightened.


When she hears THE SOUND OF FINTON'S FOOTSTEPS RUNNING
AWAY, all she can do is close her eyes.

EXT. TENT – NIGHT

The forest has turned to shadows and black. There is a small figure huddled
under the cloth tarp. She is huddled under her yellow cloak. Her hood is
pulled low over her face. She lets only her tired eyes peek through.

THE SOUND OF THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF CICADAS
FILL THE AIR WITH THEIR HIGH PITCHED VIBRATO. THE SOUND
SEEMS TO GET LOUDER AND LOUDER. UNNATURALLY LOUD.

Ivy has to cover her ears. Her head bows and we lose sight of her eyes.


EXT. WOODS – MORNING

A slender hand is held out in the air. It slowly pivots till A PATCH OF SUN
WASHES OVER ITS PALM. Ivy uses the heat from the sun to guide her
direction.

Ivy's silhouette moves against the harsh slant of the morning sun.

Her cane moves back and forth in front of her.

Tap. She adjusts and moves around a tree. Her feet are stepping in mud. She
keeps moving.

Tap. She adjusts and continues forward. He left foot lands in deeper mud.
She pulls it out and keeps going.

Tap. She changes position and takes a step. THERE IS NO GROUND
WHERE SHE STEPS. HER HANDS GO OUT AS SHE FALLS. SHE
GRABS THE EARTH AS IT SLAMS INTO HER ARMS.

SHE IS HANGING ON AN EDGE. SHE TRIES TO PULL HERSELF UP.
THE GROUND IS ALL MUD – SHE BEGINS TO SLIDE. SHE FLAILS
AS SHE DISAPPEARS INTO THE HOLE IN THE FOREST.

WE WATCH FROM ABOVE as she comes to a stop ten feet down the
hole's wall.

EXT. HOLD – MORNING

Ivy is in a hole about fifteen feet deep. At the bottom there are the SOUNDS
OF WATER RUNING OVER ROCKS.

Her walking stick has wedged into the roots of some trees that are sticking
out in this hole in the ground.

Some loose rocks and dirt come free as Ivy finds her footing in the mud
wall.

The debris falls to the rock floor.

Ivy catches her breath before pulling herself up.


EXT. WOODS NEAR HOLE – MORNING

We see her stick climb over the edge of the hole. Her hand is the next in
view as it takes hold of some roots to drag herself out.

She finds the base of a tree and moves to standing.

Her fingers travel over an unusual CROOKED BRANCH of the tree. She
ducks under it and steps away from the hole.

She takes a couple heavy breaths... and begins to laugh. It is a tired laugh as
she whips her hands at her sides to get the thick mud off her fingers.

She puts her hand to her cloak. It comes away full of mud... She slowly
stops smiling. Her other hand goes to the surface of her cloak. It comes away
with slick mud.

WE SEE IVY NOW, FULL FIGURE. HER CLOAK AND HOOD IS
COATED IN MUD. HARDLY ANY OF THE SAFE COLOR YELLOW
CAN BE SEEN.

Ivy starts wiping the mud from her cloak. Her movements are even at first
and then become more desperate as her hands just slide over the slick mud.

We watch her in SILHOUETTE frantically trying to wipe off the mud.


EXT. WOODS – DAY

The mud caked figure of Ivy moves through the forest. Her walking cane
swings back and forth.

Tap. Crack.

Ivy stops walking. She runs her hand over the cane and finds it fractured
three-quartes of the way down.

Her fingers tremble over the crack. She takes hold of each end and checks its
strength. THE CANE SNAPS. THE SOUND ECHOES THROUGH THE
AIR.

A moment later, WE HEAR ANOTHER SNAP SOMEWHERE FAR
AWAY.

Ivy turns. Beat. She remains still under her hood. We watch as she slowly
lowers to the ground. Her hand reaches out to the ground. Her fingers search
the leaves. After a moment, her hand finds a rock.

She hesitates, and then throws the rock as far as she can. It lands with a
CRUNCH IN A BED OF LEAVES.

Ivy stays crouched and listens. THE WIND RUSTLES. Beat.

AND THEN WE HEAR IT - THE IDENTICAL SOUND OF A ROCK
LANDING IN A BED OF LEAVES SOMEWHERE BEHIND HER.

Ivy rises in terror. Her hood slips off her head as she starts to move. Her
hands go out in front of her as she begins to run.

Branches slap at her arms and face. Her hand slams into a tree, she
SCREAMS IN PAIN. She tries not to stop, she moves around it and keeps
running.

Another tree catches her shoulder. She spins and almost falls to the ground.
She clutches her shoulder as she gathers her balance. She keeps running.

She holds her hand up as she runs through a collection of small branches.
They shatter against her forearm. She does not stop.

Ivy's hands start waving in front of her like her walking stick. She is running
as fast as she can.

SHE PASSES INCHES FROM A LARGE TREE THAT WOULD HAVE
CRUSHED HER. She keeps running.

The branches stop striking her arms. She is racing through a slight clearing.
She is out of breath. She slows and stumbles to an exhausted stop.

She breathes slowly and looks around, listening in all directions. WE PULL
BACK AND SEE SHE IS STANDING ALONG A HILLSIDE COVERED
IN RED FLOWERS. THE BAD COLOR BLANKETS THE GROUND
ALL AROUND HER.

Beat. AS HER BREATHING BECOMES SOFTER AND MORE
NORMAL ANOTHER SOUND CAN BE HEARD.

IT IS ALSO BREATHING, BUT IT IS MORE ANIMAL IN NATURE –
STRONG SNORTING SOUNDS – HORSE LIKE.

Ivy turns slowly in a circle till she finds the direction of the SLOW
ANIMAL SNORTING.

Beat. STANDING FORTY FEET AWAY FROM HER IS THE LARGE
DARK UPRIGHT FIGURE OF A HUMPED CREATURE. IT STANDS
WITH ITS BACK TO IVY.

THIS CREATURE IS LARGER AND HAIRIER THEN THE COSTUMES
THE ELDERS HAD.

THE CREATURE ROCKS A BIT SIDE TO SIDE LIKE ITS AGITATED.

Ivy moves ultra-slow. She begins backing up. She makes it a few feet before
bumping up against the thick trunk of a tree.

THE CREATURE REMAINS WHERE IT IS, WITH ITS BACK TO US,
ROCKING BACK AND FORTH.

Ivy edges around the trunk of the tree. She moves around it till she is hidden.
WE LOSE SIGHT OF THE CREATURE FORTY FEET AWAY.

Ivy has her back to the bark. Her chest rises and falls with her panicked
breaths. She listens. WE CANNOT HEAR THE ANIMAL BREATHING.

Beat. Ivy leans back around the tree slowly. WE SEE FORTY FEET
AWAY, THE CREATURE IS NO LONGER THERE.

WE SUDDENLY HEAR A VERY LOUD ANIMAL SNORT.

Ivy jerks back.

Ivy's face tilts down. WE SEE AT THE BASE OF THE TREE, AN
ENORMOUS MOUND OF FUR. THE MOUND SHAKES AS IT
BREATHES OUT LOUDLY. THE CREATURE LIES ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE TREE.

Ivy begins the longest walk of her life. Her striking face remains quiet with
exhaustion and fear as she keeps moving. The tree in the background behind
her gets smaller and smaller.

She gets a hundred feet away before we HEAR THE ANIMAL GROWL
LOW AND MENACING. Ivy stops. She has to turn and face the sound.

THE CREATURE IS NOW STANDING NEXT TO THE TREE. WE
BARELY SEE ITS DULL LIFELESS EYES UNDER ITS FUR.

There the two face each other across a hundred feet of woods. There is a
terrible stillness; the kind of stillnes people often feel before something
awful is about to happen.

Suddenly the creature starts moving in long and fast strides towards Ivy.

Ivy reacts too slow to the ON COMING SOUND. She turns and begins
running...

THE ANGRY ANIMAL SOUNDS GAIN ON HER... SHE SCREAMS...

THE FIRST BLOW IS FAST AND SUDDEN. ALL WE SEE IS FUR AND
CLAWS. IVY IS KNOCKED TO THE GROUND VIOLENTLY.

THE CREATURE CONTINES PAST HER MOVING INTO THE
WOODS. WE SEE IT START TO TURN BACK ABOUT FIFTY FEET
AWAY – LIKE A BULL IN A BULL FIGHT.

Ivy get ups. She has a set of fresh cuts along the side of her neck.

Ivy turns and runs into the thickest part of the forest.


EXT. DENSE WOODS – DAY

Her hands go out again as branches and trees close in around her. She fights
her way through.

HER OWN BREATHING, AND THE BREAKING OF BRANCHES AND
THE CRUSH OF LEAVES FILL HER EARS AS SHE RUNS.

A tangle of branches from a clump of trees slows her. She slaps and strikes
at the branches. They snap and break off.

She runs untill she can run no more. She slows out of pure exhastion. She
comes to a stop. Her hands hold onto a thick branch in front of her as she
rests.

THERE ARE NOISES BEHIND HER.

She is too tired to move. Her hands tremble on the branch.

THE NOISES GET LOUDER.

Her fingers slide over the CROOKED BRANCH. Her fingers stop with
recognition. They go back over the crooked bend in the branch.

WE HEAR LOUD MOVEMENT - GALLOPING IN THE DRY LEAVES.
BRANCHES SNAP QUICKLY BEHIND HER.

Ivy steps around the branch. Beat. Ivy closes her eyes...

THE CREATURE STRIDES TOWARDS HER...

Ivy raises her arms at her sides. Her body makes the form of the crucifix.
She stands steady as THE SOUNDS OF THE CREATURE RUSH
TOWARDS HER...

She holds.

THE CREATURE IS SUDDENLY UPON HER...

At the last possible second, she moves. It is fast and unexpected. HER FEET
SLIDE ON THE MUDDY EDGE AS SHE DIVES QUICKLY TO THE
SIDE...

THE CREATURE'S CLAWS JUST GRAZE HER MUDDIED ROBE AS
IT DROPS INTO THE HOLE IN THE WOODS.

INT. QUIET ROOM – DAY

The door to quiet room is unlocked. Robert and Vivian Percy open the door.
They hold food in a wooden plate in their hands.


They step into the musty room. Their eyes go to the center of the room's
floor. A handful of floorboards have been pulled up.

In the hole beneath the floor boards THERE ARE CHICKEN FEATHERS
AND BITS OF ANIMAL FUR. A PATCH WHERE TWO FUR PIECES
HAVE BEEN KNITTED TOGETHER LIES ON THE WOODEN FLOOR
BY THE OVERTURNED FLOOR BOARDS.

Vivian Percy drops the plate of food.

In the back of the quiet room, the potato sacks have been pushed aside.
Where they sat against the wall is an opening three feet in width and height.
HARSH SUNLIGHT POURS IN THROUGH THE OPENING.


EXT. HOLE IN WOODS – DAY

The creature lies utterly still.

WE SEE THE CREATURE'S FUR IS RAGGED AND MADE UP OF
DOZEN AND DOZENS OF ANIMAL FURS PATCHED TOGETHER.

THE CHICKEN FEATHERS THAT HAVE FILLED IT'S HUMP HAVE
SPILLED OUT OVER THE VIOLENTLY SHAPED ROCKS THAT THE
CREATURE IS LAYING ON.

ITS HEAD LAY HALF ON AND HALF OFF.

Noah Percy is bloodied and crying. A surge of pain makes his face a tight
knot of strain. He gasps as his boyish eyes dart around in panic. He wants to
scream. He can't.

A wave of pain crushes his face again and then slowly relaxes. He makes
small whimpering sound. Tears fall down his cheeks. He does not make
another sound. His eyes stare forever frozen in a moment of a young boy's
shock.

WE SEE THE SILHOUETTED FIGURE OF IVY STANDING ON THE
EDGE OF HOLE LOOKING DOWN. SHE IS LIKE A GOTHIC HOODED
FIGURE against the bright sky.


EXT. EDGE OF HOLE – DAY

Ivy listens for noises below. None comes. She backs away form the edge.
She turns and shakily moves through the tangle of branches.

Her hands find the crooked branch. She feels its strength and then takes hold
of it. She pulls and tugs at it until she feels it crack. She pulls down with all
her weight and the thick branch snaps off.


EXT. WOODS – DAY

Ivy's new walking stick moves back and forth in front of her. TAP. It hits a
tree, she moves around it.

The wind starts to blow hard. Leaves start to swirl around her.

THEN SHE HEARS THE FIRST WAIL FROM THE WOODS.

Her stick stops moving.

THE WAIL IS LIKE A SCREAM AND IT IS NOT HUMAN. THE FIRST WAIL IS JOINED BY ANOTHER AND THEN ANOTHER.

THE SCREAMS AND WAILS COME FROM ALL DIRECTIONS. THE
SOUND IS OVER WHELMING.

Ivy drops her stick and covers her ears.

WE SEE WHAT SHE CANNOT... THE TREES IN THESE WOODS
HAVE HOLES THROUGH THE CENTERS OF THEM. WE WATCH AS
WIND TRAVELS THROUGH THESE HOLES AND CAUSES A
SOUND... A SCREAM.


Beat. THE SCREAMS CONTINUE FORM THE WOODS AS THE
LEAVES KEEP SWIRLING.

Ivy's hands lower from her ears.

WE HEAR NON-HUMAN SCREAMS FROM FAR OFF IN THE
WOODS.

Ivy reaches down and finds the branch she was using as a walking stick. She
rises to her feet defiantly.


THE SCREAMS AND WAILS SEEM TO MOVE AND SWARM
AROUND HER.

She takes her first step. She is trembling but finds strength to take a
second. Her stick starts moving back and forth as her steps turn into a walk
and her walk turns into a run.


INT. SICK CABIN – AFTERNOON

Lucius Hunt struggles hard to breathe. Alice Walker keeps a steady watch
over her son.

Edward Walker steps next to her chair. He watches Lucius fighting to live.


Alice turns in Edward's direction.


Edward nods. He moves towards the entrance to the sick cabin. His wife
Tabitha waits for him there. He opens the door and he and Tabitha exit
together.


EXT. GRAVEL ROAD – AFTERNOON

Ivy's stick moves back and forth through high weeds. She holds her palm
out and continues to check the location of the sun.

Suddenly, the weeds are gone. The stick moves back and forth unimpeded.
THERE IS A CRUNCH UNDER HER FEET.

Ivy stops. She taps her stick to the ground and HEARS THE SMALL
TICKS OF STONES.

Ivy instantly becomes agitated and excited. She starts moving forward, her
STEPS CRUNCHING UNDERNEATH HER. She moves until she feels her
stick hitting weeds again.

She knows the width of the GRAVEL ROAD she is on.

She turns around and counts her steps back to the centre. She holds her hand
up and searches for a patch of sun. She finds it. She turns and faces her body
east.

Ivy is breathing heavy form excitement. She starts forward. With each step
there is a CRUNCH. THE CRUNCHES START TO GET CLOSER
TOGETHER AS IVY STARTS PICKING UP HER PACE.

Ivy removes the cloth bag from her shoulder. She lets it drop to the gravel
and dirt as she walks.

She starts walking faster.

Ivy starts tugging at her mud caked cloak. She juggles her walking stick as
she pulls the dirty cloth over her head. She slips her arms out of the tangled
cloth and drops the crumpled cloak to the gravel and dirt floor.

Ivy starts running.


INT. WALKER CABIN – AFTERNOON

Edward Walker and Tabitha are standing in their cabin. They are holding
hands. The cabin is silent. There is no one else there.

Edward gently lets go of his wife's hand and moves to the corner of the
cabin. Tabitha's eyes follow her husband. She turns and walks to the front
door and closes it.

We watch her put the wooden plank in place to lock it.


EXT. WALL OF VINES – AFTERNOON

Ivy runs on the hidden dirt and gravel road. Her stick waves low and in front
of her.

THERE IS A SUDDEN THUD AS THE STICK HITS A PACK OF
FOLIAGE.

Ivy comes to a quick stop with her hands out. Both hands get swallowed into
greenery.

Ivy feels around with her hands. There is A WALL OF VINES AND
WEEDS IN FRONT OF HER.

Ivy moves to her side and finds the wall of foliage continues into the woods.

Ivy stops and puts down her walking stick. She reaches up and searches for
something to hold. She wedges her foot into a clump of knotted weeds and
pulls herself up onto the wall of green.


INT. WALKER CABIN – AFTERNOON

Edward Walker turns the key of the BLACK BOX. He lifts the lid into its
standing position.

Tabitha stands at his side.

Edward reaches into the darkness of the box. There is some folding clothing.
His hands push aside the first layers and take hold of a heavy cloth. He pulls
it out. We see its blue unfold as he raises it. Dusts dances off of it and swirls
in the air.

Tabitha takes a slow breath. Edward Walker stares at it with his sad childlike
eyes.

WE LEAVE EDWARD AND TABITHA WALKER IN THEIR CABIN
STARING AT THE PAIR OF FADED BLUE JEANS EDWARD HOLDS
IN HIS HANDS.


EXT. HIGHWAY – AFTERNOON

WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH A TRUCK'S WINDSHIELD. WE SEE A
DASHBOARD WITH A STYROFOAM CUP. WE SEE A HAND
HOLDING A STEERINGWHEEL.

WE ARE MOVING ALONG A HIGHWAY lined on one side by forest. A
ten-foot mesh fence covered over with vines and weeds borders the forest.

In the distance there is a SPOT OF WHITE climbing down the weed-
covered fence.

WE ARE MOVING FAST. THE SPOT GETS LARGER.

THE WHITE SPOT turns into a figure dressed in white, which lands in the
weeds at the side of the highway.

WE ARE MOVING ALONG SIDE IT.

THE FIGURE IN WHITE IS A GIRL. SHE STEPS OUT IN FRONT OF
THE TRUCK.

THE DELIVERY TRUCK SWERVES TO AVOID HER; IT SWERVES
INTO THE ONCOMING LANE AND LOSES CONTROL.

THE TRUCK ARCS IN THE ROAD; THE SCREAM OF BRAKES
SHATTERS THE AIR.

The truck comes to a stop in the middle of the highway.

We hear a SNAP as the truck door opens.

THE TRUCK DRIVER gets out.

He looks frustrated and walks to the girl who stands in the middle of the
highway.


The striking looking girl stands with her hands at her ears.


The girl slowly lowers her hands. She stares in his direction.

Beat.


The young truck driver looks at the white girl's old-fashioned clothing for
the first time.


Beat.




The girl holds out her hand. There is a dirty paper folded in it. The driver
steps foreward and takes the paper. He unfolds it. Beat.

The girl suddenly has tears in her eyes. Beat. She nods, "yes."


EXT. GAS STATION – LATE AFTERNOON

The same large delivery truck sits at a small country gas station by the side
of the highway.

The truck driver finishes filling the tank and walks to the tiny wood shingled
building that serves as the gas station.

There is a bench outside the door to the shingled building. AN OLD
WOMAN AND AN OLD MAN are seated there. They are weathered and
fairly unpleasant to look at. They are wearing multiple coats each. Their
bodies have kind of melted into the bench from years of sitting there.

The truck driver steps up.

He pulls the cash out of his wallet and hands it over.


The truck driver points across the highway to the ten-foot fence covered in
ivy and weeds that lines the road.






Beat. The young driver stands thinking.
 

The three of them stare at each other. The truck driver look like he's going
to say something. An eternal beat.


The young truck driver nods and heads back to his delivery truck.

The old man turns to his wife.


The old woman laughs a phlegmy, hard laugh that shakes the bench.

The truck driver gets into the cab of his truck. He sees through his window
the old couple laughing in the bench. He shakes his head.


HE TURNS THE IGNITION ON and pulls away form the country gas
station.

WE SEE his truck on the highway as it rides along the ten-foot fence that
marks the preserve. The weed-covered wall goes on for as long as the eye
can see. It stretches out till it disappears into the horizon, like some painting
in a children's book.