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The Hollow Man
written by Andrew W. Marlowe
Red Wagon Prods.
Revised Draft
6/26/98
FADE IN:
On complete darkness.
A SMALL DOOR swings open.
A circle of light reveals that we I re looking down the
length of a tube. At the far end of the tube, we see a
gloved hand dangling a rat. The hand shoves the
frightened rat into the tube and closes the door behind
it. The rat's stark white fur bristles and it begins to
pad down the tube's length.
After several feet, the tube opens up into a dimly lit
cubicle. The rat hesitates and stops.
The SOUNDS of gentle BREATHING whispers in the rat s
ears.
The rat turns round to head back down the tube, but a
door swings shut, trapping it in the cubicle.
The rat cowers as the BREATHING turns to SNORTING.
The rat s head jerks around, looking for signs of danger,
but the cubicle is empty. The rat sees a water dish on
the far side of the cubicle - a place to hide - and
dashes toward it.
But an invisible force descends.
The rat squeals in agony as something smashes down on its
body, crushing it.
A LOUD BELLOW rings out, and the rat flies into the air,
halting a few feet off the ground. Its body writhes,
struggling against the unholy force.
Then a sick crunch of tiny bones snapping. All life
quickly drains from the levitating body. Dead eyes...
The creature s corpse floats in mid-air. Then the white
fur of the rat explodes in a shower of blood.
HUGE BLOOD SMEARED INCISORS appear, as do the red-slicked
ape- like lips. The gaping bloody mouth bites again into
the rat.
CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
In the background we hear Jay Leno's monologue from the
Tonight Show. A small lamp and the glow from a computer
screen illuminates SEBASTIAN CAINE, late twenties with
the shabby good looks of a perpetual grad-student. Wiry
framed and wearing only boxer shorts, Sebastian sips
coffee from an Einstein coffee mug. He peers at a
complex computer rendered molecule displayed on his
screen. He pecks a few keys and the molecule shifts
slightly, then falls apart.
Sebastian pulls a twinkie from a hostess box, unwraps the
cellophane and sucks it down. He attacks the keyboard
with renewed vigor.
Another molecule appears on the screen. Sebastian's
fingers fly across the keyboard. The molecule blinks on
and off, it trembles and twists apart.
SEBASTIAN
Damnit.
Sebastian pears out his window. Across the courtyard, a
light comes on in a neighboring window. He sees a
BRUNETTE, mid-twenties, absolutely stunning, enter her
living room. The Brunette thumbs through the mail, tosses
it and then begins to undress. Sebastian loans over to
the window, getting interested. But when the brunette
reaches her bra and panties, she crosses to the window
and lowers her shades.
SEBASTIAN (cont d)
Damnit.
Sebastian leans back in his chair and closes his eyes.
He's obviously tired. He opens his eyes and stares up at
the ceiling. Painted across the white matte finish in big
red letters is a brief reminder - You Should Be
Working. Sebastian sighs, leans forward and begins
pecking away again.
LATER:
The television is now only static. We pan by his alarm
clock. 4 am. We find Sebastian pacing in front of his
computer.
He gets an idea... slides back in his chair. Types away
again. The molecule reforms on the computer screen.
He types a few more keys, waits, watches the molecule.
Nothing happens.
He hits a few more keys and watches intently for a
reaction.
SEBASTIAN
(beat)
I am a goddamn genius.
He hits a few more keys and a telephone keypad appears on
the screen. He dials.
CUT TO:
INT. ANOTHER BEDROOM - NIGHT
Digital phone rings.
In the bed, LINDA FOSTER, late twenties, stirs from a
deep sleep. As she straggles out of bed and over to her
desk, we notice a young man sleeping next to her.
The ringing continues. She moves her computer mouse
around and her screen comes to life. She click on a
telephone icon and the ringing stops. A beat later,
Sebastian appears in a window on her screen.
LINDA
Sebastian, do you know what time it
is?
SEBASTIAN (SCREEN)
You know Da Vinci never slept. Said it
was waste of time.
LINDA
What is it this time?
INTERCUT: SEBASTIAN S BEDROOM
Sebastian peers at the image of Linda in the computer
window. He notices something behind her in the bed, the
young man sleeping face down.
SEBASTIAN
Who's that?
Linda pulls the camera off the top of the of the computer
screen and positions it so Sebastian can t see the bed.
LINDA
Not your business. Not anymore.
SEBASTIAN
Touche.
LINDA
So you calling about anything in
particular, or were you just hoping to
catch me sleeping in the nude?
SEBASTIAN
I cracked the reversion.
Upon hearing this, Linda receives a jolt of adrenaline.
LINDA
You cracked it?
SEBASTIAN
Look at this.
Sebastian hits a couple of keys. A moment later the
molecular structure appears on Linda's computer.
SEBASTIAN
Watch this.
LINDA
You sure?
SEBASTIAN
91% sure.
LINDA
(astonished)
Eleven months with no progress and you
suddenly come up with it out of the
blue? How?
SEBASTIAN
The usual. Coffee and twinkies.
LINDA
I hate you.
SEBASTIAN
I know. You think you could hunt down
Matt and get to the lab early. I want
Isabelle prepped for a live test.
LINDA
Yeah, I think I can find him. What are
you going to do?
SEBASTIAN
Well y know. It's daylight in
Switzerland. I gotta call the Nobel
Committee and tell them to get our
prizes ready. See you in a few.
ON LINDA S COMPUTER SCREEN as Sebastian clicks off. Linda
crosses to her bed, and shakes the guy awake.
LINDA
Hey... come on.
DR. MATTHEW KENSINGTON, late 20s too, stirs from under
sheets.
MATT
(groggy)
What?
LINDA
Sebastian just called. We gotta get to
the lab.
Matt bolts up.
MATT
Shit! You didn t tell him I was here,
did you?
LINDA
Give me some credit, will ya.
MATT
So what's the rush?
LINDA
He cracked reversion.
Matt pulls his jeans on.
MATT
Wanna ride down?
LINDA
We better take our own cars.
MATT
You re gonna have to tell him about us
eventually.
LINDA
I know. It s just You re his best
friend. He ll feel betrayed.
EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. SKYLINE - DAY
From a distance, the Nation s Monuments stand awash in
the harsh light of morning.
CAMERA finds a BLACK PORSCHE as it pulls to the security
fence of a warehouse. The imposing structure is
surrounded by a chainlink fence and barbed wire.
The Porsche is waved through security and heads straight
into the warehouse.
INT. WAREHOUSE -DAY
The Porsche pulls to a halt in a reserved parking space
and Sebastian exits, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts,
and Birkenstocks. He notes the other cars parked in the
lot, then crosses to bunker in the center of the
warehouse, guarded by a MARINE, shouldering an M-16.
MARINE GUARD
Morning, sir.
SEBASTIAN
Morning, Ed.
MARINE GUARD
Your team s in early. Something
special going on?
SEBASTIAN
Sorry, Ed. You know the rules.
Sebastian presses his thumb against a glass screen. A
laser reads his print.
Scan readout: CAINE, SEBASTIAN
Clearance: ALPHA ALPHA THREE
Division: CLASSIFIED
The doors whisk open and Sebastian steps inside.
MARINE GUARD
Have a good day, sir.
INT. ELEVATOR - DAY
Inside the elevator is a numberless keypad. Sebastian
taps in his floor code.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization please.
SEBASTIAN
Caine zero zero two seven.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization verified. Good morning,
Dr. Caine.
The elevator descends with a groaning hum. It passes
below us and keeps descending into the belly of the
earth, the shaft goes down forever.
INT. HABITAT S CORRIDOR
We slowly push down a hallway panelled by Plexiglas
chambers. Each chamber looks as if it's tailored for a
specific animal, although no animals are visible.
As we pass one habitat, something slams into the
Plexiglas and begins barking. Another HOWL joins in. Then
SCREECHING. Suddenly the hallway fills with a dozen
animal cries. THUMP.
THUMP.
The Plexiglas on several chambers vibrates as if angry
animals were slamming against it. But still, no animals
are seen.
Above each chamber, VIDEO SCREENS display THERMAL IMAGES
revealing heat signatures of the various animals, but
they remain invisible to the naked eye. MATT taps on a
sheet of Plexiglas which seals off another seemingly
empty cage.
MATT
Isabelle ...
The woodchips on the floor shift and suddenly the
Plexiglas steams up right in front of Matt s face. The
Plexiglas begins to shake violently.
MATT (cont d)
Calm down baby. Calm down. It s
okay...
Matt takes a pair of thermal goggles from his belt and
pulls them down over his eyes.
THERMAL POV - A rather large heat signature, ape-like in
shape, rattles about the cage. Matt slowly unlatches the
Plexiglas door and reaches inside.
MATT (cont d)
It s okay, baby. It s okay. I m not
going to hurt you. Come here.
THERMAL POV - he reaches out to the creature. He grabs
hold of it, firmly. Stroking it. The creature COOS. Matt
reaches for a hypo and brings it up to the creature.
MATT (cont d)
Just hold still.
Something clamps down on his hand, breaking his skin.
Blood erupts in a bite pattern.
MATT (cont d)
Ow, shit.
Matt drops the hypo and falls back. The cage door flies
open and something runs out. Matt pulls himself up to see
the heat signature running down the hallway. He turns
around to see another heat signature coming at him. Matt
pulls off his goggles to see Linda coming up the
Corridor.
LINDA
You okay?
MATT
She bit me.
LINDA
Yeah. She s become a lot more
aggressive in the last few days.
Linda takes the goggles from Matt.
LINDA (cont d)
Go take care of that bite. I ll get
her.
MATT
And give you a chance to pull ahead?
Never.
Linda opens a lock-box at the end of the hallway and
pulls out a two tranquilizer guns. She hands one to Matt.
AROUND THE CORNER
A slight distortion shimmers as something runs past us.
We hear HOOTS and FOOTSTEPS.
Looking down the shadowy corridor, we hear grunting and a
haunting heavy breathing. The control door is closed
though and something large and angry is throwing itself
against it. We can t see anything.
A few moments later, Linda and Matt round the corner,
wearing goggles and leveling their pistols.
MATT
(ala Porky)
Shh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. I m hunting
simians. heheheheh.
LINDA
Knock it off.
(soothing voice)
Isabelle!
THERMAL POV - Dark hallway. Movement. A red shimmering
heat signature. It comes running at Linda. HOWLING. Linda
fires. A T-DART flies. Thwack... It stops in mid-air.
Then falls. But it doesn t hit the floor. Instead, it
stops inches above the ground.
THERMAL POV - the heat signature lies in a heap at
Linda s feet.
MATT
Good shootin , Tex.
LINDA
What s that make it?
MATT
I m still ahead. 6 to 5.
Like a smug gunfighter, Linda blows imaginary smoke from
the top of her tranquilizer gun.
LINDA
But I m catching up.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
The elevator doors open and Sebastian steps out. He s met
by SARAH KENNEDY, early thirties, a fiery red-head.
SARAH
Can I have a word?
SEBASTIAN
Most normal people say good morning.
SARAH
Don t you think you should test the
protocol on the liver samples before
you inject Isabelle?
SEBASTIAN
How many tissue samples have we
successfully regressed? Hundreds,
right? How many have gone on to work
on the full system? None.
SARAH
That s beside the point.
SEBASTIAN
No, that is the point. I m not going
to waste six months of my life on an
outmoded testing procedure. This thing
works. I know it. I feel it.
Linda comes down the corridor, listening in on the tail
end of the conversation.
SARAH
Fine. You can mop up afterward.
SEBASTIAN
You think I m going to kill Isabelle?
SARAH
Kill? More like liquefy.
SEBASTIAN
Sarah, thank you for your opinion, but
I m the project leader. Understand?
She says ...
SARAH
Yes, Sir.
... but somehow it feels like Fuck you. She storms off.
Sebastian turns to Linda.
SEBASTIAN
How did you ever convince me to hire
her?
LINDA
You said you wanted the beat vet in
the country.
SEBASTIAN
Yeah, well she cares more about the
animals than the research.
LINDA
Maybe that s why she s so good.
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON: MATT as he shuts off the spinning cyclotron. As
it's spinning slows to a halt, he pops the top and
reaches in, removing...
A GLOWING VIAL OF ORANGE LIQUID.
Sebastian peers at the vial.
SEBASTIAN
Who da Man? You da Man.
MATT
As we pull out we see we are.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Almost feels like a dungeon. Think high-tech
Frankenstein. Walls lined with video displays, technical
readouts, bizarre medical equipment.
On a table in the middle of the room, a sheet drapes over
a humanoid form, strapped down at it's invisible limbs.
The straps move slightly... ghostly. Wires lead from the
body to lots of machinery.
MATT
Protocol is hot.
SEBASTIAN
Vitals?
Sarah, checks over the various readouts ... heartbeat,
blood pressure, the rest.
SARAH
Normal.
CARTER ABBEY, the late thirties lab assistant, wheels in
a cart of equipment. Linda taken a seat by the table and
pushes aside the sheet.
BOOMING VOICE
THIS IS GOD. YOU ARE DISTURBING THE
NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS AND WILL BE
SEVERELY PUNISHED FOR ALL ETERNITY.
GOD HAS SPOKEN.
SEBASTIAN
How many times do I have to tell you,
Frank you aren t God.
(beat)
I am.
FRANK (LOUDSPEAKER)
Sorry, Boss. Forgot.
Sebastian glance up at a glass booth overlooking the
Laboratory floor. TWO PEOPLE in the booth.
SEBASTIAN
You guys ready to roll?
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH
FRANK CHASE, early thirties, and tech expert JANICE
WALTON, early twenties, man a small booth above the lab.
They re dressed more like band roadies than scientists.
The room is crammed with electronic and recording
equipment. A handful of monitors display different images
of the lab. Thermal and regular video. Another screen
monitors vital signs.
FRANK
We are live and in color. On your
mark.
Frank and Janice looks down on their colleagues.
Sebastian nods their way.
SEBASTIAN
Okay. Roll em.
JANICE
Okay. We are rolling record on videos
one through twelve.
Frank hits a series of buttons and speaks into a
microphone. Recording.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Frank s voice echoes through the chamber.
FRANK (V.O.)
Subject Isabelle Two. Currently in
phase shift... one hundred twenty six
days, eighteen hours.
LINDA
Testing De-Phase protocol. Injecting
serial protein Caine One Two Five.
Linda removes a glowing vial of orange liquid from a
centrifuge nearby.
MATT
Maybe if you stopped naming them after
yourself, you d have better luck.
SEBASTIAN
Why thank you, Dr. Kensington, for
that keen scientific observation. I ll
be sure to include it in my memoirs.
MATT
A whole mention? And I thought I was
just gonna be a footnote.
Matt unwraps a hypodermic needle and jabs the needle into
the vial, drawing up the colored liquid.
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH
MATT
Okay.
Frank and Janice monitor Isabelle s vitals.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Tension in the air.
SEBASTIAN
(to Linda)
Ready.
She wraps a bungee cord around nothing and pulls it
tight. She then takes some dye and sprays it. A surface
appears, floating beneath the restraints. It sheens in
the light as Linda searches for a vein. She slaps the
surface several times. A small bulge appears, like a
vein.
LINDA
Propped.
MATT
Let s make some history.
Matt lowers the hypo to the vein. But Sebastian takes the
hypo from Matt s hand.
SEBASTIAN
Nice try, Sparky.
Matt relinquishes the needle.
LINDA
Come on, Isabelle. You can do this.
Sebastian lowers the hypo. The skin bonds and gives. The
needle remains in sight after it slips through the
visible surface. Matt presses down on the hypo plunger,
releasing a dye into his bloodstream. The gold liquid
twists into a long snaking tube up and down the limb.
It s the shape of a vein. The liquid begins to react.
Small flashes of light blip up and down the strand of
color. Ba-bump.. ba-bump... the heartbeat starts to speed
up.
SARAH
Elevated heartbeat.
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH
Janice analyzes the screens.
JANICE
We re still in the green.
FRANK
Confirmed. Vitals still in the normal
range.
INT. LABORATORY
The glowing liquid turns from gold to red as the complex
webbing of a bloodstream appears.
MATT
It s reacting.
Spreading out from the bloodstream, soon becomes
visible.. the shadow of a skeletal system.
SEBASTIAN
Do you see this?
LINDA
It s working. It s actually working.
Matt pulls the sheet back. Muscles are beginning to
appear. And eyeballs. Frightened eyeballs.
SARAH
Heart rate s up. She s scared.
Sarah soothes her.
SARAH (cont d)
It's okay, baby. It's okay.
SEBASTIAN
Subject began manifesting almost
Immediately. Protocol is reacting
quickly.
Isabelle starts to struggle against her restraints. She
begins to howl.
LINDA
Subject may be in pain or extreme
discomfort.
SARAH
Goddamnit. Blood pressure elevating.
Brain activity going through the roof.
The brain appears, seemingly growing from the inside out.
The shape of a large half-formed monkey grows from the
inside out. A SKULL APPEARS howling in pain, in horror.
SARAH (cont d)
We ve got a problem.
SEBASTIAN
What? What problem!
Sarah checks her monitors.
SARAH
It s her heart. We can see the heart
beating in the ape s
FRANK (V.0.)
I got an erratic heart beat.
SARAH
She s going into cardiac arrest.
LINDA
Got the crash cart.
Carter charges the crash cart and rolls it in.
SARAH
We re losing her.
Her machine flatlines.
SEBASTIAN
No! It s got to work.
The body is only half there. It looks as if its caught in
decomposition. Linda rubs the cardiac paddles together.
LINDA
Clear!
Linda slams the paddles on the monkey s chest. The jolt
of electricity makes the monkey visible again for a brief
moment. Then the skin and flesh fade away again.
SARAH
We ve got something!
The heartbeat starts up again. The body continues its
march toward,visibility.
SARAH (cont d)
Still. erratic.
LINDA
Come on Isabelle. Come on. You can do
it. You can fucking do it.
Everybody s pulling for her.
SARAH
Come on, monkey.
MATT
Do it. Do it. Come on.
Muscles spread like a rash on bone as the monkey twists
and turns, frightened. Then skin. The monkey howls. Skin
forms over the muscles reappearing like it was being
painted on before our eyes.
SARAH
Stabilizing.
The entire form glows, then blinks, then glows again, as
if it was discharging some stored energy.
FRANK (V.0.)
Brain activity returning to normal.
The monkey grunts and groans. Blinks its eyes. Linda
hovers over it stroking its fur.
LINDA
Welcome back, Isabelle.
Sebastian puts his hand on Linda s shoulder... a move
that does not go unnoticed by Matt. We did it.
SEBASTIAN
(beat)
How is she?
SARAH
(surprised)
I think she s gonna be okay
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. HABITAT
Frank, Matt, Sarah, Janice and Linda watch Isabelle rise
and walk about the cage. She goes over to the other
monkeys and joins in their grooming rituals.
CARTER
Amazing. She's normal, absolutely
healthy. If you didn't know any
better, you'd think nothing had
happened to her.
MATT
(ribbing Sarah)
Yeah. I can't wait to slice up her
brain and trace her neural pathways.
SARAH
Screw you, Matt.
MATT
Well maybe not right away.
LINDA
We should celebrate.
INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT
The fanciest one in D.C.
The entire eight person team sits around a round table,
drunk and laughing, as the last champagne flute is
filled.
Sebastian raises his glass.
SEBASTIAN
To the finest research team I've ever
known.
A round of "Hear, hears" and they all clink glasses and
drink.
EXT. RESTAURANT BALCONY - LATER
The din of the diners fades away as Linda slips out onto
the restaurant's balcony. She find Sebastian leaning
against a railing, breathing in the night air.
SEBASTIAN
Hey...
LINDA
I thought you'd gone.
SEBASTIAN
Where would I go?
He looks out over the sweep of the city, the twinkling
lights of D.C. and darkness of the Potomac river.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Twenty years ago there were no
computers, no fax machines, no cell
phones. I was just wondering what the
world will be like twenty years from
now... if what we're doing will change
everything.
LINDA
A little "I am become death... the
shatterer of worlds"?
SEBASTIAN
Something like that.
LINDA
Since the day I met, all you wanted to
do was change the world.
She puts her hand on his shoulder.
LINDA (cont'd)
Listen, I know we've... I mean... well
... I just want you to know how proud
I am of you. I know it probably
doesn't mean a lot...
SEBASTIAN
Actually it does.
(beat)
I guess since you were there from the
beginning, you know me better than
anyone else on this godforsaken
planet.
LINDA
You're positively maudlin. You should
be happy. Do you have any idea what
you've accomplished?
SEBASTIAN
Yeah... but I was working so hard, I
didn't realize I'd have no one to
share it with.
Sebastian heads back inside. But he stops and turns back.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
I don't suppose we could turn back the
clock for a night and you could come
home with me?
Her look says it all. Too much water under the bridge.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Right. Sorry. Too much champagne.
He turns and heads back into the party. As he heads in he
passes Matt heading out. He and Sebastian exchange
"Heys".
MATT
What was that about?
LINDA
Nothing. It's just... He is who he is.
Sometimes I just have to be reminded.
CUT TO:
INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT
Sebastian wanders through the empty hallways of the
laboratory.
INT. HALLWAY OF HABITATS - NIGHT
Sebastian paces back and forth, examining the habitats.
He taps on the Plexiglas of one. The cubicle explodes
with
BARKING.
We see the Plexi steam up in one part, as if something
was breathing on it. As if a nose were pressed against
it.
SEBASTIAN
(a little drunk)
What's it like? Talk goddamnit! Tell
me what it's like!
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. PENTAGON - DAY
Flying over Washington D. C. , we cross the Potomac and
circle the five-cornered building, looking particularly
gloomy on this grey day.
SEBASTIAN (V.0.)
Six years ago, this committee
commissioned me with a very specific
task...
INT. PENTAGON CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
At the table are six men. A handful of senior military
brass and top civilian advisors direct their attention to
the front of the room, where Sebastian, flanked by Matt
and Linda, is in the middle of his presentation.
SEBASTIAN
To successful phase-shift a human
being out of quantum sync with the
visible universe and then return him
safely, with no after affects.
Next to Sebastian a video shows a small monkey shifting
from the visible spectrum. It's hair, skin, organs and
skeletons slowly dissolve before our eyes.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Well, we found out sending them to
"never-never-land" was easy, it's the
getting back that's hard.
Sebastian fast forwards a few moments until the video
screen shows the bizarrely tangled heap of flesh and bone
that used to be alive.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Every time we've tried to bring a test
subject back from phase-shift.
Cellular bonds would dissolve, the
primary DNA strands would decay. But
now...
Sebastian pauses. Something's bothering him.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
But now...
One of the senior advisers, DR. HARRY KRAMER,
distinguished 50s, finally breaks the silence.
KRAMER
But now?
Linda and Matt look up at Sebastian expectantly.
SEBASTIAN (CONT'D)
But now...
(pause)
But now, we feel we are closer than
ever to resolving this issue. We've
been experimenting with a new
regression formula that looks rather
promising.
A FOUR STAR GENERAL leans forward.
GENERAL
How long?
SEBASTIAN
Sir?
GENERAL
Son, as you can imagine, we are very
anxious to field test this tactical
asset. How long till you resolve this
issue?
Linda starts to speak, but Sebastian cuts her off with a
look.
SEBASTIAN
Shouldn't be more than another year,
Sir.
Frustrated sighs all around the room.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Maybe sooner.
EXT. PENTAGON - DAY
As Linda, Matt and Sebastian head to their cars.
MATT
Yo. Reality check! What the hell was
that about?
SEBASTIAN
Keep your voice down.
MATT
The protocol works. Why'd you tell
them it didn't?
SEBASTIAN
I wasn't ready for them to know.
MATT
But they're the oversight committee.
They're supposed to know.
LINDA
I'm sure he had a reason.
(firmly)
You did have a reason, didn't you,
Sebastian?
SEBASTIAN
I had more than a reason. I had a
goddamn epiphany.
They reach his Porsche.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
What do you think they'd do if they
know we could send a subject into
phase shift and pull it back out
again? How many seconds would it take
for them to take over the whole
project, bringing in their soldiers to
test the formula on. We'd have lost
control of it by the end of the week.
LINDA
It's their money, Sebastian. It's
going to happen eventually.
SEBASTIAN
I know. But not yet. There's too much
for us to learn. I don't want my hands
tied by their political agenda when we
go to phase three.
MATT
Well, then... mind telling us how
you're gonna get a human test-subject
for phase three without the committee
finding out?
SEBASTIAN
That's easy. I've decided to test the
procedure ...
INT. LABORATORY CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
SEBASTIAN
... on myself.
The team sits around the conference table. Their jaws
drop and they stare at him with wide eyes.
FRANK
Are you nuts?
SEBASTIAN
Was Jonas Salk nuts?
FRANK
Yeah. Pretty sure he was.
CARTER
And remember, for every Jonas Salk,
there are a bunch of guys who aren't
famous cuz they died.
SEBASTIAN
If we're that unsure, how can we
morally justify testing it on someone
else?
JANICE
Isn't it a little soon to be moving
into phase three anyway?
SARAH
She's right. We haven't even finished
collating the phase two research.
SEBASTIAN
We'll have plenty of time to collate
and cross-reference later. Monkey data
doesn't matter anyway. The only real
data is human data.
SARAH
You don't even know if any of the
protocols will work on humans.
SEBASTIAN
How are we gonna find out? Besides,
we've succeeded with a gorilla and
their DNA is 98% the same as humans.
And the 2% is not that significant.
LINDA
Sebastian ... humans can talk, build
houses and cook in microwave ovens.
Gorilla's live in trees. That's a
helluva 2% if you ask me.
SEBASTIAN
We're all concerned. I know that. But
if we're gonna move forward ever, this
is something we have to do.
LINDA
Why you? Why not one of us?
SEBASTIAN
The risks. I couldn't ask...
MATT
(interrupting)
What if we volunteer?
LINDA
What if you're too valuable to lose?
SEBASTIAN
I'm Project Leader. It's my formula
and my call. The best way to express
your concern is to make damn sure you
do your best work. I'll want about
four weeks to...
FRANK
To put your affairs in order?
SEBASTIAN
To run some more reversions and tissue
tests and then we'll attempt the phase
shift. I'll stay shifted for three
days of testing and then we'll perform
a quantum regression.
INT. SEBASTIAN'S OFFICE
A knock on the door.
SEBASTIAN
Come in.
Linda pushes into the room and closes the door behind
her.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
What?
LINDA
In the past six years, I've never once
challenged your decisions, but this
... Sebastian. I don't think you
should do this.
SEBASTIAN
You don't understand.
LINDA
Oh please. How long were we together?
You must've said it a million times
... Nobody knows who built the lunar
lander. All they remember in the first
man on the moon.
Sebastian shrugs and nods.
LINDA (cont'd)
But what if something happens to
you... what about the project?
Sebastian smiles.
SEBASTIAN
Lin, trust me... nothing's going to
happen.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Linda and Matt are in bed together. Matt kisses her way
up and down her arm. But Linda is distracted.
LINDA
He refuses to listen to reason.
MATT
Can we talk about this later? I'm
trying to make love to you.
LINDA
Sorry. I just can't let it go.
Matt props himself up on the pillow.
MATT
I know how you're feeling. Hell, he
and I've been friends since freshman
year.
LINDA
So how can we let him do this?
MATT
What if you were given the opportunity
to be the first person on ,Mars, would
you go?
LINDA
In a heartbeat.
MATT
What if they didn't know whether or
not they could get you home?
Linda thinks about it. It's still tempting.
MATT (cont'd)
This is his chance to be Chuck Yeager
or Christopher Columbus. Well, if I
were him I'd do the same thing.
Matt goes back to kissing Linda.
LINDA
Let me ask another question.
MATT
Is about who gets to be on top?
LINDA
Is the human race really ready for
what we're doing?
Matt groans and rolls over.
MATT
Why do you always get philosophical
before we're about to get physical?
LINDA
No really. Is it ready? We're
barrelling down a road that begs moral
and ethical questions that I don't
think we can answer.
MATT
They said the same thing about the
bomb. They said we'd never survive the
nuclear age... but here we are.
LINDA
This night is still young.
(beat)
I mean, when you think about it, it's
creepy. Do we really want to live in a
world where people can just disappear
in the blink of an eye?
MATT
We made our deal with the devil years
ago. Might as well stick around to
cash in.
INT. MEDICAL EXAMINING ROOM - DAY
Sebastian stripped to his shorts paces nervously. A knock
on the door.
SEBASTIAN
(his voice catches)
Yes?
Matt sticks his head in.
MATT
We're ready.
Sebastian nervously shakes his limbs out. Then nods.
SEBASTIAN
Okay.
MATT
It's not too late to back out. I'm
happy to take your place.
SEBASTIAN
No. I'm ready.
Matt leads him into the hallway.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
As they walk down the corridor toward the lab...
MATT
Nervous?
SEBASTIAN
A little.
MATT
Ever tell you the one about Superman
and Wonder Woman?
SEBASTIAN
I don't think so.
MATT
So Superman's flying around the city,
and he's horny as hell. Lo and behold
he looks down and sees Wonder Woman,
completely nude, sunning herself up on
the roof of the Justice League. I mean
she is lying there naked and spread
eagle. So Superman starts thinking,
"man... this is too easy. I could go
down there, do a little fast pumping
and be gone before she even sees me."
After all he is faster than a speeding
bullet, right? Anyway, he swoops down,
takes care of business so quick, you
can't even see him. Well ... I tell
ya. Wonder Woman looks up, surprised
as hell and says "What the hell was
that." And the Invisible Man replies
"I dunno know, but it sure hurt like
hell."
INT. LABORATORY
Sebastian shoots Matt a look.
SEBASTIAN
You know, that could be the last joke
I ever hear.
MATT
C'mon, man. That's funny shit.
The buzz of conversation is punctuated by an amplified
HEARTBEAT, thumping its familiar rhythm. Bah-bump.
Bah-bump. In the center of the room, Sebastian, dressed
only in a pair of jogging shorts is strapped to a table
inclined at a 45 degree angle. Electrodes are strapped to
his body. An I.V. tube snakes from the needle in his vein
up to a bag of saline solution. Dripping slowly. Linda
makes last minute checks of some of the equipment. She
pats Sebastian on the shoulder.
LINDA
O.K. How're you feeling?
Sebastian takes a deep breath.
SEBASTIAN
Fine.
Sarah checks his vitals.
SARAH
Pulse 88, BP 140 over 95. A bit
elevated.
SEBASTIAN
To be expected.
SARAH
No reason for concern. He's ready.
Linda takes a moment and studies Sebastian's face. She's
almost teary eyed.
SEBASTIAN
Hey... it's gonna be okay.
Linda nods. Back to business.
LINDA
Start recording.
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH.
Janice hits record on the equipment decks.
JANICE
We're hot. All systems nominal,
Houston.
Frank coordinates all the data being fed into the
computers. He pushes a series of buttons and speaks into
a microphone.
FRANK
Okay, kids. Let's make some history.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Frank's voice echoes through the chamber.
LINDA
Subject: Male, Age 29, weight 166 lbs.
Matt jabs a hypodermic into small vial of colored liquid.
Draws up 20ccs.
MATT
(to Linda)
Ready.
Linda takes the hypo from Matt.
MATT (cont'd)
If the tests are any indication it
should work quickly.
SEBASTIAN
I'll inject myself. If anything goes
wrong, they can't blame you.
She hands the hypo Sebastian and steps away. Sebastian
stares at the golden formula silently for a moment.
LINDA
We can still shut down, Sebastian.
He shakes his head.
MATT
Any last words?
SEBASTIAN
Yeah. If I'm killed, pretend I said
something deep and clever.
Then... Back to business. He inserts the needle into the
I.V. Sebastian. Presses into himself and depresses the
plunger.
LINDA
Injection was administered at
(checks watch)
... 18:23:47.
The colored liquid snakes it's way into his bloodstream.
LINDA (cont'd)
Keep talking. Tell us what you're
feeling.
SEBASTIAN
Nothing so far.
SARAH
Vitals are stable.
They wait and watch.
LINDA
Nothing's happening.
Another moment passes by.
MATT
Human DNA structure is slightly more
complex... it's possible that it may
take more time...
Another moment passes.
LINDA
Maybe we overlooked something.
SEBASTIAN
Recheck the protocol. It can't be non-
reactive.
CARTER
Kinda like a firecracker with a bad
fuse...
Sebastian shoots Carter a questioning look.
CARTER (cont'd)
Don't know if it'll go off.
LINDA
Frank?
FRANK (V.0.)
(from the booth)
No change in bio-electric.
SEBASTIAN
Goddammit.
Another long pause. Sebastian concentrates.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Okay wait, my arm... it's getting a
bit warm... yeah, it's ... it's
starting to tingle...
Excitement overtakes the room.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Okay... it's spreading to my back...
like, like a fever...
LINDA
Here we go.
Slowly the flesh on Sebastian's arm begins dissolving,
revealing the complex network of nerves, blood vessels
and flesh beneath it.
SEBASTIAN
Shit... it's starting to burn... Oh
god. It hurts. I didn't think it would
hurt.
The HEART BEAT thumps faster, accelerating
SARAH
Heartbeat's elevated. Pulse at 100.
... 130 ...
LINDA
What do you feel? Keep talking. KEEP
TALKING!
SEBASTIAN
Pain!
SARAH
Pulse is 165 ... 170 Blood pressure
180 over 100. ...
CARTER
He's going to blow out his heart.
LINDA
Prop the crash cart.
Carter grabs the crash cart, rolls it in. Matt tears off
the I.V. leads into Sebastian's arms.
MATT
We've got to stop it!
LINDA
We can't!
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH
All the monitors are going crazy.
JANICE
Something's happening.
Frank leans into the microphone.
FRANK
Listen up! Electric activity
increasing in all limbs. Brainwaves
are through the roof.
JANICE
I didn't think the human brain could
spike that high.
FRANK
Maybe it can't.
INT. LABORATORY
Sebastian screams in dire pain. He struggles against his
restraints as his skin liquefies into a muscular mass.
It's like something's eating away at him. Gruesome. The
yells become louder and more painful to hear.
SEBASTIAN
No. Oh god! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!
The muscular system begins to dissolve, leaving a
struggling skeleton wrapped with tentacular blood vessels
and stuffed with the major organs. The beating heart, the
heaving lungs.
SARAH
Pulse is 180 .... holding stable.
Screaming.... Then the organs go. Then the blood vessels.
Leaving only a skeleton howling in pain. The jawbones
spread wide ... Screaming... screaming...
CARTER
Holy shit.
Then as if someone had poured acid all over the bones,
the skeleton evaporates into nothingness.
SARAH
Pulse is dropping. 170..
150 .... 160..
There is NOTHING left of Sebastian Caine.
LINDA
Bio-quantum phase shift occurred at
18:26.
The screaming continues and the restraints continue to
twist and turn. Suddenly the restraints go limp.
MATT
Is he dead?
Linda checks the readouts.
LINDA
No. He passed out from the trauma.
SARAH
Vitals returning to normal. Pulse 110
... dropping. Blood pressure 130 over
75.
A long beat as everybody's eyes stare at the instruments.
FRANK (V.O.)
Electrical activity is stabilizing.
SARAH
Pulse steady at 70.
A long beat.
MATT
Un-fucking-believable.
A reverent pause as Linda runs her fingers over what
would be his skin. Small electrical charge dance around
her fingertips. She gasps.
LINDA
(whispers in his ear)
You did it, Sebastian. You're the
first.
CARTER
Let's get him into recovery.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER
The chamber is half constructed out of Plexiglas at the
end of the Hallway of Habitats.
On the recovery bed, a sheet drapes over Sebastian's
invisible body. The gentle bleatings of medical machinery
pound out a dulling rhythm.
Linda sleeps in a corner chair as Matt slips into the
room. He checks the readouts on Sebastian then takes a
seat by Linda. She wakes with a start.
MATT
S'okay. You nodded off.
LINDA
His breathing's hypnotic. How long's
it been?
MATT
Seventeen hours.
LINDA
Where are the others?
MATT
In the lab crunching numbers. We've
got enough data there for two
lifetimes of research.
Linda rubs her temples and gestures to the bed.
LINDA
I keep looking at that hole, wondering
if he's really there.
She notices something out of the corner of his eye. The
sheet twitches.
LINDA (cont'd)
Did you see...
The sheet twitches again.
MATT
He may be coming out of it.
Linda and Matt watch intently. Then suddenly... the
sheets thrash violently. A yell of pain.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
The lights! Turn off the goddamn
lights! Ah Christ!
Linda jumps up and crosses to Sebastian. Matt rushes to
the wall and turns off the lights. Darkness. The room is
lit by the glow of machinery.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
I can't... I can't close my eyes. I
can't close my eyes.
LINDA
Your eyelids are transparent.
The sheets slowly stop thrashing.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
So I ... I'm...
LINDA
Yes.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
My arms. I can.. where? ... I can feel
them...
LINDA
Your arms ... your whole body... It
worked, Sebastian. It worked.
The sheet rises and slips away. The wires, seemingly
connected to thin air, spread out like a spider's web and
then fall away one-by-one. The monitors all go dead.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Mirror. I ... I want to see.
MATT
Over here in the corner.
Matt motions to a dark corner of the room, toward a
mirror and sink. We push in on the mirror. No reflection.
Suddenly it fogs up ... Sebastian's breath. A finger
tracing appears in the fog ... but of course we see no
finger. The sink faucet twists on and water runs. It cups
into the shape of hands and lifts into the air, splashing
against the surface of Sebastian's face. Beads of water
cling to his f ace, outlining it I shape f or a moment
before dripping away.
MATT (cont'd)
What was it like?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I ... It's hard to think.
Sebastian's voice is now behind him. Matt turns around.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
The transformation... I remember every
molecule in my body shattering.
MATT
It was painful?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
At first... but then everything went
black. I couldn't see or hear or feel
anything. It was all just black...
like I wasn't connected.
LINDA
Your system received quite a shock.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
At least my senses are starting to
return... You're wearing your
Shalimar, aren't you?
Linda realizes that he's standing very close by. Her hair
lifts slightly and Sebastian inhales. Chills go down her
spine.
LINDA
Sebastian.
Linda's hair drops back to her shoulders.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
This is weird. I'm looking through
myself at the floor. I'm looking right
through myself. I can't tell ...
He bumps into a chair.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
... where my body is.
A moment of silence.
LINDA
Sebastian?
No answer. Linda and Matt look at each other, slightly
alarmed.
MATT
Sebastian?
An indentation forms on the bed a moment later.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You really can't see me. Can you?
LINDA
Gimme symptoms. Dizziness, nausea,
headache, body-ache, disorientation.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
No, just tired.
(beat)
It's funny. I can see everything...
more than before... but I can't see
myself.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Carter, Frank, Janice and Sarah work at various research
stations. The door opens and Linda and Matt enter.
CARTER
Hey. How's he doing?
LINDA
Why don't you ask him?
Linda motions to the gap between her and Matt. The four
of them stare at the nothing.
SARAH
Sebastian, how do you feel.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Not to bad, considering.
They turn round. The voice is coming from behind them.
The group rises from their various workstations and turn
toward where the voice came from.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
Odd, isn't it?
A rheostat switch on the wall turns and the lights dim.
Though it's a simple act, it feels somewhat ominous.
LINDA
He can't close his eyes so they're
sensitive to light.
Linda's explanation puts everyone at ease.
JANICE
So, what was it like?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Over here.
Sebastian has moved. As everyone turns toward him again,
he can't stifle a slight giggle.
LINDA
C'mon Sebastian. Knock it off.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
His voice again come s from somewhere else in the room.
FRANK
I feel like we're playing Marco Polo.
MATT
Well, I see the procedure hasn't
changed your personality.
Frank pulls on a pair of THERMAL GOGGLES.
FRANK
No worries. I'm on it.
THERMAL POV - Every body in the laboratory shows up as a
heat signature, including Sebastian. Frank points.
FRANK (cont'd)
Gotcha, big man.
THERMAL POV - The HEAT SIGNATURE reaches for a chair.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Boy, you people have no sense of
humor.
A chair slides back from a desk and bends under
Sebastian's weight.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
Show me. So ...
CUT TO:
INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT
Frank and Janice shuttle the playback controls as a VIDEO
MONITOR re-plays various angles of Sebastian's phase
shift.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Stop there.
Frank halts the tape.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
Index that. That was when it started
burn. Epidermal reaction.
JANICE
Index Mark. 112125.
Janice scribble the numbers in her notebook. Linda
crosses, nursing a cup of coffee.
LINDA
It's late. Time you got some rest.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Just a little longer.
LINDA
Hate to pull rank, but you're my
patient now and you need rest. We've
got a busy day tomorrow.
Heavy sigh.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Fine.
INT. THE RECOVERY ROOM - NIGHT
As Linda enters she points to a small camera in the upper
corner of the room.
LINDA
We've set up a thermal camera for
observation and I've arranged one of
us to be here 24/7 in case you need
anything. The team's gonna be on alpha-
call alert for the duration. If
anything goes wrong, we can all be
here within...
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Thirty minutes. Yes,,_I know. I wrote
the procedure.
LINDA
I was trying to be reassuring.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You like this don't you?
LINDA
What's that?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Being in charge.
It's clear she does. But she's certainly not going to
admit it.
LINDA
Please. I'm just doing my job.
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON: A video screen. A thermal lump lays stretched
out on the bed.
Pull back to reveal SARAH staring at the screen. We are.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
A bank of monitors display the various angles of the Hall
of Habitats, the laboratory and, of course, Sebastian in
the recovery room.
Linda hands Sarah a cup of coffee.
LINDA
You gonna be okay?
SARAH
Fine. It's not like I have anything
else going on in my sad pathetic life.
LINDA
Carter'll be in at six to spell you
and I'll be in by nine. Call me if
anything happens, okay?
Through the glass wall, Linda sees Matt knocking and
waving her out.
SARAH
I'm fine. Go on ahead.
INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT
The rest of the team straggles into the elevator.
Yawning. Exhausted from the day.
CARTER
Man, I'm tired. That was a long day.
LINDA
Days only get longer from here.
Linda catches Matt's eye. Gives him a look. "You coming
over?" Matt nods, "yes", imperceptible to everyone but
Linda. She smiles.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT
Deserted and dark.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Late. Sarah rubs her temples. Her eyelids are heavy.
She's having real trouble staying awake. The buzzing
fluorescent light isn't helping either.
INT. RECOVERY ROOM - NIGHT
The sheets ruffle and the indentation disappears from the
bed. We can hear breathing and soft sound of bare feet
shuffling against linoleum.
CAMERA SLOWLY PANS toward the door, as if we, are
following someone walking.
The door handle turns and the door pushes open.
INT. HALLWAY OF HABITATS - NIGHT
WE SLOWLY TRACK DOWN the Hallway of the Habitats. We hear
the sounds of sleeping creatures. A couple of them growl
at something unseen. The growling follows the invisible
something as it passes by.
INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT
The laboratory door opens and shuts again. Ghostly. We
see papers shuffling at one of the work stations. A glass
moves slightly.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Sarah reclines in her chair. Fast asleep, Behind her is
the glass wall, revealing the empty hallway behind it.
But a small portion of the glass fogs, as if someone had
just breathed on it. As the fogged part quickly clears,
we see the door to the observation room quietly open.
ON SARAH, still sleeping. We hear a whisper.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
(whispering)
Sarah. Are you awake?
Her heavy breathing mixes with Sebastian's.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
(barely audible)
Hmm.
Sarah's hair moves slightly, as if a hand were running
through it. And then we see her shirt move, like fingers
were tracing over it. Down from the shoulder to her
breast. Around her nipple. Sarah moans slightly, as if
she were dreaming, but she doesn't stir. And then her
breasts cup slightly, as if they were being touched...
softly... gently. Her breathing becomes harder, more
labored, erotic... and then she... BOLTS AWAKE. Bar eyes
wide with fear. She jumps and cups her own breasts and
looks around the room. It's empty, of course. She jumps
over to the monitor and checks on Sebastian's room. The
heat signature isn't there.
SARAH
Dr. Caine! Goddamnit, Dr. Caine! Are
you in here?
She listens. It's silent. She tries holding her breath,
listening for his breathing. But there's nothing.
Sarah reaches over to a microphone. Hits a few switches.
SARAH (cont'd)
Dr. Caine?
VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE COMPOUND
- LABORATORY
SARAH (V.0.,LOUDSPEAKER)
Dr. Caine, please report in.
- HALLWAY OF HABITATS
SARAH (V.0.,LOUDSPEAKER)
Dr. Caine, report in please!
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH - CONTINUOUS
Sarah waits. No response.
SARAH
Shit.
She looks around the room. He must be in here.
SARAH (cont'd)
Dr. Caine? Sebastian? Come on, this
isn't funny. I know you're in here.
Nothing. No response. Sarah waves her hand around,
reaching out, trying to find him. After a few beats she
stops and rubs her head.
SARAH (cont'd)
I must be going crazy.
Suddenly, Sarah gets an idea. She quickly exits the
observation room.
EXT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT
At a wall storage box, she removes a pair of Thermal
Goggles and slips them on.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Sarah enters wearing the thermals. She scans the room.
THERMAL POV - The room is empty.
She pulls the goggles off in frustration, and when she
glances over at the video screen, she sees Sebastian's
thermal image lying on the bed in the recovery room.
Sarah sinks into her chair, a tad disconcerted.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - MORNING
Linda and Matt finish listening to Sarah's story.
SARAH
I found him later in the lab, running
samples.
LINDA
Why didn't you call me?
SARAH
Because I wasn't sure. I'm still not.
I mean, I could've easily been
dreaming.
MATT
It doesn't sound like something
Sebastian would do.
SARAH
God, I feel so stupid.
LINDA
I can talk to him.
SARAH
No. I mean...
(she torn, unsure of herself)
It was probably nothing. I
shouldn't've mentioned it.
MATT
You sure?
SARAH
Yeah, I'm sure. I mean, y'know, why
would he do that, right? Just, this
place at night can be kinda creepy,
y'know.
INT. RESEARCH LAB - DAY
Sebastian, wearing surgical scrubs sits in an examination
chair. Wire leads sprout from the electrodes covering his
head and arms. The electrodes seem to outline his body.
MATT
So, how was your first night?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Restless. Hard to sleep when you can't
close your eyes.
As Sebastian talks, we can see the electrodes around his
jaw pump up and down.
MATT
Yeah? What'd you do?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Got up a couple of times. Knocked
about.
MATT
Yeah, Sarah mentioned you weren't in
your cubicle. She said she called you
over the intercom and you didn't
respond.
SEBASTIAN
I guess I didn't hear. I had the radio
on.
MATT
It'd be helpful to us if you'd tell
whoever's on duty where you're going
to. I mean, if something were to
happen, we'd want to know where to
find you.
SEBASTIAN
I didn't think it was a problem.
MATT
It isn't. I just don't want it to
become one.
Machines pump out EEG, EKG readouts. Matt studies them.
MATT (cont'd)
Readings are normal.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Next I want to run a VV and UVF
analysis of the platelets.
MATT
We'll have to draw some more blood.
CUT TO:
Sarah rolls up Sebastian's sleeve, revealing empty air.
She wraps a bungee cord around the nothing, pulls it
tight and sprays the inside of his elbow with dye. She
acts very self conscious.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You okay?
SARAH
Yeah. Why?
SEBASTIAN
You just seem a little nervous.
SARAH
No. I...I'm fine. Hold still. This
might hurt a bit.
The surface of his skin sheens in the light as Linda
searches for a vein. She slaps his arm several times,
then plunges a hypodermic needle into his skin. His skin
bends and gives. The needle remains in sight after it
slips through the visible surface. Sarah presses down on
the hypo plunger, releasing a dye into his bloodstream.
SARAH (cont'd)
Dr. Caine... this might sounds stupid,
but are you... are you looking at me.
The red dye twists into a long snaking red tube up and
down his arm. His vein.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
No. I was looking at the clock. Why?
Sarah draws the plunger back, sucking Sebastian's blood
into the hypodermic and then yanks the needle out.
SARAH
Just felt like someone was staring at
me.
Sarah pulls the vial off the needle and labels it with a
grease pencil. After a few beats the red dye in
Sebastian's blood stream dissolves and disappears, as
does the liquid in the vial.
TESTING MONTAGE
INT. MRI ROOM
MATT slides Sebastian's sheet covered frame into an MRI.
Even though his head is not visible, it shown up on the
MRI scanner.
INT. MAIN LABORATORY
CARTER and SARAH lower a harness into a water tank.
SEBASTIAN'S BODY displaces the water, revealing an empty
body shaped cavity in the water.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
CARTER sips a BIG GULP and stares at a monitor which
shows two eat signatures in the Recovery Chamber, huddled
over a chess game.
INT. RECOVER CHAMBER
on a chessboard... A BLACK KNIGHT takes WHITE BISHOP,
seemingly all by itself.
Across the table, Matt leans back and topples his WHITE
KING acknowledging defeat.
INT. SPECTRAL LAB
Dim lights. Janice and Frank both don eye guards. Frank
switches on a low intensity laser on and it's beam shoots
across the room. The beam distorts slightly in the center
of the room. As Frank widens the spectral pattern,
suddenly the beam splits into a million different
spectral rainbows, momentary illuminating Sebastian's
entire frame in a glowing tingle of light.
INT. MAIN LABORATORY
LINDA pulls vials from the cyclotrons and props blood
sample slides. She slips them under the microscope. She
takes a sip of her Diet Coke and puts it on the table.
She pears into the microscope and analyses the blood
sample, squeezing more stain onto it. She looks up to
make notations, but when she reaches for her Diet Coke IT
ISN'T THERE. She looks around. It's on the other side of
her microscope. She shrugs it off, she takes a sip and
sets it down where it was before. She peers into the
microscope again and when she looks up... the Diet Coke
is gone. She looks around the room and sees it on another
table completely.
LINDA
Sebastian? Goddamnit.
We hear Sebastian's laughter echo in the room.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You've no idea how much fun I've had.
I'm going to hate going back.
LINDA
That's what worries me.?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
How so?
LINDA
What happens when we turn the project
over to the Army. Ever wonder how much
fun they're gonna have?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Maybe we won't give it to them. His
voice comes from behind her now.
We see indentations on her shoulders where his fingers
press down.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
I was thinking... tonight's my last
night. Ever fantasize about making
love to an invisible man?
Linda pulls away from him.
LINDA
Stop it, Sebastian. It's not funny.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Well, don't do it for me. Do it for
science.
Linda walks away. Sebastian laughs.
LINDA
Grow up.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Oh well. Missed your big chance.
LINDA
Got some sleep. Big day tomorrow.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
A bevy of activity below us as the scientists prepare.
Matt slides the antigen cocktail into the centrifuge and
starts it spinning.
A sheet drapes over a Sebastian's frame, straps across
his limbs. He is fully wired.
Linda looks up to the observation booth.
LINDA
Recording?
Frank peers down at her from the booth, his voice echoing
through the chamber.
FRANK
Recording. Subject Doctor Sebastian
Caine. Currently in phase shift...
Three days, seven hours.
LINDA
De-Phase protocol. Injecting Serial
Protein Caine One Two Seven.
Matt removes the glowing vial of orange liquid from a
centrifuge nearby. Carter hands Matt a hypo. Matt jabs it
into the vial, drawing up the colored liquid. Linda
sprays Sebastian's arm with dye.
LINDA (cont'd)
Ready?
SEBASTIAN
Not really. I was just starting to
enjoy myself.
LINDA
Tough.
MATT
Okay, man. Here we go.
Matt inserts the hypo into the vein and presses down on
the plunger. The liquid begins to react. Small flashes of
light blip up and down the strand of color outlining the
vein.
Ba-bump.. ba-bump... the heartbeat starts to speed up.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Wait... something... something doesn't
feel right.
SARAH
Heartbeat elevated.
INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH
Janice and Frank look over the equipment.
FRANK
Vitals still nominal..
INT. LABORATORY
The glowing liquid turns from gold to red as the complex
webbing of a bloodstream appears.
Spreading out from the bloodstream, soon becomes visible
... the shadow of a skeletal system.
SEBASTIAN
I can't br... br...
Sebastian begins wheezing.
LINDA
What's wrong?
SARAH
He's not breathing.
Muscles are beginning to appear. And eyeballs. Frightened
eyeballs.
MATT
Subject manifesting.
SARAH
Pulse erratic.
Sebastian pulls against his bonds. One set tears off.
LINDA
Carter!
Carter grabs onto the mass of flesh and muscle, trying to
hold it back. But the restraints snap. The half-visible
man is screaming. He grabs Carter and throws him across
the room.
LINDA (cont'd)
Sebastian! Sebastian!
And just for a second, Sebastian is fully visible. And
free. He looks around like a scared animal and rips off
all the wiring.
LINDA (cont'd)
Sebastian!
MATT
Get a tranq. Stat.
Sarah preps a tranquilizer. Sebastian locks eyes with
Linda. He's lost, he doesn't know where he is. And
suddenly, he crumbles to the ground. Linda rushes over to
him and puts bar hand on his shoulder. Light bleeds from
his skin and his skin begins to dissolve from sight.
LINDA
He's reverting. Got him on the table.
Matt, Linda and Sarah pull the shifting body up and onto
an operating table. Carter pulls himself up and heads
back to the group.
LINDA (cont'd)
Get me a I.V. of A.G. seven.
SARAH
I got no pulse. No pulse.
MATT
Start CPR.
Carter locates Sebastian's heart, not a difficult thing
because we can actually see it. Carter's hand pushes down
in the air inches above the heart. We see the heart being
pushed and squeezed. Sarah slaps an air bag on Sebastian
and starts pumping air into his lungs. Sebastian's heart
begins to beat again, beat on its own.
CARTER
Getting a pulse.
MATT
Holy shit. What happened?
LINDA
Sebastian... can you hear me? Can you
hear me? How are his pupils?
MATT
I can't see his goddamn pupils!
SARAH
I think he's going into shock.
We slowly FADE OUT to the sights and sounds of our
scientist- doctors working on Sebastian... And the
beeping of Sebastian's erratic heartbeat.
FADE
UP ON:
A HABITAT
The heartbeat continues. In the shadows, two Rhesus
Monkeys defend themselves against an unseen attacker.
Blood splatters against the Plexiglas wall.
We FADE OUT AGAIN...
INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Linda stares through the Plexiglas walls into the
Recovery Chamber. Inside the Chamber, Sarah and Carter-
eye the various screens monitoring Sebastian's vitals.
Linda watches the hollow pocket underneath the blanket.
She watches the rhythm of its rises and falls as
Sebastian sleeps. Matt comes up behind her.
MATT
Just got the tissue sample results.
Cellular cohesion is stable.
Linda exhales in relief. Matt puts his hands on her
shoulder. Pulls her close to him.
MATT (cont'd)
How bout you? You gonna be okay?
LINDA
Guess so.
(beat)
I was just thinking about the Apollo
missions. Y'know? Grissom, White and
Chaffee... What it was like for them
on that launch pad that day, thinking
they were gonna reach the stars only
to burn to death.
MATT
Sometimes the test pilots make
history. Sometimes the planes crash
and people die.
LINDA
But he didn't die, did he?
(beat)
What if we can't bring him back? What
then?
MATT
It's just a little hitch is all. He'll
be the first to tell that he'll crack
it and I'm sure he will. It'll just
take time.
(beat)
Listen, let's got out of here. We
could drive up to the old observatory.
We'll take some wine and go count the
stars and forget all this for awhile.
She pulls away.
LINDA
No. I want to be here for him.
Linda pushes through the door of the recovery chamber and
takes a seat by Sebastian's bedside. A little hurt, Matt
heads down the corridor.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
Frank and Janice are staring into their coffee when Matt
enters. Matt crosses to the coffee machine and pours
himself a cup. He takes a seat at the table. They all
drink their coffee in silent vigil.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - DAY
Linda sits by Sebastian's bedside, listening to the
constant rhythm of the machines.
The sheets shift.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
(weak)
Hey...
LINDA
Hey...
SEBASTIAN
So I guess it didn't work.
Linda shakes her head.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You look worried. It must've been bad.
Sebastian's voice is weak and strained.
LINDA
You almost died.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Well, remember your Nietchze. Whatever
doesn't kill me, makes me stronger.
Linda smiles.
LINDA
I should be making you feel better.
Not vice versa.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I guess if I'm going to be stuck this
way for awhile, I'd better make some
adjustments.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - DAY
In a dusty shaft of light...
A cotton swab.
is dipped by a gloved hand into a jar of flesh-colored
cream make-up. We follow the hand as it raises the cotton
swab into the darkness. The swab strokes over the black
and the rich fleshy cream spreads, revealing...
EYE LIDS of a closed eye.
The eyelids part, unveiling...
PITCH BLACK. Blink. Blink.
No eye.
Not even a trace of a eye socket. Just darkness.
A COLORED CONTACT LENS floats through mid-air... hovering
before the eyelids. It turns and fastens itself to the
darkness between the lids.
We PULL BACK slowly as Sebastian lifts a latex FACE MASK
and pulls it over his head.
He checks his reflection in the mirror. He looks almost
human. Almost. A face, eyes, hands ... the rest of him
covered by surgical scrubs.
We pull back and see the rest of the team looking on.
MATT
Not too bad.
SEBASTIAN
The latex'll limit the amount of light
delivered to my optic nerves.
LINDA
You could almost pass for human.
Sebastian rises. He looks eerily removed from reality
with his cold blank expression.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Well, it gives you a face to talk to
at least, and we can all work in
normal light again.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
SERIES OF SHOTS
Carter draws blood from Sebastian.
Samples are placed into the cyclotron.
Matt peers through the eyepiece of a microscope. He makes
notes.
Frank and Janice finish a computer simulation on a
protein strand. Matt looks over. They shake their heads,
no.
Sebastian slides into the MRI.
Linda examines a petri dish. She throws her pencil down
in frustration.
Sebastian is hit by the spectral radiation beams.
Matt pulls a vial of orange liquid from the cyclotron.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Sebastian, still in his latex and scrubs, but looking
like he's been dragged through the nine levels of
purgatory, is escorted back to the recovery chamber by
Linda and Matt.
He crosses to his bed and collapses on it. Closes his
eyes.
SEBASTIAN
The testing's making me sick.
LINDA
Could be the barium or the radiation.
MATT
You're physiology has changed and,
well, all bets are off.
SEBASTIAN
I can't believe I have to spend
another night here.
(to Linda)
Suppose you're gonna go home now, meet
up with that boyfriend of yours now.
Linda and Matt exchange a glance. Linda quickly covers.
LINDA
Do you want me to stay?
SEBASTIAN
No. That's okay. It's just, being a
guinea pig is more work than I
thought. I'll be fine.
INT. RESEARCH COMPOUND - NIGHT
Various shots of the empty hallways and deserted labs.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Carter kicks back in his chair listening to his walkman
stereo and playing gameboy.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - DAY
Sebastian, in scrubs and make-up, paces back and forth.
He slams the wall in frustration. He crosses to a mirror
and examines himself. He doesn't look half bad. He pokes
his cheeks. There's something about him that's a little
off, but only if you look close.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
A shadow falls across Carter's face. He looks up. It's
Sebastian wearing street clothes - jeans and a hooded
sweatshirt over his latex mask.
Carter pulls of his earphones.
CARTER
(surprised)
Dr. Caine. What's up?
SEBASTIAN
Just stopped by to let you know, I'm
going out for a bit.
Sebastian turns back into the hallway.
CARTER
Going out? Hey wait a sec!
Carter scrambles to his feet.
INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Carter catches up with Sebastian.
CARTER
What do you mean going out for a bit?
SEBASTIAN
If I don't get out of here, I'm gonna
go crazy.
CARTER
But you're not supposed to leave the
compound.
SEBASTIAN
Why not?
CARTER
That's the rule.
SEBASTIAN
Yes, but I made that rule. It's my
rule and I'm changing it.
CARTER
You can't just change it.
Sebastian hits the elevator button. The doors open.
SEBASTIAN
Carter, I was suppose to be like this
for three days. Three fucking days and
I'll be damned if I'm going to spend
the rest of my life as a prisoner in
this godforsaken dump. Now I'm going
out. I'll be back in a couple of
hours. Okay?
The elevator doors close with Sebastian inside. Shit.
CARTER
Shit.
Carter runs down the corridor.
INT OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Carter picks up the phone and dials.
A beat then.
CARTER
Yeah, it's Carter. We got a problem.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The elevator doors open and Sebastian pushes past the
Marine Guard.
MARINE GUARD
Hey, Doc. Haven't seen you for awhile?
Sebastian keeps his face turned away as he crosses to his
Porsche.
SEBASTIAN
Yeah, well. You know how it in
sometimes.
MARINE GUARD
You got that right, sir. I was
beginning to worry 'cause your car
hadn't moved.
SEBASTIAN
Thanks, but everything's cool.
Sebastian starts his car. It chugs a few times before
turning over and speeding out of the warehouse.
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
The door opens and Sebastian switches on the lights.
He looks around his apartment and sighs. It's good to be
home.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Sebastian enters the bedroom, clicking on the light. He
looks at the ceiling, "You Should Be Working", and
smiles.
INT. LINDA'S APARTMENT BUILDING, PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT
Linda and Matt each rush to their respective cars.
MATT
He could be anywhere. Hell he could be
right behind us.
LINDA
I'll meet you at the lab. I'm gonna
swing by his place, just in case.
MATT
See you there.
Matt tries to give her a quick pack. Linda backs away.
LINDA
(quietly, looking around)
I don't want him to see.
MATT
(looking around too)
What a mess.
They get in their cars.
INT. SEBASTIAN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Sebastian packs up a few personal belongings in an
overnight duffle. He crosses to his bookcase and pulls
out some books and throws them into the bag.
But as he does, he notices a light come on in the window
across the courtyard. Sebastian turns off his bedroom
light and moves toward the window. He peers across the
courtyard into the Brunette's apartment.
He watches the Brunette as she comes into the living room
from her front hallway. She drops her keys on the table
and begins unbuttoning her blouse as she crosses to the
window. Just as the blouse slips off her shoulder, she
pulls her blinds shut.
SEBASTIAN
Shit.
Frustrated, Sebastian steps away from the window and then
stops. Something has occurred to him.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Don't even think it...
He looks down and notices his hand is trembling. His
breathing is a little heavy. A little nervous. He catches
a glimpse at himself in the mirror.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
(almost whispering)
Once...just once.
The Brunette's living room light switches off and the
bathroom light switches on. We see him fighting an
internal battle and we see him lose it. He grabs a hold
of his hand and peels the latex skin off.
EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT
Linda drives Sebastian's apartment. She spots his black
Porsche in the parking lot. She pulls over to the curb,
jumps out of her car and heads into the building.
INT. BRUNETTE'S APARTMENT, BATHROOM - NIGHT
Wearing just a robe, the brunette turns on her shower.
The doorbell rings. With a frustrated sigh, the brunette
rises.
AT THE FRONT DOOR
She peers through the peep hole. No one's there. But as
she turns she hears the doorbell again. She opens the
door, steps out into the hallway and looks around. Empty.
Puzzled she heads back inside her apartment.
We follow her as she crosses to her bedroom, but a moment
later, the bedroom door closes on its own.
We hear a SCREAM come from the other side. Then another.
Then a muffled struggled. And we...
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY, SEBASTIAN BUILDING - NIGHT
Linda exits the elevator and heads down to Sebastian's
door. She knocks. Waits. No answer. She knocks again.
Waits.
And then she tries the door. It's unlocked. She pushes
the door open.
LINDA
Sebastian?
INT. SEBASTIAN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Linda pushes through the living room, into the bedroom.
LINDA
Sebastian?
She notices that the bathroom light is on.
BATHROOM
On the floor she finds Sebastian's clothing and on the
vanity she sees his latex face and hands.
LINDA
Oh shit.
She scramble for the bedroom phone and quickly dials.
LINDA (cont'd)
Yeah, Matt, it's me. He was here. No.
He's taken his make-up off. I don't
know...He must be outside somewhere.
I don't know where he went. I'm coming
back to the lab. How? How'm I supposed
to do that? I CAN'T FUCKING SEE HIM!
We're going on alpha call. I want
everyone at the lab now. We're gonna
need thermal visors and we may need
tranqs.
As she hangs up the phone, and heads out. The CAMERA
doesn't follow, but instead pushes through the blinds and
out the window. As we cross the courtyard, we begin to
hear muffled cries of terror. We hold on the Brunette's
window as we...
CUT TO:
INT. BRUNETTE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
The bedroom door opens and we see the Brunette, nude and
curled up on the bed, sobbing. We follow the sounds of
heavy breathing to the front door of her apartment. The
door opens and we push out into the hallway. We can see
indentations of feet appear on the hallway carpet.
INT. CORRIDOR BY SEBASTIAN'S APARTMENT
The elevator doors open and Linda steps inside. The doors
close shut behind her. A beat later we see the
indentations of footsteps come around the corner. We
follow the breathing and stumbling footfalls back into...
INT. SEBASTIAN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
We push over to the bathroom sink. The faucet turns on
and the water starts running.
We see the water cup under the faucet and splash against
Sebastian's face. His face appears briefly in the water.
Then the water slips away.
For second it sounds like he's crying, but then we hear
something far worse. He's laughing. Nervous laughter.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT
Matt hands out thermal goggles, while Frank loads and
passes out tranquilizer guns.
JANICE
What are the tranqs for?
LINDA
Use your imagination.
JANICE
Are you saying he's dangerous?
MATT
We're just saying we need to be
cautious.
LINDA
The Metro stops running after midnight
and he's on foot, so he can't have
gotten too far.
CARTER
Look, this isn't a monkey we're
talking about. It's Dr. Caine. Don't
you think you're over reacting?
LINDA
This program is classified. If he's
out there it means someone might find
out about him. He could destroy the
whole program.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Relax, Linda. No one's gonna find out.
They all turn around. At the door is Sebastian, back in
his latex outfit.
MATT
Where the hell have you been?
SEBASTIAN
I got a little stir crazy, so I went
to my apartment to pick up some stuff.
LINDA
Bullshit! I went to your apartment and
I happen to know you did a helluva lot
more than pick some stuff up.
SEBASTIAN
What are you talking about?
LINDA
You, of all people How could you?
Caught dead to rights, Sebastian sinks into his chair. He
thinks she knows.
LINDA (cont'd)
You put yourself and this project at
risk.
SEBASTIAN
Just what did you see in my apartment?
LINDA
I saw your face and your clothes.
MATT
It was bad enough you left without an
escort, but to take off the...
(he motions to his face)
out in public?
Sebastian realizes that they don't know.
SEBASTIAN
Don't make a mountain out of molehill.
I didn't let anyone see me.
LINDA
That's not good enough. When you're
outside the lab there are a thousand
variables none of us can control. It's
just not safe for you to be out there.
SEBASTIAN
Come on, Linda. You don't expect me to
be some kind of prisoner.
LINDA
You volunteered for this, Sebastian.
You knew going in there could be
consequences.
(beat)
For the security of this project, I'm
gonna have to ask you to confine
yourself to the compound.
SEBASTIAN
I'm still Project Leader, Linda. It's
my decision to make.
LINDA
You're right. It's your decision. But
if you leave the compound again, I'll
notify the oversight committee. Then
they can make the decision. You
understand?
SEBASTIAN
Matt?
MATT
Sorry, man. You'd do the same if it
were the other way around.
A long beat. Sebastian slowly rises, acknowledges Linda
with a nod and leaves the room. Linda looks around at her
silent co-workers, the goggles and tranqs still on the
table.
LINDA
Pack 'em up... Everyone go home.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
The Lab is buzzing with the usual activity. Linda rolls
up Sebastian's sleeve, revealing nothing.
LINDA
Hold still.
She wraps a bungee cord around the nothing and pulls it
tight. She then sprays the inside of his elbow with dye.
SEBASTIAN
(contentious)
How much blood do you think you've
taken so far?
The surface of his skin sheens in the light as Linda
searches for a vein. She slaps his arm several times,
then plunges a hypodermic needle into his skin.
LINDA
Not enough to worry about.
SEBASTIAN
Every day... feels like you're sucking
me dry.
Linda presses down on the hypodermic plunger, releasing a
dye into his bloodstream.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
It's funny. All these years I've known
you, I never pegged you for a
megalomanic.
LINDA
What are you talking about?
SEBASTIAN
The shoe being on the other foot. You
getting to run things.
LINDA
I didn't ask for this, Caine. But when
a classified experiment disappears in
the middle of the night, someone's
gotta run the show.
(tries sympathy)
Look, I know how hard this has been
for you.
He knocks her arm away and pulls the hypo, out of his
arm.
SEBASTIAN
Don't patronize me.
(beat)
And for the record, you've got no idea
what it's like. I get up every morning
and you people stick needles in me.
You bombard me with radiation until I
vomit. And then at six it's over for
you. You get to go home. But Sebastian
is still here. Sebastian can't leave,
or else. That's the worst part, you
know. Here I have this ... this GIFT
and I can't even use it.
LINDA
Now it's a gift?
SEBASTIAN
You're goddamn right it's a gift. And
if you weren't so goddamned short
sighted, I'd be out there right now
trying to master it.
Sebastian looks around at the other scientists staring at
him. He tosses the hypo with the needle onto the
instrument tray and heads toward the door.
LINDA
Where're you going?
SEBASTIAN
Looks like I'm going nowhere.
MATT
Come on, man. We've got a ton of tests
scheduled today.
SEBASTIAN
Do them yourself.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
Linda enters to find Sebastian reading the collected
works of T.S. Elliot.
LINDA
Want to talk about it?
SEBASTIAN
No.
Linda looks over his shoulder.
LINDA
"We are the hollow men, the stuffed
men, headpieces filled with straw."
SEBASTIAN
Funny, huh? I've become a literal
metaphor.
He puts the books down.
LINDA
I don't want to fight you. I just want
what's best for the program.
SEBASTIAN
I know. And you being right doesn't
make it any easier for me.
LINDA
You can be scared. That's okay.
SEBASTIAN
I'm not scared of being stuck this
way. With a little more make-up and
practice, I could...
(he motions to his face)
... pass. Y'know, get by in the world.
But the testing...
LINDA
You're talking like you've given up.
It's only been a few months.
SEBASTIAN
What if it's years? I don't know how
much more testing I can take.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - LATER
Sebastian paces back and forth, glancing at the camera.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Linda, Matt and Sebastian, in latex and scrubs, stare at
an electron microscope's video display. On the screen in
a sparse colony of blood calls but every second more and
more cells appear, filling the gap.
MATT
60% reversion. 70% ... 75% ... 80% ...
85 ...
The others in the lab listen. They start to get excited.
Janice and Carter leave their research and come over to
watch the screen.
SEBASTIAN
We've got it. We've got it.
MATT
93% ... 95%... 95%
They wait. Linda points to a blank patch on the screen.
LINDA
That's all we need.
SEBASTIAN
Come on, baby. Come on.
But the blood cells nearest the blank patch twinkle out
existence, and then those around them also blink away
until after a beat, the screen is empty.
MATT
Full quantum cascade at 95%.
(beat)
I'm sorry.
SEBASTIAN
You're sorry? You're fucking sorry?
Sebastian picks up a glass beaker and hurls it against
the wall. It shatters.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Six weeks of this shit and you're
sorry!
He grabs more equipment and begins tossing it in a rage.
Carter and Janice grab him and restrain him. After
struggling against them a beat or two, Sebastian calms
down and pushes away from them and heads out the door.
JANICE
I don't blame him.
LINDA
I'll go talk to him.
MATT
Leave him alone. He just needs to blow
off some steam.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
CUT TO:
Sebastian lies in his bed, staring at the security
camera. The camera stares back at him.
As if from a dream, we hear the Brunette's muffled scream
and cries for help. As we push in on Sebastian's cold
eyes, we can barely make out her face thrashing back in
forth in panic and confusion.
Sebastian suddenly rises.
He crosses to the video camera and examines a small panel
on the underneath of the camera.
He reaches into a box of twinkies and pulls out one of
the sponge cakes and begins munching. He hits the
intercom button on the phone.
FRANK (V.0.)
Yeah?
SEBASTIAN
I'm going to the lab.
FRANK (V.0.)
Don't you sleep?
SEBASTIAN
Waste of time. Da Vinci never slept.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Frank eyes Sebastian in the monitor.
FRANK
Okay. I'm here if you need me.
He watches as Sebastian's heat signature moves toward the
door.
INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT
In the dark deserted lab, Sebastian pulls together a
circuit board, a computer chip and some wiring. He seems
be assembling something.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
Sebastian crosses underneath the camera... just out of
its range... reaches up and using a screwdriver, unscrews
the access panel. He scans the electronics and attaches
two alligator clips to wires on the circuit board.
Trailing a long length of wire, Sebastian crosses back to
his bed and lies down. He holds a black project box with
a button on it. He lies perfectly still and press the
button.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
The video image of the Recovery Chamber flickers
slightly, before returning to normal.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
Sebastian rises and begins to peel off his latex.
INT. HALLWAY OF HABITATS - NIGHT
Sebastian's POV - Various animals stir restlessly. A DOG,
visible, leaps against the Plexiglas, barking wildly. We
push further down the corridor.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Again, Sebastian's POV as he pushes through the open door
of the observation room. We see Frank sorting through
various computer readouts, highlighting certain coding
sequences.
We push in until we are looking over Frank's shoulder at
the video monitor. According to the video, Sebastian is
sleeping soundly in his room.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
The rewired security camera stares down at the empty bed.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Frank glances over at the video monitor. He can see
Sebastian's heat signature lying in the bed.
Frank feels something on his neck. He flicks whatever it
is away with his hand and goes back to work.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The elevator door opens. The Guard turns around. The
elevator is empty.
INT. METRO STATION, WASHINGTON D.C. - NIGHT
A Metro Subway train draws to a halt. With a cautionary
"BING BONG" its doors slide open. A handful of people
exit and enter. One man bumps shoulders. He turns round
to apologize, but there's no one there. The doors close
and the train pulls out of the station.
EXT. DOWNTOWN D.C. - NIGHT
A couple of pretty girls exit a bar and stumble to their
apartments.
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
One of the girls enters her apartment. The door half
closes behind her and then reopens and closes again.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - MORNING
Frank's reading a book when Linda and Matt enter.
MATT
How'd it go?
FRANK
Quiet. He worked in the lab till about
10:30 and then went to sleep.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - DAY
Close on the security camera. The wires have been removed
and the access panel replaced.
Sebastian whistles a cheerful tune as he finishes
applying his makeup. The door opens and Linda and Matt
enter.
SEBASTIAN
Ah, my two favorite people. Good
morning.
LINDA
Good morning.
MATT
Why so cheery this morning?
SEBASTIAN
You know some days you just wake up
feeling the world is full of
potential. Like your eyes have been
opened.
MATT
I'm happy if I make it to my coffee
machine.
Linda hands Sebastian a disk.
LINDA
I restructured the third genome on
your radiated protein strand. Thought
you might want to take look.
SEBASTIAN
Cook up a batch and let's see where we
go.
LINDA
I thought you'd want to take a look at
it.
SEBASTIAN
I trust you. Now if you'll excuse me,
I need to have my head examined.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER - DAY
Linda pulls bags of frozen plasma from the shelves in the
walk-in storage freezer.
LINDA
I'm telling you, I know him.
Something's going on.
MATT
Think he knows about us.
LINDA
If he knew about us, he'd be angry and
that wasn't angry.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Janice heads up one of the corridors when something on
the floor catches her eye. She bends down and takes a
look at it. Barely visible on the floor is a fragment of
a BAREFOOT FOOTPRINT.
She runs her finger along the dried mud. It turns to
dust.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Sebastian holds his latex head on his lap, while EEG
leads hang suspended in mid-air, outlining his real head.
Carter analyzes the results.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
When you were a kid, you ever dream
about being invisible?
CARTER
Sure... all the time.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
What did you imagine you'd do?
CARTER
The usual.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
What's the usual?
CARTER
Hanging out in the girl's locker room.
Kicking Jimmy Margiani's ass.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Jimmy Margiani?
CARTER
School asshole. Drove a red Trans Am.
Back then, I was the size of a small
planet and made a rather large target.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Ever think up anything along the grand
scale?
CARTER
Sure. World domination. Manipulating
stock markets, consolidating a
political power base. But those are
more recent fantasies.
Carter pulls off the electrodes and Sebastian slides on
his latex facemask.
SEBASTIAN
And what if it weren't fantasy? What
if you were out there in the world and
could do whatever you wanted with no
consequences whatsoever. How far would
go? I mean... if it were real?
CARTER
I don't know, man. Out in the real
world... I mean, there's a
responsibility...
SEBASTIAN
Let's say you saw a woman with amazing
tits. Would you brush against them?
CARTER
Hell, I try and do that now.
SEBASTIAN
Human nature. So if you could get away
with more, would you do more?
CARTER
I read that in a survey at a major
university they asked college students
"Would you steal if you were
guaranteed to get away with it?" 82%
said yes.
SEBASTIAN
Eighty two percent? Makes you wonder
if the world's ready for what we're
doing.
CARTER
So, Doc what did you do?
SEBASTIAN
What do you mean?
CARTER
When you were out.
SEBASTIAN
I just walked around. Y'know.
CARTER
Aw, you just walked around? Come on.
There's more, right?
SEBASTIAN
Like what?
CARTER
Man, I'd be walking up to people
saying shit like "This is God, go,get
a haircut." Or hanging out in the
changing room at Victoria's Secret.
SEBASTIAN
Kind of sophomoric, don't you think.
Besides, it was late and I wasn't out
that long.
CARTER
Well, did you see anybody?
SEBASTIAN
There was this one girl.
CARTER
Yeah? And did you mess with her?
SEBASTIAN
Naw...
Sebastian gives Carter a sly grin.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
Well maybe a little.
(beat)
I tell you though, a man could get
used to it.
INT. LABORATORY - NIGHT
Alone, Linda packs up her stuff for the evening.
Slowly we push in on her and hear quiet breathing. We
realize we are in...
SEBASTIAN'S POV
Then ...
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Goodnight.
Linda-jumps.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you.
LINDA
It's fine. I just didn't know you were
there. Goodnight.
As she leaves the Lab, he follows her down the hallway.
EXT. LINDA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT
Linda passes through the revolving doors of her apartment
building. A few beats later, as if caught by a gust of
wind, the revolving door slowly turns on its own.
INT. APARTMENT'S HALLWAY - NIGHT
Linda slips into her apartment and the door closes behind
her. A moment later we see the doorknob turn back and
forth. It's locked.
EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT
On a fire escape, we see the ladder shake and descend to
the ground. The metal rattles back and forth as if
something were climbing it.
We slowly crane up the fire escape and hold on a window.
Through the wispy curtains and dirty glass we can see
Linda enter the room. The panel of glass fogs from
Sebastian's breath. The fog wipes away, seemingly by
itself.
But then through the window we see Matt walk into the
living room and put his arms around Linda's waist. We
hear a shocked intake of air.
He kisses her neck and then slowly unzips her dress. Her
dress falls to the floor. Matt takes off his sport coat
and drapes it over a chair, while Linda unfastens the
buttons of his shirt. They're laughing now, exchanging
kisses.
Matt reaches behind Linda and unhooks her bra. He kisses
his way down her neck to her breasts. Linda pulls him to
her.
Suddenly the window shatters. Startled, both Matt and
Linda jump back covering themselves.
We hear Sebastian's footsteps as he retreats down the
fire escape.
A moment later Matt reaches the window and peers out. He
sees the fire escape ladder slowly rise back up down
below.
LINDA
What was it?
MATT
I don't know. I don't see anything.
Matt picks up a piece of glass and examines it.
MATT (cont'd)
It's like something hit it.
Linda picks up the phone and dials.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Carter picks up the phone.
CARTER
Hello?
Carter looks at the security monitor of the recovery
room. Sebastian's heat signature lies still on the bed.
CARTER (cont'd)
No. No. He's here No, I'm staring at
him. He's right there in his room.
INT. LINDA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Linda breathes a sigh of relief.
LINDA
Thanks. No, just checking. 'Kay, bye.
(hangs up phone)
Phew.
Matt pulls her into him.
MATT
Relax... it's nothing. Where were we?
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
BARKING can be heard in the background. That horrible
repetitive barking that grates the soul like Chinese
water torture.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Be quiet!
A photograph of Linda drifts through the air and settles
atop a flaming candle. It ignites into fire, twisting and
turning in mid-air, then falling on the floor as ash. A
beat later water runs from the sink faucet. It forms in
the shape of hands and splashes against his face,
dripping away.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
And the cyclops screamed out, "Who is
it who blinds me?" and Odysseus
replied "Nobody is my name". And the
Cyclops raged to his friends "Nobody
is killing me. Nobody".
The barking continues. A moment later the chamber door
slides open. We push down the...
HALLWAY OF THE HABITATS
... until we are face-to-face with the unhappy barking
dog.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Shhhh. It's Nobody-It's nothing.
The Plexiglas door to the doggie's cage swings open and
some invisible force grabs little doggie around the neck.
The force squeezes its little fur ball throat until the
barking stops.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
Nobody's gonna hurt you.
The force keeps squeezing until the little doggie goes
limp. Then the dog smashes against the Plexiglas over and
over until blood spills out its mouth. The Plexiglas door
swings closed again and moments later the door to
Sebastian's cubicle closes as well. The water runs in
Sebastian's sink washing the blood away from his now half
visible hands.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. HABITAT'S CORRIDOR - NEXT MORNING
Sarah sees the dead dog lying prone on its bedding. She
eyes it curiously and opens the cage door.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - LATER
Sarah stares at the empty chamber.
SARAH
You awake?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I am now.
The sheets raise and drape off of him.
SARAH
Notice anything unusual last night.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
No. Why?
SARAH
Franklin Three. He's dead.
Sebastian pulls a sheet around him. He moves across the
dimly lit room like a ghost.
SEBASTIAN
What of?
SARAH
His neck was broken and his windpipe
collapsed.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
How'd that happen?
SARAH
I thought maybe you could tell me.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Sarah... You saying I had something to
do with it?
SARAH
He was alive last night when I left
and he was dead this morning. And you
were the only one down here.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I was in my room all night.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
Sarah sits with Carter as they run through the security
video tape. Matt and Linda look over their shoulder.
CARTER
That's all twelve hours.
LINDA
He never left the room.
SARAH
A windpipe doesn't just suddenly
collapse. Someone or something killed
it.
MATT
You saw the tape. The man was in his
chamber.
SARAH
Then we have a problem, because I the
cage was locked from the outside. That
means it was opened, the dog was
killed and the cage was closed and
locked again. Only a human could do
that.
CARTER
Well, it wasn't me.
MATT
And it wasn't him.
LINDA
Are we sure?
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - NIGHT
Linda passes Sebastian's chamber. Sebastian's in latex.
SEBASTIAN
Any big plans for tonight?
LINDA
Quiet night at home. Maybe a book.
SEBASTIAN
Really? Whatever happened to that guy
your were seeing?
LINDA
He's still in the picture. Why?
SEBASTIAN
Being locked down here, I'm forced to
live vicariously. Someday you'll have
to tell me what he's like.
LINDA
Maybe someday I will. See you in the
morning.
SEBASTIAN
Au domain.
Sebastian watches Linda walk away. He glances at the
camera and starts to peel off his face.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The elevator door opens. It's empty.
SEBASTIAN'S POV - as we push past the guard and down onto
the street.
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Empty street. We hear whistling. Splashes of water splat
out from shallow puddles,,as Sebastian walks through
them.
SEBASTIAN'S POV - A car approaches. As it drives by we
see Matt and Linda inside, heading back to the warehouse.
The footsteps stop.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Hmmm.
We see the footsteps start to head back toward the
warehouse.
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Linda and Matt exit their car and cross toward the
elevator.
LINDA
(to Marine Guard)
Forgot something.
INT. STREET IN FRONT OF WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
As we watch the footsteps head back through the puddles
toward the warehouse, we see Frank pass us in his car.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
What the hell?
He breaks into a run. Feet splash water and he races back
toward the warehouse.
INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT
Empty. The elevator door opens and we push out into the
hallway. Sebastian's POV
INT. HALLWAY OF HABITATS - NIGHT
We follow Sebastian down the hallway to his cubicle. But
as he rounds the corner, he quickly ducks back. The
entire research team is in his cubicle. Sebastian slowly
approaches and watches as Frank takes down his video
board.
FRANK
Pretty clever really. All it does is
recycle the signal. He flips this
switch, it takes a snapshot and that's
all we see.
LINDA
Asshole.
JANICE
And you think he's violent?
SARAH
He killed a dog with his bare hands.
FRANK
Dogs aren't people. Are we in any
danger?
Linda doesn't know.
LINDA
Either way, we aren't equipped to
handle this. We have to inform the
committee.
Everybody murmurs in agreement.
JANICE
What if he doesn't come back?
LINDA
They'll go after him.
(beat)
Who has tonight's shift?
JANICE
I do.
LINDA
Pretend nothing's wrong. Everyone just
do what you're doing so he doesn't
become suspicious. Okay? Matt and I'll
go tell Doctor Kramer and we'll lot
the committee deal with it.
Sebastian's POV - He backs away and races down the hall.
EXT. DR. KRAMER'S HOUSE - POTOMAC MD - NIGHT
The stately stone house sits on a finely manicured lawn
in one of the nicest neighborhoods in town. Linda's car
is parked on the curb in front.
We break from a typical establishing shot and as the
CAMERA tracks closer to the house, we realize that we are
SEBASTIAN'S POV
We hear breathing and footsteps as we push through some
bushes and head toward a bay window which looks into the
Kramer living room.
Through the glass we see LINDA and MATT seated across
from DR. KRAMER. We can't hear what they're saying but it
certainly looks serious. Kramer puffs on a pipe and
strokes his beard, shaking his head.
Kramer rises and shakes hands with Linda and Matt, and
the three of them head toward the front door.
We move away from the window and track toward the front
door. As the door opens we begin to hear the tail end of
the conversation.
KRAMER
I'll call General Caster right now and
convene the oversight committee
tomorrow.
LINDA
Thank you, sir.
MATT
What do we do in the meantime?
KRAMER
Just sit tight and wait for my call.
Matt and Linda head down to her car. Kramer heads back
inside.
INT. KRAMER'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Kramer heads back into the living room. His wife appears
a the upstairs railing.
MRS. KRAMER
What was that about?
KRAMER
Just a little trouble at work.
MRS. KRAMER
You coming up?
KRAMER
In a minute. I have to make a few
calls.
Mrs. Kramer retreats back to her bedroom as Dr. Kramer
crosses over to the telephone. He picks up the receiver
and starts dialing. In the middle of dialing, the phone
goes dead. He clicks the hookswitch up and down trying to
get a dial tone. Nothing. He checks the connections on
the phone and then follows the wiring to the wall. The
line's plugged in. Weird. He hears a door creak open in
the kitchen.
KRAMER (cont'd)
Hello? Hello?
Kramer crosses to the darkened kitchen. The kitchen door
leading to the backyard is open. Puzzled, he crosses to
it. A wind stirs across the pool and backyard, swirling
dead leaves in small twists of wind. The windchime rings
lightly. Kramer steps out.
EXT. POOL/PATIO, BACKYARD - NIGHT
In the dim spillover light from house, Kramer crosses to
the telephone- box against the back of the house. It Is
open and several of the wires have been pulled. He looks
around, spooked and puffs out a cloud of smoke from his
pipe. For the briefest of instants, Sebastian's face is
visible in the smoke. Kramer jumps back in surprise and
the pipe drops from his mouth. He gives a small sharp
cry, but deep indentations appear across his mouth and
his cries are stifled. In the darkness, we can make out
his form writhing as if possessed. The struggle continues
a beat until Kramer manages to break free.
KRAMER
Help! HELP! MARTHA! HELP!
As Kramer runs, he looks behind him. But no one's there.
WHAM! Something slams into Kramer and he tumbles, rolling
into the pool. But as he hits water there's not just one
splash, but TWO. In the water next to him is human shaped
AIR-POCKET. It's Sebastian displacing the water. And
because of the water displacement, we can clearly see two
arms pushing Kramer beneath the water's surface.
MARTHA KRAMER opens the bedroom window and looks down at
the pool. All she can see is her husband drowning... his
flailing limbs kicking up a massive air bubble around
him. She races from the window. Kramer kicks and flails
for a few moments and then his limbs stop moving. A
moment later he floats to surface, face down. The AIR
POCKET bobs over to the pool ladder, and rising from the
pool, we see Sebastian's body outlined in sheets of
water. The shape melts away in a cascading waterfall
until all we can see of Sebastian are the hundreds of
tiny droplets still clinging to his body, caught in the
light like twinkling bulbs on a Christmas tree. The shape
disappears into the darkness. A moment later Martha
emerges from the house and sees her husband floating face
down in the pool. She screams.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER - DAY
Linda passes by Sebastian's chamber.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
What? No good morning for me? Don't
you like me anymore?
LINDA
Oh, sorry. I...I'm in a hurry.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
That's okay. It's going to be busy
day.
INT. LINDA'S OFFICE - DAY
Matt sits across from her, twirling a pen in his hand.
They both stare at the phone.
LINDA
When did he say held call?
MATT
He's probably meeting with the
committee trying to figure out what to
do.
LINDA
I'm gonna call him.
Linda picks up the phone and dials.
LINDA (cont'd)
Yes, Dr. Kramer please. Excuse me?
(inhales sharply - surprised)
When? I'm so sorry.
Linda blanches as she hangs up the phone.
MATT
What?
LINDA
He's dead. Drowned in his pool last
night.
Linda picks up the phone again and dials.
LINDA (cont'd)
Yes, General Thompson please. Thank
you.
As she waits the phone line clicks dead.
LINDA (cont'd)
Hello? Hello?
She clicks on the hookswitch.
MATT
Let me see that.
He tries it too. Same result.
MATT (cont'd)
Intercom's working, but there doesn't
seem to be an outside line.
INT. CORRIDOR/ELEVATOR
They waste no time getting to the elevator. Linda and
Matt step in.
LINDA
I'll be right back with help.
Linda taps in his floor code.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization please.
LINDA
Foster One Delta Eight Three Five.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization invalid. Request denied.
LINDA
That's a first.
Linda taps the keypad again.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization please.
LINDA
Foster One Delta Eight Three Five.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization invalid. Request denied.
MATT
Let me try mine.
Matt hits buttons on the keypad.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization please.
MATT
Kensington Two Romeo One Five Nine.
ELEVATOR (V.0.)
Authorization invalid. Request denied.
LINDA
Tell me this isn't happening.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Frank, Sarah, Carter and Janice man various work stations
in the lab. Linda and Matt enter.
LINDA
We've got a problem.
INT. COMPUTER ROOM - NIGHT
Frank's fingers fly over the keyboard.
MATT
How long before anybody starts looking
for us?
LINDA
There's no set check in procedure. It
could be weeks.
A graphic of the elevator system pops up on the screen.
Frank highlights the security terminal. Frank hits a few
more keys. The screen reduces to a series of numbers.
LINDA (cont'd)
You think you can got in?
Frank rewrites a few of the numbers.
FRANK
Already in. It was only a second level
encryption.
The Security System specifications pops up.
JANICE
Some security system.
FRANK
Oh the system is fine. It's just I'm
just extraordinary.
Frank types a few more keys, and his eyes widen.
FRANK (cont'd)
But apparently someone is more
extraordinary than me.
MATT
What is it?
FRANK
There's nothing wrong with the system.
Our codes have been removed.
MATT
Removed? By who?
FRANK
Here's a clue. Only one code remains.
LINDA
Whose?
FRANK
Dr. Sebastian Caine.
INT. RECOVERY CHAMBER
The team approaches Sebastian's chamber. Carter pulls on
the pair of thermal goggles dangling from his neck up.
THERMAL POV - The chamber is empty.
CARTER
He's not in there.
Linda enters the chamber. She notes that Sebastian's face
and makeup are on the sink vanity. Linda crosses to the
phone and hits the "PAGE BUTTON"
LINDA
Okay, Sebastian. Fun's over. Tell us
where you are.
She waits. Then...
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I'm sorry. But I can't lot you turn me
in.
LINDA
Sebastian... where are you?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (INTERCOM)
You have no idea what it's like. The
power of it. The freedom. I can't let
that go.
LINDA
C'mon Sebastian. You're scaring me.
Tell me where you are and we can talk
about it.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (INTERCOM)
There's nothing to talk about. See ...
I've done things that can't be undone.
A long beep as the intercom clicks off.
LINDA
Sebastian! Sebastian!
(beat)
I want search parties. Thermal goggles
and tranquilizers.
INT. CORRIDOR
Linda and Matt, wearing thermal goggles and clutching
tranquilizer pistols, walk down the hallway, scanning
back and forth.
INT. SEBASTIAN'S OFFICE
Janice enters the office.
JANICE
Dr. Caine? Are you in here? Dr. Caine?
Suddenly, Janice jerks back.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I'm here.
INT. HABITAT'S CORRIDOR
Sarah scans all the habitats with a thermal scanner.
Listening intently.
INT. SEBASTIAN'S OFFICE
Janice struggles with her unseen assailant, slamming into
walls and knocking into filing cabinets.
INT. LABORATORY
Frank and Carter search the lab with their thermal
scopes.
FRANK
Doctor Caine?
INT. SEBASTIAN'S OFFICE
Linda and Matt knock.
LINDA
Sebastian?
No response. They push through the door. The room seems
deserted. Signs of a struggle. File cabinets opened,
drawers tossed.
MATT
This is bad.
THERMAL POV - Linda surveys the room, spotting a slight
heat signature peeking from the corner.
LINDA
There's something over there.
Linda moves toward it. Whatever it is its hidden from
Matt's POV by the supply cabinet. As Linda gets close she
pulls of f her thermal goggles to see...
JANICE -
Her face blue, eyes bulging. An I.V. cord wrapped around
his neck. Linda jumps back.
LINDA (cont'd)
Jesus. Oh my god.
Matt rushes over. Sees the lifeless corpse.
MATT
What happened?
Linda lowers the body to the floor.
LINDA
She was strangled. Multiple blows to
her head.
Linda begins a medical check of the rest of the body.
Matt stoops down and examines Janice's face.
LINDA (cont'd)
We got a big problem here.
A lamp tumbles from the desk and smashes to the floor.
Both Linda and Matt jump. Linda frantically dons the
thermal visor and scopes the room again. Nothing. Matt
notices the lamp cord beneath Linda's leg. Points it out
to her. She sighs with relief... she pulled the lamp off
the table.
LINDA (cont'd)
Get everybody to the conference room.
Now!
Matt picks up the phone. Clicks the hookswitch. Clicks
the hookswitch again.
MATT
Intercom... the phone lines. They're
dead.
LINDA
Gimme that.
She checks the phone, punches some numbers. Nothing.
LINDA (cont'd)
It was just working.
MATT
What the fuck is going on here?
INT. CORRIDOR
Matt and Linda head toward the lab.
Linda suddenly stops.
MATT
What?
LINDA
Shhh.
Linda takes a few cautious steps. Senses something.
LINDA (cont'd)
Give me the visor.
Matt, suddenly concerned, hands her the visor.
THERMAL POV - Linda checks out the corridor. Empty. Linda
takes Matt's hand.
LINDA (cont'd)
C'mon.
They move quickly up the corridor. See Frank, Sarah and
Carter.
FRANK
Did you find him?
LINDA
Janice is dead.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
Linda scans the room with her thermal scope.
LINDA
It's clear.
Matt, Frank, Janice and Sarah step in, locking the door
behind them.
SARAH
The man has checked out of reality.
FRANK
What happened? I don't understand.
CARTER
Isn't it obvious? Right now, we're the
only ones who knows he exists. If he
gets rid of us, no one knows and he
becomes the most powerful man on
earth.
FRANK
But he's not a killer.
They all look at Linda.
LINDA
He wasn't. He is now.
MATT
Can you fix the elevator? Restore our
codes?
FRANK
It'd take hours to crack the
encryptions.
MATT
Right now that sounds like good news.
CARTER
So what do we do until then. Sit
around waiting for him to kill us off?
Everyone looks around for some leadership. Finally.
LINDA
No. We find him, before he finds us.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
The group moves quickly, passing under an air vent. As
they round the corner the vent slowly swings down and an
air disturbance drops to the ground.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
As they enter...
CARTER
You sure this'll work.
Linda sits down at a computer terminal, activates it.
LINDA
We designed it to help find the rats
we kept dropping in year one. They
were too small for thermal scans.
A map of the compound appears on the screen.
MATT
Systems hot. Activating motion
detectors.
Matt toggles a switch. Linda stares at a map of the
compound. Blips appear on the display... in the
observation room... in the Habitat Area and in one of the
corridors.
LINDA
I've got movement in Corridor Six.
MATT
That's him.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
A shadow edges down the tunnel. It settles for a moment,
disappearing completely, then is back on the move. At the
tunnel's edges, motion detectors light up as the thing
passes by.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
Carter checks his Tranq pistol & Matt rummages through a
locker.
MATT
Got 'em.
Matt pulls out a pair of walkie-talkies. He tosses one to
Linda.
LINDA
(into walkie)
Check. Check.
Her voice echoes from the other unit.
LINDA (cont'd)
Be careful.
MATT
Just watch our backs. Hey Carter,
ready?
CARTER
Let's do it.
Matt and Carter exit. Linda locks the door behind them.
INT. TUNNEL
Matt and Carter trot toward corridor six.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
Linda huddles over the display, tracking the two.
LINDA
(into Walkie)
Take a right at the next accessway.
He's working his way back to the
offices.
We see Matt and Carter on one of the working video
screens as they push down the tunnel.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Matt and Carter move cautiously, listening for any sound.
MATT
(Walkie - sotto)
If we split up, can we trap him on
corridor eight?
LINDA (V.0.)
If he keeps heading in that direction.
Matt nods to Carter. The pair splits, heading down
separate accessways.
MATT
Going Thermal.
Matt pulls the visor down over his eyes.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
Linda watches the two separate and come around Sebastian
in a pincer move.
Suddenly, the blip that was Sebastian disappears. Linda
grabs the walkie.
LINDA
I lost him. Matt, I lost him.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Matt makes his way forward.
MATT
He probably just stopped moving.
But Matt becomes more cautious with his footsteps. Slowly
... approaching a corner...
He rounds the corner and sees a heat signature at the far
end of the corridor. He levels his pistol, ready to fire.
CARTER
It's me.
Matt pulls off his goggles.
MATT
Do you have anything?
CARTER
Nothing.
MATT
How did he get by us?
CARTER
He couldn't.
MATT
Sebastian! We're here to help.
Sebastian.
No response. They both don their visors and move forward
slightly. Carter holds up his hand.
CARTER
There. Behind those pipes. He's not
moving.
Carter points. Matt checks his thermal. A red heat
signature clings to the wall.
CARTER (cont'd)
Doctor Caine?
(beat)
Can you hear me?
No response.
MATT
(into walkie)
We see him. But he's not responding.
The heat signature doesn't move.
Matt looks through his visor and holds the tranquilizer
gun at the ready. He looks for a clear shot. The heat
signature huddles behind pipes.
MATT
C'mon... C'mon...
The two slowly move closer. Matt finally has a clear
shot. He signals Carter. Carter levels his pistol too.
CARTER
Covered.
Matt fires the dart at the heat signature. It bounces off
the wall ... Nothing there.
MATT
What the...
He crosses to the heat signature.
MATT (cont'd)
Just a vent. Just a goddamn vent
LINDA (V.0.)
He was there.
MATT
Looks like... looks like we're pumping
out heat...
Suddenly behind him... CARTER JERKS THREE FEET in the
air, kicking wildly. SUSPENDED IN MID-AIR BY HIS NECK. He
gasps for air.
LINDA (V.0.)
I got movement again! He's right on
top of you!
MATT
No fucking shit!
Matt opens fire with the tranquilize, shooting at the
ceiling until he spends his dart rounds.
MATT (cont'd)
Sebastian? Goddamnit! Let him go.
CARTER
(choking)
H...Help... MMmmphg
Carter suffocates. He passes out. With a sudden crack,
he's thrown against the side wall. A large cut opens up
across his head and his body goes limp.
MATT
(into walkie)
Where is he? Where the fuck is he?!?
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
Linda huddles over the display.
LINDA
Right on top of you.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Matt scrambles away. Running. Pipes burst and swing down
from the ceiling. Steam billows forth. Something moves
through the cloud of steam.
Around the corner, Matt shoves more darts into his
tranquilizer.
LINDA (V.0.)
What's going on? Are you okay?
MATT
Carter's down. Hurt bad. Bleeding from
a head wound.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Linda watches the screen. Two blips, one traveling
quickly.
LINDA
Matt, he's coming toward you.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Matt takes a few steps back.
MATT
Shit.
LINDA
Got outta there.
Matt breaks into a run.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
Linda watches one dot chasing the other, down several
corridors.
LINDA
He's close!
INT. TUNNEL
Matt running, checking over his shoulder. Sounds of
footsteps behind him, but up ahead the heavy metal blast
doors begin to close.
MATT
Goddamnit. The doors are closing. He's
shutting me in.
Matt rushes the doors as they slide shut. He doesn't make
it in time. The doors close with a resounding clang. Matt
turns and pulls on his thermals.
MATT (cont'd)
Where is he?
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Linda huddled over the screen. Tense.
LINDA
He's coming right at you!
Then checks the Thermal goggles. Several heat signature
dot the tunnel.
MATT
Where?
LINDA
Twenty, maybe thirty feet.
MATT
Goddamnit, I got thermals all over the
place. Eight, maybe ten of them. Must
be ghosts.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Linda gets a sense of forboding. She looks around the
room. Sees a heating vent in the corner.
Beat.
She grabs the walkie.
LINDA
Those signatures ... they're coming
from the heating vents.
Through the goggles, Matt sees the tunnel turning red.
MATT
I'm starting to lose resolution on my
thermals.
LINDA
Get out of there!
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
FRANK
If the room temperature is the same as
his body temperature, thermal
visors'll be no good.
Linda grabs a Tranq gun and heads for the door.
LINDA
I'm going!
FRANK
Linda...it's not safe.
LINDA
That's why I'm going.
(to Frank and Sarah)
Corridor eight is clear. Get Carter to
the lab. We'll meet you there.
FRANK
But...
LINDA
Do it.
INT. CORRIDOR
Matt turns to face the corridor. It's turning red. Matt
sees some movement in the thermal cloud. Opens fire. But
the thermal signature disappears into the heat. Matt
can't distinguish anything through his goggles anymore.
He pulls them off and holds him gun in front of him
sweeping the hallway.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Marco...Polo... Marco... Polo...
His voice keeps shifting. Matt fires.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
Not even close.
Matt sweeps his front leg back and forth, like a blind
man using a cane. But his foot isn't hitting anything. He
sees a FIRE EXTINGUISHER mounted on the wall. He rushes
it, turns it on the hallway and sprays. And SOMETHING
LUNGES through the foam. GRABS HIM, sending him tumbling
down the tunnel. Matt is thrown against the wall. Blood
coming from his brow. He scrambles away, spraying more
foam. Sees a shape in the mist, raises his pistol and
FIRES. The shape leaps away. The DART FLIES. Doesn't hit.
Matt scrambles back into a corner. His pistol is empty.
SEBASTIAN
So... just out of curiosity, how long
has my best friend been fucking my ex-
girlfriend.
MATT
Sebastian. Get a hold of yourself. You
aren't thinking rationally.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
She's a pretty sweet fuck, isn't she?
MATT
Calm down, Sebastian... we can talk
this through. It's not too late.
The Shape parts the low hanging mist, the fine powder
swirling in clouds behind it. Coming toward him.
MATT (CONT'D)
C'mon Sebastian. Don't do this. I'm
your friend.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I'm sorry, but I just feel that our
friendship is holding me back. I'm
sure you understand.
THE DOOR OPENS. Linda reaches through, grabs Matt. She
pulls him to his feet and through the door.
INT. TUNNEL
Frank and Sarah, holding their Tranq pistols, fly down
the corridor.
SARAH
This way.
They shear off the main corridor into the side corridor.
Carter lies crumpled up ahead. Sarah slides to his side.
Carter's head rests in a pool of blood. She checks his
pulse while Frank takes a protective position.
SARAH (cont'd)
Pulse is weak. Breathing... shallow.
FRANK
He'll be okay.
SARAH
It's pretty severe. We have to get him
to the lab.
FRANK
He's got to be okay.
Frank stands frozen.
SARAH
For godsakes, help me.
Frank snaps to. Grabs an arm. The pair hoist Carter up
and carry him down the hallway.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
Linda pulls a handle and doors slide shut behind them.
MATT
He was going to kill me.
Linda pulls him close.
LINDA
I know. He's gone.
MATT
We've got to got out of here.
Linda checks the screen -- see Sarah, Frank and Carter
headed toward the Laboratory.
MATT (cont'd)
Where is he? Goddamnit, where is he?
Isolated in the Hallway of Habitats is a single blip.
LINDA
Habitats.
MATT
Oh god. That's right between us and
the lab.
INT. LABORATORY
Frank and Sarah lift Carter onto a medical table.
SARAH
His pulse is faint.
Sarah grabs a sheet from the counter top. Folds it and
presses it against the head wound.
SARAH (cont'd)
He's lost a lot of blood. Here. Hold
this.
She guides Frank's hands to the wound.
SARAH (cont'd)
Keep applying pressure.
Sarah pulls out a saline solution I.V. bag and slap it on
the rack. She fumbles with the needle as she tries to
find a vein.
SARAH (cont'd)
Don't move your hand until I got back.
Sarah heads to the door.
FRANK
Where are you going?
SARAH
This'll hold him but he needs blood.
FRANK
But...
SARAH
Supply is right down the hall. I'll be
two seconds.
FRANK
Sarah, wait for the others
SARAH
If I wait, he'll die. Keep pressure on
the wound.
INT. CORRIDOR
Sarah exits the lab. Checks the corridor. Down at the end
of the cramped tunnel is the supply room.
She swallows her fear and heads toward it, all the while
glancing side-to-side and behind her.
INT. SUPPLY ROOM
Spooked, Sarah bursts into the room. She goes to the
supply fridge/freezer, pulls open the door, and sorts
through blood bags.
INT. TUNNEL
Matt and Linda push along the corridor; Matt spraying
with the fire extinguisher in short controlled bursts,
Linda clutching her tranquilizer like a commando.
A noise behind them. Footsteps.
Matt turns to blast with the extinguisher. The white
chemical dust sprays out, outlining a shape in the
tunnel. But it isn't a human shape.
Matt's uniform shreds. Something with fierce sharp claws
fells him. Tearing into his flesh. We see a angry, hungry
face... jabbing for a moment through the lingering fog.
MATT
Ahh! Shit!
Linda tries to get a clear shot off through the smoke.
Matt trips and goes sprawling. Something yelps. A howl.
Linda shoots. Her dart jabs into something which
collapses to the ground. A moment of calm. As the dusty
chemical foam settles, the outline of a great ape
appears, still twitching.
MATT (cont'd)
Karl Three. Nice shot.
LINDA
He's let the animals out. It wasn't
him we were tracking.
Linda leans against the wall, still clutching her tranq
gun at the ready. The heat is getting to bar. Bar scrubs
are soaked, her hair's a mess. She wipes the sweat from
her brow.
LINDA (cont'd)
You okay?
MATT
It won't kill me unless it gets
infected. You?
LINDA
Me .... Don't ask about me. If he
freed all the animals, we could have
dozens running around the lab.
MATT
So he could be anywhere right now.
Matt sprays the whole tunnel, putting down a gentle cloud
mist. Nothing else appears.
MATT (cont'd)
What do we do?
LINDA
Get to the lab, lock the goddamn doors
and pray to God Frank can reprogram
the elevator.
INT. SUPPLY ROOM
Sarah finishes collecting blood bags and shuts the door
to the fridge/freezer.
The DOOR SLAMS behind her. She freezes and slowly turns.
SARAH
Frank?
She eyes the supply room, looking for a sign of movement.
SARAH (cont'd)
(frightened whisper)
Who's there?
She listens. Is that breathing she hears? Now she's
starting to panic.
SARAH (cont'd)
Dr. Caine?
She starts to back away, but she's already in the corner.
She clutches her tranquilizer gun, but there's nothing to
aim at. The vials of blood on the shelf gives her an
idea. She reaches over, grabs a vial and throws it on the
floor. GLASS SHATTERS and BLOOD SMEARS across the
linoleum. Sarah tosses another vial and another. Becoming
more and more hysterical. Splattering more and more
blood. But she runs out of vials. Shaking with fear, she
searches the blood looking for a footprint, or movement.
But there's nothing there. Sarah waits a beat, clutching
the tranquilizer gun. Takes a step. Waits a beat longer.
Finally she relaxes. It was just her imagination. She
heads toward the door when she hears a terrifying whisper
in her ear.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You missed.
Her hair flies up, and she swings against the wall. She
tries to move, but she's pinned there. Her hands
struggling against the force.
SARAH
Please no. Let me go. Oh god, let me
go.
The arm holding the tranquilizer gun begins to move.
SARAH (cont'd)
What are you doing? No!
Sarah fights, but her arm moves nonetheless
SARAH (cont'd)
Help me! Oh God. Somebody help me!
FRANK!
Slowly, deliberately, her own arm moves down the wall and
around, until the tranquilizer gun points right at her
stomach.
Sarah watches in horror as her own body betrays her.
SARAH (cont'd)
No... please. Don't do this to me.
She struggles, shaking back and forth. Writhing. In
anguish and in fear.
SARAH (cont'd)
What do you want?
SEBASTIAN
You.
The trigger pulls .... Pop!
A dart explodes from the gun and imbeds in Sarah's
stomach. She whimpers as her eyes glass over. Suddenly
she's released. She stumbles backward and falls lifeless
to the floor. A moment of stillness, all we can hear is
the sound of someone breathing.
On Sarah's face... a slight-indentation runs down her
cheek..
Almost sweet... almost tender. And slight indentation
runs across her breast and strokes down her body. The
sense of violation and vulnerability is awful. Sebastian
sighs.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I've always liked your feistiness.
Sarah's head shifts slightly. Her head shifts violently,
accompanied by the celery crunch of her neck snapping.
Sebastian exhales, his breath filled with the
intoxication of power.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Frank applies pressure to the wound, waiting for Sarah to
return. Carter's vital signs are weakening..,.
FRANK
Sarah! Sarah!
(to Carter)
Goddamnit. Stay with me now. Don't you
let up... Sarah! Sarah!
No response. Frank doesn't know whether to stay or go
after her. He starts toward the door several times but
can't leave Carter. Finally the door opens.
FRANK (cont'd)
Sarah! I'm losing him.
But it's Linda and Matt.
FRANK (cont'd)
Did you see her?
Linda rushes over to check on Carter.
LINDA
Where is she?
FRANK
She went to the supply room. Carter
needed blood.
Linda grabs a stethoscope and listens to Carter's heart.
LINDA
I said no one goes anywhere alone.
FRANK
She didn't listen.
She-slowly pulls Frank's hand away from the wound.
FRANK (cont'd)
But...
LINDA
He's dead.
Linda would love to cry about it, but doesn't afford
herself the luxury.
INT. CORRIDOR
The three of them approach the supply room door slowly.
Blood trickles from under the door and bloody footprints
extend down the hallway.
They swing open the door.
The floor is covered in blood and broken glass. But no
body.
INT. CORRIDOR
Sarah, broken, is dragged toward the chair, eerily
jerking down the hallway... seemingly on its own.
INT. CORRIDOR
The three scientists follow the bloody footprints down
the hallway past the empty cages in the tunnel of
habitats.
All clutch their tranquilizer pistols.
The footprints lead past the habitats to Sebastian's
chamber.
They see Sarah's body in the dim light.
LINDA
Oh god. Sarah!
The group breaks into a run. Linda pushes into the
chamber and falls at Sarah's side. Matt cradles Sarah's
head. They look for some sign of life as Linda fights
back the tears.
LINDA (cont'd)
No...
FRANK
Her too?
Matt nods. Linda slams the cubicle wall with her fist.
LINDA
This didn't happen. This hasn't
happened.
MATT
It happened alright. Now we have to
deal with it.
Matt puts his hands on her shoulder to calm her. She
pushes him off.
FRANK
Yeah? And just what are we supposed to
do now?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Now? Now you die.
The three of them whip around.
LINDA
He's here!
MATT
Where?
LINDA
Sebastian!
Silence. The three cautiously move out. They stand back
to back, each one facing out. They move toward the door
of the Chamber.
LINDA (cont'd)
Sebastian. Sebastian, listen to me.
No response. They all their tranq pistols level waiting
for some sign. Hearing each other breathe. They slowly
move outside the Chamber into the corridor.
LINDA (CONT1D)
I don't know if you can understand
this, but what you're experiencing is
a psychological breakdown. This isn't
who you are.
A beat.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I would say that what I am
experiencing is psychological
awareness. I like you being in
complete and absolute control.
They identify the general area the voice is coming from:
Back inside the Chamber! They slowly move toward the
Chamber door. With lightning speed they slam the door
shut, locking Sebastian inside the Recovery Chamber.
LINDA
You goddamn bastard! You goddamn
bastard. You're gonna pay for this.
I'm going to bring you back to
visibility and then I'm going throw
your ass in jail.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
You're never gonna bring me back
Linda. I never want to come back.
LINDA
Fuck you!
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Or maybe I'll fuck you. One last time
for old times sake.
Linda slams her fist against the wall of the Chamber.
MATT
Don't listen to him. It's not worth
it.
FRANK
Come on, Matt. Let's go get the
elevator back on-line so we can got
out of this hell hole.
Matt gives Linda a kiss...
MATT
He does anything, anything at all,
come get us. I'll be back to check on
you in five.
Matt and Frank head off down the corridor.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Imagine you two, carrying on right
under my nose. Out of curiosity, what
did he give you that I couldn't?
LINDA
Shut up, Sebastian. He's more of a man
than you'll ever be.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS
A VIDEO SCREEN shows Linda pacing outside the Chamber
door. The chair moves forward toward a microphone.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Okay, sweetie. I'll be quiet. If
that's what you want...
Sebastian TOGGLES the intercom switch OFF. We pan over to
one of the working video screens ... Matt and Frank
stride down the hallway. The chair swivels and the
observation room door swings open slightly.
INT. CHAMBER
Linda still holds his tranq gun toward the door. Nothing
moves. Nothing. Linda walks over to the Plexiglas ...
stares in. Can't see anything, anyone. Just the dead
Sarah.
Then she sees it. The little red light on the intercom.
Its on.
LINDA
Sebastian? Sebastian? No.. No...
Linda bangs on the glass. She looks. No movement, no
nothing. She listens. Shit. She takes off running.
LINDA (cont'd)
Matt! Frank!
Tracking with Linda as she rushes down the hall.
LINDA (cont'd)
Matt! Matt! Frank!
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Linda breaks in the room to see Frank slicked in blood,
his throat cut, and Matt bleeding from multiple stab
wounds with an extension cord around his neck being
pulled tight.
LINDA
Jesus!
Linda rushes over and slams into Matt. They fall to the
ground. Linda crawls over to Matt, but her head snaps
back and her lips erupt with blood.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
Figured it out? You were always so
clever.
Matt's pulled back across the lab by the cord around his
neck. He grabs at the cord trying to breathe. Linda
watches him being pulled away.
LINDA
No!
She clamors over to him. But Matt rises in the air and is
tossed against the lab table. Linda levels her dart
pistol and fires haphazardly at the air. She hits nothing
but objects jerk and move in a line as Sebastian heads
for cover. Linda manages to grab Matt and pull him to
her.
LINDA (cont'd)
Hang on!
MATT
Get out of here!
Linda pulls Matt toward the door.
LINDA
(yelling)
You won't get away with this. They'll
find out about you. They'll hunt you
down.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
The villagers with their torches? Lock
up your daughters! Sorry, Lin. It's
not gonna happen that way.
Linda hits the lights. The lab is now very, very dark.
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
See, I've spent all my time down here
thinking up this plan. When they find
you, they'll find a pile of charred
corpses. The result of a terrible
accident, I'm afraid.
Linda reacts to the voice as it grows nearer. She
navigates the maze of equipment, heading toward the crack
of light at the front door.
LINDA
How can you be so brutal?
SEBASTIAN'S VOICE
I guess because I don't have to look
at myself in the mirror anymore
(beat)
Remember that first night I was out? I
did something bad, just to see if I
could get away with it. And when I
did, I realized I could have it all. I
can kill in broad daylight. And
nobody's gonna tell the police they
were fucked by a ghost. Anything I
desire I can make happen, but not if
people know.
Linda and Matt have reached the door of the lab. She
pushes through it and slams it behind her.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Linda pulls Matt along.
MATT
I'm dizzy. I can't feel my legs.
LINDA
Just keep going. I'll fix you later.
INT. CORRIDOR, LAB DOORS - DAY
The doors explode open.
INT. SUPPLY ROOM - DAY
Linda looks up and down the hall and pulls Matt inside
the supply room. It's still blood soaked from earlier.
Linda closes the door, sliding the deadbolt into place.
Linda lots him drop like a heap onto the floor. She falls
to her knees beside Matt, lying on the ground.
LINDA
Matt... Matthew. Stay with me now.
Linda pulls his scrubs open. The wounds are many and
deep.
MATT
He surprised us. We weren't
expecting...
LINDA
Shhh. Don't talk.
BAM! Something slams against the door. Bam! Slams against
it again. The old deadbolt is buckling. Linda looks
around the room and sees the storage freezer.
LINDA (cont'd)
We gotta move. Hang on.
Linda helps Matt up and into the storage freezer.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda grabs a metal bar and slides it between two hooks
on the door and the jam.
BAM! The storage room door blows open. Linda leans down
next to Matt.
MATT
Lin...
He entire shirt is stained with blood. He's having
trouble breathing.
MATT (cont'd)
I can't feel anything.
Linda picks up his hand. Grips it tight.
LINDA
You feel that?
Matt smiles.
MATT
A little...
She rips his shirt open... and sees his wounds. She grabs
a vial of alcohol and dumps it on her hands and then
probes the wound.
LINDA
Your losing blood, but he didn't hit
the vitals.
She looks around.
LINDA (cont'd)
Sutures and thread.
She rises, and looks outside the porthole into the room.
Suddenly it fogs up and she almost sees a face. She
stumbles backward, and the door starts rattling. Linda
scrambles over to hold the metal crowbar in place.
Sebastian pulls and rattles on the freezer door. To no
avail. It's not gonna budge. Finally he gives up. The
door stops shaking. Linda is relieved, briefly. Still.
Then she hears the click of the door locking.
OUTSIDE THE FREEZER
CLOSE ON THE REGULATOR as the dial turns from forty-five
degrees, down to negative twenty.
INSIDE THE FREEZER
Through the porthole, Linda sees the bloody footprints
heading toward the door. She removes the metal bar and
pushes on the door. It won't move.
LINDA
Goddamnit.
Linda looks around the storage room. She grabs a roll of
duct tape and pulls off a length.
MATT
What're you doing?
LINDA
This is temporary.
She takes paper towel and cleans off Matt's wound. She
tapes it, using duct tape.
LINDA (cont'd)
You still with me?
MATT
Barely.
A beat later, the compressor begins pumping Arctic air
into the freezer.
LINDA
Just keeps getting worse.
Linda returns to the door. Shakes it.
INT. CHAMBER - DAY
We hear WHISTLING as we see a sheet of flesh fill out
into a head as Sebastian slides on his latex head piece.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda continues shaking the door. The lock holds. A tear
rolls down Linda's cheek, but a strange thing happens.
The tear drops freeze. Linda shivers as she pulls the icy
tears from her face.
LINDA
Oh shit.
The inside thermometer has dropped to five degrees.
Linda grabs the metal bar and starts smashing it against
the porthole. The metal bar just bounces off the glass.
INT. SEBASTIAN'S OFFICE
A drawer opens, revealing a set of clothing neatly
folded. Shirt, pants, shoes. They begin to move.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda drops the metal bar and slides down the wall,
defeated.
MATT
There's no way out.
LINDA
There's got to be.
MATT
They say freezing to death isn't so
bad. You just kinda pass out.
Matt's head rolls back.
LINDA
Matt! MATT!
She checks his pulse. Thank god he still has one, but
he's not gonna last long. They're both already starting
to turn a little blue. Linda stares desperately up at the
shelves, trying to find some sort of advantage. Then she
sees something. She looks back at the door lock and then
she rises ... and grabs AN EXTENSION CORD coiled on the
shelf.
LINDA (cont'd)
We're not dying in here.
INT. BATHROOM - DAY
Sebastian, dressed in street clothes, stands before the
mirror applying make-up to his latex mask.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda finishes stripping the insulation off the electric
cord.
She grabs a hypodermic needle package, and her cold
fingers fumbles with the package as she tries to pull out
the plastic tube.
She finally gets it out and she starts wrapping the
stripped electric wire around the tube in a tight coil.
INT. BATHROOM - DAY
Sebastian slides on a wig and checks his appearance in
the mirror. Pretty smooth. Even from relatively close up,
he could pass as normal.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda furiously winds wire into a coil.
INT. CORRIDOR
Sebastian heads down the corridor. Lingering steam twists
in and around the hallway, long wispy tendrils. Sebastian
pauses for a moment, hearing A GROWL. Suddenly the
hallway seems a lot scarier. From beneath his scrubs he
pulls his own tranq gun. He listens ... hearing scraping
and footsteps. Watching the water on the floor twitch.
With machine like precision, he turns and fires. The
tranq dart halts in mid-air and some invisible thing
tumbles over.
Sebastian continues down the hallway.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda holds the plug end of the extension cord. The other
end is wrapped into a tight long coil. Linda looks for an
outlet, but can't find one. She looks at the overhead
lights.
A moment later she's climbing up the shelving. She wrap*
a piece of fabric around her hand, and with a sharp punch
she smashes one of the overhead light bulbs.
INT. LABORATORY
Sebastian enters, fully dressed. At a distance it'd be
hard to tell his secret. He pulls several chemicals off
the shelves. Then he pulls a tray of test tubes over and
begins mixing.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda works on jerry rigging the two ends of the wire to
the lightbulb, socket.
Suddenly the coiled wire springs to life and flies
against the nearest metal surface. She's made an
electromagnet.
INT. LABORATORY
Sebastian loads the filled test tubes into the
centrifuge. Dozens of other vials are already slotted. He
takes one of the left over vials, considers it a moment
and then flings it over to the other side of the lab. The
vial shatters and...
EXPLODES.
A powerful explosion that rocks the room.
INT. STORAGE FREEZER
Linda feels the rumbling as she places the coil up
against the door. The magnet attaches itself. Linda
shakes the coil, trying to get the doorlock to move.
OUTSIDE THE DOOR -
We see the lock twitching. Shaking...
INSIDE THE DOOR -
Linda shivers as she plays with the coil. Her eyes glaze
and she stumbles backward. Her surgical scrubs, once
soaked with sweat, are now frozen stiff. She composes
herself and pushes back toward the door. Her heavy breath
hangs as a low cloud of Mist.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Sebastian looks over the dozens of other test tubes,
calculating their combined power in his mind. Then he
closes the top of the centrifuge. He taps a few commands
into its timer.
INT. SUPPLY ROOM
The door lock twitches again and twists back. The door
swings opens and Linda stumbles out, mashing into a
supply shelf of oxygen canisters. The canisters tumble
every which way as Linda tumbles to the ground.
She scrambles to her feet and goes in after Matt, pulling
his cold body out of the storage locker.
She pulls stacks of paper down from, the shelves into a
trashcan, grabs an industrial lighter and ignites the
paper. She pushes Matt close to the small bonfire. As she
does, the oxygen tanks catch her eye.
INT. CORRIDOR
Sebastian exits the lab, locking the door behind him. He
heads down the darkened tunnel. Something scampers in
front of him. Small, not visible. Sebastian sends it
reeling with a swift violent kick.
INT. CORRIDOR, BY THE ELEVATOR - DAY
Sebastian, dressed and in full latex, comes striding up
the tunnel. He taps a code into the elevator vault doors.
The vault doors open revealing the elevator.
The doors slide open and Sebastian steps inside.
ELEVATOR
Authorization please?
SEBASTIAN
Caine. One One One One One.
ELEVATOR
Authorization valid. Thank you.
LINDA
Sebastian!
And there's Linda. Slicked with dirt and blood. She holds
a oxygen container with a cut line.
LINDA (cont'd)
I can't let you leave. Come on out and
I'll give you one last chance.
SEBASTIAN
You said it yourself, Lin. I shouldn't
hold on to the past.
The door starts to shut.
LINDA
Aaaaaaahhhh!
She hits the top of a LIGHTER duct-taped to the hose. A
line of PRESSURIZED FIRE BLOWS into the elevator.
WWHHHOOOOSSHHHH! Sebastian goes up in flame. Linda runs
toward the elevator. Just as the door's about to close,
she slides. Her foot jamming into it.
She lets loose with the flame again. Sebastian, backed
into the corner, has no where to go. He's yelling in
pain. His latex FACE BUBBLES and burns. The surgical
scrubs SINGE BLACK. With no other escape route, he dives
toward the door. Linda looks up to see his flaming body
fly over her, back into the corridor. Linda kills the
tank as Sebastian continues to burn. The elevator lights
flickers and the security panel goes up in a shower of
sparks. The elevator dies. Linda pulls herself to her
feet and turns to see...
Half of Sebastian's head MELTED AWAY, his latex facade a
gruesome smoke-damaged mass. His clothes are half burned
revealing large blistering bubbly welts underneath, like
deformed blackened bubble wrap.
Sebastian crawls to his feet, but Linda hits him with
another shot of flame.
Sebastian pulls at his clothes as he crawls around the
corner.
SEBASTIAN
Oh God!
Linda stalks toward him.
LINDA
You wanna see God? I'll show you God.
Linda turns the corner to see a heap of smoldering latex
and clothing strewn about the corridor floor. Sebastian,
looking like some ugly creature, pushes down the
corridor. He throbs with his blackened skin blistering
and cracking up and down his body. Linda lets loose
another jet of flame. It's smaller than the first and
doesn't quite hit Sebastian. Linda checks the tanks
pressure gauge. It slowly drops. Linda follows the
blackened horror into the maze of tunnels. But as he
pushes along the corridor, his burns slowly re- absorb
themselves. Sebastian is no longer visible. A quiet
moment in the hallway as Linda realizes how vulnerable
she is. She looks around for him desperately. Nothing.
But something on the ceiling catches her attention. She
blasts it with the last jet of her dying torch. THE
SPRINKLER SYSTEM, hit by fire, comes to life. Water
sprays down on the tunnel. Sebastian is caught in the
downpour, his invisible frame outlined by water. It comes
toward her, the hot skin steaming in the water. He grabs
Linda and slams her against the wall. His watery hand
smashes her across her face. Linda reels. On the floor,
she looks to see Sebastian stalking toward her. She
crawls away, but he grabs her by her hair, pulls her to
her feet and slams her against the wall.
SEBASTIAN
I'm gonna find everyone in your family
and kill them-. Your sister... she
never liked me. I think I'll go after
her and her little boy first.
Sebastian smashes her head against a metal post. Her head
cuts open, blood dripping down.
SEBASTIAN (cont'd)
I just wanted you to know that before
you die.
Linda collapses to the floor. Sebastian's foot presses
against her neck, squeezing it. Linda gags for breath.
But through the shoot of water that is Sebastian, we see
something also... a watery smudge.
BAM!
MATT - smashes Sebastian with the metal bar. Sebastian
slams against the corridor wall and sinks down.
Matt staggers. It's taken all his strength to got there.
He drops the crowbar and seeks the wall for support, he
sinks to his knees by Linda.
MATT
Thought I'd... thought I'd save you
for a change.
He gives her his hand and pulls her up into his arms.
MATT (cont'd)
Let's got out of here.
Just as the two turn, Sebastian rises with the crowbar.
He swings it with a yell. Matt pushes Linda out of the
way, his arm glancing the blow into a conduit. The
conduit splits open and severs ELECTRICAL wiring. The
VOLTAGE shoots up the crowbar and into Sebastian. As the
current pulses through his body, Sebastian vibrates. His
blood vessels yank back to visibility, followed by his
skeletal structure and major organs. Sebastian is slowly
electrified. Smoke pours off him and he becomes more and
more visible. Finally he collapses. His body throbbing in
and out of visibility. Matt and Linda stumble away.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Just outside the lab... Linda tries to pry open the
sealed doors with the crowbar. But she can't.
Through the doors porthole she sees a collection of
chemicals and the fire raging from the earlier explosion.
LINDA
Nitro...
Matt peaks inside.
MATT
He said it himself... All they'll find
is a pile of charred corpses.
She sees the centrifuge... The timed counter on its face
counts down from a minute. Fifty nine. Fifty eight. Fifty
seven...
LINDA
He's rigged the centrifuge.
MATT
In an enclosed space, he'll wipe out
the whole lab.
INT. TUNNEL
Linda and Matt move as fast as they can. They reach the
burned out elevator. What the hell are they gonna do? We
know the damn thing doesn't work. She swings her crowbar
at the ceiling. The maintenance hatch comes down.
LINDA
Grab on.
Linda hooks the crowbar onto the hatch lip and pulls
herself up. She reaches back down for Matt.
MATT
Forget about me. You go.
LINDA
Fuck you. Give me your hands.
Linda grabs Matt's hands and pulls for all she's worth.
She struggles, but they both manage to got him through
the hatch.
INT. LABORATORY - DAY
Three... two... one. The centrifuge springs to life.
The centrifuge spins the two dozen vials slowly at first.
INT. VENT
Linda and Matt are on top of the elevator.
Linda's hands search the wall. Bar fingers run across the
smooth metal surface.
From the little light below she can see a maintenance
ladder that spans the entire height of the vertical tube.
They look up and see it disappear into the darkness.
LINDA
Climb!
MATT
But...
LINDA
Climb!
Matt starts up, rung after rung. Linda climbs right
behind him.
INT. LABORATORY
The centrifuge spins faster and faster. The vials are
starting to rattle.
INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT
Linda and Matt pull themselves up the ladder as quick as
they can.
MATT
I can't. I'm going to pass out.
LINDA
Keep moving.
He does, through sheer force of will. Blood from his
wound drips down on Linda's face. No telling how much
further they have to go in this darkness. Light leaks in
from the maintenance hatch below.
INT. LABORATORY
The centrifuge's whine has reached a fevered pitch. The
vials shake violently.
Then... one of the vials shatters.
A FLASH OF LIGHT. A HUGE EXPLOSION rips through the
laboratory.
INT. TUNNEL
The EXPLOSION rips through the lab doors. A MASSIVE
FIREBALL rolls down the tunnel swallowing everything in
its path.
One of the phase shifted animals gets caught in the
flames. We see its shape briefly before it disappears In
a wall of fire.
INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT
The ladder begins to shake. The entire shaft begins to
rumble. Linda pushes Matt up as they scramble toward
safety.
INT. EXHAUST VENT
The FIREBALL blows into the vent. Starts rolling down it
also.
INT. TUNNELS
More explosions.
CHAIN REACTIONS. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
THE EXPLOSIONS rolls toward the OPEN ELEVATOR. Slamming
into it... The elevator flies upward.
INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT
The rumbling worsens. The two desperately cling to the
ladder. They looks down to see...
The elevator...
SURROUNDED BY FLAMES flying up toward them, lifted by the
explosion's SHOCK WAVES.
LINDA
Oh God!
MATT
Don't look.
The carriage accelerates toward them, faster and faster.
Its loose cables whip around the shaft, slapping the
walls around the pair. Its gonna hit them! Linda pulls
herself close to the ladder and closes her eyes. She's
pressed against Matt. The elevator... 50 feet... 40 ...
30 ... W0000000SH! It flames RIGHT BY THEM.
When Linda opens her eyes, the elevator is HUNDREDS OF
FEET ABOVE THEM and a wall of fire is below them, closing
in.
LINDA
Move!
Panicked, Linda pushes Matt up the ladder as she stares
down at the rising fire wall. But the fire dissipates
before it hits them, though a stray tongue of flames
reaches up to lick the soles of her feet.
They hear a terrifying moan and looks up to see the
elevator peaking far above her. It slows to a stop and
BEGINS TO FALL.
MATT
It's coming down!
FASTER AND FASTER. Coming back toward them in complete
free- fall. It's emergency brakes clamp down, slowing it.
Metal against metal. Sparks flying. One of the brakes
shears. Then another. The elevator unseats from it's
tracks, SLAMMING against the walls as it TUMBLES. Linda
sees that the elevator is out of control, and watches as
it ping-pongs toward them... smashing into the access
ladder, smashing into the wall. The elevator slows, but
continues slamming side-to-side. Linda cringes as the
elevator crashes into the wall above them. But it jams
there, stopping. They pull their heads away from wall and
look up. The elevator just hangs there, suspended.
There's a small crawlspace between the elevator and the
ladder.
LINDA
C'mon. Before it slips.
They begins to climb up again. Matt shimmies through the
tight hollow, and squeezes out the other side, followed
by Linda. She breathes a sigh of relief and just hangs
there a moment when ... Ah! Something grabs her. A singed
throbbing hand emerges from the darkness, gripping at her
leg.
LINDA (cont'd)
It's him.
She kicks at it and sees a dark dirty face - a swirl of
dirt, grime and smoke with hollow eyes - rise up the
ladder.
MATT
Sebastian, you fuck.
LINDA
Get off me.
Sebastian pulls himself up Linda's body. Translucent
dirty hands paving at the fabric of her clothes. Linda
tries to climb with this thing on her. But Sebastian
grabs her around the neck. She begins choking for breath.
Linda fights to keep her grip on the ladder... She looks
down at the ten foot drop to the elevator and then... She
lets go!
MATT
No!
She and Sebastian plummet through the smoky haze and slam
against the top of the elevator. Linda seems to hover a
few above the elevator, Sebastian's shadowy outline below
her. Matt painfully lowers himself down the ladder. But
metal groans and the elevator drops another five feet.
Linda struggles to her feet. Sebastian rises. A menacing
dark figure stalking toward her. Linda pushes back from
him. Sebastian grabs her by the hair and pulls bar over
to the ladder. The elevator strains and groans.
LINDA
Let go of me.
Sebastian presses her up against the ladder. Presses into
her from behind. He has her trapped. His dirty hand
reaches out and strokes her hair.
SEBASTIAN
Remember the day we met? You were
wearing a red dress and you were so
pretty. Now... Now look at you.
MATT
Get off of her!
Sebastian pulls her hair back and kisses her neck with
his filthy, dirt-smeared mouth and half-burned away face.
MATT (cont'd)
Sebastian, stop it.
Linda and Sebastian struggle. Matt reaches down to try
and grab her, help her.
SEBASTIAN
You fucked it all up.
Linda looks at her feet. The last elevator emergency
brake grips its cable. She grits her tooth and grabs hold
of the ladder.
LINDA
Go to hell.
Linda stamps on the brake release. The ELEVATOR TUMBLES
... along with Sebastian. It slams into the fiery abyss a
hundred yards below. Linda hangs, one hand holding onto
the ladder, the other holding onto Matt. Matt pulls her
back onto the ladder, using all his remaining strength.
EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY
Linda and Matt stumble out into the blazing sunshine.
Emergency crews close from all directions, sirens
roaring. A trail of smoke drifts higher and higher into
the sky.
An ambulance pulls up next to them and the paramedics hop
out, immediately putting a blanket around her and
treating Matt's wounds.
MARINE GUARD
What happened?
LINDA
We lived.
Linda looks over her shoulder at the traces of the ruin
and she sees a shimmer of heat rising from the ground...
almost as if something was there.
FADE OUT: