Episode 8
Roger drives up to the house, has the girls with him.
His headlights drag over the Warren's parked car.
He pulls to a stop. As he and the kids get out, he
notices the barn door is open. Light on. He heads for
it as the girls continue to the house.
CUT TO:
INT. BARN - RIGHT AFTER
Roger walks in to find Ed working on the pickup. The
front's been jacked back up. There are two pieces of
firewood lodged under the front axle for extra stability.
He's up to his elbows in grease as he packs the bearings.
ED
I noticed you didn't finish the
bearings. Hope you don't mind --
just looking for something to do.
ROGER
Not at all.
ED
Got anymore more grease?
ROGER
Yeah.
Roger walks over to the work bench. Opens a cabinet
above it and grabs a can from a shelf. Pops it open as
he heads over to Ed and hands it to him.
ED
Thanks.
Roger grabs a nearby wooden crate. Takes a seat on it.
Watches Ed work.
ROGER
Carolyn told me you going to be a
priest --
Ed ponders for a moment -- does he want to share this?
ED
That was the plan -- but when I
got to my Ordination, I started
having my doubts, and realized I
wasn't going to be good enough, I
don't have the strength they need.
So I gave it up.
Roger takes a beat.
ROGER
I could scratch my head 'til I'm
bald and never figure out why you
do what you doED
Remember as a kid being afraid to
hang your hand off the edge of
your bed because you thought
something underneath was going to
grab it?
Roger nods somewhat skeptically.
ED (cont'd)
Well... mine got grabbed.
As Ed throws more grease on the bearings --
ED (cont'd)
Something yanked me to the floor.
It was too dark to see under the
bed, but I ran my ass out of that
room as fast as I could. My dad
didn't believe me, so he dragged
me back in there and told me I had
to face my fears. I buried myself
under the covers, scared to death
cause I could still hear it under
my bed. Then I remembered what a
nun had told me in catechism, "God
will be there for all who need.
He is your protector." So I
grabbed my Davy Crockett knife
from my nightstand and got off the
bed and told whatever was under
there that God was going to kick
its ass if it didn't leave. I
just kept saying it over and over -
- and it finally went away. Never
came back.
Ed looks back to Roger --
ED (cont'd)
It was the best thing my dad ever
did for me. I put my faith in God
every day after that, and have
been checking under beds ever
since.
Ed finishes packing the bearings. Caps it.
O.C. They hear the crunch of gravel under car tires.
Roger looks out the barn to see Jerome and Bruce pulling
up in Jerome's van.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. KITCHEN - LATER
Bruce enters, carrying a coffee mug. Yawns. A CLOCK ON
THE COUNTER reads: 3:10 AM. He sets the mug on the
counter next to a coffee pot, pours himself another cup.
Goes to the fridge, and takes out a milk carton from the
top shelf, closes the door.Sets it next to his coffee cup on the counter, then turns
to a shelf above the sink for the sugar. As he's
reaching for it --
A LOUD BANG echoes as the fridge door is SLAMMED SHUT.
Bruce spins -- looks to it, startled and confused as he's
the only one in the kitchen, then --
-- he sees that the milk carton is no longer next to his
coffee cup.
A DRIPPING NOISE draws his attention back to the fridge,
where milk is now seeping out of it onto the floor.
Bruce slowly moves over to it. Hesitates a beat, then
opens the fridge. The milk carton is back on the top
shelf, but it's been SMASHED completely flat, its
contents spilling down the interior.
CUT TO:
INT. LIVING ROOM - RIGHT AFTER
Bruce enters. Looks to Ed, Lorraine, Carolyn and Roger,
who are seated on the sofas -- his demeanor, as well as
the look on his face, drawing their attention -- Jerome
looks over from the monitors.
BRUCE
There's a -- um, something going
on in the kitchen. The milk
carton moved.
CUT TO:
INT. PERRON HOUSE - KITCHEN - RIGHT AFTER
Bruce follows Lorraine, Ed and Jerome into the kitchen.
Looks to the fridge -- no milk is dripping. In fact,
there's not even any milk on the floor.
Bruce whips a glance to the counter, and there sitting
next to Bruce's coffee mug, is the carton of milk, right
where he set it the first time.
BRUCE
I swear, the carton wasn't there,
it was back in the fridge, and
smashed, milk was everywhere.
JEROME
(entertained)
Probably just a draft -- I love
moments like this.
BRUCE
Alright, I get it.
As Lorraine follows Ed and Jerome out of the kitchen,
Bruce lays a gentle hand on her shoulder, stopping her.BRUCE (cont'd)
Can I talk to you for a sec?
She turns.
LORRAINE
Sure.
The others continue out. Bruce takes a beat, then --
BRUCE
You were right earlier about the
baseball. The J and R were for
Jackie Robinson. When I was ten,
my dad took me to the World
Series, Yankees and Dodgers -- two
dollar seats, left field. Jackie
Robinson hit the winning home run,
and my dad caught it -- handed it
right to me -- best day of my
life.
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY - SAME
CU on the EFD METER on the camera tripod in the hallway.
The needle begins to bounce past 1.7 Megahertz -- then
SLAMS to the outer edge of the range to 10.
The camera begins to FLASH repeatedly, the CLICK CLICK
CLICK sound of the motor drive blending with the popping
of the FLASH.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - SAME
The SUDDEN FLASHES from the hallway pulls Lorraine and
Bruce's attention back out the kitchen door --
Lorraine quickly moves out into the hallway to see --
INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
-- Another FLASH popping from the camera set up in the
hall. Ed and Jerome, who have stopped at the bottom of
the stairs, have their eyes glued on it as well.
-- A second later, the CAMERA positioned at the top of
the stairs starts flashing.
ED
It's moving upstairs.
Ed moves quickly into thehere he joins Carolyn and Roger, who have their eyes
glued the MONITOR as the camera keeps strobing through
the dark hallway. Lorraine, Bruce and Jerome come up
right behind him --
CAROLYN
Oh my God.
They look to the monitor showing Cindy's room. As she
and Andrea sleep peacefully, THEIR BREATHS are FREEZING
ON EXHALE.
JEROME
That's gotta be one of the fastest
temp drops I've ever seen.
CUT TO:
INT. CINDY'S ROOM - SAME
The CAMERA IN THE CLOSET starts FLASHING, strobing the
room with bursting with white light. The girls start to
stir.
Intercut -
It's really hard for Roger to stay still --
Cindy's eyes pop open -- she sits up. Freaks as the
intermittent light gives her staccato glances of
something staring in at her through the window --
-- it's the beast she saw before as a shadow. She
SCREAMS!
Andrea bolts upright in fear, then --
THE LOUD, ECHOING SOUND OF A SLIDE-BOLT CLOSING OVER AND
OVER, joins the mayhem -- it's coming from the closet.
Roger can't stand it -- takes off out of the room --
The SLIDE BOLT NOISE suddenly stops -- along with the
FLASHES, casting the room back into darkness.
The girls dash out the bedroom door into the hallway just
as Roger gets there, both folding into his arms.
The CAMERA at the end of the hallway STROBES A FLASH --
the girls scream again, fearful of what they can't see.
INT. HOUSE - STAIRS - SAME
Ed is heading up as the camera at the top, pops off
another FLASH. A second later --
-- the CAMERA in the downstairs hallway FLASHES, drawing
Ed's attention back down the stairs.He waits for more flashes, but nothing happens. Lorraine
steps out of the living room and looks up to him --
ED
Whatever it is, it came back down.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT
Roger is holding Andrea in his arms, sitting on the edge
of the bed, while Carolyn is latched onto Cindy, cuddled
on the other side. He looks to her --
ROGER
Hey...
Her eyes meet his. He tries to say something, but can't
find the words --
CAROLYN
...It's okay.
CUT TO:
INT. CINDY'S ROOM - CLOSET - RIGHT AFTER
Bruce is filming Jerome, who is holding an EFD out front
of him as he slowly moves about the closet. He pushes
clothing aside to get closer to the wall behind. Ed is
at the entrance, unloading film from the camera on the
tripod. Lorraine watches.
Jerome pulls the EFD away from the wall --
JEROME
I'm not getting anything.
Roger joins the group.
LORRAINE
How are the girls?
ROGER
Better.
Ed looks to Roger.
ED
They said that bolting noise
definitely came from in here?
ROGER
...Yeah.
ED
Is there anything behind this
wall?
Ed knuckle taps the panel