EPISODE: 7
Suddenly, Renai charges forward, snatching the sketch book.
The drawing is of a hideous form - crouched in the corner of
the ceiling, staring down at Dalton below. It is the RED-
FACED DEMON Lorraine saw earlier.
His naked body is charcoal black...whilst also strangely
translucent, the veins visible underneath the flesh. A
corpulent stomach juts out, as if he were pregnant.
Terrified, Renai flicks on the light --
-- revealing nothing but an ordinary ceiling.
INT. LIVING ROOM, NEW HOUSE - DAY
Elise holds court in the living room.
Renai and Josh hold each other, struggling to comprehend it all.
ELISE
I'm not sure if you are ready to
hear this yet...but unfortunately I
can't waste any time easing you
into it. There is no time left.
She takes a deep breath, preparing herself.
ELISE (CONT'D)
I want you to know that this is
what I believe and it may
contradict a previous medical
diagnosis. However, you called me
here and I am taking that as an
acceptance of my readings.
RENAI
Go on.
ELISE
Your son...is not in a coma. His
physical body is here, but his
spiritual body is not.
(beat)
The reason these disturbances
followed you to a new home is
because...it is not the house that
is haunted. It is your son.
This is too much for Josh. Renai, however, wants to listen.
RENAI
I don't understand. Elise considers what she is about to say carefully.
ELISE
Have you ever heard of astral
projection?
RENAI
Out of body experiences?
Elise nods.
ELISE
I call them travellers. These are
people with the ability to leave
their physical body and travel to
different places in an astral form.
To some degree, we all have the
ability to do it...but most of us
subconsciously suppress it or don't
know how to access it.
Josh shakes his head, agitated. Renai leans forward,
desperate for an answer to her terror.
ELISE (CONT'D)
Dalton is...a very accomplished
astral projector. He has been since
he was very young. He's not afraid
of his ability. And that lack of
fear has led him to travel too far
and become lost...
RENAI
Lost? Lost where?
Elise gazes up at the ceiling, as if looking into another world.
ELISE
In The Further.
RENAI
What do you mean?
ELISE
The Further is that place beyond our
perception, beyond our understanding
of the physical world that we can see
and touch. It is a place without
clocks or measurements, without past
or future...an infinite realm that
holds all of our dreams...and all of
our nightmares.
She turns to look at them. ELISE (CONT'D)
That is where Dalton is.
Renai cries, unprepared for what she is hearing.
ELISE (CONT'D)
The problem is that with his astral
body gone, he has left a physical
body with us. An empty vessel.
Josh can't meet her gaze.
ELISE (CONT'D)
And there are entities that know
this. They can smell it - the
chance to live again. That is why
they have gathered around him.
RENAI
How many are there?
ELISE
There are five benevolent spirits.
Five different entities for whom
Dalton has become a most prized
possession. They are trying to get
inside his physical body...and they
get closer with each passing day.
Her words hang in the air like gunsmoke. Pure fear courses
through Josh's eyes. He fidgets, agitated.
ELISE (CONT'D)
Then there are two entities who
are...not benevolent. One of them
takes the form of a man, the
other...
She holds up the drawing that Specs di.
ELISE (CONT'D)
They work together, so desperate
are they to possess Dalton. They
are the closest of all the entities
to getting inside him.
(beat)
I don't want to scare you, but I
have never, in all my years of
doing this, experienced anything as
terrifying as their presence.
RENAI
Is there a way to bring Dalton back? ELISE
There is something we could try. A
way of calling him back. I would
need your complete trust.
Josh can't take it any more. He stands up.
JOSH
No. No. This has gone too far.
RENAI
You said that you'd give her a chance!
JOSH
I have given her a chance, and I
did that because I wanted to help
you. But I cannot have somebody
telling us that the reason our son
is in a coma is because his soul is
floating off somewhere in another
dimension.
ELISE
I know this is hard to hear.
JOSH
No, it's not fair is what it is.
You're preying on people's grief and
vulnerability, which is really easy
to do in a situation like this.
RENAI
Why did we go to all the trouble of
bringing them here if you're just
going to reject what they say?
JOSH
Because I wanted to help you. To
put your mind at ease, and if this
helped, then great. But to drag
Dalton into this? No.
RENAI
Josh, you're not being fair...
JOSH
Fair? How did the voice of reason
become the bad guy here? Don't you
see? You want to believe. Of course
you do, honey, anybody would.
The room goes quiet. Josh turns to Elise.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Look, I appreciate what you're
trying to do. I really do. But I
think it's dangerous to start
throwing out false hope like this.
I have to put my foot down. My wife
is not...mentally well at the
moment, and I have to keep at least
one of her feet here in the real
world.
RENAI
You never believed me...
JOSH
Honey, I'm on your side. But I
genuinely think this is dangerous
and frankly, a little exploitative.
He turns to Elise, Specs and Tucker.
JOSH (CONT'D)
You come into a home with a
seriously ill child, you make a
tenuous connection between him and
these experiences Renai is having
and viola - the client starts
crying because they're desperate to
believe, the tears validate your
power, thank you, that'll be six
hundred dollars please.
SPECS
We reject more cases than we take.
We're not out for money, sir.
JOSH
I know, I know...look, I appreciate
your interest and your time. I do.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
He goes to the front door, opening it.
ELISE
I completely understand. And I
honestly don't blame you for
reacting like this.
She walks to the door, followed by Specs and Tucker, who
sling their bags over their shoulders sheepishly.
RENAI
No, please...don't go. ELISE
Thank you for your time.
They exit. The door closes. They are gone.
INT. MASTER BEDROOM, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT
Renai lies in bed, awake...a broken shell of her former self.
A bottle of anti-depressants sits on the bedside table.
Josh enters the bedroom. Sits down beside her.
JOSH
Look at me for a second, honey.
(beat)
Look at me.
She doesn't look up.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Did you really believe what she
said? In your heart of hearts, did
you actually take what she was
saying literally?
A long beat of silence passes.
RENAI
I don't know...
JOSH
Do you think I don't want to
believe in that stuff? Of course I
do. It would make life a lot easier
if I did. If I believed that some
supernatural force was responsible
for what's happened to our son...
RENAI
I don't believe anything anymore,
Josh. I used to. I used to believe
that I could keep my children safe.
I used to believe everything would
be okay. To believe in something,
you have to know it to be true.
She turns and looks at him.
RENAI (CONT'D)
The things that have happened to me
haven't confirmed any beliefs -
they've done the opposite. They've
made me question what I believe Renai ( cout,d ) They've made me realize that maybe
we don't know as much as we think
we do.
Josh paces, at his wits end.
RENAI (CONT'D)
You ask me if I believe what she
said to be true and the answer is I
don't know. But let me ask you this
- in your heart of hearts, can you
say for certain that it isn't?
INT. MASTER BEDROOM, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT
Josh lies beside Renai, who is sleeping. He is wide awake,
staring at the ceiling.
He gets out of bed.
INT. DALTON'S BEDROOM, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT
The door opens.
All is mute as Josh enters, skulking carefully through the
darkness.
The curtains lull in the slightest of breezes.
Josh stands over Dalton.
He stares down at his sons body, then lets his gaze drift
around the room...past the CLOSET, past the DRAWINGS pinned
to the wall and the TOYBOX...all the way to the CORNER of the
ceiling that Elise was so frightened of. Josh's eyes drill
into the shadows.
Is there something waiting there?
Finally, Josh sits down beside Dalton. He grips his sons hand.
JOSH
Where are you? Where did you go?
(beat)
Can you hear me? I'm begging you to
show me that you can hear me...I
don't know how to help you. Please
tell me what to do.
Josh's torment fills the air...but Dalton doesn't move. JOSH (CONT'D)
Please God, please help me...give
me my son back. I will do anything
just to have him back.
Josh studies Dalton's face for a response. Nothing. Not a
twitch. He collapses forward onto Dalton. Holding him tight.
JOSH (CONT'D)
I need him back. I need him to show
me that he can hear me. Please...
For a moment, all we can hear is Josh's breathing.
Then...something happens. Something Josh doesn't see.
Dalton's face twitches. It is a very slight movement. This
movement is followed by something that is hard to miss--
One of the tacks pinning one of Dalton's drawings to the wall
begins to wind loose.
It pops free, shooting across the room like a kernel of
popcorn...followed by another tack.
The second tack lands in Josh's lap. Puzzled, he picks it up,
examining it. He looks up, his eye drawn to the picture on
the wall.
With total astonishment, he sees the two remaining tacks
works themselves free, popping out of the wall.
The drawing floats down to the ground.
Josh stoops down, picking it up.
It is a drawing split into two halves. The left half is a
self portrait of Dalton, lying in bed, looking down from
above.
The right half is a depiction of outer space - squiggly stars
and bloated planets.
Dalton has drawn another version of himself on this side,
flying above the house with another man.
At the bottom of the first drawing, Dalton has written 'Last
night I watched myself sleep'.
A tear falls down Josh's face. He begins to cry. Deep and
painful tears he has long pent up.
Beneath the second drawing, Dalton has written 'Then I flew away.' INT. MASTER BEDROOM, NEW HOUSE - EARLY MORNING
Renai's eyes flutter open. She glances over. No one is there.
INT. KITCHEN, NEW HOUSE - EARLY MORNING
Renai shuffles into the kitchen.
Josh is sitting at the kitchen table, staring at Dalton's
drawing. He hasn't slept and looks it. He looks up at her.
JOSH
Okay.
Renai approaches Josh and they hug...holding on for dear life.
EXT. NEW HOUSE - NIGHT
The Lambert house is lit from within. Like a Jack-O-Lantern.
INT. DALTON'S ROOM - NIGHT
Action stations.
Tucker sets up two stills camera's around Dalton's room,
zipping back and forth between the two tripods. Specs opens
up a kit, taking out his notepad and a pencil.
A small, circular table has been set up, adjacent to Dalton's
bed. Elise sits at the table, flanked on either side by Josh
and Renai.
ELISE
What's most important is that you
realize no two attempts are the
same. I will be completely honest
with you about the results, and if
no dialogue is established, I will
tell you. I am not in the business
of embellishing success. What
happens, happens.
Josh and Renai nod grimly, truly out of their depth.
ELISE (CONT'D)
Forget the limits and laws and logic
of this world. We are treading in a
different place now.
Tucker finally sets his cameras and takes a seat in the corner,
holding up a HAND-HELD VIDEO CAMERA. TUCKER
These still cameras are rigged to
pick up changes in the atmosphere,
electrical or temperature-wise. Don't
be alarmed if they go off.
ELISE
Everything I say while I am in tune
will be at a very low volume, so
you won't hear any of it. Steven
will write it down and repeat it
for you.
Specs waits obediently at her side.
ELISE (CONT'D)
Hold on to each other, and stay
focused. You'll see things you
don't understand. Confusing things.
Do not question them or speak in
any way.
She turns to Specs.
ELISE (CONT'D)
Dim the lights please.
Tucker reaches up and dims the lights to a very low level.
Elise closes her eyes, concentrating. She relaxes her head,
as if meditating, letting it loll on her shoulders.
One of the cameras on the tripod goes off, bathing the room
in white light for a split second.
Elise inhales and exhales deeply, slipping away. Soon, she is
very still.
Specs nods to Tucker silently, then produces an odd looking
device made from GREY CLOTH.
It almost resembles a gas mask from World War 1, with a cone
shaped muzzle that fits over the mouth and nose. The snout of
the facemask is like an elongated elephant trunk, coiling
outwards and ending in an old listening device, like an early
version of a microphone.
Specs slips two hooks over Elise's ears and gently places the
device over her nose and mouth. He then takes a seat next to
her, behind Renai, who holds Elise's hand.
Specs takes out his notepad and fixes a small apparatus
around his neck that holds a flashlight in place. He flicks it on, then holds the microphone end of Elise's
facemask up to his ear, a pencil gripped in the other hand.
Dead silence descends over the group like a blanket.
Then, we hear something lilt through the old microphone. It
is Elise's muttered whispers. Specs begins writing.
Renai opens her eyes to peek at what he is scribbling in
cursive.
we are calling out to you dalton
Renai grips Josh's hand tightly.
SPECS
We are calling out to you Dalton.
tell us that you are safe tell us where you are
SPECS (CONT'D)
Tell us that you are safe. Tell us
where you are.
For what seems like an eternity, all is quiet and still...
...until Elise's eyelids flutter.
Another unintelligible whisper drifts out of the microphone
at Specs' ear. He writes.
who's there?
SPECS (CONT'D)
Who's there?
it is your mother and father we have been
looking for you
SPECS (CONT'D)
It is your mother and father. We
have been looking for you.
Long pause. Specs writes again, more intense this time.
i need help i can't see in here
SPECS (CONT'D)
I need help...I can't see in here.....