EPISODE: 8

follow my voice dalton come back to us

SPECS (CONT'D)

Follow my voice Dalton. Come back

to us.

Another long pause. A little too long.

Why aren't you talking anymore dalton?

SPECS (CONT'D)

Why aren't you talking anymore

Dalton?

A long beat. Tucker's camera flash goes off again.

if they hear me they'll hurt me

SPECS (CONT'D)

If they hear me, they'll hurt me.

who will hurt you?

SPECS (CONT'D)

Who will hurt you?

the man with fire on his face

SPECS (CONT'D)

The man with fire on his face.

can you find your way back to us?

SPECS (CONT'D)

Can you find your way back to us?

there is no way out

SPECS (CONT'D)

There is no way out.

follow my voice dalton

SPECS (CONT'D)

Follow my voice Dalton.

be quiet they'll hear you SPECS (CONT'D)

Be quiet, they'll hear you.

they won't hear you just follow my voice

SPECS (CONT'D)

They won't hear you, just follow my

voice.

they are coming they heard you help me

helpme mom and dad please save me please

come and get mepleasecomeandgetmecome

Elise's head TWITCHES as Specs' writes furiously, trying to

keep up. His pencil finally SNAPS. He snatches up another.

dalton are you there? dalton?

An agonizing ocean of silence...then this furious scrawl:

listen to me you filthy whore he isnt here

you should not have come here you fucking

bitch i will rip your cunt apart and eat the

fucking innards that spill forth from it i

haveseenyouiknowwhoyouarebutyouandthe

Specs writing begins to SHRED the paper as he writes

furiously, the scrawl getting out of control. Sweat flies

from his forehead as he struggles to get it all down.

Suddenly a PIERCING SCREAM blasts through the microphone and

he jerks it away from his ear - then looks over at Elise.

With UTTER DREAD, he sees that she is NO LONGER WEARING THE

MASK. She has taken it off and is panting heavily.

The scream continues through the mic, audible to

everyone...then peters out.

Shocked silence follows.

Josh glances over at Dalton's bed.

He is not in it. Stunned, Josh turns back to the table--

--TO SEE DALTON SITTING NEXT TO HIM. STARING AT HIM.

His heart leaps out of his skin and so does Renai's as they

both turn towards Dalton. Their son.

Dalton stares at them...not a trace of emotion on his face.

Then he reaches up and grips his bottom jaw with both hands,

wrenching it downwards with almighty force and BREAKING HIS

OWN JAW.

Renai SCREAMS into the abyss as Dalton BELLOWS at them, spit

flying from his throat, his tongue hanging down over his

dislocated jaw.

He stamps his foot and the table - and everyone sitting at

it, Renai, Josh and Elise - go flying backwards as if pushed

by a hurricane, smashing into the wall with crushing power.

We realize that Dalton was not sitting at the table, but

squatting down awkwardly. Painfully.

He stands up, then steps forward. As Josh and Renai watch,

his KNEE begins to BEND BACKWARDS, the tendons stretching and

snapping, the knee bending in the opposite direction.

His other knee follows and he steps forward - both knees

bending back.

Specs is rigid in his chair, rooted to the spot, notepad

still in hand. When he looks up at Dalton, the flashlight

under his chin shines in Dalton's eyes.

Dalton ROARS and advances forward - SLAPPING Specs with the

force of ten men. Specs reels backwards, hitting the wall,

smashing his head and crumpling like paper.

Elise stands to face Dalton. The CAMERA FLASH goes off again,

lighting the darkened room for a split second and showing

Elise the lipstick-smeared face of a demon instead of

Dalton's face.

Tucker SHRINKS BACK as he captures all this with the video camera.

Dalton steps forward again and Elise CHARGES at him, grabbing

Dalton by the hair.

ELISE

Leave this vessel! Leave this vessel!

Dalton BELLOWS again - a howl so course and ungodly that it

seems ripped straight from the bowels of Lucifer himself. ELISE (CONT'D)

LEAVE THIS VESSEL!

Dalton FLIES backwards, hitting the corner of the wall and

then CLIMBING IT, arcing his body into the far corner of the

ceiling like an expert contortionist.

He hisses at them as the CAMERA FLASH fires AGAIN AND AGAIN,

showing them split second frames of the red faced CREATURE.

ELISE (CONT'D)

Leave this earthly body!

Dalton shrieks again and somehow the force of the cry knocks

Elise down.

The room begins to shake.

Books fly.

The closet doors burst open.

With terror, Elise looks over and sees several figures

peering out from within the closet.

Two are the women that Specs' drew. Another is a small man,

dressed like a child.

They stare out at Elise, their eyes glinting in the dark.

Elise turns to see Josh. The camera flash STROBES repeatedly

and gives us split-second glimpses of an OLD WOMAN, dressed

in Victorian era garb - standing directly behind Josh.

And then, with absolute fear, Renai sees the LONG HAIRED MAN

standing over her. He SCREAMS at her and pushes her against

the wall, licking her. She cries out, terrified.

With the spirit world, crashing in around her, Elise pulls

herself off the floor and yells again.

ELISE (CONT'D)

Leave his body!

Dalton suddenly SPASMS, dropping out of the corner and

hitting the floor like a rag doll dropped off a bridge.

ELISE (CONT'D)

The lights!

Terrified, Specs' scrambles over to the corner, flicking the

light switch. The room is instantly flooded with light.

The room has stopped shaking. The screaming has stopped. RENAI

Dalton!

Renai wrenches herself across the carpet and reaches Dalton's

limp body.

RENAI (CONT'D)

Dalton! Dalton!

She listens for breathing. His chest moves. He is still

breathing. She holds him and cries. More desperate than ever.

INT. KITCHEN, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT

Tucker, Specs and Elise convene in the kitchen, slumped

amongst the boxes for the tech gear. All are in shock.

SPECS

I feel like a mountain climber

who's been waiting his whole life

to climb Everest, and now that I'm

standing on the summit, I don't

know what to do with myself...

TUCKER

I'll tell you what we do with

ourselves. We make a short list of

our preferred media outlets, that's

what.

He holds up his video camera.

TUCKER (CONT'D)

Watch this.

He hits play on a monitor that his video camera is cabled to.

Chaotic images of Dalton from the previous scene SPIT to life.

BEHIND DALTON, we can just make out the blurry image of the

RED-FACED DEMON. Puppeteering Dalton from behind. Controlling

his limbs like a human marionette.

SPECS

Oh my God...

TUCKER

After all the years we've been

dining out on morsels like a faucet

that turns itself on and off...we

finally have some empirical

evidence of the real thing. Proof.

He hits pause on the video, freeze-framing the hellish image. ELISE

Proof? Proof of what? Nine tenths

of the world believes that when you

die, your soul ascends to sit with

God. Would you be telling them

something they didn't already know?

TUCKER

That is so not the point. This is not

about religion. Here we have

irrefutable evidence of a paranormal

experience. Our job is to share it.

ELISE

No, our job is not to alert the press

and prove the existence of the

'paranormal', as you call it. I'm not

out to prove anything. I've known

there was a higher plane ever since I

was a little girl and I could play

hopscotch with people whose names

were inscribed on tombstones. What

you call paranormal is a fact of life

for me.

(beat)

Our job is to help people. The

least we can do is spare them the

indignity of Sixty Minutes.

She snatches his camera away from him and stands up.

TUCKER

Yeah, until they get their book

deal...then you'll wish you'd listened.

ELISE

No, I won't, Tucker. I'll just be

proud of you. You two stared down

something that would crush most

mortals tonight and you stood tall.

They manage a smile.

SPECS

So what do we do now?

ELISE

We answer the door.

SPECS

What do you mean?

There is a knock at the front door. INT. LIVING ROOM, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT

Josh sits with Renai's head in his lap. She is too

traumatized to speak. Rain dribbles down the window pane.

Josh gets up when he hears the knock at the door. Elise

shuffles over to answer it.

She opens the door to reveal Lorraine, wet from the downpour.

Elise steps aside and Lorraine walks in, gravely sedate.

JOSH

Mom...what are you doing here?

ELISE

I asked your mother to come over. I

called her immediately after...the

session. I told her to hurry over.

JOSH

Why?

Lorraine's usual strong will has evaporated. She looks to Elise.

ELISE

There is something we must talk

about. Sit down, Lorraine.

Lorraine follows orders, easing onto the sofa. Eyes down.

Thunder growls in the distance.

ELISE (CONT'D)

Go on. Tell him.

JOSH

Tell me what?

Lorraine swallows and starts talking.

LORRAINE

The reason...I knew to call Elise

in this situation...the reason I

know her so well...is because I

called her myself once. Years ago.

She looks up at Josh.

LORRAINE (CONT'D)

To help you, Josh.

JOSH

What are you talking about? Lorraine can't go on. Elise steps in.

ELISE

It's no accident that your son is

such a gifted traveller. The

ability was handed down to him.

(beat)

By his father.

FLASHCUT TO:

INT. DARKENED BEDROOM - NIGHT - FLASHBACK

We have returned to the opening scene.

We are looking down on a sleeping child. Chest rising and

falling with each breath.

This is JOSH as a child.

We move away from him, exploring the dark room.

FLASHCUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT - PRESENT

Tucker and Specs enter the room, lingering at the back.

JOSH

No...I've never...done that before.

LORRAINE

When you were about eight...you

suffered night terrors. Awful fits

of pure fear. You were terrified of

an old woman who you said would

come to visit you at night.

FLASHCUT TO:

INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT - FLASHBACK

Again we return to the opening scene...floating down a long

hallway.

A window at the end of the hall enlarges as we approach.

Someone is standing in front of it. The murky silhouette of the figure turns and walks away. We

follow it, tentative. Turning a corner, we see the figure.

Standing in a doorway.

Now we can make out the edges of the figure. It is an old

woman. Hair in a Victorian bun. A corseted dress.

IT IS THE SAME OLD WOMAN THAT ELISE SAW.

OLD WOMAN

Let me in.

FLASHCUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM, NEW HOUSE - NIGHT

Lorraine closes her eyes, struggling to go on.

LORRAINE

I dismissed your stories. Told you

to grow up.

(beat)

Then I saw her for myself.

She looks to Elise, who nods.

Hand trembling, Lorraine retrieves a packet from within her

coat. The paper is yellowing. Faded. Soaked from the rain.

Lorraine hands the packet to Josh, who is dumbfounded.

Renai peers over Josh's shoulder, at a Polaroid of a boy,

about nine years old, sitting on a couch. Early 70s period.

It is a Young Josh. Behind him is the BLURRED OUTLINE OF A

FIGURE.

Josh runs his finger over the shadow. His heart rate speeds

up. An old memory is coming back to him.

LORRAINE (CONT'D)

At first, I thought it was a camera

problem. Then I saw her again.

Josh flips to the next photo - it is another faded frame of

Josh as a youngster. This time he stands in an old kitchen.

Once again, there is a figure behind him - clearer this time,

but still hidden in silhouette. A step closer to Josh.

Josh flips to the next picture. A BLACK AND WHITE shot of

himself as a young boy, lying in bed....