EPISODE: 4
Specs and Tucker exchange a look. Tucker nods, giving silent
permission.
SPECS
Come on, we wanna show you
something.
INT. READING ROOM, ELISE'S HOUSE - DAY
Specs and Tucker lead Lorraine into Elise's reading room.
SPECS
Do you remember the first time
Elise visited your house, to talk
to Josh when he was a boy?
LORRAINE
I did a lot to try and forget that
part of my life until recently.
SPECS
Elise hypnotized him, and then
asked him a series of questions.
LORRAINE
Yes. I remember.
SPECS
At the end of that session, Josh
said something strange.
Tucker slaps his keyboard and the scene from the 16mm footage
opens up in a viewing window on the screen.
TUCKER
This is the actual footage taken
that night.
Lorraine leans in, scared to watch. In the footage, Young
Josh turns and stares into the corner.
YOUNG JOSH
(on laptop screen)
This door stays locked until I come
out of my shell.
Tucker hits pause and the image freezes.
TUCKER
He was looking at something in the
far corner of the room. I cropped
it and lightened the image.LORRAINE
You're right. It was probably my
imagination after everything. I'm
sorry.
INT. DOOR WAY/LIVING ROOM, ELISE'S HOUSE - MORNING
A knock at the door. Specs opens it to see Lorraine.
LORRAINE
Hello Specs.
SPECS
Hey.
An awkward pause.
LORRAINE
I found out that you guys were
here. Can I come in?
Specs opens the door. Lorraine steps inside.
LORRAINE (CONT'D)
I was usually so happy to walk
through that door. I'd be hearing
that laugh of hers by now. Feels so
empty here without that laugh.
SPECS
Yeah, she liked to laugh. We liked
her because she never laughed at
us. Like everyone else did.
LORRAINE
She was a great human. I'm sorry.
TUCKER
All we're doing right now is trying
to find out who or what killed her.
Lorraine takes a seat on the couch, overwhelmed.
LORRAINE
Whatever it was that killed her...
whatever it was that was haunting
our family...it's not done with us
yet. Last night, I saw something in
my house...a woman. She looked
right at me.
(beat)
It's still happening. It's not
over. I need your help.INT. SPARE BEDROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - MORNING
Renai opens her eyes. She is alone in bed. Josh and Cali are
gone. She glances at the alarm clock - it reads 10:07 AM.
Renai sits upright, listening. Hears voices outside.
INT. KITCHEN, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - MORNING
Renai shuffles through the door.
Through the kitchen window she sees JOSH, playing with Foster
in the backyard. Josh is on his knees, pushing trucks around.
Renai smiles.
Dalton zombie-walks into the kitchen, tired. He sits at the
kitchen table, eyes down. He looks afraid.
RENAI
Morning honey. What do you want for
breakfast?
She kisses the top of his head. He doesn't react.
RENAI (CONT'D)
Come on, it's the weekend. You get
to have whatever you want. Take
advantage of this one-time only
opportunity.
DALTON
I don't care.
Renai turns to him, concerned. Sees the fear on his face.
RENAI
What's wrong, honey?
Still no answer. Renai sits opposite him.
RENAI (CONT'D)
Are you okay?
(beat)
Come on, you can tell me. What's
the matter?
DALTON
I had a bad dream.
A look of real fear ripples across Renai's face. Dalton's bad
dream has far deeper implications after all that's happened.ON THE SCREEN - as Tucker lightens the freeze frame of the
far corner. A FIGURE TAKES SHAPE. Tucker ZOOMS IN.
Lorraine GASPS.
It is JOSH in the present.
Young Josh was speaking to his older self.
Lorraine is weak at the knees. Specs holds up the PHOTO Elise
took before she died - the digital photo of the OLD WOMAN.
SPECS
This is the last photo Elise ever
took, seconds before she was
strangled to death. One would
assume it's a photo of her killer.
LORRAINE
I...don't...what are you saying?
TUCKER
We're saying that, according to
Elise's files, an entity haunted
Josh as a child. An old woman. She
wanted to lure Josh out into the
Further so that she could take over
his body. We believe that while
Josh was hypnotized, searching for
Dalton, she may have finally gotten
what she wanted.
LORRAINE
No...no...it can't...I've spoken to
Josh. Over the last few days. He's
with us.
SPECS
If we're right, that means the real
Josh is still out there.
LORRAINE
What do we do?
TUCKER
There's only one person who can
tell us what to do now.
(beat)
Elise.
LORRAINE
But how do we talk to Elise...
without Elise?DALTON (V.O.)
It was daddy. He was the one in my
room. He was talking to someone.
Josh does not see Dalton. He is talking to another figure,
someone we cannot see or hear - only Josh's responses.
JOSH
Yes...I understand...I will, I
promise.
The figure talking to Josh leans in and whispers something in
Josh's ear. We see that the figure is a woman - THE SAME
WOMAN Lorraine saw.
Josh turns and faces Dalton, eyes burning with rage.
DALTON (V.O.)
Then daddy saw me and he came after
me.
Josh charges down the hallway towards Dalton, a look of fury
etched on his face.
Dalton retreats, scrambling backwards down the hall.
INT. YOUNG JOSH'S BEDROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)
Dalton wakes with a start. It was all a dream.
INT. KITCHEN, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - MORNING - PRESENT
Dalton trembles at the memory.
DALTON
Is there something wrong with
daddy, mom?
RENAI
No. Daddy's fine. He's...just been
through a lot lately. We all have.
(beat)
It was a bad dream, that's all.
She hugs him.
We see on her face, resting on Dalton's shoulder, that all is
not fine with her at all.
She moves to the sink, pouring herself a glass of water. She
glares out at Josh, still playing in the backyard.RENAI
I'm sorry. What did you dream
about?
DALTON
I dreamt that...I was in my bed at
night and Grandma walked in.
INT. YOUNG JOSH'S BEDROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT (DREAM
SEQUENCE)
The bedroom is dark. Foster is fast asleep.
Dalton lies in his bed, eyes open, facing the ceiling.
Lorraine steps inside the room, easing onto the edge of his
bed (we are seeing a repeat of last night's scene).
Dalton stares at her, paralyzed. She leans over and pecks his
arm with a kiss. Seems not to know that Dalton is awake.
LORRAINE
Please don't leave us again.
From Dalton's POV, we see a figure STANDING BEHIND Lorraine,
draped in shadow. Dalton's eyes are FILLED WITH TERROR.
DALTON (V.O.)
I could see someone else in my
room. I told her.
DALTON
There's someone standing behind
you, Grandma.
Lorraine turns her head, flooded with fear. The figure leaves
the room. Lorraine sees that no one is there and then exits
herself.
DALTON (V.O.)
I got up to look for the person who
was in my room.
Dalton creeps out of bed.
INT. CORRIDOR, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT (DREAM SEQUENCE)
Dalton tip-toes down the corridor. A figure stands at the end
of the hall - the same shadow he saw in his room.
Dalton gets nearer, the silhouette sharpening into clarity.
It is JOSH.The wail of a baby crying interrupts.
INT. LIVING ROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - DAY
Renai descends the stairs, entering the living room. Once
again the woman is pacing around in the corner.
The woman steps out of view. Renai approaches. Slowly.
Quietly.
When she reaches the corner where the woman lurked, there is
no sign of her.
All is mute. Though it is daytime, the room is darker.
Renai steps into the center of the living room and we TRACK
AROUND HER. There is no sign of the woman.
We STOP TRACKING AROUND RENAI, seeing her from the back.
For a moment, all we can hear is Renai's breathing --
-- UNTIL A HIDEOUS WOMAN STEPS OUT TO THE SIDE FROM RIGHT IN
FRONT OF RENAI, CLUTCHING A PALE BABY IN ONE ARM!
WOMAN
Don't you dare!
The woman SLAPS Renai across the face with POTENT FORCE.
Renai REELS BACK, stunned, spilling onto the floor. (IT IS
THE WOMAN THAT LORRAINE SAW IN THE HALLWAY).
Renai HOWLS, whipping her head back and SEEING NO ONE. The
woman is gone.
Dalton rushes in, alarmed by her shriek. The back door opens
and Josh barrels inside.
RENAI
I saw one of those things again -
she hit me! She slapped me!
JOSH
Take Dalton outside. Now.
Renai simply sits, too stunned to move.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Dalton, take your mother outside.
RENAI
No, Josh, she hit me, you can'tThis time, as she watches her husband, her smile is gone.
A babies cry lilts into her ears, disrupting the silence.
Renai leaves the kitchen and we TRACK WITH HER into --
INT. CORRIDOR, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
-- the hallway. She plods up the hall, towards the stairs,
passing the entrance to the LIVING ROOM.
Inside the living room, on the far side of the room, we can
see a WOMAN holding a baby, her back to us.
Renai keeps going, not noticing the woman...
...until she hears the warbles of the baby.
Renai HALTS - backing up and glaring into the living room.
She sees the figure pacing, soothing the infant.
RENAI
Cali...
The woman walks past the doorway on the other side of the
living room, no longer in view. Evaporated.
INT. LIVING ROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Renai forges ahead, chest rising and falling. Petrified.
She reaches the arched doorway where the mysterious woman
disappeared.
She stalls for a moment, collecting herself...then strides
through the doorway.
No one is there. The woman is gone. Renai takes off,
streaking through the living room --
INT. STAIRWELL, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
-- and up the stairs --
INT. CALI'S BEDROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - DAY
-- into Cali's room.
Where she finds Cali asleep.He stares helplessly from beyond, a look of terror on his
face.
We PUSH INTO the mirror, so close that we BLEED INTO IT,
entering the reflection itself.
INT. LIVING ROOM, BEYOND MIRROR (THE FURTHER) - CONTINUOUS
A dark world beyond the mirror - The Further version of
Lorraine's living room. Limbs of mist swirl like tentacles.
We circle around the two figures - only now we see the TRUE
versions of them.
Josh has been replaced by an OLD WOMAN. Behind him, we see
the REAL JOSH. He is terrified, dumb founded.
The Old Woman smiles at Josh.
OLD WOMAN
You'll never get back in. The
shadows are your home now.
We keep CIRCLING around Josh, moving through the MIRROR once
more and back into --
INT. LIVING ROOM, LORRAINE'S HOUSE - DAY - CONTINUOUS
-- our world.
The Old Woman appears as Josh, who we will now call POSSESSED
JOSH.
POSSESSED JOSH
I have to go now. Your wife needs
me.
His smile widens and he turns and walks away.
EXT. ELISE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Gloom settles over Elise's house.
INT. READING ROOM, ELISE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Tucker studies the frames of film on his computer. Lorraine
paces.
Specs hunches in the corner, chewing his nails. A light
flickers on near the door, emitting a buzz. A doorbell.JOSH
I can. I'm not afraid of these
things anymore. Go outside.
Dalton scuttles over and aids Renai to her feet. They exit,
leaving Josh all alone.
He ambles into the living room. Eerie quiet envelops him.
A long beat of nothing. Finally:
JOSH (CONT'D)
Are you there?
(beat)
Show yourself.
We CIRCLE AROUND Josh. No response comes forth.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Where are you?
The sound of BREATHING rises - the rasping wheeze of an
asthmatic, whistling through phlegm.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Where are you?
Josh turns, his eyes landing on a PAIR OF FEET, visible below
the lace curve of the curtains. A FIGURE is hiding there.
Josh approaches the figure. He is calm. Stops short, in front
of the curtain. Keeping a safe distance, head bowed.
JOSH (CONT'D)
What do you want?
An EYE peeks out from behind the curtain - a blackened bulb of
despair, glaring at Josh. We hear A VOICE. A whisper dragged
through gravel.
WOMAN
I want you to be a good girl. Kill
them.
JOSH
Yes, mother.
Josh keeps his eyes down. He looks up into the mirror mounted
to the wall above the fireplace.
In it, he sees his own reflection - behind him is another
figure.
IT IS JOSH.....