ERIC MINER, (28), very fit and attractive, sits in the
driver’s seat with one hand on the wheel and a cellphone
pressed to his ear with his other hand.
In the passenger seat is GWEN JONES, (28), a voluptuous
blonde with a perfect smile. She watches through her window
as dark woods blur by.
ERIC
Hello? Amy?
He pulls the cellphone from his ear, looks at it.
GWEN
You lose the signal?
ERIC
No. I’ve got full bars here. Must
be on her end.
In the backseat are HALEY KING, (28), pale and petite artsy-
type, and JACKIE MILLER ,(29), an edgy bad-boy dressed in all
black, who appears to be asleep.
Haley leans forward, holds up a small digital camera and
snaps a picture of Eric and Gwen.
HALEY
(sarcastic)
Are we there yet?
Eric scoffs, keeps his eyes on the road.
ERIC
That’s never annoying.
Gwen and Haley exchange grins.
Eric shakes his head.
Haley leans back, looks over at Jackie, who sits with his
head leaned back and his eyes closed. She holds up her
camera, snaps a picture of him.
10.10.
Jackie opens one of his eyes, smirks at Haley.
A wide circle of lit torches brighten the area. Animal bones
are scattered between the torches.
In the center of the massive circle stands LON WHITMORE,
(62), a mean looking, skinny old bastard. He leans on a cane
that appears to have been carved from bone.
He’s dressed in a red hooded robe.
Lon looks to the moon, lets out an annoyed grunt.
LON
This is a disaster.
Approaching FOOTSTEPS draws his attention. He turns to see --
Sara dragging a barely conscious Otis out of the woods by his
arms. She forces him into the center of the circle.
Otis drops to his knees before Lon.
SARA
(with a smirk)
He ain’t running away again.
Otis sobs as he cowers before his father.
Lon looks down at Otis, disgusted. He turns to Sara, seethes
with anger.
LON
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Are you brain dead? Or are you
actually trying to fuck this up!?
Sara cowardly lowers her head, can't bring herself to look
Lon in the eyes.
SARA
Cut me some slack, Lon. He’s still
alive. Hell, he’s even still awake.
Lon glares at Sara.
LON
You wanna swallow your fuckin’
teeth, girl?
Sara bites her tongue, shakes her head.
11.11.
LON
Yeah. That’s what I thought.
Confused, Sara glances around.
SARA
Hey, wait? Where’s my Pa at!?
LON
Fuck if I know. The fool ain’t
here, and we ain’t waiting for him.
Lon kneels next to Otis, caresses his son’s trembling cheek
with the back of his hand.
LON
Otis... Son... I’ve always told
you... You are special. You were
born with an amazing purpose.
He grabs a hold of the bloody rag lodged in Otis' mouth,
yanks it out. Blood pours down his chin as he coughs up a
handful of shattered teeth.
Lon rises to her feet, rubs blood onto his forehead, then
holds the rag out to Sara.
LON
(to Otis)
This is your purpose. Your innocent
blood... In exchange for passage.
Sara grabs the rag, smears blood on her forehead, then hands
it back to Lon.
Otis looks up at his father, terrified and bewildered. He
opens his bloody mouth to speak, but only a pathetic, garbled
mumble comes out.
OTIS
(barely intelligible)
P-passage!?
Lon smiles down at his son.
LON
Passage to somewhere better. Thanks
to you.
With his cane held before him, Lon steps up to Otis. He tilts
his head skyward, looks at the moon.
12.12.
LON
Finally!... We can complete the
Potem!
Sara grins, so excited she can barely contain it.
She steps back, watches Lon with wonder in her eyes.
LON
Finally...
Lon’s eyes fall until they meet Otis'. An evil smile forms on
his face as he reaches out with the bloody rag and draws a
crude infinity sign on Otis' pale, sweaty forehead.
LON (CONT’D)
Transcendence!
He unsheathes a hidden ritualistic dagger from the top of his
cane, then thrusts the dagger deep into Otis’ heart!
Lon rips the blade out of Otis’ chest.
A fountain of blood erupts out of the savage wound as Otis
falls back to the ground.
More blood pumps out of the wide-eyed young man. Dark red
human juice leaks out and spreads like it has a mind of its
own, forms a bloody circle on the ground.
Otis seizes. He gasps for air as the life leaves his body.
Sara flashes an excited grin.
Lon takes a moment to look at Otis’ corpse, then points the
ritualistic dagger to the sky. Crimson moonlight gleams off
the blade.
Dead silence.
Lon holds his position for a long, awkward beat.
SARA
Did it work?
LON
Wait.
Sara steps forward, shoots a look of confusion up at the
blood moon. She turns to Lon, frustrated.
SARA
What the Hell!? Why aren’t we
gettin’ beamed up or somethin’!?
(MORE)(MORE)
13.13.
SARASARA (CONT(CONT’’D)D)
We did everything right! Ain’t no
one more innocent or pure than
Otis! We made damn sure of that! I
know we --
With the dagger still held toward the blood moon, Lon holds a
finger up, silences Sara.
LON
Shut up!
The blood circle begins to shimmer red light, which Otis’
body absorbs. Thick red fog seeps out from the ground,
quickly engulfs Otis’ corpse.
Lon takes a cautious step back while Sara stands and stares,
awe-struck.
SARA
What’s happening!? What is this!?
A strange red light flashes from within the fog.
Sara stares at it, curious.
Discretely, Lon takes another step backwards.
SARA
(under her breath)
Is this it?
Then, Otis’ corpse swiftly rises out of the fog, almost as if
it were lifted up by an invisible puppeteer. His dead eyes
pop open. Claw-like bones push out through his fingertips.
Sara falls back on her ass, lets out a surprised shriek.
She stares with wide-eyed disbelief at the corpse that stands
only a few feet from her.
SARA
Otis?
Very slowly, Otis shakes his head. “No.”
Sara shudders.
Otis’ lips curl into a slight grin.
With a sudden burst of excitement, Sara rushes right up to
Otis. She smiles wide.
14.14.
SARA
So... It worked then!? The Potem-
thing actually worked!? You’re
gonna give us passage, right?
Passage to a higher plane? Right!?
Otis doesn’t respond. He just stands with a blank look behind
his dead, dark eyes.
Sara turns away from Otis, is confused to find that Lon’s
nowhere to be seen.
SARA
Hey, where’d you go!? We’re about
to transcend! Lon!?
Otis’ eyes suddenly lock onto Sara. He snarls, reveals rows
of wicked, sharp teeth just behind grimy lips.
Sara spins back to face Otis.
SARA
Whatever! I’ll go first! Take me --
Otis viciously lunges out and thrusts one of his clawed hands
straight through Sara’s gut!
Blood splashes onto the ground behind her as she lets out an
agonizing scream.
Farther back, Lon quietly flees into the dark woods as fast
as his old legs will allow him to.
PUNK ROCK MUSIC starts up.
Kurt and Amy sit in the lawn chairs around the campfire. They
all have open beer cans in their hands.
A boombox stereo sits on a cooler beside the larger tent. The
MUSIC blasts through the speakers.
Just beside the tent, the machete again sticks out of the
ground, handle up.
Kurt chokes on his beer, punches himself in the chest and
gasps for air.
KURT
Went down the wrong pipe!
15.15.
Amy sets her drink down, stands, and steps away from the
campfire. Concerned, she stares out into the woods.
KURT
Amy? You alright?
AMY
Do you hear that?
KURT
Hear what?
AMY
Listen.
Amy steps over to the cooler, switches off the stereo.
Sara’s tortured SCREAMS echo through the woods.
Kurt sets his drink down, stands to his feet. He steps beside
his girlfriend, grabs her hand.
Pure dread falls over all of their faces as they listen to
the CHAOS in the woods.
AMY
Kurt? What’s happening out there?
KURT
Some sort of joke or something...
Has to be... Right?
AMY
Doesn’t sound like a joke to me.
Kurt puts his arm around Amy, squeezes her tight.
KURT
Hey, let’s not be fuckin’ stupid
and let’s just get out of here.
Like, right fuckin’ now.
Amy nods in agreement.
AMY
Yeah. Let’s get --
Just then, a DEMONIC ROAR echoes through the woods.
Amy and Kurt shoot each other looks of bewilderment.
AMY
(terrified)
Kurt. Get me out of this woods.
(MORE)(MORE)
16.16.
AMYAMY (CONT(CONT’’D)D)
I’m so close to pissing my pants
right now. Please, Kurt. Let’s go.
KURT
Right!?
— ②
INT. SUV - TRAVELING
ERIC MINER, (28), very fit and attractive, sits in the
driver’s seat with one hand on the wheel and a cellphone
pressed to his ear with his other hand.
In the passenger seat is GWEN JONES, (28), a voluptuous
blonde with a perfect smile. She watches through her window
as dark woods blur by.
ERIC
Hello? Amy?
He pulls the cellphone from his ear, looks at it.
GWEN
You lose the signal?
ERIC
No. I’ve got full bars here. Must
be on her end.
In the backseat are HALEY KING, (28), pale and petite artsy-
type, and JACKIE MILLER ,(29), an edgy bad-boy dressed in all
black, who appears to be asleep.
Haley leans forward, holds up a small digital camera and
snaps a picture of Eric and Gwen.
HALEY
(sarcastic)
Are we there yet?
Eric scoffs, keeps his eyes on the road.
ERIC
That’s never annoying.
Gwen and Haley exchange grins.
Eric shakes his head.
Haley leans back, looks over at Jackie, who sits with his
head leaned back and his eyes closed. She holds up her
camera, snaps a picture of him.
10.10.
Jackie opens one of his eyes, smirks at Haley.
EXT. HILLS - CLEARING - NIGHT
A wide circle of lit torches brighten the area. Animal bones
are scattered between the torches.
In the center of the massive circle stands LON WHITMORE,
(62), a mean looking, skinny old bastard. He leans on a cane
that appears to have been carved from bone.
He’s dressed in a red hooded robe.
Lon looks to the moon, lets out an annoyed grunt.
LON
This is a disaster.
Approaching FOOTSTEPS draws his attention. He turns to see --
Sara dragging a barely conscious Otis out of the woods by his
arms. She forces him into the center of the circle.
Otis drops to his knees before Lon.
SARA
(with a smirk)
He ain’t running away again.
Otis sobs as he cowers before his father.
Lon looks down at Otis, disgusted. He turns to Sara, seethes
with anger.
LON
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Are you brain dead? Or are you
actually trying to fuck this up!?
Sara cowardly lowers her head, can't bring herself to look
Lon in the eyes.
SARA
Cut me some slack, Lon. He’s still
alive. Hell, he’s even still awake.
Lon glares at Sara.
LON
You wanna swallow your fuckin’
teeth, girl?
Sara bites her tongue, shakes her head.
11.11.
LON
Yeah. That’s what I thought.
Confused, Sara glances around.
SARA
Hey, wait? Where’s my Pa at!?
LON
Fuck if I know. The fool ain’t
here, and we ain’t waiting for him.
Lon kneels next to Otis, caresses his son’s trembling cheek
with the back of his hand.
LON
Otis... Son... I’ve always told
you... You are special. You were
born with an amazing purpose.
He grabs a hold of the bloody rag lodged in Otis' mouth,
yanks it out. Blood pours down his chin as he coughs up a
handful of shattered teeth.
Lon rises to her feet, rubs blood onto his forehead, then
holds the rag out to Sara.
LON
(to Otis)
This is your purpose. Your innocent
blood... In exchange for passage.
Sara grabs the rag, smears blood on her forehead, then hands
it back to Lon.
Otis looks up at his father, terrified and bewildered. He
opens his bloody mouth to speak, but only a pathetic, garbled
mumble comes out.
OTIS
(barely intelligible)
P-passage!?
Lon smiles down at his son.
LON
Passage to somewhere better. Thanks
to you.
With his cane held before him, Lon steps up to Otis. He tilts
his head skyward, looks at the moon.
12.12.
LON
Finally!... We can complete the
Potem!
Sara grins, so excited she can barely contain it.
She steps back, watches Lon with wonder in her eyes.
LON
Finally...
Lon’s eyes fall until they meet Otis'. An evil smile forms on
his face as he reaches out with the bloody rag and draws a
crude infinity sign on Otis' pale, sweaty forehead.
LON (CONT’D)
Transcendence!
He unsheathes a hidden ritualistic dagger from the top of his
cane, then thrusts the dagger deep into Otis’ heart!
Lon rips the blade out of Otis’ chest.
A fountain of blood erupts out of the savage wound as Otis
falls back to the ground.
More blood pumps out of the wide-eyed young man. Dark red
human juice leaks out and spreads like it has a mind of its
own, forms a bloody circle on the ground.
Otis seizes. He gasps for air as the life leaves his body.
Sara flashes an excited grin.
Lon takes a moment to look at Otis’ corpse, then points the
ritualistic dagger to the sky. Crimson moonlight gleams off
the blade.
Dead silence.
Lon holds his position for a long, awkward beat.
SARA
Did it work?
LON
Wait.
Sara steps forward, shoots a look of confusion up at the
blood moon. She turns to Lon, frustrated.
SARA
What the Hell!? Why aren’t we
gettin’ beamed up or somethin’!?
(MORE)(MORE)
13.13.
SARASARA (CONT(CONT’’D)D)
We did everything right! Ain’t no
one more innocent or pure than
Otis! We made damn sure of that! I
know we --
With the dagger still held toward the blood moon, Lon holds a
finger up, silences Sara.
LON
Shut up!
The blood circle begins to shimmer red light, which Otis’
body absorbs. Thick red fog seeps out from the ground,
quickly engulfs Otis’ corpse.
Lon takes a cautious step back while Sara stands and stares,
awe-struck.
SARA
What’s happening!? What is this!?
A strange red light flashes from within the fog.
Sara stares at it, curious.
Discretely, Lon takes another step backwards.
SARA
(under her breath)
Is this it?
Then, Otis’ corpse swiftly rises out of the fog, almost as if
it were lifted up by an invisible puppeteer. His dead eyes
pop open. Claw-like bones push out through his fingertips.
Sara falls back on her ass, lets out a surprised shriek.
She stares with wide-eyed disbelief at the corpse that stands
only a few feet from her.
SARA
Otis?
Very slowly, Otis shakes his head. “No.”
Sara shudders.
Otis’ lips curl into a slight grin.
With a sudden burst of excitement, Sara rushes right up to
Otis. She smiles wide.
14.14.
SARA
So... It worked then!? The Potem-
thing actually worked!? You’re
gonna give us passage, right?
Passage to a higher plane? Right!?
Otis doesn’t respond. He just stands with a blank look behind
his dead, dark eyes.
Sara turns away from Otis, is confused to find that Lon’s
nowhere to be seen.
SARA
Hey, where’d you go!? We’re about
to transcend! Lon!?
Otis’ eyes suddenly lock onto Sara. He snarls, reveals rows
of wicked, sharp teeth just behind grimy lips.
Sara spins back to face Otis.
SARA
Whatever! I’ll go first! Take me --
Otis viciously lunges out and thrusts one of his clawed hands
straight through Sara’s gut!
Blood splashes onto the ground behind her as she lets out an
agonizing scream.
Farther back, Lon quietly flees into the dark woods as fast
as his old legs will allow him to.
EXT. CAMPSITE
PUNK ROCK MUSIC starts up.
Kurt and Amy sit in the lawn chairs around the campfire. They
all have open beer cans in their hands.
A boombox stereo sits on a cooler beside the larger tent. The
MUSIC blasts through the speakers.
Just beside the tent, the machete again sticks out of the
ground, handle up.
Kurt chokes on his beer, punches himself in the chest and
gasps for air.
KURT
Went down the wrong pipe!
15.15.
Amy sets her drink down, stands, and steps away from the
campfire. Concerned, she stares out into the woods.
KURT
Amy? You alright?
AMY
Do you hear that?
KURT
Hear what?
AMY
Listen.
Amy steps over to the cooler, switches off the stereo.
Sara’s tortured SCREAMS echo through the woods.
Kurt sets his drink down, stands to his feet. He steps beside
his girlfriend, grabs her hand.
Pure dread falls over all of their faces as they listen to
the CHAOS in the woods.
AMY
Kurt? What’s happening out there?
KURT
Some sort of joke or something...
Has to be... Right?
AMY
Doesn’t sound like a joke to me.
Kurt puts his arm around Amy, squeezes her tight.
KURT
Hey, let’s not be fuckin’ stupid
and let’s just get out of here.
Like, right fuckin’ now.
Amy nods in agreement.
AMY
Yeah. Let’s get --
Just then, a DEMONIC ROAR echoes through the woods.
Amy and Kurt shoot each other looks of bewilderment.
AMY
(terrified)
Kurt. Get me out of this woods.
(MORE)(MORE)
16.16.
AMYAMY (CONT(CONT’’D)D)
I’m so close to pissing my pants
right now. Please, Kurt. Let’s go.
KURT
Right!?