The winding trail snakes back and forth through the leafy
underbrush. Red fog hangs in the space.
Using his flashlight to guide the way, Rick quickly moves
along the path.
HALEY (O.S.)
Where exactly are you taking us?
You got a ride out of here?
Haley helps guide Gwen as they follow close behind.
RICK
No time to make it back to my car.
But if we keep heading north, we
will come to an old highway. I’ll
get you kids that far. Then you can
follow the road until someone else
comes along.
HALEY
You mean if someone comes along.
RICK
Trust me. You kids have a much
better shot of escaping with your
skin if you make it to that old
highway.
(glances back at Haley)
Someone will come along.
HALEY
And what about you? Something tells
me you weren’t out here looking for
us.
RICK
No, not exactly.
Limping, Jackie yet again brings up the rear. He grimaces
with each step he takes.
59.59.
JACKIE
(to Rick)
Hey, mystery-dude. You wanna throw
us a bone and explain what the fuck
is going on out here?
Rick looks up at the sky for a moment, searches for the right
words. He sighs. "Fuck it."
RICK
The name’s Rick. And... This is all
my fault.
JACKIE
What do you mean “your fault”?
RICK
Well, I... I fucked up. The inbred
fucks who caused all this shit...
The Whitmore family... I was
supposed to make sure... Fuck! How
could I let this happen!?
Jackie frowns, annoyed by Rick’s response.
JACKIE
The fuck are you talking about!?
HALEY
Whatever’s doing this, I don’t
think it’s a person. I mean, it
looks human, but just barely.
It’s... I don’t know what it is...
It’s a monster.
RICK
Doesn’t really matter what it is,
does it? It’s not meant to be here.
It could be the Devil himself for
all we know. Makes no difference.
Jackie lets out a slight chuckle, but quickly stops once he
realizes how serious Rick is.
RICK
The Whitmore’s... They thought that
the Potem would take them to a
higher plane of existence. They
were very, very wrong.
HALEY
The Potem?
60.60.
JACKIE
The fuck is that!?
RICK
A ritual. A sacrifice of the
innocent under a blood moon.
HALEY
A sacrifice?
Rick glances back at Haley, a stoic look in his eyes.
RICK
A pure soul, eighteen years of age.
They slaughtered their own son like
cattle. Now... He’s a vessel for
something dark. Something evil.
HALEY
Jesus.
Shame falls over Rick's face. He takes a deep breath.
RICK
If I’d done my job like I was
supposed to, none of this would
have ever happened.
JACKIE
Awesome. You know, I had considered
the possibility of being attacked
by a wild animal, like a wolf, a
bear, even a deer! But a
demonically possessed hillbilly!?
That sure as fuck wasn’t on my
bingo card!
RICK
Guess it wouldn’t be, would it?
Hey, could be worse though! Could
be vampires, witches, zombies,
or...
(shudders at the thought)
A repeater.
Haley makes a face, isn’t sure what to believe.
RICK
Crazy, huh? Knowing there really is
something out there that goes bump
in the night.
61.61.
HALEY
An hour ago, I would have called
you a nutcase. But after what we’ve
been through...
Jackie shakes his head, frustrated.
JACKIE
Fuck my life.
While helping Gwen along, Haley scans the dark woods around
them. Nothing but crimson fog and shadows.
HALEY
What exactly does this thing want
with us? Just to kill us!?
RICK
Well, yes. And more...
Haley frowns.
HALEY
More?
Rick looks to his feet, forces a smile.
RICK
If this thing is what I think it
is... It wants to get back to where
it came from.
A curious look forms on Haley’s face.
HALEY
And how would it accomplish that?
Rick’s eyes rise back to meet Haley’s.
RICK
With a lot of dead people.
Afraid, Haley hugs Gwen tighter.
Behind them, Jackie spots something deeper in the woods. He
stops, squints his eyes as he peers through the fog.
His eyes light up.
JACKIE
Holy fuck! It’s Eric!
Gwen snaps out of her stupor, looks out in the same direction
as Jackie, frantically searches for her boyfriend.
62.62.
GWEN
Eric!?
About thirty yards away, partially obscured by the fog,
there's a small cluster of tall trees. But something is very
off about this picture.
SNAP ZOOM on the cluster of trees. In the middle of them
hangs a naked, disemboweled Eric, suspended by his own
intestines. Fuckin' gruesome.
Gwen turns white, drops to her knees, and SCREAMS her heart
out. Totally devastated.
Rick goes into high alert, snaps his head toward Haley.
RICK
(quiet, stern)
Shut her up!
Haley can't help but cry as she grabs Gwen. She covers her
mouth with her hand, silences her.
HALEY
(hushed voice, crying)
I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!
Suddenly, a SINISTER LAUGH echoes through the foggy woods.
Then, HEAVY FOOTSTEPS rapidly approach from far off, grow
LOUDER and LOUDER.
Visibly shaken, Jackie stares out into the woods, too scared
to blink.
JACKIE
(petrified)
Oh, man! You have got to be fucking
kidding me!
Rick leaps into action, forcefully grabs Jackie and shoves
him back towards the direction they've been heading.
RICK
(urgent)
Keep moving! There should be an old
highway, just up past those trees!
Get to the road and stick to it!
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow LOUDER.
He turns to Haley, motions for her to grab Gwen.
63.63.
RICK (CONT'D)
You’re gonna have to make her move,
understand? You gotta’ run!
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow LOUDER.
Haley gets her arm under Gwen's shoulder, attempts to hoist
her up on her feet. She shoots Rick a worried look.
HALEY
(panicked)
You’re not coming with us!?
RICK
I didn’t come here for you kids. I
came here to stop this!
Haley pauses for a beat, gives him an understanding nod.
Rick turns back to Jackie.
RICK
You get these girls out of here!
Jackie shakes his head in disbelief.
JACKIE
You’re seriously not going to come
with us!? What the fuck, man!?
RICK
I’m gonna send this bastard back to
the hell it crawled out of. Go on.
Get moving!
Haley finally gets Gwen to her feet, quickly forces her down
the trail, past Jackie.
HALEY
(to Jackie)
Come on!
The two girls don't wait around, rush past a large cluster of
bushes, quickly move out of view.
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow louder as they rapidly approach.
Rick hands his pistol and flashlight to Jackie, forces him to
take them. Confused, Jackie looks from the pistol, to Rick.
JACKIE
What are you doing!? Are you
fuckin’ crazy, dude!?
(MORE)(MORE)
64.64.
JACKIEJACKIE (CONT(CONT’’D)D)
What, are you gonna fight that
fucker with your bare hands!?
(points to Eric’s corpse)
Did you not see what that fuckin’
thing can do to a person!?
Rick pulls out the dagger, holds it up towards the sky. Red
moonlight shines through the fog, shimmers off the blade.
Jackie scoffs.
JACKIE
Yeah, you’re fuckin’ crazy!
RICK
This dagger, it brought that
monster into our world. Now... It’s
the only thing that can kill it!
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow even LOUDER. Then, they stop. Just
like that. Silence. Unnerving as fuck.
Rick turns towards the foggy woods, takes out his flask,
finishes it off, then throws it to the ground.
He glances back over his shoulder, at Jackie.
RICK
(assertive)
What the fuck are you still doing
here!? Go now!
After one last quick glance at Rick, Jackie turns to follow
after the girls, when --
A dread inducing CACKLE causes him to stop dead in his
tracks. It came from the bushes directly beside him.
Jackie's whole body trembles, scared out of his mind.
A few yards down the path, Rick is also frozen with fear.
Finally, he opens his mouth to speak.
RICK
RUN!
With a burst of adrenaline, Jackie drops the flashlight,
whips the pistol around, aims into the bushes. He closes his
eyes and squeezes the trigger. BANG!
JACKIE
Fuck you!
65.65.
Suddenly, one of Otis’ massive, blood-caked arms shoots out
from the bottom of the bush, digs its massive claws into
Jackie's bad leg.
Blood gushes out of the wound as Jackie CRIES OUT.
Rick runs to help, but it's too late.
Jackie drops the pistol to the ground as he is yanked off his
feet, then dragged into the bushes.
RICK
No!
The bushes rapidly shake back and forth as Jackie continues
to SCREAM out in agony.
OTIS' P.O.V.
We tower over Jackie, who lies on the ground and stares back
up at us, sheer terror spread across his face.
Our right arm comes into view, SWIPES at Jackie's chest with
our wicked claws.
Blood gushes out of the savage wound as Jackie rolls over
onto his stomach.
He GROANS as he desperately tries to crawl away.
We let out another SINISTER LAUGH.
Terrified, Jackie curls up into the fetal position.
We LAUGH harder.
END P.O.V.
Haley continues to help a distraught Gwen as they hurry
through thick brush.
Jackie’s SCREAMS and Otis’ LAUGHTER blend together and echo
through the foggy woods.
Haley fights back tears, tries to pick up the pace.
66.66.
An emotional wreck, Gwen starts to stumble, but Haley manages
to steady her.
HALEY
C’mon, Gwen! Keep your legs moving!
GWEN
I can’t... Eric... He --
Haley SLAPS Gwen across the face, gets her attention.
HALEY
Gwen! I’m sorry, but Eric is dead!
We have to keep moving or we’re
dead too!
Gwen takes a deep breath, does her best to compose herself.
GWEN
(sniffles)
Okay... Yeah...
Haley forces a smile. She grabs Gwen's hand, pulls her deeper
into the brush.
Rick bursts into the bushes, dagger raised high in the air,
but no one's there. He frowns.
No Otis. No Jackie. Just a whole shit ton of blood.
Then, Jackie CRIES OUT from the fog.
Rick's eyes scan the surrounding woods. He seethes with rage,
pulls out Travis’ gun.
CUT TO:
— ⑧
EXT. WOODS - BEATEN PATH - LATER
The winding trail snakes back and forth through the leafy
underbrush. Red fog hangs in the space.
Using his flashlight to guide the way, Rick quickly moves
along the path.
HALEY (O.S.)
Where exactly are you taking us?
You got a ride out of here?
Haley helps guide Gwen as they follow close behind.
RICK
No time to make it back to my car.
But if we keep heading north, we
will come to an old highway. I’ll
get you kids that far. Then you can
follow the road until someone else
comes along.
HALEY
You mean if someone comes along.
RICK
Trust me. You kids have a much
better shot of escaping with your
skin if you make it to that old
highway.
(glances back at Haley)
Someone will come along.
HALEY
And what about you? Something tells
me you weren’t out here looking for
us.
RICK
No, not exactly.
Limping, Jackie yet again brings up the rear. He grimaces
with each step he takes.
59.59.
JACKIE
(to Rick)
Hey, mystery-dude. You wanna throw
us a bone and explain what the fuck
is going on out here?
Rick looks up at the sky for a moment, searches for the right
words. He sighs. "Fuck it."
RICK
The name’s Rick. And... This is all
my fault.
JACKIE
What do you mean “your fault”?
RICK
Well, I... I fucked up. The inbred
fucks who caused all this shit...
The Whitmore family... I was
supposed to make sure... Fuck! How
could I let this happen!?
Jackie frowns, annoyed by Rick’s response.
JACKIE
The fuck are you talking about!?
HALEY
Whatever’s doing this, I don’t
think it’s a person. I mean, it
looks human, but just barely.
It’s... I don’t know what it is...
It’s a monster.
RICK
Doesn’t really matter what it is,
does it? It’s not meant to be here.
It could be the Devil himself for
all we know. Makes no difference.
Jackie lets out a slight chuckle, but quickly stops once he
realizes how serious Rick is.
RICK
The Whitmore’s... They thought that
the Potem would take them to a
higher plane of existence. They
were very, very wrong.
HALEY
The Potem?
60.60.
JACKIE
The fuck is that!?
RICK
A ritual. A sacrifice of the
innocent under a blood moon.
HALEY
A sacrifice?
Rick glances back at Haley, a stoic look in his eyes.
RICK
A pure soul, eighteen years of age.
They slaughtered their own son like
cattle. Now... He’s a vessel for
something dark. Something evil.
HALEY
Jesus.
Shame falls over Rick's face. He takes a deep breath.
RICK
If I’d done my job like I was
supposed to, none of this would
have ever happened.
JACKIE
Awesome. You know, I had considered
the possibility of being attacked
by a wild animal, like a wolf, a
bear, even a deer! But a
demonically possessed hillbilly!?
That sure as fuck wasn’t on my
bingo card!
RICK
Guess it wouldn’t be, would it?
Hey, could be worse though! Could
be vampires, witches, zombies,
or...
(shudders at the thought)
A repeater.
Haley makes a face, isn’t sure what to believe.
RICK
Crazy, huh? Knowing there really is
something out there that goes bump
in the night.
61.61.
HALEY
An hour ago, I would have called
you a nutcase. But after what we’ve
been through...
Jackie shakes his head, frustrated.
JACKIE
Fuck my life.
While helping Gwen along, Haley scans the dark woods around
them. Nothing but crimson fog and shadows.
HALEY
What exactly does this thing want
with us? Just to kill us!?
RICK
Well, yes. And more...
Haley frowns.
HALEY
More?
Rick looks to his feet, forces a smile.
RICK
If this thing is what I think it
is... It wants to get back to where
it came from.
A curious look forms on Haley’s face.
HALEY
And how would it accomplish that?
Rick’s eyes rise back to meet Haley’s.
RICK
With a lot of dead people.
Afraid, Haley hugs Gwen tighter.
Behind them, Jackie spots something deeper in the woods. He
stops, squints his eyes as he peers through the fog.
His eyes light up.
JACKIE
Holy fuck! It’s Eric!
Gwen snaps out of her stupor, looks out in the same direction
as Jackie, frantically searches for her boyfriend.
62.62.
GWEN
Eric!?
About thirty yards away, partially obscured by the fog,
there's a small cluster of tall trees. But something is very
off about this picture.
SNAP ZOOM on the cluster of trees. In the middle of them
hangs a naked, disemboweled Eric, suspended by his own
intestines. Fuckin' gruesome.
Gwen turns white, drops to her knees, and SCREAMS her heart
out. Totally devastated.
Rick goes into high alert, snaps his head toward Haley.
RICK
(quiet, stern)
Shut her up!
Haley can't help but cry as she grabs Gwen. She covers her
mouth with her hand, silences her.
HALEY
(hushed voice, crying)
I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!
Suddenly, a SINISTER LAUGH echoes through the foggy woods.
Then, HEAVY FOOTSTEPS rapidly approach from far off, grow
LOUDER and LOUDER.
Visibly shaken, Jackie stares out into the woods, too scared
to blink.
JACKIE
(petrified)
Oh, man! You have got to be fucking
kidding me!
Rick leaps into action, forcefully grabs Jackie and shoves
him back towards the direction they've been heading.
RICK
(urgent)
Keep moving! There should be an old
highway, just up past those trees!
Get to the road and stick to it!
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow LOUDER.
He turns to Haley, motions for her to grab Gwen.
63.63.
RICK (CONT'D)
You’re gonna have to make her move,
understand? You gotta’ run!
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow LOUDER.
Haley gets her arm under Gwen's shoulder, attempts to hoist
her up on her feet. She shoots Rick a worried look.
HALEY
(panicked)
You’re not coming with us!?
RICK
I didn’t come here for you kids. I
came here to stop this!
Haley pauses for a beat, gives him an understanding nod.
Rick turns back to Jackie.
RICK
You get these girls out of here!
Jackie shakes his head in disbelief.
JACKIE
You’re seriously not going to come
with us!? What the fuck, man!?
RICK
I’m gonna send this bastard back to
the hell it crawled out of. Go on.
Get moving!
Haley finally gets Gwen to her feet, quickly forces her down
the trail, past Jackie.
HALEY
(to Jackie)
Come on!
The two girls don't wait around, rush past a large cluster of
bushes, quickly move out of view.
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow louder as they rapidly approach.
Rick hands his pistol and flashlight to Jackie, forces him to
take them. Confused, Jackie looks from the pistol, to Rick.
JACKIE
What are you doing!? Are you
fuckin’ crazy, dude!?
(MORE)(MORE)
64.64.
JACKIEJACKIE (CONT(CONT’’D)D)
What, are you gonna fight that
fucker with your bare hands!?
(points to Eric’s corpse)
Did you not see what that fuckin’
thing can do to a person!?
Rick pulls out the dagger, holds it up towards the sky. Red
moonlight shines through the fog, shimmers off the blade.
Jackie scoffs.
JACKIE
Yeah, you’re fuckin’ crazy!
RICK
This dagger, it brought that
monster into our world. Now... It’s
the only thing that can kill it!
The HEAVY FOOTSTEPS grow even LOUDER. Then, they stop. Just
like that. Silence. Unnerving as fuck.
Rick turns towards the foggy woods, takes out his flask,
finishes it off, then throws it to the ground.
He glances back over his shoulder, at Jackie.
RICK
(assertive)
What the fuck are you still doing
here!? Go now!
After one last quick glance at Rick, Jackie turns to follow
after the girls, when --
A dread inducing CACKLE causes him to stop dead in his
tracks. It came from the bushes directly beside him.
Jackie's whole body trembles, scared out of his mind.
A few yards down the path, Rick is also frozen with fear.
Finally, he opens his mouth to speak.
RICK
RUN!
With a burst of adrenaline, Jackie drops the flashlight,
whips the pistol around, aims into the bushes. He closes his
eyes and squeezes the trigger. BANG!
JACKIE
Fuck you!
65.65.
Suddenly, one of Otis’ massive, blood-caked arms shoots out
from the bottom of the bush, digs its massive claws into
Jackie's bad leg.
Blood gushes out of the wound as Jackie CRIES OUT.
Rick runs to help, but it's too late.
Jackie drops the pistol to the ground as he is yanked off his
feet, then dragged into the bushes.
RICK
No!
The bushes rapidly shake back and forth as Jackie continues
to SCREAM out in agony.
EXT. WOODS - CLUSTER OF BUSHES
OTIS' P.O.V.
We tower over Jackie, who lies on the ground and stares back
up at us, sheer terror spread across his face.
Our right arm comes into view, SWIPES at Jackie's chest with
our wicked claws.
Blood gushes out of the savage wound as Jackie rolls over
onto his stomach.
He GROANS as he desperately tries to crawl away.
We let out another SINISTER LAUGH.
Terrified, Jackie curls up into the fetal position.
We LAUGH harder.
END P.O.V.
EXT. WOODS - BRUSH
Haley continues to help a distraught Gwen as they hurry
through thick brush.
Jackie’s SCREAMS and Otis’ LAUGHTER blend together and echo
through the foggy woods.
Haley fights back tears, tries to pick up the pace.
66.66.
An emotional wreck, Gwen starts to stumble, but Haley manages
to steady her.
HALEY
C’mon, Gwen! Keep your legs moving!
GWEN
I can’t... Eric... He --
Haley SLAPS Gwen across the face, gets her attention.
HALEY
Gwen! I’m sorry, but Eric is dead!
We have to keep moving or we’re
dead too!
Gwen takes a deep breath, does her best to compose herself.
GWEN
(sniffles)
Okay... Yeah...
Haley forces a smile. She grabs Gwen's hand, pulls her deeper
into the brush.
EXT. WOODS - CLUSTER OF BUSHES
Rick bursts into the bushes, dagger raised high in the air,
but no one's there. He frowns.
No Otis. No Jackie. Just a whole shit ton of blood.
Then, Jackie CRIES OUT from the fog.
Rick's eyes scan the surrounding woods. He seethes with rage,
pulls out Travis’ gun.
CUT TO: