THE OTHERS "Pilot" by John Brancato & Micheal Ferris Revised 2-23-99 TEASER FADE IN: A CRESCENT MOON. CAMERA TILTS DOWN to reveal-- EXT. OLD CHURCHYARD - NIGHT A 19th C. CHURCH with an adjacent CEMETERY. HOLD on the church— suddenly, a STAINED GLASS WINDOW BLOWS OUT. IN FG, a TOMBSTONE CRACKS and SHATTERS, as if dropped from a height. CAMERA MOVES past more weathered, 19th C. GRAVE MARKERS, through an IRON FENCE and across -- EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT --an URBAN STREET, early FALL. Little traffic at this late hour, a few NEON SIGNS in the distance. CAMERA keeps moving through the city, OVER A WALL and into -- EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - NIGHT --a collegiate quadrangle in New England; a mix of PERIOD and MODERN BUILDINGS. A banner: "WELCOME FRESHMEN." TRACK TOWARD a modern HIGH-RISE, MOVE IN on a WINDOW INT. MARIAN'S ROOM - NIGHT A large single room, cinderblock walls. BOXES and SUITCASES, two BEDS on opposite sides. We hear URBAN STREET SOUNDS, a passing SIREN... then the faint sound of a WOMAN SOBBING. MARIAN KITT, 19, a college freshman, stirs in her sleep, awakens, hearing the CRYING. She whispers-- MARIAN Linda? You OK? She squints in the half-light across the room toward LINDA, sound asleep in her single bed. The SOBBING continues FAINTLY, coming IN AND OUT as if on the breeze. MARIAN squints toward -- --the half-open BATHROOM DOOR. Is it coming from there? MARIAN gets out of bed in her nightgown, rubbing her eyes. She's a country girl new to the urban landscape, petite and pretty in a wholesome way, reserved and serious-minded. She moves toward the bathroom. INT. MARIAN'S BATHROOM - NIGHT ON THE LIGHTSWITCH as Marian reaches to turn it ON -- THE BULB OVERHEAD BLOWS with a CRACK. In the FLASH OF LIGHT, we see that the BATHTUB is full of water. The CRYING STOPS. MARIAN squints upward at the dead bulb. Lit by STREETLIGHT through the frosted window, she moves to the tub, throws the lever to DRAIN IT. We hear the DRAINING IN BG as she moves to the sink for a glass of water. As she's filling the glass, she notices-- THE MIRROR over the sink. There's vague, red WRITING-- as if on the inside of the mirroring. MARIAN moves closer. It's in a tight scrawl, indecipherable. SHIFT FOCUS-- THE WATER draining from the tub seems to GLOW... and it's revealing the BODY of a naked woman. MARIAN whirls and SCREAMS, the glass SHATTERS on the tile -- INT. MARIAN'S ROOM - NIGHT LINDA sits up at the sound, flips on a LIGHT. She's also 19, but more worldly and cynical than Marian. LINDA Marian?! INT. MARIAN'S BATHROOM - NIGHT LINDA enters the room and lets out a CRY-- she's stepped into the broken glass-- her BLOOD spills on the floor tiles. We see the mirror... NO WRITING on it now. MARIAN is crouched atop the closed toilet, knees pulled up, FROZEN in terror. She stares at the tub... which is EMPTY FADE OUT END TEASER ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. DINING HALL - DAY MARIAN moves out of the food line with a tray, looking for a suitable place to sit. LINDA sits at the end of a CROWDED TABLE, her bandaged FOOT up on a chair. She GLARES toward Marian, then leans forward to WHISPER to some other FRESHMEN at her table. AS MARIAN moves past the table, one of the KIDS makes a SCARY MOANING GHOST NOISE— "0-o-o-oh..." MARIAN is pained but ignores this, finds a seat by herself against the wall. CUT TO: EXT. OLD CHURCHYARD - DAY START ON OLD TOMBSTONES, several TOPPLED, CRACKED and BROKEN, as if a sledgehammer had been taken to them. MARK OSBORNE, SATORI, and a PRIEST walk among these graves in the iron-fenced cemetery-- we see BOARDS over the BROKEN WINDOWS of the church. OSBORNE is in his 20's, preppily handsome, soft-spoken and thoughtful. SATORI is a new-agey woman in her 50's or 60's, with long, silver hair, draped with bangles and bells. PRIEST Senseless... we've put in alarms, I don't see how they're getting past. OSBORNE Have you given any thought to the matter of Aloysius Green? PRIEST This is an historic churchyard, there hasn't been a burial in a hundred years-- SATORI We're talking a mid-nineteenth century corpse, it's not like he'd clash. PRIEST Why is this so important to you people? ELMER It's important to Aloysius. ELMER GREEN is seated on a bench in the graveyard. He's probably 90, black, in a neat dark suit, wearing coke-bottle lenses so thick his eyes distort. PRIEST Excuse me? ELMER Eighty-odd years he been my spirit guide. The man belonged here, was a sin they planted him by the river inna first place. Now he been dug up for an exit ramp... SATORI Who knows, settling the karmic debt might solve your vandalism problem. PRIEST I told you, I prefer not to hear any more of that sort of mystical speculation-- OSBORNE Father, she's just talking about, you know, good p.r., community outreach... The priest sighs, there's more going on here than he wants to acknowledge. PRIEST I'll take up the Aloysius Green case with the board-- purely as a matter of historical propriety. He heads back for the church. ELMER nods to himself and rises. OSBORNE takes his arm, he and SATORI help him away. ELMER No one wantsa call a ghost a ghost... CUT TO: INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT A large READING ROOM, MARIAN at a table with a TEXTBOOK-- few other students about. JEROME BALLARD, carrying a notebook, wanders in, looks around, WHISPERS to each of the FEMALES in turn. He gets funny looks, shakes of the head-- bad pick-up attempts? Jerome's 30, a serious dweeb with a quizzical manner. He's a font of knowledge in every area, except perhaps the social graces. He sidles up to MARIAN, whispers: JEROME Are you Marian Kitt? Homsworth 37? (off her nod; delighted) You're not easy to find. MARIAN I don't spend much time in the dorm. JEROME Can I talk to you for a second? It's about Diane Stillman. MARIAN I don't know who that is. JEROME She died in your room last year. MARIAN is taken aback, but curious. EXT. LIBRARY - NIGHT MARIAN and JEROME move down the steps of the library. JEROME I'm not surprised you hadn't heard, the university covers up suicides pretty efficiently-- MARIAN How did she do it? JEROME P and B-- pills and booze, right before Christmas break. They found her in the tub a week later. MARIAN Oh, God. JEROME Yeah, I'd hate to've been working dorm crew on that room. So listen, does stuff like this happen to you a lot? MARIAN What do you mean? JEROME You know, psychic phenomena. 'Cause I know some people you really should meet-- MARIAN Who are you? JEROME Oh, sorry. I'm Jerome Ballard, folklore and mythology. I wrote my doctoral thesis on ghost stories, the paranormal's sort of a lifelong passion-- MARIAN I didn't see a ghost. I must've been sleepwalking, I used to when I was younger-- I was sleepwalking and I had a bad dream-- JEROME Come on. Sounds like a ghost to me. MARIAN You really believe in that stuff? JEROME When you eliminate all rational explanations, the totally wacky is the only alternative. Seriously, too many people have seen spirits, there's all kinds of evidence in the literature-- MARIAN You ever see one? JEROME (a bit embarrassed) Well, no... I've wanted to. I'm just not attuned. But it sounds like you are. You're not the only one-- there are others like you-- MARIAN You're talking about me like I'm a freak! JEROME That depends on your definition of "freak..." MARIAN I'm just a freshman from Iowa, nobody is more normal than me, I grew up on a corn flakes box for God's sake. I had a bad dream, my stupid roommate had to spread it all over campus-- JEROME Look, I just wanted to let you know, there's a meeting on Thursday and it'd be nice if you came by... As he speaks, he's writing something on the back of a Xerox copied news clipping. MARIAN A meeting? JEROME The Others. Gifted people. You know, freaks like you. He hands her the paper with a grin, waves and moves off. Marian can't help but smile. She glances at the page -- INSERT PAGE-- "OTHERS," an ADDRESS and TIME in pen. She flips it over... a NEWS CLIPPING, "STUDENT FOUND DEAD," with a GRADUATION PHOTO of a beautiful, smiling DIANE STILLMAN... MARIAN'S smile fades. She crumples the clipping and tosses it into a TRASHBIN. DISSOLVE TO: INT. MARIAN'S ROOM - NIGHT Now decorated: Marian's side of the room is neat, bookish; Linda has a big stereo, rock posters. Both GIRLS are asleep. MARIAN suddenly throws off the covers and moves quickly to a desk by Linda's bed. There's a vacant look in her eyes. She grabs paper and pen, scribbles quickly in the dark. Suddenly a HAND grabs her shoulder-- Marian spins, startled -- HER POV— in the dim light, for a moment we get the impression of DIANE STILLMAN's tear-ravaged face looming out of the darkness, her hand reaching for the DESK LAMP-- the sudden LIGHT reveals the figure to be LINDA, not Diane. MARIAN stumbles away from the desk, frightened, breathing hard. LINDA blinks at her, annoyed and sleepy. LINDA What is wrong with you? It's four in the morning and you're at my desk writing What the hell are you writing? ANGLE ON PAPER— a strange SCRAWL, weird letterforms on top of one another amidst dark SCRIBBLES. MARIAN, still rattled, can barely answer. MARIAN I-- I dunno, I must've been asleep. Linda has picked up the paper, turned it over. LINDA Great. And you just scribbled all over my English paper. MARIAN returns to her bed while LINDA grabs a PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE from a desk drawer and eats a pill-- then she turns OFF the desk lamp and heads back for bed. MARIAN I'm sorry, Linda. LINDA So am I. How's that room transfer coming? MARIAN sighs, squeezing her eyes shut. CUT TO: EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - DAY Early morning. MARIAN sifts gingerly through the TRASHBIN where she tossed the flyer. EXT. COMMUNITY CENTER - EVENING An institutional brick building, like an elementary school. MARIAN approaches, the crumpled FLYER in hand. INT. COMMUNITY CENTER - NIGHT MARIAN moves down a corridor, hears voices from a room. She pauses at the windowed door, then enters quietly. INT. MEETING ROOM - NIGHT A DOZEN PEOPLE sit on folding chairs; most are WOMEN of various ages, wearing ROBES; a middle-aged female LEADER in a robe at the front of the room. MARIAN hovers in the back. LEADER --the key is to empty the mind, let the spirit move inside you and through you... please feel free to join in... THE LEADER punches a TAPE PLAYER, slips off her robe to reveal a HAREM GIRL'S OUTFIT-- we hear MIDDLE EASTERN MUSIC. She begins to GYRATE HER HIPS. EVERYONE in the room sheds their robes and does likewise, with varying degrees of skill and enthusiasm. A gyrating DANCER near the back notes Marian's confusion. DANCER This is Introduction to Belly Dancing. Are you looking for the SAT course? MARIAN Um, no-- something called "the Others." DANCER The psychic support thing? Upstairs, I think. Marian nods her thanks and exits. INT. OTHERS ROOM - NIGHT ON THE WALLS are CHILDREN'S ARTWORK, leftovers from the day. FOLDING CHAIRS around a TABLE, a COFFEE POT and DOUGHNUTS. In addition to SATORI, OSBORNE, JEROME and ELMER, there are: --ALBERT MARTINEZ, 40-ish, overweight and ill-tempered, wearing dark glasses, a GUIDE DOG at his feet; --DOT BUTERA, late 20's, all in black with dramatic Goth make- up, a nose ring and dyed hair; --SETH BUTERA, Dot's son, an autistic 10-year-old, rocking in his chair-- he never speaks, looks up or makes eye contact with anyone; --WARREN DUNN, 20's, stubbly and disheveled but somewhat puppylike, a street person or close to it. SATORI Initially it was a matter of objects being moved and occasional mysterious odors-- the cigars he used to smoke, et cetera... During this, MARIAN lets herself into the room, hangs back. SATORI (CONT'D) But one morning Mrs. Harmon woke up to find her kitchen knives embedded in the floorboards. That's when she came into my studio, asked me to take a look. JEROME smiles and gestures for Marian to take a seat beside Elmer, as the discussion continues. OSBORNE What did you feel? SATORI A lot of energy-- not exactly hostile. More... desperate. But I couldn't make it focus. I could really use some help on this, I'll split my fees of course-- Albert turns toward Marian, gestures at her. ALBERT Who is that? JEROME Oh-- everyone, this is Marian, I invited her to stop by tonight. Murmured "hellos" from the group. Satori studies Marian. SATORI You've seen something, dear-- something that frightens you-- a mirror, water... MARIAN Yes-- how did you-- OSBORNE Jerome told us. Satori can't resist that crystal ball shtick. Satori shrugs and smiles. ALBERT I don't recall taking a vote on this girl. JEROME We never vote-- ALBERT Maybe we should start. DOT Marian, ignore Albert, he's just pissed off 'cause he's blind and his dog smells. ALBERT That's very sensitive, you little slut-- JEROME Why don't we take a moment and introduce ourselves? Me you know-- I just try to document events, help any way I can-- right now I'm setting up a website. JEROME looks toward WARREN, who's next around the table. He speaks rapidly, stuttering. WARREN Oh. Me? I'm-- my name is Warren. I, um I don't know, I guess I see things that aren't there-- or are, maybe-- it's like, I have all the information, right, but I can't process it ALBERT Some say Warren is schizophrenic. DOT Shut up, Albert. WARREN No, he's right. DOT Well, quit hogging all the donuts. (grabs the box, takes one) I'm Dot. I'm sort of a weirdness magnet-- birds fly into walls around me and stuff like that-- now and then I get these lucid moments, I can see what's gonna happen... This is my son Seth, he's-- ALBERT --retarded. DOT Autistic! SATORI Seth has an extraordinary gift, we all feel it. It's almost as if the spirit world is more real to him than this one... The others nod. SETH, though, hasn't looked up during this. Silently, he rises and moves his chair beside MARIAN. He sits down close to her, without looking at or touching her. OSBORNE I'm Mark Osborne I-- I've had dizzy spells and migraine headaches all my life, but when I learned to get past the pain I realized there was more to it... SATORI You pick up on other people's feelings. (to Marian) He's an empath. OSBORNE Makes me sound like a character on "Star Trek." Anyway-- Elmer? He turns to ELMER. The man is sound asleep. OSBORNE (CONT'D) Well, this is Elmer Green, he's a pretty famous medium, been at it for most of the last century... I don't want to wake him up. Albert? ALBERT I'm Albert and I'm an alcoholic. WARREN Hi, Albert. SATORI I'm called Satori-- ALBERT --nee Ellen Leibowitz. SATORI --and I'm a sensitive. I'm the only one here who makes a living at it, so naturally I get a lot of crap. OSBORNE (doing "Ghostbusters") "Who you gonna call?" SATORI I only take money if I get results. Why is it any different from hiring a plumber to clear your pipes? JEROME Marian-- why don't you tell us a little about your own experience? Marian's very uncomfortable, stares at her lap as she speaks. MARIAN Well, I'm pretty normal, really. It's just...when I got here to college a couple months ago I saw... well, I thought I saw... HER POV-- PAN OVER the interested FACES of the OTHERS. Even ELMER suddenly STARTS awake with a SNORT, staring at her through his coke-bottle lenses. MARIAN is losing her nerve, put off by these weird strangers. MARIAN (CONT'D) I'm sorry. I think maybe I made a mistake coming here. I don't think I'm like the rest of you-- ALBERT You mean crazy, don't you? OSBORNE Albert, chill. MARIAN No, I just mean-- I don't really believe in all this-- ALBERT So you're calling us liars. SATORI Stop it-- MARIAN No, I'm sure it's all very real to you-- ALBERT What are you so afraid of, Suzy Creamcheese? They gonna kick you off the cheerleading squad for seeing spooks? During the above, ELMER has reached out to TOUCH MARIAN'S HAND, his expression intense, as if he were somehow absorbing information from her. Freaked out at this, and infuriated by Albert, Marian yanks away her hand and bolts from the table. JEROME Marian, wait-- She hurries out of there, slamming the door. JEROME starts to get up, OSBORNE waves him down and goes out after her. ALBERT Did she at least flip me off? I'm curious. SILENCE in the room. They glare at ALBERT. EXT. COMMUNITY CENTER - NIGHT OSBORNE catches up with MARIAN as she hurries away from the center, toward a BUS STOP. OSBORNE Marian! Hang on. (she turns toward him) I apologize for Albert. He's not good with strangers. MARIAN I'll say. OSBORNE There's a pretty high flake quotient, I'll admit... but they grow on you. Over time. MARIAN What do you people do, anyway? Read palms, or write astrology columns, or maybe stuff fortune cookies--? OSBORNE I'm a first year resident at St. Joe's hospital... MARIAN (surprised) Oh... OSBORNE Come on, lemme buy you a cup of coffee or something. Marian thinks a beat, then nods. EXT. CITY PARK - NIGHT OSBORNE and MARIAN walk through a PARK in the city center. OSBORNE ...the Others started in the twenties, part of the great spiritualist revival. Back then everyone had a Ouija board and held seances at parties. Elmer is the last of the original members, he was sort of a boy wonder as a medium... They've reached a PEDESTRIAN UNDERPASS near a major STREET. OSBORNE (CONT'D) Let's cut down here. MARIAN Wouldn't it be faster to just keep-- Osborne is already trotting down the steps. Marian isn't happy about it, but she follows. INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT FLICKERING FLUORESCENT LIGHT overhead, graffiti, dark puddles. Osborne is a few steps ahead of Marian as she enters the tunnel. Marian looks uneasy. MARIAN Mark...? I don't like this... He turns, gestures casually, keeps moving. She takes a few steps forward to catch up, then STOPS SHORT, hearing a faint CHILD'S SCREAM. HER POV— the TUNNEL starts to WARP, EXPANDING in front of her, the WALLS begin to BREATHE. MARIAN whirls, starting to hyperventilate. She DROPS to her KNEES, looking down. CLOSE ON A DARK PUDDLE, the REFLECTION of a DARK FORM RUNNING PAST. THE PUDDLE SPLASHES as though a foot had landed in it, even though there's nobody there. MARIAN struggles to rise. A SPRAY OF BLOOD appears on a wall before her, as if emerging _from within the concrete. MORE FAINT SCREAMS. She turns back the way she came, desperate to get out of there, but finds herself confronting-- --a dark, mutating, nightmarish FORM, features distorted and grotesque. The GLIMMER of METAL appears, a rapidly moving knife blade, catching the flicker of the fluorescents. MARIAN SCREAMS -- CUT TO BLACK END ACT ONE ACT TWO FADE IN: INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT MARIAN reels in the tunnel, SOBBING, hands over her eyes, terrified, disoriented. OSBORNE comes to her side, pale and concerned. He helps her to her feet and toward the staircase, his face showing pain. EXT. CITY PARK - NIGHT MARIAN, getting a hold of herself, darts up the stairs, now keeping her distance from OSBORNE-- MARIAN You bastard, you knew what was down there! You were testing me?! OSBORNE I'm sorry, I had no idea you were that sensitive. I had to show you-- it's not just in your head -- MARIAN I'm sorry, I don't understand-- OSBORNE grabs her and spins her around. OSBORNE Nobody does! (releasing her, more calmly) Look, most people just avoid that place now. Or if they have to use the tunnel, they tend to walk a little faster without knowing why-- maybe they just think it's claustrophobia. For them, this sort of thing doesn't exist. They may feel it, but they can deny it, ignore it. But others-- people like us-- we have to deal with it. Even if it doesn't make sense. Because whatever it is, for us-- it is real. It is. MARIAN, reeling, sits on a nearby bench. OSBORNE sits a few feet away. After a beat, she almost whispers: MARIAN What happened down there... to the children? OSBORNE It was a brother and sister, they were out late. Some psycho murdered them in that tunnel, about twelve years ago-- MARIAN There was a knife-- OSBORNE (nods) They never caught him... you know, you picked up a lot. As much as Satori-- and the cops brought her in on the case a month after it happened. MARIAN It's true... I really am a freak. OSBORNE You're not a freak. You're just seeing-- well, for lack of a better term, we call it the Other Side. Marian trembles, on the verge of tears. Slowly, he puts an arm around her, holding her close to comfort her. CUT TO; INT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT OSBORNE and MARIAN sit at a small table, finishing coffee, both of them calmer now. MARIAN ...The scary part is, when it happens, I feel like I'm not me anymore. Like she's taking over. I don't get it, why is she after me? OSBORNE Maybe she's not. It sounds to me like she's caught in a trap-- that room where she died, it's like the tunnel. A kind of psychic quicksand... you just happened to step in it. Could I see that note? MARIAN fumbles in her backpack, pulls out the piece of paper she scribbled on, passes it to him. He starts to read: OSBORNE (CONT'D) "...thus, when Prufrock ponders, 'Dare I eat a peach?' is it really fruit that he's talking about--" MARIAN Uh, no, that's my roommate's paper. The writing's on the other side. Osborne turns the paper over, squints at the scribbling. OSBORNE I can't make it out. Is it even English? MARIAN I have no idea. OSBORNE Can I hang onto this? (off her nod, after a beat) Has this kind of thing happened to you before? MARIAN When I was a kid... there were times when...like, I had conversations with my grandmother late at night, only-- she was dead. OSBORNE Then you got older, figured you'd just imagined it... MARIAN I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy. But I've always gotten, you know, weird flashes-- like something you see out of the corner of your eye-- OSBORNE But you turn around and it's not there... (off her nod) When I was ten, our Golden Retriever ate snail bait. When I found him, his heart wasn't beating. I held him in my arms, I could feel his life leaving him, practically see it and-- and I willed him back. Gave him my strength. MARIAN He lived? OSBORNE Uh-huh. Or... maybe we just got lucky, got him to the vet in time. MARIAN And maybe I was just dreaming about my grandmother. OSBORNE Maybe... DISSOLVE TO; EXT. URBAN BROWNSTONE - DAY An older HOME with a FOR SALE sign. INT. BROWNSTONE - DAY CLOSE on a MATCH, as it LIGHTS a BUNDLE OF HERBS. WIDER, SATORI waves the BURNING HERBS as she moves through the place. The home is largely EMPTY, most of the furniture moved out. JEROME approaches her, a VIDEO CAMERA to his eye. JEROME You really think that stuff works? SATORI Hard to say. But I like the scent. Satori lays her incense down in an ashtray as MRS. HARMON, sweet and ditzy, late 50's, enters with a TEA TRAY. MRS. HARMON I made some herbal tea-- it's supposed to enhance spirituality, the box says so... JEROME (aiming the camera) Mrs. Harmon, when did your husband pass away? MRS. HARMON He didn't exactly "pass away." He was hit by lightning on the golf course. JEROME (stifling a guffaw) Seriously? MRS. HARMON I'm afraid so. It happens more often than you'd think. I warned him not to play in the rain, but the man was obsessed. A DOORBELL chimes. MRS. HARMON (CONT'D) I thought I gave the realtor the keys... Mrs. Harmon moves to the door, opens it to DOT AND SETH-- DOT Hello... SATORI Dot, Seth, come in... (to Mrs. Harmon) They're friends of mine-- I think they might be able to help... MRS. HARMON admits DOT and SETH. Dot looks around, Crying to get a feel for the place. DOT Nice house. JEROME Why do you want to sell it? MRS. HARMON I don't want to, I love this house, we had so many happy times here... it's just. Bill took care of the finances and... we were getting ready to retire when... (a forced smile) The best laid plans, right? SETH makes a strange NOISE and RUNS INTO THE HOUSE. DOT Seth? I'm sorry, ma'am-- She moves to pursue her son, but Jerome stops her. JEROME Let him go. Something set him off... JEROME trots after him with the camera, as SETH runs through the house at full tilt. DOT wanders into the house, SNIFFS. DOT I'm getting something too. A strange smell. Like burning hair. MRS. HARMON GASPS at this, puts a hand to her mouth. Satori gestures toward the ashtray, embarrassed. SATORI Oh, that's my incense. DOT No, it's like... has there been a fire in this house? MRS. HARMON No... Tea, anyone? INT. BROWNSTONE HALLWAY - DAY SETH suddenly stops his crazed running in this long hallway, a CASEMENT WINDOW at one end. Seth stares straight ahead, breathing hard. A GOLFBAG leans against the wall here-- SETH runs his hand on its surface. JEROME hovers behind, taping. DOT appears in the hall, cup of tea in hand, moving toward the boy with a cookie-- DOT Seth, hon, want a cookie--? As she nears her son, he swings out his hand, KNOCKING the china teacup from her grasp-- --it SHATTERS on the floor. A stream of LIQUID FLOWS down the hallway. INT. BROWNSTONE - DAY MRS. HARMON reacts to the sound of breakage. MRS. HARMON What was that? SATORI is in a standing yoga pose, eyes shut, trying to absorb energy, muttering a MANTRA to herself. Just then, an enthusiastic female REALTOR in a business suit lets herself in with a wealthy young COUPLE. REALTOR It's a very quiet neighborhood, but convenient to every-- She takes in Satori; the realtor's smile FREEZES. REALTOR (CONT'D) Judy. I didn't know you were showing the house to anyone today-- MRS. HARMON Oh, no, this is-- The realtor charges across the room, taking Mrs. Harmon by the arm and leading her out of earshot of the puzzled couple. REALTOR (a hiss) I know who it is. Why do you persist in letting these lunatics in here? MRS. HARMON The house is haunted-- REALTOR It's not. And even if it was, there's no disclosure law regarding ghosts. As they speak, the realtor has walked Mrs. Harmon into-- INT. BROWNSTONE HALLWAY - DAY --the hallway where DOT, SETH and JEROME stand over the spill, fascinated; Jerome aims the camera at the floor. They pay no attention to the REALTOR or MRS. HARMON. REALTOR There's more of them. MRS. HARMON (embarrassed) Maybe you people should just go... She moves off. The realtor gives the others a "beat it" look, and moves back to deal with her clients. ANGLE ON FLOOR, where the SPILLED TEA is still flowing slowly, in an unnatural way. It's branched into FIVE NARROW STREAMS, almost like a hand, moving in PULSES towards a bend in the hallway.... almost as if it were crawling. JEROME hands the camera to Dot, excited. JEROME Keep taping. He moves to the GOLF BAG, UNZIPS a pocket, feeling inside and coming up with a GOLF BALL. Jerome kneels by the liquid on the floor, addresses the video camera. JEROME (cont'd) Clearly, the floors aren't level-- it's an old house-- but... He places the golf ball gently beside the far end of the still flowing liquid, away from the broken cup, and releases it. After a beat, the golf ball slowly rolls-- TOWARD THE BROKEN CUP, the opposite direction from the spill's flow. JEROME (CONT'D) Ha! Since when does liquid flow uphill? CLOSE ON SPILL as one TENTACLE moves more rapidly, almost like a pointing finger, but only to run into-- MRS. HARMON with a SPONGE. She SOPS IT UP vigorously. JEROME What are you doing?! MRS. HARMON Cleaning up. SETH begins to HOWL, PUNCHING THE WALL. DOT holds him tightly, trying to calm him down. SATORI dashes in. SATORI I just got a tremendous wave of-- pain, anger-- frustration-- REALTOR That must've been me. THE REALTOR appears from the opposite end of the hallway with the HUSBAND and WIFE, who look confused by the group of people staring at the floor. It's quite a crowd in this narrow hallway now. MRS. HARMON (meekly, to Satori) I'm sorry I made you all waste your time, but... there's no point in continuing this. JEROME We were just getting something, he was trying to communicate-- SATORI Please, Mrs. Harmon, these things are unpredictable, you need to be patient-- MRS. HARMON (losing it) I've been patient all my life! Bill told me we were safe, not to worry. He said we'd grow old together without a care in the world-- be patient, he told me, just wait and see. And now... I'm alone and I have nothing and... he's gone. He's gone. I miss him so much and-- (fights back her tears) I have to sell. Just to pay the bills. Now please... leave. Mrs. Harmon flees the hallway. The others follow a moment later, somber. Alone with the realtor, the HUSBAND sighs, then points at the floor. HUSBAND Are these the original baseboards? CUT TO: EXT. CITY STREET - DAY MARIAN, book bag slung over one shoulder, walks with BOB and JIM, jocky-looking fellow freshman. JIM --there's gonna be a major Halloween party in Barker Hall tonight. BOB Those dudes are animals. THE THREE STUDENTS instinctively give a wide berth to a MUMBLING STREET PERSON as he passes, moving in the other direction. A few paces on, he looks up, turns-- it's WARREN. WARREN Hey-- hey, you, uh, uh, blonde girl! MARIAN takes a moment to register who this guy is. JIM and BOB eye Warren as he approaches, move to protect Marian. WARREN (CONT'D) I was just heading over to the, um, you wanna go with me? JIM Get lost, OK? MARIAN No, wait, I know him-- BOB You're kidding. MARIAN I mean, I met him once... WARREN points toward the OLD CHURCH a block up. WARREN I can't have already missed it-- damn, I gotta get a watch. What's your name again? MARIAN Marian. Missed what? WARREN You know, the ceremonial planting of the r bones, laying to rest the restless-- JIM and BOB back away from Warren and Marian. BOB We, uh, gotta get to practice-- JIM Later- MARIAN is torn for a moment, looking from the young men to the twitchy Warren. A note of regret: MARIAN Sure-- see you guys... (to Warren) What are you talking about? WARREN Aloysius Green, the reinterment. The others are there, come on. He turns and hurries off, MUTTERING to himself again. MARIAN looks after him unsurely. EXT. OLD CHURCHYARD - DAY WARREN hurries up to THE OTHERS, milling and talking quietly. MARIAN stands at the gates of the cemetery, peering in. OSBORNE cocks his head at the sight of her and approaches. OSBORNE Marian... did you want to join us? MARIAN I was just walking by... what's going on? OSBORNE escorts her closer to the others. OSBORNE Well, it's a project we've all been working on a while. There's been some vandalism here, tombs knocked over and smashed...we're hoping this might put an end to it. They've reached an OPEN GRAVE with a CANVAS BAG beside it. SATORI beams, gives MARIAN a hug, which she receives stiffly. SATORI I'm so glad you've come back to us, we need your strength-- MARIAN Well, I just happened to be—- SATORI Nothing just happens. ALBERT That you, Marian? MARIAN Yes. ALBERT They tell me I was a little hard on you the other night. MARIAN I guess. She waits expectantly with a half-smile for an apology. But Albert is done speaking, reaches down to scratch his dog. A s Marian's smile fades, THE PRIEST we met earlier approaches nervously, ELMER beside him. Elmer moves closer to Marian, staring at her intently, unnerving her a bit. ELMER Girl, I need a word with you. CLOSE as he takes her hand in his gnarled fingers. He speaks in a hoarse whisper: ELMER (cont'd) Some spirits is too strong to fight. Their pain, it becomes a poison in the air. Poison don't care what it kills. MARIAN What are you saying? ELMER Get outta that place. I can give you a couch to sleep. I can help you... navigate the spiritual waters a bit if you know what I mean. MARIAN eyes the shaky, elderly man-- he doesn't strike her as a powerful protector. MARIAN Thank you, but-- I'll be fine. ELMER looks disappointed in her, shakes his head. ELMER Just keep your wits about you. THE PRIEST clears his throat; he obviously wants this ceremony to be over with as quickly as possible. PRIEST Shall we get started...? Today we've gathered because-- all of you care deeply about Aloysius Green, a man who's been-- lost to us for a hundred and thirty years... His great-grand-nephew Elmer Green would like to say a few words... ELMER totters to the graveside, beside the BAG. The priest looks away during the following, uncomfortable. ELMER Aloysius has spent most of his time mad at the world. It's hard to blame him. He's born a slave, escaped and come to what he thought'd be freedom... but his soul never been free yet. Aloysius helped build this church, but after that they wouldn't let him in it, not alive nor dead... and lately he's done a bit of mischief here... (hoisting the canvas bag) Aloysius, you been with me mosta my life. You showed me the ways of the Other Side-- and soon I'll be joining you there... until then... God rest you. Elmer OPENS THE BAG and pours the contents into the grave-- ANGLE IN GRAVE-- a pile of DUSTY, DECAYED BONES, with a SKULL and RIB CAGE recognisable. MARIAN GASPS at this grim sight. She looks up at THE OTHERS, who stare calmly into the grave. A SHOVELFUL OF DIRT lands on the pile of bones. OSBORNE passes the shovel to JEROME. He looks up to see-- MARIAN, through the fence, walking away fast. MUSIC UP and-- CUT TO: INT. DORM SUITE - NIGHT POUNDING ROCK MUSIC, a packed PARTY, lit by BLACK LIGHT, some Of the PARTIERS in HALLOWEEN COSTUMES. ON THE CROWDED DANCE FLOOR, MARIAN, without a costume, LAUGHS as she dances energetically with JIM. Both are sweating, Marian's "face is red. As she swings her head to one side-- HER POV— amidst the throng of twisting bodies, we briefly glimpse what looks like an unmoving DIANE STILLMAN. When the dancing bodies move again, we see it's a different GIRL. MARIAN stops dancing, disturbed, catching her breath. Jim leads her to a PUNCH BOWL, fills two cups. She knocks hers back, refills it, trying to chase away the ghost. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - NIGHT MARIAN sways as she and JIM cross the campus, the sounds of the PARTY RECEDING. Other PEDESTRIANS about, it isn't late. She almost falls down, LAUGHING, Jim holds her up, his hands lingering on her body. MARIAN I seem normal to you, don't I? JIM Actually, you seem kinda wasted. MARIAN I know that, but I'm not weird, or freakish or anything, am I? JIM No way. You're a true babe. MARIAN (leans into him) Can we go to your room? I don't wanna be alone right now... JIM My dweeb roommate's up studying. How 'bout your place? Linda's at her boyfriend's, right? Marian's reluctant, but shrugs and nods. INT. MARIAN'S ROOM - NIGHT JIM follows MARIAN into the room. MARIAN Look, Jim, thanks for the party... I'm just, I gotta lie down. JIM ignores this, he's all over her, joining her on the bed and trying to make out with her. MARIAN makes a sick NOISE and rolls over, face into the pillow. He strokes her hair, rubs her shoulder, tries to rouse her. JIM Hey Marian, come on... MARIAN snores-- she's out cold. JIM (CONT'D) Damn it... JIM gets up, disappointed, straightens his clothes and heads out the door. HOLD ON the sleeping MARIAN for a beat. The SNORING STOPS. She rolls on her back and opens her eyes, her face impassive gaze far away. She rises, knocking the phone to the floor-- we hear a DIAL TONE. MARIAN moves to Linda's side of the room, begins rummaging through the drawers of her desk. She finds what she wants and moves into the bathroom. INT. MARIAN'S BATHROOM - NIGHT CLOSE-on the running BATHTUB. MOVE TO FIND MARIAN standing at the sink. We see now that she has a PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE of Linda's, pouring PILLS into her hand. She looks at these blankly for a moment, then puts the lot of them in her mouth. She bends to drink water from the tap. As she does this-- CAMERA MOVES to the mirror. In the. REFLECTION we see the RED BACKWARDS WRITING. When Marian rises, SHIFT FOCUS to show-- --it's no longer Marian, but a deathly pale DIANE STILLMAN. FADE OUT END ACT TWO ACT THREE FADE IN: INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT OSBORNE, in a white coat, is making his rounds, sipping coffee. He suddenly looks pained, puts a hand to his forehead. He makes his way to a chair and sits, dizzy, putting his head between his knees. FLASH CUT-- ANGLE on an empty BATHROOM from the tub, the CAMERA SLIDING UNDER the surface of WATER and back up again. OSBORNE rises quickly, GASPING for air. He pulls a CELL PHONE from his pocket, rising and moving from the ward. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - NIGHT Moving down the hall, OSBORNE DIALS his phone, consulting a scrap of paper from his wallet. We hear a BUSY SIGNAL. He hangs up, in a cold sweat, picking up the pace. He sprints past LOUISA, a female resident. OSBORNE Louisa, I got an emergency, cover my rounds! He moves on before the surprised woman can answer. INT. COLLEGE DORM BATHROOM - NIGHT ON A CEILING, as a MOIST SPOT appears, SPREADING rapidly. EXT. URBAN STREETS/OSBORNE'S CAR - NIGHT OSBORNE drives rapidly through the streets of the city. He's on his CELLPHONE, we hear the FILTERED VOICE of an OPERATOR. OPERATOR (FILTER) --there's no one on that line, sir, it must be off the hook. He RUNS a RED LIGHT, DRIVING like a maniac now. INT. COLLEGE DORM BATHROOM - NIGHT A MALE STUDENT, in a bathrobe, regards a STEADY STREAM of WATER from the CEILING, now SPLASHING on the floor of their bathroom. IN BG, his ROOMMATE is on the PHONE. EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT OSBORNE pulls up in his CAR, jumps out, moves to the CAMPUS GATE-- it's CLOSED and LOCKED. He hesitates only a moment, then starts to CLIMB OVER. INT. MARIAN'S ROOM - NIGHT We hear RUNNING WATER, KEYS in the lock, the DOOR OPENS. A middle-aged CAMPUS SECURITY COP enters, the MALE STUDENTS behind him. He follows the sound of the water into-- INT. MARIAN'S BATHROOM - NIGHT --the BATHROOM where he sees MARIAN, lying unconscious in the OVERFLOWING TUB, her head below the water. SECURITY COP Ah Jesus! He quickly YANKS her body out of the tub, SLOSHING WATER. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - NIGHT OSBORNE moves through the campus, a bit disoriented. He sees the FLASHING LIGHT of a SECURITY CAR, hurries in that direction, running into MARIAN'S BUILDING. INT. MARIAN'S ROOM - NIGHT The SECURITY COP kneels over Marian, performing CPR uncertainly. The MALE STUDENT looks on, frightened, while his ROOMMATE talks on the phone. ROOMMATE Yeah, Homsworth 37, send an ambulance-- MALE STUDENT Is she dead? The cop looks pretty helpless. OSBORNE, breathless, dashes into the room, shoving past the students. OSBORNE Move it, I'm a doctor! ROOMMATE (hanging up) That was quick... The cop makes way for OSBORNE, who performs MOUTH TO MOUTH, POUNDS Marian's chest. CLOSE, as his hand SQUEEZES hers. His head is over her heart, listening for signs of life. OSBORNE C'mon. live... live... He closes his eyes, focusing all his strength on the unconscious MARIAN, who-- --takes a tortured BREATH. CUT TO; EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - NIGHT PARAMEDICS WHEEL the unconscious MARIAN on a stretcher into the back of a waiting AMBULANCE. Osborne moves alongside, a bit unsteady on his feet. OSBORNE Push the narcan on the IV, she swallowed alprazalom, washed it down with vodka. He hands over Linda's PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE. As the AMBULANCE PULLS AWAY, SIREN BLARING, Osborne suddenly nearly loses his balance, has to move to the building's steps, where he sits heavily. His CELL PHONE RINGS, he answers,it wearily. OSBORNE (CONT'D) Osborne. INTERCUT WITH: INT. JEROME'S OFFICE - NIGHT A tiny, incredibly messy office. OCCULT BOOKS fill the shelves, stack to the ceiling; the decor is a hodgepodge of scary NATIVE FETISHES and MASKS, VOODOO DOLLS, etc. JEROME is sitting at his desk, running a VIDEOTAPE on his desktop COMPUTER SCREEN-- his VIDEO CAMERA connects to the machine. JEROME Hey Mark, it's me. Listen, soon as you get off your shift, you gotta come to my office. You won't believe what I've got. It's on the tape from the Harmon place-- As he speaks, we see what Jerome is watching-- ON SCREEN— the VIDEO IMAGE of the SPILLED TEA. As the video camera PANS UPWARD to reveal the end of the hallway, what looks like a vaguely HUMAN SHAPE, made of VIDEO SNOW, appears for a second, then VANISHES. JEROME (CONT'D) --you can see the guy, it's Mr. Harmon, clear as day... Jerome SCANS the tape back and forth, IN SLO-MO, trying to freeze the moment when the FORM is visible, but he can't quite get it. JEROME (CONT'D) ...well, not clear as day. Not exactly proof positive of life after death maybe but-- OSBORNE Jerome, Marian Kitt just overdosed. I don't know if she's gonna pull through. Jerome blinks, stunned, rising from his seat. JEROME Oh no... you sound awful man— are you OK? As Jerome murmurs into the phone, CAMERA MOVES to the COMPUTER SCREEN— the STILL IMAGE of the HARMON HALLWAY. DISSOLVE TO; INT. BROWNSTONE HALLWAY - NIGHT The same angle on the hallway, dark and quiet now. CAMERA MOVES to FIND an OUTLET on the floor. A SPARK from within. The WALLPAPER above the outlet turns BROWN and BUBBLES. EXT. URBAN BROWNSTONE - NIGHT IN FG, the REAL ESTATE SIGN with the notice "IN ESCROW" on it. MOVE to FIND a BEDROOM WINDOW as a LIGHT GOES ON. INT. MRS. HARMON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT MRS. HARMON sits up in bed, hand on the lamp, listening to the sound of a SMOKE ALARM downstairs. She hurries out of bed, moving for the stairs. INT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT She comes downstairs, SNIFFING the air, moving toward SMOKE coming from the hall. INT. BROWNSTONE HALLWAY - NIGHT The wall has ERUPTED IN FLAMES, some of the FLOORBOARDS bum as well. Mrs. Harmon lets out a little CRY. IN THE SMOKE AND FLAMES, a faint IMAGE is forming. For a moment, we make out a HAND... then a FACE.. . MRS. HARMON Oh my God... A WISP of SMOKE, almost in the shape of a FINGER, seems to briefly caress her face. She closes her eyes, wanting to feel something... MRS. HARMON (CONT'D) Bill... But the smoke is getting to her, she COUGHS and hurries away. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ICU WARD - DAY CLOSE on MARIAN, hooked to tubes and wires. PULL BACK, we're in a CURTAINED AREA of the WARD. We hear VITAL SIGN MONITORS BLEEPING. INT. WAITING AREA - DAY OSBORNE is stretched put on a bench, half-asleep, by a window in this waiting area. JEROME is hunched over a piece of paper, studying it. He looks up with a smile, rises and addresses a young female NURSE at a desk. JEROME Excuse me, nurse? You're wearing make up. YOUNG NURSE Um... yes... JEROME Do you have one of those little mirrors, you know, a compact? Can I borrow it? The woman fishes in her purse and passes him the MIRROR, a bit reluctantly. He hunches back over the paper, holds the mirror up to it. JEROME (CONT'D) Osborne! Check this out. Osborne stirs with,a MOAN. Jerome moves to Osborne's bench, squeezing in beside him, forcing his legs to the floor. Osborne sits up wearily. JEROME (cont'd) Her message. It's not like Sanskrit or anything, it's English-- it's just backwards, written on top of itself. CLOSE-- on the NOTE that Marian scribbled while sleepwalking. IN THE MIRROR, the handwriting's still difficult to read. OSBORNE squints. JEROME I can read lots of words now... let's see... "love... pain... my death..." OSBORNE What's that say near the top? CLOSE on the MIRROR WORDS, a scrawl that looks like: JEROME "Find Proof And Mercy...?" Proof And Mercy-- it's capitalized, everything else is lower-case. OSBORNE looks impatient at this. OSBORNE Maybe ghosts have poor grammar. JEROME Maybe it's a name. This gets Osborne's interest. He squints at the mirror. The NURSE is interested too, she pauses by them as she moves from behind her desk, looking over their shoulders. JEROME (CONT'D) Is that really a "Y?" It looks like it could be two letters. "L--" YOUNG NURSE No, it's an e, and that'd be an r... Mercer. The two men look at her, impressed. YOUNG NURSE (CONT'D) I have to read a lot of prescriptions. OSBORNE That's not "And" then. It's Andy. JEROME seems suddenly excited, getting it. JEROME Unh-huh, and there's only one "O" in proof. Andy Mercer-- Professor Andy Mercer. I know the guy, he used to teach at the university! OSBORNE Used to? What happened to him? JEROME He resigned last year, rumor was he had some kind of mental meltdown... CUT TO: INT. OSBORNE'S CAR/EXT. SANITARIUM - DAY DRIVING SHOT, THROUGH FRONT WINDSHIELD as OSBORNE and JEROME approach a high-end institution down a long driveway... it looks more like a large Colonial home. JEROME Ritzy bin. A few RESIDENTS sit on benches, stroll, accompanied by casually-garbed NURSES. OSBORNE parks the car near the front entrance. INT. SANITARIUM DEN - DAY ANDREW MERCER, a sad-looking man in his late 30's, sits in a chair by a window. An EMPLOYEE points him out to JEROME and OSBORNE. Other PATIENTS IN BG watch TV, play CHESS. OSBORNE Professor Mercer? MERCER I'm not a professor. JEROME Andy-- do you remember me? Jerome Ballard, folk and myth department? MERCER blinks and barely shrugs. This guy has disconnected from the world. OSBORNE I'm Mark Osborne, I'm a doctor at St. Joe's. I have a patient by the name of Marian Kitt... do you know her by any chance? (gets no reaction) She gave us a message-- we think it's about you-- or maybe for you. JEROME It's from Diane Stillman. MERCER (suddenly alarmed, eyes wide) Diane? What kind of message? OSBORNE She-- she wanted us to find you. MERCER No-- that's not possible. She didn't tell anybody, nobody knew-- OSBORNE Knew what? MERCER Why are you doing this to me? Get out of here. Get out! Get out!! He rises shakily, shouting at them. Other PATIENTS react, OSBORNE and JEROME try to follow MERCER as he hurries away from them, out of the room, but the EMPLOYEE intercepts them. EXT. SANITARIUM - DAY JEROME and OSBORNE exit, linger in front of the building. OSBORNE The man's guilty as hell. JEROME Even I felt that. OSBORNE Did Diane Stillman leave a suicide note? JEROME shakes his head. OSBORNE (CONT'D) What if it wasn't suicide? CUT TO: EXT. ELMER GREEN'S HOME - EVENING A funky, one-story home on the outskirts of the city, a bit run-down-- it's painted in BRILLIANT COLORS. INT. ELMER GREEN'S HOME - EVENING TRACK OVER PHOTOS of famed SPIRITUALISTS, GURDJIEFF, PADRE PIO, even KRESKIN, all signed, along with RELIGIOUS ICONS from Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity... FIND ELMER in a battered armchair, SETH on the floor nearby. All the furnishings are fifty or more years old, most covered in plastic. The old man and the child both stare at an (unseen) OBJECT on the floor. Elmer points at his temple. ELMER Decide what it is you want to see. (pointing at object) ) Then you put your finger there. SETH hesitantly reaches out to do so and-- THE TELEVISION POPS ON. Seth picks up the REMOTE CONTROL, pressing buttons, CHANNEL SURFING with a look of wonder. DOT ENTERS from the KITCHEN with a TV TRAY of FOOD, gives Elmer a look. DOT Elmer, I don't let him watch TV. ELMER It's good for him. DOT He gets agitated. She places the tray in front of Elmer, then tries to take the remote from Seth's hand-- he won't let go, makes angry NOISES. She sighs, deftly passes him a RUBIC'S CUBE in exchange for the remote. She turns OFF the TV, while Seth begins twisting the cube in his hand, distracted. Dot turns toward Elmer, pointing at the food. DOT Promise you'll eat that. ELMER What's the point? DOT Hm, let's see... staying alive? Elmer shrugs, picks up a BITE of FOOD and pretends to put it in his mouth with a satisfied expression. ELMER Mmmm... Mebbe you could give me a ride to the hospital? Thought I'd pay that Marian girl a visit. DOT Elmer, she's in a coma... ELMER Don't 'spose she'd object to the company then. DOT Thing is, I gotta drop Seth at my mother's and get to work... ELMER Never mind, then. DOT I'm just gonna bring the car around. You be ready to go now, Seth. She grabs her jacket and heads out the door. Elmer rises creakily, helps Seth into his jacket. ELMER Look at me, boy. Seth LOOKS INTO ELMER'S EYES, the first time we've seen him make eye contact with anyone. ELMER (CONT'D) I got somethin' to do... I may not be seein' you again for a while. SETH shakes his head, upset. ELMER (CONT'D) Don't be like that. You got your own path to follow... you're gonna be all right. He reaches out a hand to Seth-- the boy instinctively backs away-- then moves forward and hugs the old man briefly. A HORN honks outside and Elmer breaks the embrace. ELMER (CONT'D) Go now. Do what you gotta. Seth looks up one more time and heads out the door. ELMER sighs and looks around his room, as if for the last time. EXT. URBAN STREETS/DOT'S CAR - NIGHT DOT drives a battered compact, a plastic SKULL on a BEAD CHAIN dangles from the rear-view mirror. ALTERNATIVE ROCK plays on the car radio. SETH sits in the passenger seat, absently twisting the CUBE, staring out the side window. AT A STOPLIGHT on a crowded street, Seth suddenly drops the cube, UNBUCKLES HIS SEATBELT and opens the passenger door-- "r DOT Seth-- no, what are you doing-- She reaches to grab him, but he BOLTS off into the city-- DOT, panicking, pulls out into the intersection, narrowly avoiding a collision, SWERVING and HONKING. Leaving the car half on the curb, she leaps out and tries to follow the boy-- but there's no sign of him. On her anguished CRY-- CUT TO: INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT CLOSE ON MARIAN as her EYELID is lifted, a PENLIGHT shining in on her dilated pupil-- the DOCTOR we saw with Osborne examines her, we hear the BLEEPING MACHINES. INT. SPFX SPACE MARIAN thrashes under the surface of a viscous, dark LIQUID, bathed in eerie LIGHT, SCREAMING, her face a mask of terror-- she can't get out, it's like being trapped under ice. INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT BACK TO SHOT as the DOCTOR lets her eyelid close. As he leaves the room, we MOVE IN on MARIAN'S FACE. Her expression seems quite peaceful... but faintly we hear her MUFFLED SCREAMS, as if from underwater. FADE OUT END ACT THREE ACT FOUR FADE IN: EXT. SATORI'S STUDIO - NIGHT DOT'S CAR screeches up to the storefront PSYCHIC STUDIO with a neon EYE in front. INT. SATORI'S STUDIO - NIGHT TAROT CARDS turn— the HANGED MAN, the TOWER, DEATH... SATORI (wincing) Hmm. I see a lot of... positive changes. SATORI does a reading for ALBERT. Her studio is cozy, draped with colorful fabrics. DOT rushes in, breathless. DOT Is he here? ALBERT Who? DOT Seth-- oh God, he didn't come here? He ran out of my car about six blocks away DOT is nearly hyperventilating, Satori rushes to her side. SATORI Just breathe. Dot. We'll call the cops, he can't have gone far... ALBERT Give me something of his. LATER, CLOSE ON THE CUBE in ALBERT'S HANDS as he turns the colored surfaces. WIDER, SATORI hovers over ALBERT, DOT is on the PHONE IN BG. DOT About twenty minutes ago... he's wearing a blue jacket... yes, I'll hold... SATORI Getting anything? DOT ALBERT (straining) Lines, parallel lines. Black soot-- and broken glass... blood... (off her gasp) Walls, a narrow space... SATORI (lighting up) A hallway? (to Dot) ) I think I know where he went. SATORI is moving to grab a coat; Albert holds up the cube. ALBERT What the hell is this thing, anyway? SATORI Albert, we' re going over to the Harmon house, watch the store. ALBERT Yeah, right. As soon as THEY'RE GONE, the PHONE RINGS. ALBERT feels his way toward it, answers. ALBERT (CONT'D) Psychic studio... she's not here... oh, Mrs. Harmon, she's on her way over there... I wish you'd called two minutes ago, you coulda saved me a lot of effort. He tosses the CUBE over his shoulder, disgustedly. CUT TO: INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT MR. and MRS. KITT, a distraught-looking, middle-aged Midwestern couple, hover over MARIAN, still unmoving. OSBORNE is behind them. Mrs. Kitt strokes Marian's hair, Mr. Kitt puts an arm around his wife. MRS. KITT When is she going to wake up? OSBORNE It's hard to say... A NURSE shows WARREN into the curtained room; he looks nervous. As soon as he sees Osborne, he starts babbling: WARREN Wow, I really hate hospitals. How do you work here? The air is so thick, you know? You can practically taste them, all those souls in transit-- OSBORNE (cutting him off) Warren, this is Mr. and Mrs. Kitt-- Marian's parents. WARREN is looking directly at Marian now, seeing something the others clearly aren't. His eyes go wide. WARREN (CONT'D) Oh my God... help her, somebody help her! He dashes to Marian, puts his arms around her, shaking her. MRS. KITT freaks, OSBORNE and MR. KITT pull Warren away. MR. KITT What are you, crazy? Let go of her! EXT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT A CAB pulls up, ELMER climbs slowly out of the back seat. pays off the DRIVER, then heads inside. TNT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - NIGHT An ORDERLY shepherds WARREN down the hall from the entrance to the ICU, OSBORNE and the KITTS a step behind. WARREN She's, she's drowning, can't you people see?! OSBORNE Warren, you really oughta take your medication... MRS. KITT How did that man get in here? The pass the ELEVATOR, which opens a moment later. ELMER emerges from the elevator, looking in the direction of the commotion, then heads toward the ICU ward. INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT ELMER lets himself into Marian's curtained room. He studies her for a moment. ELMER Oh, girl. Wish you'd a listened to me. He sighs and pulls a chair up by the bedside, sits heavily. He takes her hand in his own. ELMER (CONT'D) Now we got no choice but to see this thing through... He bows his head and closes his eyes. An older NURSE enters. OLDER NURSE Uh, sir, you'll have to leave... ELMER slowly opens his eyes, rises, steps close to her, stares at her, unblinking. His voice is hypnotic. ELMER It's all right, now. There's nobody here but that girl, sleeping peacefully. She's all alone... The older nurse just stares back for a few moments, then she turns and walks out. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - NIGHT THE OLDER NURSE pauses for a moment, blinks, shaking off an odd sensation. Then she continues her rounds. INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT ELMER holds MARIAN'S hand, concentrating intently. INT. SPFX SPACE MARIAN struggles under the surface. Suddenly, she's pulled upward-- as she breaks the surface, the environment MORPHS-- --she's sitting up on a hospital bed, in an altered version of the ICU. ELMER is beside her, holding her hand-- the room is strangely lit, the curtains translucent, wraith-like FORMS moving beyond them. VOICES here are strange, distorted. MARIAN Where am I? Am I dead? ELMER You're on the Other Side... INT. HOSPITAL LOBBY - NIGHT MERCER is at the desk, facing a RECEPTIONIST, as WARREN moves past with an unnerved expression, hurrying out the door. RECEPTIONIST Yes, she's a patient here, but I'm afraid visiting hours are over. As MERCER turns away, OSBORNE approaches quickly. OSBORNE Professor-- uh, Mr.-- how did you--? MERCER I'm a voluntary patient, I can leave when I want. Listen, I-- I'm sorry about today... I've been ill, I have some trouble controlling my emotions... I'd like to see this patient of yours, if that's OK. OSBORNE (nods; to the nurse) It's all right, I'll take him up. INT. SPFX SPACE ELMER AND MARIAN walk, hand in hand, down an eerie, abstracted CORRIDOR. A DOOR ahead of them, LIGHT spills out. ELMER You can't fight her no more, you gotta give her what she wants. MARIAN What does she want? ELMER To be free. You're the bridge... let her take you. He pushes the door open-- they don't so much enter the room, as it envelops them. It's a distorted version of-- MARIAN'S BATHROOM. DIANE STILLMAN writes in lipstick on the bathroom mirror. She turns, gestures at her writing. ON MIRROR-- CLOSE SHOTS-- words like, "LOVE," "DESPAIR, " "DEATH..." we don't get a chance to read the whole message. IN REFLECTION, MARIAN appears directly beside DIANE-- both stare INTO CAMERA, the red words now BLURRY and FADING. DIANE Help me... INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT OSBORNE leads MERCER into the now darkened WARD, opens the curtain. We hear the BLEEPING of the monitors. MERCER What's wrong with her? OSBORNE She took sleeping pills and alcohol... same as Diane Stillman. ELMER sits beside the still-unmoving MARIAN, her hand in his. He's deep in a trance. OSBORNE Elmer...? ELMER opens his eyes, turns to face Osborne and Mercer. He nods slowly, addresses Mercer. ELMER Touch her. MERCER is disturbed and thoroughly perplexed. MERCER Who are you? ELMER A friend. OSBORNE Just do as he says. Mercer looks at him questioningly. ELMER Please. MERCER approaches the bed, very disturbed, looking at Osborne and Elmer-- are these people even crazier than he is? He tentatively reaches out to touch Marian's arm-- WITH MERCER-- his eyes go wide-- HIS POV— it's DIANE STILLMAN lying in the bed-- MERCER yanks his hand away, utterly terrified-- he shakes his head and FLEES THE ROOM. OSBORNE hurries after Mercer. ELMER clutches Marian's hand, mustering a great psychological effort. ELMER Stay with me, girl. INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - NIGHT MERCER hits the DOWN button. OSBORNE Wait! OSBORNE squeezes in as the doors are closing-- throws the EMERGENCY SWITCH to Stop it, the ALARM RINGS OSBORNE What are you afraid of? MERCER I saw a dead girl in there! Diane-- how can this be happening?! OSBORNE Marian's channeling her, I don't know why. You have to tell me-- what did you do to Diane Stillman MERCER Nothing, she was a, a student of mine-- OSBORNE The truth! MERCER slides to the elevator floor, head in his hands. MERCER We had an affair... not for long, I told her we couldn't see each other any more, it wasn't right, it would ruin us both. She just couldn't accept it, she wouldn't let go-- OSBORNE She still won't. OSBORNE hits buttons to kill the alarm and open the door. CUT TO: EXT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT SATORI and DOT hurry toward the brownstone from Dot's car. A FRONT WINDOW is BROKEN. The front door flies open. MRS. HARMON stands there, in her robe, very upset-- MRS. HARMON I was about to call the police-- what in God's name is he doing here?! INT. BROWNSTONE HALLWAY - NIGHT DOT AND SATORI hurry in with MRS. HARMON to find SETH crouching on the floor in the sooty hallway, POUNDING the surface, making STRANGLED NOISES. His hands are BLOODY. DOT Oh baby, baby— what's the matter, what's the matter? She runs to the boy, he won't stop what he's doing, she pulls him away, he squirms. SATORI moves toward the spot-- ANGLE DOWN-- bloody HANDPRINTS cover the FIRE-DAMAGED strips of wood flooring. SATORI There's something under there... CUT TO: INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT ELMER still holds MARIAN'S hand, he seems exhausted. OSBORNE and MERCER stand by the bedside-- Mercer is inches from Marian, but he can't bring himself to touch her. Quietly: MERCER I still can't believe it happened. I quit the university afterwards, checked myself into the hospital... I can't sleep, but I can't get out of bed-- that image of her, underwater-- I can't get it out of my head... OSBORNE You did it, didn't you? You killed her. MERCER trembles, nods, opens his mouth to speak. Suddenly MARIAN'S HAND reaches out for his, grasps it. HER EYES OPEN. MARIAN No. No, Andy, you didn't. Mercer kneels by the bed, holding her hand tightly, staring into her eyes. Although Osborne sees Marian there, clearly she's someone else in Mercer's eyes. MERCER Diane... I'm so sorry... MARIAN It's not your fault. MERCER It is... it is. MARIAN No, it's not. You were trying to do the right thing-- and I punished you for it. I killed myself to hurt you... Andy, I was " wrong. Forgive me... forgive me and get on with your life. MERCER What? MARIAN You have to. Don't you see, by torturing yourself you're keeping me here. Please... forgive me and forgive yourself. MERCER nods, understanding, tears rolling down his cheeks. He lays his head on her chest. MERCER Thank you. God, I love you... MARIAN You loved me. Now let me go. After a few beats, he releases her hand and rises, wiping his eyes. Marian seems to be resting peacefully, then... THE HEART MONITOR goes haywire, ALARMS SCREAM OSBORNE Elmer, what's happening ELMER is deep in his trance, unable to answer. MERCER backs away, freaked. OSBORNE goes to MARIAN, shouting as NURSES and DOCTORS enter-- OSBORNE (CONT'D) She's going into vefib, we're gonna need a crash cart! INT. SPFX SPACE TIGHT ON MARIAN, under the DARK LIQUID again. Her HANDS reach above the surface, ELMER holds onto them. ELMER No! Stay with me! INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT FRANTIC ICU PEOPLE with resuscitation equipment push Mercer out of the room. They yank the seemingly unconscious ELMER away from MARIAN, disentangling his hand from hers, his GLASSES tumble to the floor and crack. OSBORNE rushes to Elmer's side, holding him upright in his chair. A DOCTOR fixes PADDLES over Marian's heart and ZAP! Her body JERKS upward-- INT. SPFX SPACE ELMER and MARIAN together in the dark liquid, their bodies twisting in the vortex-- ELMER She's free now! You've got to go back! INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT ZAP! as MARIAN'S BODY jerks again. INT. SPFX SPACE ELMER holds MARIAN, pulling her toward the surface-- ELMER Hold on to me, I'll show you the way. INT. ICU WARD - NIGHT ZAP! MARIAN jerks again. THE MONITORS suddenly STABILIZE into a steady HEARTBEAT. DOCTOR We've got her! OSBORNE Oh God. Elmer.. . ON ELMER, his open eyes stare straight ahead, sightless. Osborne hugs the man's lifeless body. CUT TO: INT. BROWNSTONE HALLWAY - NIGHT CRUNCH as a CROWBAR peels up CHARRED FLOORBOARDS. WIDER, DOT wields the crowbar as SATORI, MRS. HARMON and SETH, his hands now bandaged, look on. DOT gets the last of the floorboards up. DOT These boards are already loose... ANGLE ON FLOOR as a chunk of WOOD comes away to reveal-- A METAL STRONGBOX. DOT reaches in to haul it out. MRS. HARMON rushes over, they gather around as she undoes the latch and LIFTS THE LID-- ANGLE IN STRONGBOX-- a large BLACK VELVET BOX with a handwritten NOTE attached. MRS. HARMON stares at this, pulling out the note and reading in an increasingly quavering voice: MRS. HARMON "Judy my love, you've put up with me for 25 years now, missing birthdays and Valentine's Days, snoring and stealing the bed covers, working overtime when I should've been by your side. I just want you to know that nothing in this world is precious to me... but you." She opens the box and removes a large DIAMOND NECKLACE, clearly worth a fortune. MRS. HARMON (CONT'D) Oh my God... Bill... SATORI reaches in to remove a small BLACK BOOK. SATORI This is a Swiss bank account... no wonder he couldn't let you sell the house. She passes it to Mrs. Harmon who opens it and nearly faints. Satori steals a look over her shoulder, raises an eyebrow. Mrs. Harmon stares into the middle distance, thinking, a TEAR rolls down her cheek. THE WINDOW down the hall SWINGS OPEN. MRS. HARMON The wind...? DOT I think Elvis has left the building. MRS. HARMON I don't know how to thank you... SATORI (smiling) I'll send you my bill. DISSOLVE TO: INT. WAITING AREA - DAY MR. and MRS. KITT wait expectantly, talking to OSBORNE. i OSBORNE Your daughter came to around dawn. She's a little weak, but she's fine, we can release her shortly. MR. KITT Thank God... why did she do it? OSBORNE She wasn't entirely herself... I don't think it'll happen again. MRS. KITT Marian's a lot like my mother was. She feels things so deeply... it scares me sometimes, it's almost other-worldly-- MR. KITT Oh, hon, none of that mumbo-jumbo... MRS. KITT Marian! Their faces light up at the sight of MARIAN, in a wheelchair, as the ORDERLY pushes her toward them. She looks tired, but relieved. Her PARENTS rush over to hug her. MRS. KITT Honey, we were so worried. MARIAN I'm so sorry to've put you both through this. MR. KITT You're all right. That's what matters. MARIAN Mark-- last night, was Elmer here? (off his slow nod) I want to see him. OSBORNE Marian, I'm sorry, he... he passed away. MARIAN takes this in. Her eyes widen. MARIAN He's dead?! No... because of me... OSBORNE Listen to me-- he was 92 years old MARIAN He saved me. I wasn't strong enough to make it back on my own. And now I can never thank him. OSBORNE Maybe you can... excuse me a moment. He moves away from them, talking with the ORDERLY. MRS. KITT Honey, we've talked to the dean's office, we're going to take you right home. MARIAN No, dad... I-- MR. KITT You need time to rest. Take a semester off. MARIAN I don't want to, dad. It was hard at first, scary-- but .1 think I belong here... I want to stay. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. ROCKY SHORELINE - DAY WAVES CRASH on a rocky New England coast. MOVE TO FIND all the OTHERS— OSBORNE, JEROME, SATORI, ALBERT, WARREN. DOT, SETH and now MARIAN-- standing on a rocky PIER. All are dressed in black funereal clothes. They pass a CERAMIC URN, painted in RAINBOW COLORS, from one to the next, saying their private good-byes. JEROME Elmer once told me, "Life is just a drop of rain. Death is the ocean. Don't be afraid to return from whence you came." He passes the urn to Warren, who stares at it a beat: WARREN "Whence? ALBERT Elmer would never say "whence." JEROME I was paraphrasing. Warren gives the urn to DOT, who in turn hands it to SETH. DOT OK, honey. Seth steps to the edge of the pier and HURLS THE ASHES into the breeze-- they DRIFT AWAY onto the waves. SATORI The end is the beginning... MARIAN IN FG; on the beach behind her stands ELMER. She glimpses him from the corner of her eye, turns. REVERSE ANGLE-- OSBORNE notes Marian's distraction, she BLINKS. He speaks quietly: OSBORNE Is something wrong? MARIAN'S POV— ELMER is gone. MARIAN has a slight smile. MARIAN No. Nothing. WIDE SHOT as the group starts to leave the shore... FADE OUT END ACT FOUR