Alien Hybrids in Jerome, Arizona

The Goodbye Party

Your eyes open on a curving two lane

SUNLIT MOUNTAIN ROAD

It's coming at you. You're in the passenger seat. Cruising leisurely down the mountain. Twisting. Turning. Tall pine trees flash by. There are no other cars on the road. The mountain air is crystal clear. Red rock. Green pines. Loud fast unknown music is on the car radio. You see

YOUR HANDS

Reaching for a pack of Camels on the dashboard. Your hands are calloused and male. You grab a smoke and light it with your zippo. You inhale deeply and a large cloud of smoke disappears out the open window. You lean forward and look down and see

A BOTTLE OF CUERVO GOLD

Turned on its side on the floor between your legs. You're wearing old faded levis. You grab the bottle, spin off the cap, and take a pull. A sigh comes out of your mouth. You smoke. You drink. You watch the road come at you. You lean back, close your eyes, and the screen

GOES BLACK

You just hear the music and the hiss of tires going around the curves. You let the blackness overtake you. All sound fades. Whispers come up out the silence. The words are hard to make out, but the tone is angry.

IT'S A COWBOY BAR AT NIGHT.

A big ugly drunk cowboy is in your face yelling incoherently. He's grabbing at you. The fist comes out of nowhere.

YOUR EYES JUMP OPEN.

The light is blinding at first. You see the

HIGHWAY COMING AT YOU AGAIN.

The music is different. An unknown amount of time has passed. You groan and look down at your white t-shirt. There's dried blood on it. You look up and see that you are descending into a

LARGE VALLEY

Thirty miles across the valley a huge wall of red rock cliffs. The afternoon sun is setting behind the cliffs. You reach around in back of you and pull out your

WALLET.

It's an old leather job. Inside there's a thick wad of hundreds. You hear yourself say

YOU Alright.
A GIRL'S VOICE What?
The wallet disappears back in your pants as you look over and

THERE SHE IS.

Blonde with red roots starting to show, pulled back in a careless pony tail because of the heat. Her face is pale with a thin white scar cutting across her cheek, marring her near perfect features. Full lips. Slight overbite. She's wearing a thin yellow print summer dress that clings to her, hiked up high on her thighs. She's watching the road, taking the car through the curves, aware that you're watching her but not looking over. You think you remember her name being Anna. You look back to

THE ROAD

The big pines are thinning out and being replaced by manzanita and scrub oak. The view is opening up and you can see more of the valley.

YOU Where are we?
You look over to the girl as you ask, and as she glances at you and your eyes meet we

SMASH CUT TO THE GIRL'S POV

You see a guy in Levis, white t-shirt with dried bloodstains, beat up cowboy boots. He's slouching back in the seat lighting another cigarette. He's lean, slightly rough looking, wearing shades, hasn't shaved in a couple of days. There's a purple bruise on his left cheek under the glasses. Dark hair. Between 30 and 40. It's hard to tell.

YOU Arizona. And hey, thanks.

You look back to

THE ROAD

THE GUY (o.s.) Yeah.

YOU Never had a guy do that for me before.

GUY
(o.s.) Couldn't help myself.

YOU LOOK BACK TO HIM

He's smiling.

YOU What do you mean?

He doesn't look at you, and the curves take your attention back to

THE ROAD

You can feel his eyes on you now

GUY
(o.s.) You know what I mean . . .

You hear yourself saying

YOU (changing the subject) The map says we can hook up to the interstate down in this valley.
That will take us south. I figure we can make the border in about five hours.

The sides of the mountain on either side of the road narrow into a steep red rock canyon. You look at

YOUR HANDS

A couple of nails on your left hand are broken.

YOU
Shit.

GUY
(o.s.)
Hey, pull over. Right here.

You look up and see.

A SMALL TURNOUT.

It's big enough for two cars, bounded by metal guardrails. The canyon walls tower above and below you. You pull the car in and stop.

THE GUY

Steps out of the car, tries to stretch and immediately recoils in pain. He lifts up his shirt and you see nasty looking bruises on his right side. You get out and walk around to

HIS SIDE

YOU
Anything broken?

THE GUY

Slips his arm around your waist and pulls you to him. He whispers in your ear.

GUY
Nothing important.

He touches you where you can't see, kisses your neck. Your eyes close and in the

DARKNESS

You hear yourself laugh. Then laugh again. He pulls back, smiles, but looks hurt and tired.

YOU PAN THE SURROUNDING CANYON AND THEN BACK TO HIM

YOU
Maybe we ought to find a motel for the night.

He smiles. You're thinking of healing. You look into his eyes.

SMASH CUT TO GUY'S POV

You're thinking of sex. You reach for the girl.

THE BLACKNESS LASTS LONGER THIS TIME.

YOU
(whispering in her ear)
Yeah. (pause) Good idea.

YOUR EYES OPEN.

The girl separates from you, turning away without looking, laughing like a kid and walks around to the driver's side of the car, gets in, and starts the engine.

YOU GET IN AND CLOSE THE DOOR.

The road continues to wind around the mountain. You are still three thousand feet above the valley below. You come around a sharp curve and suddenly you are in a

TOWN

It shouldn't be there. The highway is now a street, houses on either side clinging to the steep grade. The houses are old. They look well kept, but they also look empty. The street winds through the town and you end up in what used to be a business district.

A NEON BEER SIGN

Catches your eye. It's in the window of a large two story run down brick building that looks like it dates from the turn of the century.

YOU
Let's get a beer. See if they got a place to stay in this town.

You pull over, park, get out, and walk across the darkening street into the

BAR

It looks like an old honky-tonk. High pressed tin ceiling. A long wooden bar across the back wall. There's a pool table in the middle of the room. Juke box playing "It's a Man's World" by James Brown. The place is empty except for the

BARTENDER

He's big, bearded, dressed like a biker. He looks up. Disinterested. Doesn't really look at you. He waits for you to speak.

YOU
Hi. How are you? Say, is there a hotel in this town?

BARTENDER
(pointing to the ceiling)
Got some rooms upstairs.

YOU
Can we look at one?

He slides some keys along the bar toward you.

BARTENDER
The only one that's clean is up the stairs.
(he points to an open door leading to a hallway)
Take a left at the top. It's the last door on the right.

YOU
Thanks.

YOU TURN

And walk through the door, up the stairs, down the hall, unlock the door, and go in

THE ROOM.

It's sparsely furnished with a double bed, beat up vanity, and a threadbare carpet. It's seen better days. You turn to the girl. She smiles as your eyes meet.

CUT TO GIRL'S POV

You turn and look around. It's a corner room whose windows look out on the street below. You go to

THE WINDOW

Look out to where the car is parked. You hear the guy behind you sprawl out on the bed. The mattress creaks.

GUY
(o.s.) Hey, this place isn't so ba . . .

YOU TURN

And look over to

THE GUY.

He's asleep. Lights out. You hear yourself chuckle lightly and then you walk over to the

VANITY.

The mirror is cloudy and cracked. You look at yourself, pull the hair tie out of your hair, and shake it loose. It falls thick and slightly wavy to your shoulders. You look over to the

GUY

one more time and then turn and walk out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and back into the

BAR

There's a new guy in there, shooting pool. You walk over and sit down at the bar. The bartender comes over and you order a Corona. You spin around on your stool, checking out the décor. Outside the windows the street is dark. You hear the beer being put down on the bar behind you. The bartender doesn't ask for the money yet. You look over at the

MAN PLAYING POOL.

He looks to be in his forties or fifties with short graying hair. He's wearing Levis, a black baseball cap, a long sleeved blue t-shirt, and cowboy boots. There are two balls left on the table. You are suddenly feeling tired. It's been a long day. You rub your eyes and

THE SCREEN GOES BLACK FOR A SECOND OR TWO

YOU OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK BACK TO THE POOL PLAYER

He suddenly executes a near impossible shot with one of the last two balls. You continue to watch. He puts the last ball away with a shot you can't comprehend. It's probably an accident. At that point

A WOMAN

comes through the door. She's in her thirties, short dark hair, medium build, and has a concerned look on her face. She's wearing a spaghetti strap Harley Davidson t-shirt, black Levis, and motorcycle boots. She walks over to the bar, and the bartender is already putting a tall clear colored drink in front of her. The pool player walks over and sits down next to her. They are two or three stools away from you. The woman speaks matter of factly.

WOMAN
Yeah, well . . . we knew it was coming eventually.

The pool player doesn't speak through the whole thing.

WOMAN
No. . . I can't hold it. It's breaking up.

You are looking through the

LARGE FRONT PICTURE WINDOW

to the street, but can't help ease dropping on the one sided conversation.

WOMAN
(chuckling)
How could they know? It's one of the reasons they did it, probably.
To see if we could do what they couldn't. Who knows with them? . . .

The man still says nothing, but it is as if the woman is answering his questions.

WOMAN
Yeah . . . it's all wrapped up. You? . . .

The man is silent.

WOMAN
Good. Where's the monkey prince?

You look over to the couple. The man looks at you.

CUT TO THE MAN'S POV

Everything is slightly more in focus. You are looking at the girl who came down from upstairs. You see her in a combination of crystal clear vision and infrared. You execute

A JUMP ZOOM TO THE SCAR ON HER FACE

It cuts across her right cheek diagonally from temple to nostril. It's a smooth clean crescent cut.

JUMP BACK TO NORMAL WIDE ANGLE POV

Her face is curious, puzzled. Energy comes off her like heat off a highway. Shimmering.

YOU TURN, STAND UP, AND WALK OUT OF THE BAR WITH YOUR FRIEND.

It's dark on the empty street. A warm wind rustles through the Paradise trees. You can hear crickets. You also hear a barely perceptible but high-pitched whine and an underlying bass hum. All the time. You scan

THE SURROUNDINGS

leisurely as you walk down the sidewalk. You look up to

THE SKY

which is blanketed with stars. There's a full moon out so bright that casts shadows around you. You hear the woman

WOMAN
I figure we've got twelve hours max.

IN THE VALLEY BELOW

The lights of a town wind off to the north. You turn and look at the

WOMAN

An electric blue light emanates from her. She seems lost in thought. She's looking in an empty store window. Suddenly, she snaps back.

WOMAN
What? . . . Oh . . .

The blue light fades and disappears from her.

WOMAN
Yeah, sorry. I know. I forget sometimes.
(she turns and looks back down the street)
You know that girl
from the bar is following us.

YOU PAN AROUND BEHIND YOU SLOWLY

Sure enough, you see the girl two blocks back, trying to act nonchalant, but obviously following you.

WOMAN
(slightly irritated)
I told you. Always use your voice when they're around.
And you're getting on me.

YOU PAN BACK TO YOUR FRIEND AND LOOK AT HER

As you look at each other

THE POV JUMPS BACK AND FORTH RAPIDLY BETWEEN YOU BOTH A HALF A DOZEN TIMES UNTIL YOU ARE BACK TO THE MAN'S POV

Suddenly,

THE WOMAN

turns and starts walking down the street. You follow.

WOMAN
Yeah, well . . . I guess it really doesn't matter at this point.

YOU LOOK BACK TO THE STREET

And keep walking into a neighborhood of old Victorian houses. As you go around a corner a house blocks you from the girl who is following.

YOUR POV SUDDENLY DROPS DOWN TO KNEE HEIGHTH

You are looking up at the

WOMAN

as you walk.

WOMAN
(laughing)
C'mon . . . quit screwing around.
(she laughs again)
You're going to get stuck like that.
Then where would you be?

You hear yourself bark. The woman cracks up.

YOUR POV JUMPS BACK TO A NORMAL HEIGHT.

WOMAN
(still chuckling)
Jesus, I'm going to miss this place. It's been good.

She looks around.

WOMAN
Think the girl saw that?
(she looks at you, shaking her head)
You can't ever leave it alone, can you?

You come around a curve in the street and approach a set of cement stairs that lead up to a

DARKENED HOUSE

YOU LOOK BACK

The girl is nowhere to be seen, but the shimmering energy coming off of her spills out from behind the corner of the house back at the curve in the street where she is obviously hiding. Then, as

YOU SLIP OUT OF YOUR BODY

YOU SWOOP BACK TO THE GIRL

She is crouched down at the corner of the house, trying to look around and watch you nervously. She does not know that you are right there. It's a comical picture.

YOU SWOOP BACK TO YOUR FRIEND

She looks at you in amused disbelief.

SMASH CUT TO WOMAN'S POV

The man has turned his cap backwards like a kid. He has a goofy look on his face.

YOU
You're not going to be satisfied until some of them
know, are you?

You look back toward the girl and then back to your friend.

YOU
It's your call.

SMASH CUT TO MAN'S POV

YOU TURN

And walk back to the corner where the girl is hiding. When you come around the corner of the house, she jumps back, frightened. You hear your voice come out, cracked and hoarse from non-use.

YOU
Hi . . . How arghh . . .
(you clear your throat and cough)
How you doing? Listen, we're having -

She interrupts.

GIRL
(nervous, embarrassed, frightened -not wanting to look at you)
I hope you don't think that I was . . . I mean I'm sure
it looked like -

She stares at you dumbfounded, still crouched in the shadows.

CUT TO GIRL'S POV

The man interrupts you.

MAN
My friends and I are having a party and -

He extends his hand and you stand and reach for it in a dazed manner. You interrupt again.

YOU
(stuttering, stammering)
- I was just going home and I . . . I . . . dropped something here . .
my wal . . . I mean my earrings . . . yeah . . . and they were a gift -
very expensive . . . and I'd feel real bad if I lost . . . you know . . .
I mean, I wasn't . . . I hope you don't think that I was - you know-

He starts walking slowly toward his friend and interrupts you again.

MAN
It's a good-bye party. C'mon it'll be fun.

You walk along with him, still trying to explain.

YOU
I mean I wasn't following you or anything. I was just -

MAN
C'mon. We'll have a couple of beers. Smoke a bowl.

By this time you have reached his

WOMAN FRIEND

She's all smiles and graciousness.

WOMAN
(to girl)
Hi! Coming to the party?

SMASH CUT TO WOMAN'S POV

You see the girl nodding as if in shock.

YOU
Great! Everybody's going to be there.

You start to walk up

THE STAIRS TO THE HOUSE

As you get to the porch, walk through the door, and turn on the lights, your friend is still going on, trying to put the girl at ease.

THE INTERIOR

Is comfortably decorated. Nothing too fancy. The usual items. Large sofa and overstuffed chairs, t.v., stereo, lamps, art on the walls. Beyond the living room, you can see the kitchen in one direction and a small hallway leading to the bedrooms in another. The man goes into

THE KITCHEN

Opens the refrigerator and yells out.

MAN
Everybody want a beer?

You hear yourself answer for you and the girl.

YOU
Yeah!

You and the girl sit on the

COUCH.

Party music is coming out of the speakers. The girl still looks shell shocked, not sure what to do or say. Your friend comes in and passes out the beers and sits down in a chair next to the couch. You look at him and he nods.

CUT TO MAN'S POV

Your woman friend pulls a strange looking futuristic object out from under the couch. Maybe it's a weapon. It's hard to tell.

THE GIRL

sits up straight. Her eyes go wide. She looks around slightly panicked.

GIRL
I really probably should . . . I mean my boyfriend's back at the
bar . . . I mean the hotel . . . I should probably get back and see
how he's doing. He got in a fight last night and might have
broke a rib or something. . . I should probably -

YOUR FRIEND

interrupts her.

WOMAN
How long have you been together?
(the girl looks at her dumbfounded)

GIRL
What?

The woman lifts the object up so it is pointing toward the girl.

WOMAN
You and your boyfriend.

The girl gets a horror stricken look on her face as the woman sparks up a bic lighter and fires up what we now see is a

BONG

As she fires the bong it flares up and light engulfs the screen which then

CUTS TO TOTAL BLACKNESS

The high pitched whine and low droning hum come to a stop on the soundtrack. You hear the springs of a mattress creak. You hear yourself groan. Your eyes flutter open. You see

THE CEILING OF THE HOTEL ROOM

And you start to wake up. You slowly and painfully swing yourself into a sitting position on the side of the bed.

YOUR EYES BLINK

You rub them and yawn.

YOU LOOK DOWN

You are still fully dressed.

YOU LOOK OVER TO THE WINDOW

It's night outside. The girl is nowhere around. You walk over to the mirror and see

YOURSELF STARING BACK

Your black eye is purple and yellow. The blood on your shirt has dried brown. Your hair is going twelve ways to Sunday. You comb it with your fingers.

YOU
(yawning)
Beautiful.

You pull out

YOUR WALLET

The money's still there. A quick last look in

THE MIRROR

YOU TURN

And walk out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and out a narrow hallway to the street. You're

OUTSIDE

Looking up and down the street. It's empty. You look across the street and head for the

CAR

You come up to it. No broken windows. You try the doors. They're locked. No way to get a clean shirt. You feel the

HOOD OF THE CAR

With the palm of your hand. It's cold. You pause. You head for the bar across the street. There's a movement in your peripheral vision. Suddenly, you

LOOK UP

A young man is walking along the top of a round steel hand rail fifteen feet above your head. The hand rail encloses a darkened terraced area above you. He's walking the rail in the dark like a tightrope walker. He stops, turns on the rail and starts walking in the opposite direction. He disappears in the darkness. You turn, cross the street, and walk into

THE BAR

You walk over to the bartender. He looks up but not really at you.

YOU
Hi. How you doing?

He shrugs. YOU
Hey, you seen that chick I came in here with earlier?

BARTENDER
Left here about three hours ago.

You briefly look out the

FRONT WINDOW

You look back and scan the

TYPES OF BEER DISPLAYED ABOVE THE BACK OF THE BAR

You're thinking hard. You look back to

THE BARTENDER

YOU
Give me a shot of Cuervo and a Miller Hi-Life.

You turn and sit down and the person coming through

THE FRONT DOOR

Is the young man you saw walking on top of the rail. He goes past you, without looking at you, heading for the bathroom. You turn around and your

DRINKS

Are there. You reach out and slam the shot of Cuervo, shudder, and then take a long pull off the Miller. The bartender has disappeared into a room behind the bar. All you can see is the well lit doorway. It's quiet in the bar. You turn around again and this time you see

THE JUKEBOX.

You stand up and start walking toward it, but the young man is out of the bathroom and there before you can take your third step. You back up, sit down on your stool, and

LOOK OUT THE WINDOW.

Music you've never heard before comes out of the jukebox. It could be tribal. The young man gets your attention as he comes over and sits down at the bar

TWO STOOLS DOWN.

Probably in his twenties, he's wearing baggy corduroy pants, and a loose shirt buttoned to the neck. He's wearing wraparound shades too black to see through. His hair is tucked under a knit ski cap which is pulled down over his forehead to the top of his glasses. He could be dangerous, but he nods in a friendly manner when he sits down. He seems distracted.

YOUNG MAN
(not really expecting an answer)
How's it going?

YOU
It's going.

He's already forgotten you. Some inner dialogue has got his attention. This is a weird town. These are some weird people. It makes you more curious than usual.

YOU
Saw you walking that rail out there.

You leave it hanging. It's not really a question. He smiles and looks at you. You can't see through the shades. He seems to notice you for the first time.

YOUNG MAN
(dismissively)
It's a show tune.
(then curious obviously looking at your black eye)
Somebody fuck you up?

He pulls down the shades to examine your beat up face. His eyes lock onto yours.

CUT TO YOUNG MAN'S POV

The high pitched whine and low hum return to the soundtrack. You're looking at the

GUY NEXT TO YOU

With the same wide angle, infrared vision that the pool player had. The guy has obviously been in some kind of accident or fight. Like the girl before, energy shimmers off this guy like a mirage. There's some kind of visual white noise coming off his right side. Some disturbance in his field.

GUY
Ran into a door.

You look up to the

CLOCK ABOVE THE BAR.

It's an old fashioned timepiece with hands. It' says two o:clock. But something's wrong. Is the second hand running faster than it should? You pull your shades back down over your eyes. You are now seeing like the guy and girl. You look back to the

GUY AT THE BAR.

GUY
(obviously intrigued) You live here? Kind of a strange place.

YOU
(noncommittal)
Been here a few years. It's quiet.

You look back to

THE CLOCK.

It's still moving faster than normal. Just enough to notice. You look back to

THE GUY.

He takes a long pull off his beer. He's almost finished with it.

GUY
Say, you didn't see this chick earlier did you?
Five four, blonde, good looking, yellow summer dress?

YOU
Lose her?

YOU PULL DOWN YOUR GLASSES FOR A FEW SECONDS AND TELEPHOTO INTO THE GUY'S RIGHT SIDE.

You watch as the static in his field fades and is replaced by the shimmering mirage energy.

JUMP BACK TO WIDE ANGLE

He sits up straighter, absent-mindedly rubbing his hand across his side. You put your shades back on. He looks perplexed, then smiles slightly.

GUY
Well, we came to town together and her car's still
out there (nodding toward the parking lot) so she
must still be around.

YOU
I think I might know where she is. Some friends of
mine are having this big goodbye party. Everybody's
going to be there. Want to check it out?

He polishes off his Miller.

GUY
Sure. Why not? Should we buy some beer to bring along?

You swing off your stool.

YOU
Nah. They got everything they need.

He stands up, and you both walk out of the bar and into

THE STREET.

The moon is still up. A soft breeze blows along the street. You look up and pull down your shades and

SCAN THE SKY

Searching for something. All you see is stars. An impossible number of them. You look back to

THE GUY.

He's lighting a cigarette. He offers you one. You take it. He puts the lighter up to your face and everything

FLARES OUT TO WHITENESS FOR A SECOND.

THE NIGHT REASSERTS ITSELF

And you blow a large cloud of smoke out of your mouth. You are not following the same path your friends took earlier. You turn right, walk up some cement stairs, then through a small town park, up some more stairs, and end up on another street. It's the same street that the guy and the girl came into town on. You see the lights of a car coming toward you. You put your

SHADES BACK ON.

But the lights are still almost blinding. The car speeds by like it doesn't even see you. You can hear a country music radio station playing and fading away. As you hear the car wind on down through town, you take your

SHADES OFF.

THE GUY

Comes up along side of you. The moon's shadows seem to be creeping across the street.

GUY
(holding out his hand)
Name's Guy by the way.

You shake his hand and look at him.

CUT TO GUY'S POV

The electronic sounds stop.

YOUNG MAN
Pleased to meet you. Where you from?

You start to answer. Stop. Think twice.

YOU
Nowhere really. Moved around a lot. How bout you?

YOUNG MAN
I'm from here.

YOU
I thought you said you've only been here a few years.

YOUNG MAN
Yeah . . . (scanning the sky again) . . . Right.

You're walking down the middle of the street. You can hear the breeze whispering through the trees. It's dark, quiet, no traffic. Peaceful. You watch the young man turn in a complete circle with his arms outstretched.

YOUNG MAN
(cont.)
I'm really going to miss this place
(a long pause and then he smiles as if something surprises him)
I'm going to dream about it.

YOU
Oh, so you're moving too.

The young man turns to his left and starts to descend down some narrow

STEEL STAIRS

You almost run down the stairs trying to keep up.

YOU
So, where are you moving to?

The young man stops and looks at you.

CUT TO YOUNG MAN'S POV

Once again you hear the strange hum and whine.

YOU
Need a change. This place has been discovered.

As you turn and run down the rest of the stairs, you hear Guy laugh.

GUY
(laughing quietly)
You could have fooled me. This place looks like a ghost town.

The stairs empty out onto another

STREET

It's the same street the other folks were on earlier. Out of the darkness comes a large, friendly, sloppy

ROTWEILLER

He comes right up to you, tail wagging. Treats you like a friend. The same kind of blue light that the woman emanated, you now see coming off the dog. You laugh.

GUY

Catches up to you.

GUY
That your dog?

YOU
No. He's just a friend.

By this time you're coming around the curve that leads to the party house. The dog runs ahead and disappears. The vista opens up and you can see the city lights faraway in the town below. You can hear music and voices coming from

THE HOUSE

Just up ahead. You look up to the

SKY

One more time. The high pitched whine on the soundtrack grows louder as does the low hum. You can now also hear something like radar beeps.

YOU
We'd better hurry.

You look back to

THE STREET AND GUY

You turn right and bound up the stairs to the

PORCH,

Open up the screen door, and go in. Guy is right behind you. You scan the

LIVING ROOM

And the first pair of eyes you meet are the those of the woman.

SMASH CUT TO WOMAN'S POV

You hear the same sounds the young man hears. You see the young man walking across the living room with a stranger. You hear the girl address Guy.

GIRL
(surprised/happy)
Hey! How did you find us?

GUY

Sees the girl and immediately goes over to her smiling widely. She's still sitting on the couch. They greet each other like lovers who have been too long in the company of strange strangers. You can see that she is dying to tell him things, but she can't right now. You look briefly at the

ANTIQUE CLOCK ON THE WALL

It's four in the morning. You hear a screen door in the back of the house slam shut and you see the man (the pool player) who was with you earlier walk through kitchen, go to the fridge, pull out some beers, and coming walking back into the living room. He has just the right number of beers in his hands. He and the young man with the shades stare at each other for a second. The young man shakes his head and laughs. The older man starts walking around, handing out beers to everyone.

GUY,

who is sitting on the couch with the girl, introduces himself. You look at him and shake his hand.

CUT TO GUY'S POV

The weird sounds stop. The man who handed you the beer moves over to the large picture window along with the young man with the shades. They look outside. It's just starting to get light. You hear the girl whispering in your ear. She speaks very rapidly, Excited.

GIRL
Something's whacked out here. I don't know
what's going on, but it's way weird.
(she laughs quietly)
These people are . . .

You look at the

CLOCK ON THE WALL

It's four thirty. The girl's voice has faded out.

GIRL
(cont.)
. . . way out there somewhere. I mean it's . . .

THE WOMAN

addresses both of you.

WOMAN
You guys have any kids?

You look in her eyes which are not quite right.

CUT TO WOMAN'S POV

Both of them look at you as if you just got off the boat. The girl is snuggled up tight to the guy, her feet curled up behind her on the couch. They stare at you.

CUT TO COUPLE'S POV

YOU
No, we just met a couple of night ago.

CUT TO WOMAN'S POV

CUT TO COUPLE'S POV

CUT TO WOMAN'S POV

CUT TO COUPLE'S POV

THE CUTS COME FASTER AND FASTER

Everything becomes a blur. You hear the man (the pool player's) scratchy voice.

MAN
(o.s.)
Are we having fun yet?

CUT TO MAN'S POV

The woman is sitting there with a smile on her face like the cat that just ate the canary. The couple looks like they've stuck their fingers in an electrical socket. Eyes wide. Strands of hair sticking out at odd angles.

THE WOMAN

Looks at you.

CUT TO HER POV

You look over to

THE WINDOW

It's much lighter outside. The cliffs across the valley are starting to take shape. You look to

THE CLOCK

It's five o:clock. You look back to the man.

CUT TO HIS POV

The couple seems frozen. You address the woman.

YOU

We can't hold it anymore. They'll be here soon.
We'd better go.

She nods, looks down, smiles slightly, sighs, gets up and walks toward the front door.

WOMAN
(wistfully)
I'm really going to miss this place. It was perfect for awhile.

You look down to the

COUPLE

They still seem frozen.

YOU
Listen . . .

Your voice seems to activate them. They turn toward you in slow motion.

YOU
(cont.)
We really have to go. You can stay here if you want.
I mean, you can have the house and everything in it.
It's all paid for.

Their eyes meet yours and they are awake and alert now.

CUT TO COUPLE'S POV

The man is looking down on you with a kind and relaxed expression.

MAN
So make yourselves at home . . .

He turns, walks across the room and out the door, followed by his two friends. It's now dawn and

THE CLIFFS ACROSS THE VALLEY

Are starting to glow red and golden in the rising sun. You stand up and walk to the window.

THE THREE STRANGE PEOPLE

Are standing in the street below talking between themselves. Or it seems like they're talking, but their lips aren't moving. The man looks up at you, and his hand begins to rise as if he is going to wave goodbye.

CUT TO MAN'S POV

You are looking at

THE COUPLE IN THE WINDOW

You zoom in to a close up of

THEIR FACES

You watch as a look of bewilderment and astonishment and disbelief fill their eyes.

CUT TO COUPLE'S POV

There are three entirely different people standing in the street. One is

A CUTE EIGHT YEAR OLD BLONDE HEADED GIRL

She has a mischievous look on her face. She finishes her wave goodbye. The second person is

AN OLDER WOMAN IN HER SIXTIES

She has black hair, olive complexion. She's wearing baggy shorts, a Sea World t-shirt, and sneakers. She bends down, kisses the little girl, and starts walking off down the road. The third person is

A MEXICAN MAN IN HIS FORTIES

He's wearing a baseball cap, tank top, levis, and cowboy boots. His moustache is tinged with gray. He takes the little girl's hand and starts walking up the street in the opposite direction. You look up to

THE CLIFFS

Which light up in a time lapse fashion. The color grows in brilliance and then

FADES TO BLACK.

The high pitched whine and low hum grow louder and segue into the old fifties rock song "Over the Mountain, Cross the Sea" by Johnnie and Joe as we

ROLL CREDITS