HARSH REALM "Bete Noire" by Megan Reilly eponine119@worldnet.att.net "Bete Noire" - a person or thing feared, disliked, and avoided (Webster's New World Dictionary) TEASER EXT. WOODS - DAY HOBBES, PINOCCHIO, FLORENCE and DEXTER. Walking. They look weary. Hobbes casts a glance up at the DARKLY CLOUDED SKY. HOBBES Looks like rain. Pinocchio gives him a look. HOBBES Just an observation. PINOCCHIO Got any other observations? They've stopped walking. An argument is as good a reason as any to take a rest. HOBBES Haven't seen any weapons of mass destruction yet. PINOCCHIO It's here. HOBBES Where? Florence has turned from them, scouting around. Possibly looking for traps, or, with an eye on the sky, for shelter. She stops, looking at something in the distance. Pinocchio notices this. She looks at the two men over her shoulder, her face drawn into a frown. Dexter is quivering, growling at something. Pinocchio walks over to Florence. His eyes fix on what she sees. Hobbes picks up his trembling dog. REVEAL: A HOUSE in the distance. It's dilapidated. Spooky. The Addams or the Munsters would feel right at home. EXT. HOUSE - TWILIGHT The trio now on the path up to the house. It's getting dark. The trees rustle with wind and threatening shadows. Suddenly, a KID. Pinocchio is so startled he draws his gun. Two more kids appear. Hobbes glares at him - put the gun away! - but Pinocchio is reluctant. KID Don't go in that house. HOBBES Why not? KID It's haunted. Pinocchio chuckles. KID People go in there and they don't come out. Pinocchio starts walking again, toward the house. The kid meets Hobbes' eyes. KID I'm serious, mister. PINOCCHIO (from up ahead) Come on, Hobbes. Hobbes follows. The Kid and his friends watch as they disappear into the trees on the way to the house. With an electronic flash, the Kids mechanically re-set, back to their original positions, like audioanimatronics on a Disney ride. Waiting for the next car to come along. EXT. HOUSE - DAY HOBBES Pinocchio! Stops him with his hand on the door. Hobbes jogs to join Pinocchio and Florence on the porch. HOBBES (cont'd) Maybe we shouldn't. PINOCCHIO You believe in that stuff, Hobbes? He looks uncomfortable. PINOCCHIO It's a cover for something. Either those kids are living in here, or this is where Santiago's got his weapon stashed. Lightning and thunder. It begins to rain. PINOCCHIO There are no ghosts in Harsh Realm. He pushes open the door and goes inside. Leaving Hobbes and Florence on the porch, looking at each other. Neither wants to go into the dark house. Through the door Pinocchio left open, Hobbes sees something moving. Not Pinocchio. HOBBES Sophie? He doesn't believe it...how can he? But it's her. She stops in front of the door. Then glides deeper into the house. Hobbes runs in after her. Florence didn't see the apparition. But she picks up the very unwilling Dexter and heads inside after the men. INT. HOUSE - NIGHT Hobbes, running in the darkness, smacks into something solid. From his pocket, he produces a flashlight, which illuminates bits and pieces - a tapestry on the wall. A chandelier. A grand staircase. Apparently there are no cobwebs in Harsh Realm. His flashlight falls on Florence's face. She looks ghoulish in the lighting. Behind her, the door SLAMS. Florence tries it, shakes her head. It's locked. Overhead, the chandelier begins to glow. The candles lit by some unseen hand. *ACT ONE* INT. HOUSE - NIGHT Resume, Florence and Hobbes looking in wonder at the chandelier. Hobbes moves to shut off his flashlight. PINOCCHIO (OS) BOO! They both jump, and he smirks, standing behind them. PINOCCHIO There's no such thing as ghosts, Hobbes. Hobbes doesn't look so sure. But he doesn't mention what he saw, either. PINOCCHIO This is all smoke and mirrors. Scare people off. It's here. HOBBES And if it's not? PINOCCHIO There might be supplies. Stuff to trade on the black market. We'll split up. Check it out. Hobbes looks doubtful. Pinocchio looks out the window to find a wildly raging thunderstorm. PINOCCHIO It's dry. EXT. WOODS - NIGHT WATERS, alone and on foot, working his way through the woods, his gun drawn. CLOSE ON GROUND The mud preserved a trail of footprints for him to follow, leading right up to the house. He passes the Kids, who are frozen in place. In the darkness, he doesn't see them. And they don't activate to warn him. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT It's a typical attic, packed with boxes and steamer trunks, an old birdcage, basically a lot of junk. Florence climbs up through a TRAPDOOR in the floor, leaving it hanging open. The RAIN beats down on the roof audibly. There are no windows. Old lamps stored there provide shadowy light. Florence begins to check through the stuff. Opens the steamer trunk. Checks the boxes, labeled in an old-fashioned hand. She kicks over a stack of books, unleashing a cloud of dust. Thunder booms through the attic, startling her. She's not a fan of thunderstorms. Moving through the stacks of stuff, she finds some boxes nestled in a shadowy corner. Looking closely at the stencil on the side of the wooden crate, she makes out the word: MUNITIONS. She looks back toward the trapdoor - maybe even starts in that direction to tell the others. But the sheer amount of *stuff* catches her eye. She moves to continue exploring, leaving the munitions boxes in the corner. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT It's a large kitchen and appears fairly modern, though at the same time suggesting a colonial kitchen. There's a large fireplace, but also a massive center island. A pantry. Possibly a refrigerator. Hobbes has the pantry door open. It's filled with food. Hand-canned fruit, vegetables, jam in glass jars. He begins to assemble a small feast on the counter, digging in to the bread before stepping back into the pantry to look around. He glances over his shoulder. He's got a weird feeling. Maybe he heard something. But nothing's stirring. He loads more food against one arm, piling it high. KATHERINE HOBBES (from behind him) Tom. I made your favorite. He freezes, his shoulders rising with tension. It can't be. But he turns. And his mother is standing there. Alive. Perfectly fine. Smiling. EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT Waters' clothes are drenched. He looks pretty miserable, the rain dripping down his face as he clutches his gun, looking up at the lights on in various rooms of the house. He steps onto the porch. Cringes as a weak board CREAKS. Waits for an ambush, but none comes. Sneakily, he pushes the door open - the door that Florence found was locked in the teaser - and slips inside. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Katherine's smile grows suspicious. KATHERINE Tom? Honey, are you okay? He swallows hard. Blinks. Completely unable to believe his eyes. HOBBES Mom? She sets down the pie plate she's holding, now concerned. KATHERINE Tom? What's wrong? He doesn't say anything. Just pulls her into his arms for a tight hug, not wanting to let her go. Tears glimmering in his eyes. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Florence, still exploring. She finds a stash of old maps propped up against another steamer trunk. She unrolls one to have a look. It practically crumbles in her hands. Thunder rolls through again, even louder. She jumps, turning away, her foot catching on the edge of an elaborate wooden dollhouse. She drags it several inches away from its former position. Nestled behind the dollhouse, along with a hobby horse and a large baby doll, is a bomb. A large, modern bomb with a digital timer. Its numbers count down clearly in red. 4...3...2... She takes a step back. Mouth open in horror. Thunder rumbles again, only to be drown out by the EXPLOSION, a powerful fireball. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT It's dim and dank. Wooden shelves line the wall leading away from rickety wooden stairs. Pinocchio digs through the bins and toolboxes stored along the walls, looking for ammunition or batteries, tools or raw materials. He has no qualms about leaving a mess. A fishing tackle box goes flying from the shelf. He didn't mean to shove it so hard in his frustration at finding nothing worthwhile. It lands upended in the midst of the open space of the basement, where the light doesn't quite reach. The basement doesn't have an actual floor - just soil. Pinocchio heads over there, intrigued. The dirt is fine and black in the center, unlike its dry, cracked outer edges. It's recently been disturbed. He grabs a shovel propped against the wall and starts to dig. PINOCCHIO I knew it was here. He's amassed quite a large hole. It's hard work. The shovel hits something, still buried beneath the dirt. It gives slightly. Pinocchio tosses away the shovel and gets down on his knees, in the dirt, digging with his hands. He unearths a HAND. Putrid and decaying. He scrambles back, staring at it. There's no question of what it is. His eyes dart over the expanse of disturbed earth. The basement is large, the entire footage of the house, not divided into rooms. Pinocchio moves back in, still staring with horror at that hand. He begins to dig the dirt away again, uncovering more of the body the hand is attached to. Beneath the body, there are more. He sits back, the horror apparent on his face at the sight of the mass grave. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Katherine manages to break away from her son's desperate embrace and sits down over at the table in the corner. Hobbes can't stop staring at her. HOBBES Mom...I can't believe... He sits down at the table with her, still blown away by seeing her again. HOBBES How is this possible? KATHERINE I don't know what's gotten into you, Tom. It's like you thought you'd never see me again. He says nothing. KATHERINE Tell me you've been well. Tell me about this mission you've accomplished. HOBBES It's... He can't. HOBBES You don't want to hear about that, Mom. Tell me about the roses or ... KATHERINE Oh, the roses. They're the same every year. I was thinking about tulips. Or orchids. Something more difficult. Tom, are you sure you don't want any pie? I swear they don't feed you in the army - She gets up from the table, cuts him a huge slice of the apple pie she'd offered him earlier. Sets it in front of him and goes to pour him a tall glass of milk. KATHERINE It was the same way with your father. Every time he came home on leave he'd eat everything in sight like they'd been starving him or something. She sits back down. HOBBES (peaceful - happy ) I love you, Mom. I want you to know that. How much I love you. And miss you - KATHERINE You can't miss me when I'm sitting two feet from you. Honestly, Tom, there have to be better things to talk about. HOBBES Where are we? He looks around the kitchen. HOBBES I mean, this isn't the house... KATHERINE This is the house you grew up in, Tom. I've had some work done but - HOBBES How did I get here, Mom? He's looking around. It doesn't look like home to him. Suddenly he's starting to look scared. Katherine looks equally startled by his words. KATHERINE Do you have a fever -? She reaches for him, but he moves back, avoiding her touch. He gets up from the chair, backs away from her. She stops, staring at him, disturbed. HOBBES Is this the real world? Have we somehow found the portal back -? KATHERINE (harsh) Why are you asking me these questions? Hobbes grabs her, wanting answers. HOBBES Is this the real world, Mom? Have you ever heard of a place called Santiago City? Harsh Realm? KATHERINE Tom - HOBBES The bomb, in 1995? A man named Omar Santiago - He's trying to calm himself down, to make sense, but he doesn't quite get there. HOBBES - and your cancer - and Sophie - KATHERINE Stop it, Tom! And she slaps him. He stares at her. INT. ATTIC - NIGHT Florence, sitting back, dazed. She's unhurt. She jumps to her feet, looking around the attic. There's no fire. No damage. No sign of any bomb. She nudges the dollhouse out of the way, looking for the spot where the bomb was. It's dark behind it and she can't see. She shoves it, hard, toppling it. There's nothing there. She sighs. Looks around again. Specifically toward the corner where she saw the munitions. Something very strange is going on. *ACT TWO* INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Katherine grabs her son and hugs him, rubbing his hair with her hands. KATHERINE I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Tom. I don't know what came over me. You were scaring me. She releases him. KATHERINE I'm sorry. HOBBES You never hit me. Even when I was a kid. He can't stop staring at her. Suspicion in his eyes. But he sits down at the table and she joins him. HOBBES How is Sophie? KATHERINE Fine. Of course she's fine, Tom. What were you talking about - HOBBES And my sister? Anna? How is she? KATHERINE She's fine, Tom, we're all fine. Tom jumps to his feet. Stands over her threateningly. HOBBES I don't have a sister. Mom. Katherine looks ever so puzzled. HOBBES You're not my mother. I don't know who - or what you are - or what kind of sick joke this is, but you're not her. She starts to get up. HOBBES My mother died in Harsh Realm. Never to be seen again. Isn't that right? Isn't that how it works? Katherine's thinking about running. HOBBES I think you'd better tell me who you really are. He draws his gun. HOBBES Now! She's saved by the ruining entry of Florence, followed by Pinocchio. Florence is gesturing, up at the attic as Pinocchio tries to explain. PINOCCHIO In the basement. Bodies. A mass grave. That's what Santiago's hiding here, not a weapon. Florence looks at him. She saw the "weapon." PINOCCHIO We have to get out of here. She's all for that. Pinocchio stops, staring at Hobbes holding his gun on an unarmed woman, something patently un-Hobbes-like. PINOCCHIO What are you doing? HOBBES That's not my mother. As he says it, Katherine begins to change, and morph. Into something large and monstrous. Then fades into a liquidy-transparent outline, before she completely disappears. PINOCCHIO We definitely have to get out of here. The master of understatement. But the kitchen door slams closed. One of the kitchen drawers flies open. Knives begin to fly through the air. The windows start to rattle. The furniture begins to move, first this way and that way, trying to trap them. Mud begins to spew from the drain in the sink. The jars Hobbes gathered on the counter begin to suicide dive onto the tiled floor where they shatter. They move for the door. The kitchen table slides in front of it, followed by the chairs. Florence kicks the table out of the way, and the chairs begins to spring back. Pinocchio and Hobbes grab the chairs, holding them back as they would prisoners. The windows begin to shatter in explosive bursts of glass. The trio manages to slip through the kitchen door. INT. FOYER - NIGHT They stare at the door, waiting for the disturbances to burst through it. The NOISE continues, but the door doesn't budge. The noise lessens, then stops. They breathe a sigh of relief. HOBBES We have to get out of here. Florence emphatically agrees. PINOCCHIO Santiago's not hiding a weapon here. There's a mass grave in the basement. HOBBES And some kind of evil poltergeist in the kitchen! PINOCCHIO That wasn't - HOBBES Then what the hell was it? WATERS (OS) (weak) Help...help me... They freeze. He crawls into frame. In really bad shape. His face is bloody. Reaching out with one hand... WATERS You have to help me - Hobbes turns his gun on him. PINOCCHIO Hobbes. HOBBES The evil...in the kitchen pretended to be my mother. PINOCCHIO (quietly) He's hurt, Hobbes. And unarmed. Waters' head comes up. WATERS Hobbes? HOBBES We can't take the chance. He walks over and pushes the barrel of his gun against Waters' head. Ready to fire. WATERS Please... His face changes. Like he's seeing something terrible. WATERS Oh my god...Sophie... WATERS' POV: SOPHIE. She's in a white nightgown, her hair snarled and ratted around her too-white face. A red glow surrounds her. There's something monstrous about her eyes. Her hands, outstretched toward him, are slashing toward him. She opens her mouth and hisses like a snake, breathing fire. HOBBES You killed her, you bastard! PINOCCHIO Hobbes. Hobbes stops. The gun almost falls from his loosened hands as he turns and also sees Sophie. But she's nothing like the Sophie who Waters sees. Her hair is clean and brushed, glowing gold, her cheeks pink with life. There's a white light around her. She looks like an angel. She practically has wings and a halo. SOPHIE Tom... She smiles. Hobbes, smiling, reaching for -- nothing. Likewise, Waters cowering from -- nothing. Pinocchio and Florence exchange a glance. They don't see what the other two see. Waters begins to SHRIEK, loud, a horrible, inhuman sound. He's digging at the wall to try to get away, trying to climb inside. Hobbes is reaching out, tears in his eyes. He doesn't seem to hear the horrible noise Waters is making. PINOCCHIO We have to get out of here. Florence agrees. PINOCCHIO Hobbes. But Hobbes is in his own world. Pinocchio grabs his arm, to rouse him, to pull him away, but Hobbes breaks away gently, still seeing something magical they don't. Waters' screams and babbling grow louder. PINOCCHIO (at Waters) SHUT UP! He doesn't. Waters stops trying to climb into the wall, though. WATERS She's gone...she's gone. But I...I can't see anything...and she's coming back. She'll come back. Help me. Please - He manages to grab Pinocchio's clothing as he pleads. Pinocchio shoves him back onto the floor, where Waters goes back to incoherent babbling and freaked-out crying. PINOCCHIO (to Florence) Take him into one of the other rooms. Keep him quiet or kill him. I don't care which. She nods once and puts her hands on him. After an initial moment of struggle, Waters grows calmer. He stops screaming and crying, and docilely goes with her out of the room. Hobbes has rejoined the world of the aware and alert. PINOCCHIO We have to get out of this crazy house. He tries the door. It doesn't open, no matter how hard he tries. HOBBES I saw her. Sophie. She was here...she was an angel... PINOCCHIO You also saw your mother and she turned into a demon. Hobbes turns on Pinocchio. HOBBES You said when people die in Harsh Realm they're never seen again. You said there was no afterlife. That they forgot about it when they programmed the game. Then why is she here? PINOCCHIO She's not. There's something wrong with this house. Maybe it's drugs, or poison, or some wacky hallucination. Maybe you hit your head on something. I don't know and I don't care, Hobbes. We're getting out of here. He hits the window with the butt of his gun. The window doesn't break. HOBBES I'm not going anywhere. He sits down on the floor. Resolute. Waiting. PINOCCHIO It's not her. It's not even her virtual character. HOBBES She'll come back to me. PINOCCHIO Hobbes - HOBBES Wouldn't you give anything to have another moment with someone you loved? To tell her you love her one last time? Pinocchio's look is unreadable. HOBBES (disgusted) You've never loved anyone but yourself. He goes back to waiting. Pinocchio rolls his eyes. PINOCCHIO I'm going to find another way out of this house. He stalks off. INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT Elaborately furnished. Shelves up to a high ceiling. Thousands of books. A fire burns in the fireplace. Dexter noses in through the open door. Goes straight to a small plate on the floor. Doggy treats. He crunches one, then curls up happily in front of the fire. O.S, we hear Waters SCREAMING again. Dexter raises his head, but doesn't move. He stretches out a paw to capture another doggy treat. A shadow catches his eye. The fire is the only illumination in the room. More shadows, up high, on the shelves. Moving slinkily, coming down toward him. The shadows take shape: the shape of cats. A lot of cats. One of them pokes out of the darkness, not a shadow any more. It's a really big cat, as big as Dexter is. More cats encircle him. Dexter gets to his feet, but he's trapped. He whimpers, backing toward the fire until he can back no more. The first cat reaches out to scratch him. *ACT THREE* INT. FOYER - NIGHT Hobbes has moved to a chair, his face set, still determined. The chandelier overhead no longer burns, but Hobbes has a candle on the table next to him. O.S, faint, ominous noises come from other parts of the house. Knocking from the kitchen. Maybe the hiss of a cat, the whimper of Dexter. Ever so faintly. Almost inaudible. Hobbes doesn't hear them. If he does, he doesn't care. HOBBES Come back to me, Sophie. He waits. The air seems charged. A breeze sweeps through, rustling the curtain at the window. It rearranges Hobbes' hair before gently extinguishing the candle. Still he waits. And then she appears. HOBBES Sophie. She still glows like an ethereal angel. She goes to him. SOPHIE Nothing to be afraid of. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Dark wallpaper printed with vines that crawl busily toward the ceiling. A huge canopy bed dominates the room. It has curtains to enclose the mattress, but they are drawn back. Waters sits on the bed, restless. WATERS I don't know what happened...The door was open and I walked inside and then I couldn't see. I thought the house was dark. But my flashlight - Florence pours water from a ceramic pitcher on the dresser into a large bowl...like in olden times, before sinks and indoor plumbing. She wets an equally old, embroidered handkerchief from the top of the dresser, and goes over to Waters. His face is flushed. He's sweating. She sits down gingerly on the bed next to him and begins to dab at the blood caked on his face. WATERS I turned on the flashlight but I still...I still...I can't see... and then I saw...her...so horrible...and dead...I saw her dead...I can't see anything but her... Beneath the blood, there seems to be not a mark on him. Not even a scratch. Florence is puzzled. WATERS I didn't mean to kill her...it was an accident...She was my wife. He's as sincere as he will ever be. Florence awkwardly tries to soothe him. Touches his face. Perhaps thinking if he's ill, or some if some actual injury has taken his sight, she can heal him. Waters grabs her hands and she looks ready to kick his ass. WATERS I know who you are. You're with them. With Hobbes and Pinocchio. She doesn't say anything. He doesn't let her go. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT Pinocchio clomps down the rotting steps. He stays close to the walls, careful not even to look at the mass grave. He begins to go through the other boxes and storage containers. Trying to find something useful. He finds an unopened pack of batteries and looks pleased. Pockets them. Turns his attention to the array of tools hung on pegs on the far wall, drawing him deeper into the basement. PINOCCHIO (muttering, to himself) At least I'm trying to get us out of here. He tests the weight of a hammer, then picks up a bigger one. PINOCCHIO Stupid, Hobbes. Really stupid. Thinking a woman - He's found a set of screwdrivers. Tosses a couple onto the table. He's accumulating supplies. PINOCCHIO - the ghost of a woman - He rolls his eyes. PINOCCHIO Ghosts in Harsh Realm... He finds a gas can. Shakes it. No sloshing. It's empty. He jumps, as though he heard something. PINOCCHIO Who's there? He spins around, his eyes searching. All he sees is the yawning mass grave in the middle of the floor. He can't take his eyes from it, his hand reaching for the screwdriver. After a moment, he breathes. Convinced there's nothing there. He turns back to the table, to gather up the tools he'll need. They seem to have moved, rearranged themselves, while his back was turned. PINOCCHIO (going back to grumbling) Women just get you dead in Harsh Realm. He stops again, jerks his arm, as though away from something that's touched him. He returns to his task, and hears something else. A MOAN. He turns his head and jumps again, brushing at his other arm. He shakes his head and looks down, slapping as though at a spider. There's nothing there. He frowns and starts for the stairs. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Waters still holds Florence's hands. He's not hysterical any more. WATERS You never say anything. Not even to them. To him. Pinocchio. She pulls her hands back, but he's still got them. Rubbing them with his fingers. WATERS A woman's hands...healing hands... She's not trying to pull away any more. Watching him carefully. Then he lets her go. She doesn't move away. He rubs one eye. WATERS Why can't I see anything? She's looking at him now. Something different in her eyes. Pity, maybe. He raises his face up to the light and she looks like she's actually seeing him for the first time. He doesn't look like the tough and bluster Major Waters now, with his hat gone, his jacket buttons missing, exposing the t-shirt underneath. He looks vulnerable. She takes his face between her hands. Trying again to find a way to heal him. One of her hands slides to his neck. She finds a bump at the back of his head, the occipital lobe. That could cause blindness... He's put one hand against her waist as she leans over him. And he moves to try to kiss her. She realizes this, and doesn't move away, her eyes wide, but not confused. Their lips touch for the barest second. She jumps back, off the bed, away from him, absolutely horrified, halfway to the door, ready to run. But she looks back. Waters is asleep in the bed. She creeps closer. He's got to be faking it. Except his face is COVERED IN BLOOD. As it was before she cleaned him up. She turns her head. The handkerchief is still folded neatly on the dresser. She touches the bowl she poured the water into. It's dry. Uneasily, she looks back to Waters. Then she checks the ammunition in her gun. Making sure it's loaded. And ready. INT. FOYER - NIGHT HOBBES Sophie. He buries his hands in her hair, kisses her. HOBBES Sophie, oh, Sophie... He can't seem to say anything else. He's staring at her. She smiles. SOPHIE It's so good to see you, Tom. She takes him by the hand and leads him into: INT. PARLOR - NIGHT As richly, old fashionedly furnished as the other rooms. They sit together on the couch. SOPHIE I'm sorry, Tom. For everything. I didn't know...I know so much more now. HOBBES Now that you're dead? He can barely bear to say the words. Biting her lip, she nods. SOPHIE But it's okay, Tom. She touches his face. HOBBES It doesn't...hurt? She shakes her head. HOBBES Sophie, I love you so much, I thought I was never going to see you again... SOPHIE Ssh, ssh, it's okay. It's okay. Tom, you have important work to do. And you aren't going to get it done if you can't... HOBBES The thought of getting home to you is the only thing I have, Sophie. She looks sad. SOPHIE You have to let me go. HOBBES Pinocchio told me there's no - that when you die here, you disappear. There's nothing else. He seemed so sure... SOPHIE I can't go until you let me, Tom. HOBBES (embracing her again) I don't want to let you go. I love you. SOPHIE (seriously) But I'm trapped here, Tom. He just looks at her. Realizing she's right. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT As Pinocchio watches, the mass grave begins to move. Roiling, writhing limbs fight their way to the surface. The dead rise, their bodies decomposed beyond damage done by guns and bombs and war. Pinocchio is too horrified to move and then he runs for the door, up the steps, which have reached the end of their era. The wood gives way beneath his feet, sending him plunging through the steps. He lands hard in the dirt. The zombies move toward him. The debris of the stairs, together with their remaining frame, form bars around him. Pinocchio raises his gun, looking into the faces of the dead. His hand trembles. IN MEMORY, bombs explode around him. EXT. FRONTIER - DAY The sun blazes bright. Pinocchio is dressed in a clean Republican Guard outfit, complete with crossed-swords patch and red beret. He throws a grenade. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT He fires the gun, repeatedly into the ZOMBIES approaching him. EXT. FRONTIER - DAY He ducks as the grenade explodes, but he's watching. It takes out the ZOMBIES FROM THE BASEMENT, only they're fresh and alive. They cry out and bleed. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT Pinocchio continues to pull the trigger, although the gun is empty. The zombies keep coming. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT PINOCCHIO You're not real. He tries to get up, but he's hurt. Maybe just winded from the fall and terror. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT Pinocchio pushing at the zombies with a broken piece of wood. PINOCCHIO Go back. Go back to your tomb. He puts his hands over his eyes, letting the wood fall. The zombies look like they've won. INT. BEDROOM - DAY The scene changes suddenly, with the sound of a waking gasp. Pinocchio sits bolt upright in bed. This rouses the woman sleeping next to him - Inga Fossa. INGA (sleepy) What's wrong? He doesn't know. He stares at her, looks around at the room. Confused as hell. PINOCCHIO I had a bad dream. She sits up, wraps one arm around him. INGA The Harsh Realm dream again? He looks at her. Then nods, rubbing his eyes. PINOCCHIO (rough) Yeah. INGA You know it's just a dream, baby. Go back to sleep. She sits there, watching him, as he does as she says and lies down. She smiles, and he smiles back, then closes his eyes. She starts to stroke his cheek with her fingers. The skin sizzles, blistering and burning. His eyes open, but he can't move. She holds him down with her hand against his cheek. She's laughing. And we see the love in his eyes for her turn to horror. He throws her off and rolls away, curling into a ball. Shaking. *ACT FOUR* INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT The kitchen is empty, and rather a mess since we last left it. Most of the jars and bottles have burst. The table is still upended. Glass is all over the floor from the broken windows and rain is beating in. The last couple of bottles slide from the counter and break. Suddenly the colored mess on the floor begins to shift, rearranging itself until it looks something like an impressionist painting. The glass rearranges itself into what looks like a big smiley face. The door rattles. Won't open. It's jammed, or locked, closed. The smiley face turns upside down...into an evil looking frown. This is the face of the poltergeist. The chairs slide through the painting. On the counter, an electrical cord begins to peel itself back, layer by layer, until its insides are revealed. It inches toward the plug as its appliance moves toward the sink, which is splattered with mud. The tap is running. The destroyed plug meets the electrical outlet. The appliance meets the water. There is a shower of sparks, which dance and run as though alive, all through the kitchen, igniting the chairs and the table. Finally the door itself, made of wood, catches on fire. The glass-shard face is smiling now. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT Everything is still. No zombies. The pit in the middle of the floor exactly as it was before, with only a few random body parts sticking out. Except...the stairs are still destroyed. Pinocchio still lies on the floor, his arm covering his eyes. Not moving. INT. MEDICAL FACILITY - DAY The room where all of the GI's sent into Harsh Realm lie on gurneys, wires coming from their heads. A few NURSES in white roam up and down the aisles. From the side, we find Pinocchio, lying underneath his sheet. Only the left ("good") side of his face is visible. His eyes open. He gets up. Still avoiding any reveal, any hint of something wrong. Maybe he's not burned. Maybe he's home and everything is just fine. From behind, a dark-haired woman drapes a white terrycloth bathrobe over his shoulders, which he pulls around him. He turns to face her. It's INGA FOSSA. He's not terribly pleased to see her. She puts a MIRROR into his hands. He looks at it, at her - "what the hell?" Then he holds it up. REVERSE ON MIRROR: Burned, scarred, mottled flesh fills the reflection, with his white, ruined eye sagging in the middle of it. He SCREAMS. The mirror shatters on the floor. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Florence has taken a seat in a plush chair on the other side of the room from the bed. She's sitting back, but she hasn't relaxed. Her gun lies in her lap. Still ready. Waters sleeps on the bed. HORRIBLE SCREAMS O.S. She jumps to her feet. Stops, frowning. She smells something. ANGLE ON DOOR Dark SMOKE is spilling through the cracks around the top of the door. She stares at it for a long moment, then moves into action. Standing back, she gingerly touches Waters on the shoulder, shaking him. His face is still bloody - she hasn't made a second attempt to clean him up. She wants to keep her distance. He wakes, choking. WATERS What -? With a nervous glance at the door, she helps him to his feet. He stands, unsteadily. She feels the door with her palm. It's hot. Meanwhile, Waters has taken a couple of stumbling steps in the wrong direction. Florence goes to him. Forces him down low, where the air is clearer. She uses the bottom of her shirt to turn the metal door handle. INT. HALL - NIGHT The air is thick and dark with unbreatheable smoke, but there is no apparent flame. Waters coughs and chokes, his hands outstretched, feeling the air blindly. Florence smacks his hands down, grasps one of them firmly - like a mother leading a child across a busy intersection. Together, they begin to move down the grand staircase. INT. PARLOR - NIGHT Hobbes and Sophie, sitting together on the couch. SOPHIE You have to. HOBBES How can you put someone you love from your mind? They are holding hands. SOPHIE You have work to do, Tom. Important work. He looks uncertain. SOPHIE You're The One, Tom. HOBBES What? SOPHIE The only one who can free Harsh Realm. HOBBES From Santiago, you mean? She looks as though she's said too much. The DOOR FLIES OPEN. Hobbes jumps, turns with his gun half-drawn. It's Florence, half-dragging Waters. Hobbes turns back, but it's too late. Sophie is gone. He jumps to his feet. HOBBES NO! It's too soon! You can't go yet, I'm not ready! He moves around in a circle, pleading up at the ceiling. She doesn't come back. He sinks onto the couch, too dejected to move. Or care. He begins to cough, and it rouses him. He looks at Florence and Waters again, both of them breathless, their faces dirty from soot. BEHIND THEM he sees the flames. HOBBES Fire! Florence gives him a look - "No shit, sherlock." He's energized into action now. Runs past them, to the door, looks out. INT. FOYER - NIGHT Fire has engulfed the far wall, exposing it to its beams. INT. PARLOR - NIGHT Hobbes puts his hand on Florence's arm. HOBBES Are you all right? She nods. HOBBES Pinocchio! Florence meets Hobbes' eyes. Worried for their friend. HOBBES (referring to Waters:) Get him outside. She nods. HOBBES And find Dexter! He dashes past her. INT. FOYER - NIGHT Hobbes, running. He starts up the stairs. HOBBES (yelling over the fire) Pinocchio! He turns around. He doesn't even know where to look. The fire is spreading rapidly. He spots the DOOR TO THE BASEMENT. Fire fights him every step of the way. By the time he opens the door, his way back has been engulfed. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT At the top of the stairs, light appears as the door opens. A shadow in the doorway. HOBBES Pinocchio? No response. Hobbes hesitates at the top of the stairs, turns to close the door on the basement and look elsewhere. Under the stairs, Pinocchio shifts and groans. HOBBES Pinocchio! He starts down the dark stairs. With a look at the fire, he pulls the basement door closed behind him. Pinocchio moves so his arms are shielding his face from view. PINOCCHIO Go away, Hobbes. HOBBES The house is on fire. We have to get out of here. PINOCCHIO (resigned) The last step is a bitch. His words come a second too late. Hobbes' foot reaches for the stair that's missing and he falls the rest of the way down the stairs. From his vantage point face-down in the dirt, Hobbes has a good view of the basement floor, which although dug-in, doesn't seem to have any bodies buried beneath it any more. He spots Pinocchio. HOBBES Come on. We have to get out of here. This place is going up fast. Pinocchio doesn't move. Curled on himself protectively, hiding his face. HOBBES Move it, I'm serious. (beat) Are you hurt? He looks at the stairs. Sees what must have happened. HOBBES (strained) Are you hurt!? He moves toward Pinocchio, reaching for him, to somehow pick him up and carry him up the stairs if he has to. Pinocchio skitters backwards. PINOCCHIO Just leave me alone. Hobbes looks at him like he's lost his mind. HOBBES What's your problem? Slowly, Pinocchio lowers his hands from his face. Meeting Hobbes' eyes with a challenging glare. Waiting for him to react in horror to what he sees. But he just sees regular Pinocchio, not the burned version from the real world. HOBBES There's no time! POUNDING on the door from above. Hobbes help pull him from the wreckage of the steps and they look up at the staircase. There's no way to get to the top. The DOOR BURSTS OPEN. Florence is standing there, looking like an action heroine. Waters is slumped against her and Dexter noses toward the edge of the first step. Fire rages behind her. She shakes her head. There's no way out of the house. Hobbes turns to Pinocchio. HOBBES Give me a boost. Hiding his face with one arm, Pinocchio helps Hobbes reach the steps that didn't collapse. HOBBES (to Florence) We'll find a way out of here. He crouches on the last step holding his hand out to Pinocchio. Pinocchio would have to drop his hands from hiding his face to accept the assistance. He turns away. PINOCCHIO Save yourselves. Hobbes looks at him like he's crazy. HOBBES Give me your hand, damn it! Pinocchio doesn't move. HOBBES I'm not leaving you here. Dexter whines. HOBBES Waters, help me. WATERS I can't see anything, Hobbes - Hobbes wasn't asking. Florence pushes Waters and he stumbles. Hobbes pulls him down onto the step with him. HOBBES There's no time! He grabs Pinocchio's hand and pulls it away from his face, dramatically revealing there's nothing wrong with him. Waters reaches out grudgingly, and together, the two men pull him up out of the basement. INT. FOYER - NIGHT Flame from every direction. They huddle in the doorway. There's nowhere for them to go. Except through the flame. All of them searching with their eyes for a way out. Hobbes picks up Dexter and puts him inside his shirt for protection. Getting ready to move. Pinocchio touches his face. The skin is smooth. He doesn't get it, but it's fine with him as the corner of his mouth turns up in half of an almost- smile. Remembering the burn of his nightmare...if it was a nightmare, Pinocchio dashes through the fire, grabbing the hall table on his way and slamming it into the window. The window won't break. HOBBES The kitchen! The windows...it's the only way! He pushes Florence and Waters in front of him, toward the inferno. Pinocchio moves to join them. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT They pause at the door of the blazing room. A beam FALLS, sending a new shower of sparks. But on the other side of the room... THE WINDOWS. Completely shattered. With a tempting rain still falling. The glass from the floor begins to pick itself up, moving as a unit, hurled at them. Like something in a cartoon, or a smart missile, when they dodge, it dodges too. Behind them, the wall GIVES WAY. Blocking their path back. The burning chairs begin to move. PINOCCHIO It's not real. HOBBES What? PINOCCHIO Nothing in this house is real. The fire's not real. None of them buy this. Not even him. PINOCCHIO MOVE!!! They run through the flame as though it wasn't even there. EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT Florence and Pinocchio help Hobbes crawl out through the window. Once his feet touch ground, they move quickly to a safe distance. The entire house is ENGULFED in flame, which rise into the dark, rainy sky. The orange firelight plays over their faces as they watch it burn. Yet aside from dirt, and soot, none of them is any worse for the wear. Their clothes aren't ripped, hair not singed... HOBBES (not understanding; refusing to) None of that was real? Pinocchio swallows hard. He sure as hell hopes not. HOBBES Some kind of sick training mechanism for Santiago's soldiers? WATERS No. They're surprised he's chosen to answer. WATERS Ask Pinocchio. He knows. A beat. Pinocchio turns away from the house. Ready to leave it behind. PINOCCHIO It's a torture chamber. Crush soldiers' minds with fear. Break them. HOBBES But we're not broken. He stands a little straighter, a little stronger. PINOCCHIO Let's get out of here. He starts walking. Hobbes follows, Dexter at his heels. Florence looks at Waters questioningly. PINOCCHIO Leave him here. WATERS (desperately) I can't see anything! Florence looks at him, and moves to join the others. HOBBES You will. He doesn't really care if he doesn't. Waters looks panicked, but he says nothing more. Rubbing one of his eyes. The SUNRISE begins to compete with the orange flame of the house fire as they troop off through the woods. WATERS Hobbes!!!! None of them look back as Waters hollers. Behind him, the fire is suddenly EXTINGUISHED. For a second, the house sits, damaged and charred. Then a fallen beam MOVES back into position. Followed by another. The house is rebuilding itself. After several moments, it looks exactly as it did when we first saw it. From a distance, the pattern of the windows and the porch take on the appearance of two eyes and a grinning mouth. Waiting for its next victims. THE END