INT. FUNERAL ROOM - NIGHT
A large white room filled with people. All wearing black, they are standing around chairs, murmuring softly among themselves, comforting each other.
A girl of only six years old, DANA, sits on a chair placed in the corner of the room, alone. She has her knees tucked into the rest of her body, holding them close with her hands, clasped together around the knees. Her eyes are red and swollen.
There is a silver-colored casket surrounded by wreathes of flowers sitting at the opposite side of the room.
Behind the casket, mounted on the wall is a large wooden cross, surrounded by many religious pictures of Jesus, Mary, etc.
Returning to the casket, we see it is open at one end allowing sight of --
MARGARET, a middle aged woman, wrinkles hardly settling into her face, dressed rather nicely for her wake. Her hands are clasped on her chest. We notice there is no wedding band. Her eyes are closed, her face set into a peaceful, sleeping expression.
Pan around the room and back to the child. The only sounds are her breathing and her heart beating with the hum of slight murmuring around her.
The guests slowly begin to file out.
A few moments later, a PRIEST visits the girl. He pats her on the shoulder, giving her a gravely sympathetic look and then saunters away.
We watch as more guests exit the room. Among the guests is a man, ETHAN. He is focused upon while the others remain slightly blurred. We move in closer to him as he pauses for a moment to look at the girl.
The girl looks up, her eyes welted.
All sounds cease.
MAN
I'll be seeing you.
Although his lips are not moving. The girl can hear it as though it were whispered into her ear.
She emits a small gasp, her heart pounding and then --
SILENCE again.
A SOUND PIERCES out of the silence --
CUT TO:
INT DANA'S BEDROOM
The sound is her PAGER, causing Dana to rise immediately to consciousness. She raises her head suddenly, out of breath to reach for her pager.
We see her hand reaching from her bed to the nightstand. She unhooks the pager from the charger, grasping it firmly in her hand as she pulls the covers from her body. She wears a long-sleeved white t-shirt, a small embroidery is on the top left side. It is not legible.
The noise ceases and a DISPATCHER'S VOICE speaks from the pager.
DISPATCHER (V.O.)
Station KBR-743...Duty crew report to headquarters,
code 2...An ambulance is needed at 129 Broad Ave, in front of
Lesser's Drug store. Victim is white, male, in his late 20's. He
has been stabbed.
The voice becomes muffled and indeciperable.
Dana's feet, bare, toenails unpainted, HIT the hardwood floor. We can see the cuffs of her black pants against the dim light of a light emitting from her window.
Follow as she walks to her shoes, placed on the floor, across the room. They are black and worn. She slips her feet in, without socks.
The dispatcher finishes its monotone report. A moment of STATIC is heard.
Her blue jacket lays beside the shoes and she picks it up, flinging it over her shoulder. She grabs her keys from a table. We see the digital clock sitting next to the empty space where her keys sat only moments ago. It reads 3:27 am. Dana walks quickly out of the room.
EXT. DANA'S HOUSE - NIGHT
She walks in the darkness to her car, her keys in one hand, the other searches her pockets. A cell phone emerges from her right pocket. She blindly DIALS a number and holds the phone to her ear as she approaches her car, a hunter green Toyoda.
She slips the key into the lock with a twist. The doors UNLOCK
DANA
(into the phone)
I'll meet them at the scene.
She climbs into the car and STARTS the ignition.
Dana pauses as she shifts into reverse.
DANA
Thanks.
She presses a button and slips the phone back
into her pocket and activates the rotating blue light on her
dashboard.
We can vaguely hear a conversation taking place on her pager.
DISPATCHER (V.O.)
Headquarters to LEA-1
WARREN
LEA-1.
DISPATCHER (V.O.)
Dana will meet you at the scene.
WARREN
10-4.
Close in on the rotating blue light and -
MATCH CUT TO:
EXT.MAIN STREET - NIGHT
Focus in on the red and blue rotating lights of cop cars.
There are two cop cars parked in front of an alley. We can see the silhouettes of the COPS as they gather around something.
Dana pulls up in her car, stepping out with a blue bag. There is a star of life embroidered on the top. The stripes and words on her back and sleeves catch and reflect the light.
A MALE POLICE OFFICER approaches her.
COP #1
Good morning. Haven't seen you in a few hours.
I was almost beginning to worry.
Dana smiles slightly and pulls a pair of latex gloves out of her back pocket. She puts them on.
DANA
You know I love you, Ox, but I was hoping to
not see you again until the sun was up.
STEVE OXNARD chuckles.
Dana looks over his shoulder to the two remaining cops, standing a few meters away and then back to Steve.
DANA
Stabbing?
OX
Stabbing.
DANA
Bad?
OX
Pretty bad.
He pauses and looks to her.
OX
I think you should wait until Warren gets here.
Dana sighs and walks with Steve to the other
police officers.
He cuts her off.
DANA
I think you're overreacting.
She smiles and laughs, slightly offended.
DANA
Just because i'm a girl doesn't mean I
need to run and hide at the sight of a little bit of...
The sea of cops part and we see a man, hunched over, seemingly unconscious...blood everywhere.
DANA
Shit.
OX
A little bit of shit?
Dana covers her mouth, looking horrified.
DANA
Why don't I wait until the rest of my crew arrives.
OX
Good idea.
Close in slightly on the body. We see ETHAN sprawled out, unconscious. His shirt is torn and stained from blood. Laying next to him is a small pile of ash that is hardly noticeable. He is beautiful.
Moments later, the ambulance pulls up, its lights flashing as well.
Warren, a man in his mid-30's, climbs out of the rig carrying a bag similar to Dana's. He hurries over to Dana.
WARREN
How'd you get here so fast?
DANA
I stabbed this guy.
WARREN
Really?
DANA
No, you putz. I live around the block.
Warren looks disappointed.
Dana shakes her head as she walks past him.
DANA
Freak.
As they approach the cops, they can hear the cops
discussing the matter, and trying to talk to the victim.
COP #3
Can you hear me, sir?
Sir? What happened here?
The cop reaches out with a gloved hand to try to touch the hunched over Ethan. Ethan's eyes are squeezed shut, and his hands are wrapped around his stomach.
ETHAN
(whimpers)
Please don't touch me.
DANA
(to Warren)
Get the ferno and some O2.
Warren turns and complains incoherently. We see
him reach into his pocket and pull out a pack of cigarettes as he
returns to the Ambulance to fetch the ferno and oxygen.
Meanwhile, Dana slowly approaches Ethan.
COP # 2
Name's Ethan. He's clean.
No weapons. No drugs.
He's barely conscious, but be careful anyway.
Dana reaches into her bag and pulls out some gauze pads. She RIPS them open and resumes approaching Ethan. She squats down next to him.
DANA
Ethan? My name is Dana. |
I'm with the ambulance and we're here to help you.
There is no response.
DANA
Ethan? I'm going to touch you, okay?
I'm going to move your arm so I can see your wound.
CLOSE ANGLE - DANA'S HAND
DANA
If something I do hurts, I want you to tell me, ok?
ETHAN
(whimpers to himself)
It hurts!
DANA
What hurts, Ethan?
Her hand touches his arm and she manages to pull his hand away from his stomach, revealing a few large wounds, one of them a large puncture wound right above his abdomen, almost at his heart, and the others, a series of slashes across his belly. The slashes almost look like claw marks.
ANGLE - DANA AND ETHAN
Ethan pulls away slightly, lowering his head to
the ground.
Dana pours a bit of water onto the gauze and applies it to the
large puncture wound.
Ethan lets out a growl and he raises his head and a fist to Dana,
who is only inches away from him.
He looks up and openes his eyes. They are brown around the
ridges, but a mixture of green and yellow around the iris.
Dana gasps and stumbles back. We don't know if it is because she
has seen his eyes or if it is because he raised a fist to her. We
see Ethan lose his strength once again and his eyes slowly fade
into a deep brown.
He looks apologetically to Dana.
ETHAN
(nearly incoherently)
Oh, it's you.
(a beat)
Have you come to kill me?
Dana watches Ethan, confused.
DANA
No, i've come to help you.
Ethan and Dana share a moment.
DANA
Now hold still while I apply this.
It's just water. I just want to clean out the wound to
take a better look at it.
ETHAN
Why would you want to look at my cuts? Are you going to heal
them?
Dana looks to Ethan, partially afraid, partially fascinated.
DANA
I want to see how severe they are.
Ethan looks up to Dana and smiles.