A half hour long paranormal workplace action/comedy
by Thomas Holler
DOPE – The Department of Paranormal Events is the low level branch of the provincial government where Investigations and Removals specialists Rooney, Ervin and Randal are pitted up against ghosts, goblins, demons, vampires, zombies and more ghosts all for less pay than the city gives to their average parking enforcement officer.
DOPE is a story about a lower level branch of the provincial government dedicated to protecting the public against paranormal pests. It’s about a group of ghost exterminators trained in haunting investigations, possessions, vampirification and zombification cases, hobgoblin removal and anything else their miserable supervisor Mr. Dickmeyer demands of them. Rooney, Ervin and Randal find themselves in life threatening situations almost every day, facing off against creatures thousands of times more dangerous than anything your typical exterminator can imagine. Because the debate about the existence of the paranormal will always be ongoing with many people still unconvinced skeptics; the Department of Paranormal Events is the least funded branch of the government; meaning our guys are risking their lives for a little under $25,000 a year.
DOPE – PILOT SYNOPSIS
On their first day together Rooney and Ervin are already at odds with each other, Rooney is upset about Ervin being assigned to re-train him in a job that he’s been doing for years and he’s lashing out because of it. Ervin knows he’s in for a long day. After checking in with Randal back at HQ, Ervin sends the pair knocking on the door of their first call of the day. He turns to Rooney to remind him to smile and turns back to the sound of the door opening. Blackness.
It’s much later at night now and Ervin is just regaining consciousness, he’s slumped over just inside the front door and he has a large open wound on his head, Rooney is nowhere to be found. Over his radio blares a distress call from Rooney, Ervin answers it. “HELP ME NOW, GET ME OUT, GET ME OUT!”. The camera shows us where Rooney is, buried alive in a leaky casket that’s filling with dirt. Ervin contacts Randal and along with a panicking Rooney they work together to formulate a plan to find Rooney and get him out before his air runs out. The group have to work together while still keeping Mr. Dickmeyer in the dark; who’s looking for any opportunity to fire Rooney.
Ervin is left no choice but to go exploring the house for clues, knowing that somewhere inside lurks a monster that tried to kill him. With the help of Randal; Ervin learns that the house is known to the department by it’s nickname of “the Killbox”, the site of a mass murder and whatever’s inside isn’t finished killing. In a tense confrontation Ervin learns how powerful this monster truly is.
A battered and out matched Ervin has to survive an attack from a powerful and blood thirsty monster in order to save Rooney who’s very, very close to suffocating to death underground in a coffin.
On their first day together Rooney and Ervin are already at odds with each other, Rooney is upset about Ervin being assigned to re-train him in a job that he’s been doing for years and he’s lashing out because of it. Ervin knows he’s in for a long day. After checking in with Randal back at HQ, Ervin sends the pair knocking on the door of their first call of the day. He turns to Rooney to remind him to smile and turns back to the sound of the door opening. Blackness.
It’s much later at night now and Ervin is just regaining consciousness, he’s slumped over just inside the front door and he has a large open wound on his head, Rooney is nowhere to be found. Over his radio blares a distress call from Rooney, Ervin answers it. “HELP ME NOW, GET ME OUT, GET ME OUT!”. The camera shows us where Rooney is, buried alive in a leaky casket that’s filling with dirt. Ervin contacts Randal and along with a panicking Rooney they work together to formulate a plan to find Rooney and get him out before his air runs out. The group have to work together while still keeping Mr. Dickmeyer in the dark; who’s looking for any opportunity to fire Rooney.
Ervin is left no choice but to go exploring the house for clues, knowing that somewhere inside lurks a monster that tried to kill him. With the help of Randal; Ervin learns that the house is known to the department by it’s nickname of “the Killbox”, the site of a mass murder and whatever’s inside isn’t finished killing. In a tense confrontation Ervin learns how powerful this monster truly is.
A battered and out matched Ervin has to survive an attack from a powerful and blood thirsty monster in order to save Rooney who’s very, very close to suffocating to death underground in a coffin.
DOPE –
CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS
ERVIN JOHNSON – Ervin is the best in the department; he’s believed in the paranormal his whole life so when the government finally confirmed its existence he was one of the first enthusiastic recruits to sign up for it’s new Paranormal Investigations branch. He’s read every manual, attended every seminar, participated in every training session and logged more field hours than almost anyone in the department. He’s looked upon highly at the department and has been assigned to working with Rooney to help to retrain him in the mold the department feels would be more suitable.
ROONEY RODMAN – If you ask his bosses, Rooney is the worst performer at the D.O.P.E. His service reviews are always rated low due to complaints of rudeness and an unwillingness to perform his duties, he’s paid crappy and treated crappy and he knows it. He’ll do his job but he’ll be damned if he’s going to smile about it. Ironically he’s the only person in the department who’s been on more case calls than Ervin and despite his attitude towards his job; he has a natural craftiness and bravery that his colleagues respect.
RANDAL CHIPMAN – Randal works mainly in administration and over the years has had to deal with Rooney a lot, he’s one of the members at the department who actually knows how good Rooney can be at his job and his close relationship with him has gotten him in Mr. Dickmeyer’s bad books. Now he finds himself assigned almost exclusively to handling the administration of cases assigned to Ervin and Rooney, who require by far the most paper work in company.
ERVIN JOHNSON – Ervin is the best in the department; he’s believed in the paranormal his whole life so when the government finally confirmed its existence he was one of the first enthusiastic recruits to sign up for it’s new Paranormal Investigations branch. He’s read every manual, attended every seminar, participated in every training session and logged more field hours than almost anyone in the department. He’s looked upon highly at the department and has been assigned to working with Rooney to help to retrain him in the mold the department feels would be more suitable.
ROONEY RODMAN – If you ask his bosses, Rooney is the worst performer at the D.O.P.E. His service reviews are always rated low due to complaints of rudeness and an unwillingness to perform his duties, he’s paid crappy and treated crappy and he knows it. He’ll do his job but he’ll be damned if he’s going to smile about it. Ironically he’s the only person in the department who’s been on more case calls than Ervin and despite his attitude towards his job; he has a natural craftiness and bravery that his colleagues respect.
RANDAL CHIPMAN – Randal works mainly in administration and over the years has had to deal with Rooney a lot, he’s one of the members at the department who actually knows how good Rooney can be at his job and his close relationship with him has gotten him in Mr. Dickmeyer’s bad books. Now he finds himself assigned almost exclusively to handling the administration of cases assigned to Ervin and Rooney, who require by far the most paper work in company.
MR. DICKMEYER – The Head of Paranormal Investigations, Southeast
Division. Dickmeyer is an unsympathetic, ego maniacal boss who only sees the
department’s bottom line. He despises Rooney because he gets the department bad
service reviews which Dickmeyer then has to explain to his superiors. With a
careful eye on expenses, he often sends Rooney and Ervin into dangerous
situations without the proper equipment; meanwhile he’ll pour over their
expense reports and ask them why they charged band-aids and flashlight
batteries to their staff accounts. He’s a jerk.
DOPE - SERIES SYNOPSIS
DOPE - SERIES SYNOPSIS
D.O.P.E. (Department of Paranormal Events). I suppose the best way to pitch this idea to you is to ask you to picture the world in which the Ghostbusters movies took place. Those movies took place in the 1980's and after all the Marshmallow Men, giant walls of slime and walking Statues of Liberty it would be hard for anyone in that world to really doubt the existence of ghosts. If we were to look in on that world now it's easy to imagine ghost busting becoming commonplace, ghostbusters would be as common as exterminators. It would be a job akin to rodent removal or even the search and removal of toxic mold. Despite the excitement of it; It would become a low paying, unglamorous, heavily regulated, low level job for the City's Public Health Department.
That's the type of world in which this show takes place, ghost removal is necessary, government funded and blue collar. The Department of Paranormal Events is a concept that combines comedy and fright and allows for a broad forum where any number of scenario's can occur. The show focuses on a team of three characters who are given assignments by their contemptuous boss where they're to head out to investigate a different case each week and remove whatever ghost or monster is causing the problem. At the heart of the show it's a workplace comedy about three people who are stuck in low paying, thankless jobs where they're put at risk every day and the struggle to get through it all while battling specters, goblins, zombies and poltergeist. Armed with their colorful Ionic Popper ghost removal guns our protagonists will take the audience on fun but tense and action packed half hour adventures.
DOPE – FUTURE EPISODES
DOPE Episode 2: Vampires - Rooney, Ervin and Randall are chased into a small cabin by a pack of vampires and Randall has been bitten. They can hold up until sunset when the vampires would retreat but if they wait that long then Randall will die and become one of them. He needs the vampire virus cure which is in the standard DOPE medical kit in their car and he needs it ASAP.
Rooney and Randall risk certain death at the hands of a ravenous pack of wild vampires. Electing to save Randal; Ervin constructs a plan to draw the attention of the vampires from within the cabin allowing Rooney to escape out back. Rooney has to race through a kilometer of vampire territory at night to find their car and get it back to Ervin who was left to fortify and protect the cabin from a pack of strong and frenzied vampires who are determined to tear their way inside where Randall lays helpless and dying on the floor; bound to turn into a deadly vampire himself at any minute.
DOPE Episode 3: Zombies – Ervin is conducting a routine training session in the basement of DOPE headquarters; detailing the government’s policies on zombie care. During a routine zombie inspection something goes terribly wrong and in minutes recruits are being torn apart and zombies are everywhere. Ervin orders a complete lockdown of the basement with all three main characters trapped inside with a pack of zombies running wild.
DOPE Episode 4: Fight! – Rooney and Ervin continue to butt heads when the question arises of who would win in a fight. Rooney is sure that if it came down to it, he could take Ervin in a brawl but Ervin thinks he’s dreaming. When Ervin finds himself possessed by a great evil that causes him to become intensely violent those dream become reality. It’s Ervin vs. Rooney in a fight to the finish.
DOPE Episode 5: Drive – Rooney scoffs at the idea of a haunted car when they’re called upon to investigate; until it locks him inside and takes him on a dangerous drag race across a winding dirt road. With Ervin in hot pursuit, it’s an old fashioned car chase with a ghost at the wheel.
DOPE Episode 2: Vampires - Rooney, Ervin and Randall are chased into a small cabin by a pack of vampires and Randall has been bitten. They can hold up until sunset when the vampires would retreat but if they wait that long then Randall will die and become one of them. He needs the vampire virus cure which is in the standard DOPE medical kit in their car and he needs it ASAP.
Rooney and Randall risk certain death at the hands of a ravenous pack of wild vampires. Electing to save Randal; Ervin constructs a plan to draw the attention of the vampires from within the cabin allowing Rooney to escape out back. Rooney has to race through a kilometer of vampire territory at night to find their car and get it back to Ervin who was left to fortify and protect the cabin from a pack of strong and frenzied vampires who are determined to tear their way inside where Randall lays helpless and dying on the floor; bound to turn into a deadly vampire himself at any minute.
DOPE Episode 3: Zombies – Ervin is conducting a routine training session in the basement of DOPE headquarters; detailing the government’s policies on zombie care. During a routine zombie inspection something goes terribly wrong and in minutes recruits are being torn apart and zombies are everywhere. Ervin orders a complete lockdown of the basement with all three main characters trapped inside with a pack of zombies running wild.
DOPE Episode 4: Fight! – Rooney and Ervin continue to butt heads when the question arises of who would win in a fight. Rooney is sure that if it came down to it, he could take Ervin in a brawl but Ervin thinks he’s dreaming. When Ervin finds himself possessed by a great evil that causes him to become intensely violent those dream become reality. It’s Ervin vs. Rooney in a fight to the finish.
DOPE Episode 5: Drive – Rooney scoffs at the idea of a haunted car when they’re called upon to investigate; until it locks him inside and takes him on a dangerous drag race across a winding dirt road. With Ervin in hot pursuit, it’s an old fashioned car chase with a ghost at the wheel.
CONCLUSION
DOPE is a concept that allows for incredible depth of storytelling, with room for comedy, drama, action and horror it’s a show that will thrill audiences while keeping them guessing week after week. With such a deep pool of storytelling material; the ideas and possibilities for this series are endless. It’s my goal to create an action packed, fun show that is accessible to anyone and everyone with sharp writing, strong characterizations and moments that will have people talking for days after each episode airs.
DOPE is a concept that allows for incredible depth of storytelling, with room for comedy, drama, action and horror it’s a show that will thrill audiences while keeping them guessing week after week. With such a deep pool of storytelling material; the ideas and possibilities for this series are endless. It’s my goal to create an action packed, fun show that is accessible to anyone and everyone with sharp writing, strong characterizations and moments that will have people talking for days after each episode airs.
‘DOPE’
PILOT EPISODE
PILOT EPISODE
EXTERIOR – DAY – SUBURBAN STREET
A white work van screeches to a halt outside an idyllic house.
An official government logo “D.O.P.E. – Department of Paranormal Events” is plastered
on the side.
INTERIOR – DAY – VAN
We see a quick-cut, snap zoom montage of 2 pairs of hands
grabbing and setting up all kinds of high-tech looking scientific and military
gear. Light meters power up, the hum of equipment starts to reverberate,
helmets and protective gear get tightened. It all builds and builds as if we’re
headed into war.
EXTERIOR – DAY – SUBURBAN STREET
The back doors of the van burst open and reveal 2 completely
decked out soldiers, ready for war: ERVIN and ROONEY as indicated on their
nametags. ERVIN looks serious and confident, a highly trained specialist ready
to do his duty. ROONEY looks less than enthused, his mouth chomping slowly on
gum, his gear a little more haphazardly put together, his helmet strap undone.
The music is still hard and awesome. These guys are fucking cool as shit.
SLAM FREEZE-FRAME ON THESE 2 BADASS MOTHERFUCKERS.
TITLE CARD: “D.O.P.E.” accompanied by huge awesome beats hitting
the soundtrack.
We come back to the action as the 2 mercenaries prepare to head
to the front door of the residence Rooney is carrying a large double hand held
gun with glowing readout displays fills the screen. Rooney’s tattooed arms
grips the gun tightly.
ERVIN
Alright
Rooney, weapons check.
Did
you charge the Ionic Disruptors?
ROONEY
Check
ERVIN
Both
of them
ROONEY
Yes,
and the Ionic Popper.
Rooney hold out a single hand
held version of the gun. It’s smaller with light up displays on the front, like
a gun shaped phaser.
ERVIN
Did you get the CO-345a forms
from the truck?
ROONEY
The what?
ERVIN
The CO-345a forms. The personal
insurance and liability release forms for the resident?
ROONEY
The what?
ERVIN leans back and turns to ROONEY.
ERVIN
The. Blue. Binder.
ROONEY
Ah. No. I left it on the dash.
ERVIN and ROONEY stare at each other for a good 10 seconds
waiting for the other to get the binder. ROONEY shrugs, uninterested. ERVIN has
a minor, private meltdown and storms down the path back to the truck.
ERVIN
Are you going to make this
difficult for me Rooney?
ROONEY
oh yeah.
ERVIN goes into the truck and grabs the binder.
ERVIN
Here.
ERVIN slides back next to ROONEY and slaps the binder into his
chest.
ROONEY
Hey. Thanks, man.
ERVIN
Give me my popper.
ROONEY
Oh, I forgot yours back at the
office.
ERVIN
You said you had everything!
ROONEY
I said I had 'pretty much'
everything. I left yours on the bench outside your locker. It’s charged though.
ERVIN
Well give me that one.
ROONEY
I am better with it.
Rooney puts it in the front of his pants
ERVIN
Those are class 3 nuclear
devices. It isn’t something you want to keep there.
Rooney looks down to notice the gun sitting very near his
crotch. He takes the gun out and moves it to a holster strap on his back.
Ervin rolls his eyes, he turns away from Rooney for a second and
presses a button on the radio attached to his shoulder.
ERVIN
D.OP.E. this is Ervin Johnson,
I’m outside of 333 Kellimore Crescent for work order…
ERVIN grabs the binder from ROONEY and flips through a page.
ERVIN
…62842. I’m about to start the
clean up but need an equipment confirmation on the depot side.
The radio in ERVIN’s hand crackles to life.
RANDAL
What’s going on Ervin. Why are
you out on a removal?
ERVIN
Randal? Why are you behind the
desk today?
Back at the Paranormal Investigation Department Randal is
sitting behind the main desk acting as a secretary/admin/co-ordinator. The
department is very bland, something resembling a post office with people in the
background covered in slime, one other co-worker in the background is holding a
talking severed head.
RANDAL
Can you change over to secure channel 2, please?
Can you change over to secure channel 2, please?
ERVIN flips a switch on his radio.
RANDAL
They’re short staffed today,
we’ve had a spike in calls all month. Today was supposed to be my day off but
Dickmyer said I had to come in and cover his receptionist’s shift.
Randal turns to the sign on the closed door right behind him.”
Rick Dickmyer, Head of Paranormal Investigations, Southeast division.”
ROONEY reaches over and grabs ERVIN’s radio. ERVIN gets visibly
upset for a moment before catching himself and lets ROONEY yank the radio
around, pulling him by the shoulder.
ROONEY (chomping on gum)
Randal this is Rooney. Tell
Dickmeyer I don't need a babysitter with me and it's a waste of manpower having
him here. We're short staffed enough.
RANDAL
Ervin, did they put you with
Rooney?
ERVIN (leans over to radio in
ROONEY’s hand)
(sarcastically)
Lucky me right? Listen, can you
check to make sure my allotment of Ionic Poppers aren’t sitting open in the
change room?
RANDAL
RANDAL
Ah, those were yours! Wilson
grabbed them before Dickmyer found them. He tucked them in his desk. Just grab
it when you check back in here. I thought you were in Investigations now.
ERVIN (politely wrestles the
radio back from ROONEY)
I am, they moved me back down
here because this guy keeps getting bad service reviews. He’s being re-trained.
RANDAL
oh boy...Rooney just remember to
smile. That's the biggest complaint you get.
ROONEY
I know and now I've stopped
smiling out of spite.
RANDAL
Listen Rooney, Dickmyer’s
already feeling the pressure to cut the budget for this quarter and everyone
knows he hates you. Ervin you're going to have to keep an eye on him.
ERVIN
I can handle Rooney, that part is easy. But
look; Randall I am looking over the work order for this place. All I see is
that there have been reports of hauntings but the last ones date back to the
90’s.
RANDAL
Give me a second let me find you
on the system. 333 Kellimore? Oh, we’ve had it on a stage-3 quarantine for over
a decade, pretty much since the department opened it’s doors. It’s been
scheduled for a cleaning ever since but budgets and union schedules have always
bumped it to the bottom of the priority lists. Apparently the community was
looking into converting it into a power station before some electricians came
back and reported Paranormal Events. Looks like they called the emergency
number and you’re finally being called in to scrub it.
ERVIN
Resident history?
RANDAL
The building is so old the
ownership papers haven’t been digitized yet so they’re somewhere down in the
records warehouse collecting dust.
ERVIN
So this is super, super low
priority - copy that, we’re going to proceed with the clean up.
ROONEY
Lets go kill it.
ERVIN
You aren’t really that dumb are
you? 1) You can’t kill “ghosts”, they’re already dead. 2) Union rules specify
against using layman terminology when on calls. Try and use terms like
“vapour-state spector”, “gaseous identity” or “ethereal chemo-spiritual
presence”. It keeps the public from panicking.
ROONEY
ROONEY
Hey I don't get paid enough to
learn all the different names for ghosts. I just get paid to zap 'em.
ERVIN
But you know that doesn’t kill
them right?
ROONEY
How do you figure? It blows them
up.
ERVIN
ERVIN
You aren’t killing the spectral
personality Rooney. Do you know how much energy has to collect for a cumulous
personification to form? All these devices do is disburse that energy into an
inert state. The occupying displaced soul loses all their energy in an ionic
burst and goes back to being nothing but you can’t kill something that isn’t
alive Rooney.
ROONEY
Killing and becoming nothing
sound like the same thing; Ervin
ERVIN
You just don't get it.
RANDAL
RANDAL
Alright, good luck you two. We
need that work order submitted before shift end.
ERVIN
Alright, take notes. Step one
every time, offer them a polite greeting.
ERVIN reaches over and rings the doorbell.
ROONEY
I always do.
ERVIN throws on a completely over-the-top super-huge smile.
ERVIN
And smile
ROONEY, completely blank-faced.
ROONEY
No.
The lock on the door clicks, the door handle turns and the door
slowly drifts open.
ERVIN and ROONEY look into the darkness for a moment.
ERVIN leans into the door tentatively and addresses the black.
ERVIN
Hello?
A force rushes towards them, the wind builds and then…
Blackness.
It’s darker than it was before, Ervin is alone, slumped
unconsciously against the closed front door. The house around him is a complete
wreck, no one has been inside for years. Ervin has a large, noticeable gash on
his forehead. Something hit him hard.
His radio crackles and a panicked sounding voice can be heard
but it’s too muffled to understand.
Ervin jolts awake, he’s startled and confused. He looks around
for a second and then remembers his radio. He quickly presses the button.
ERVIN
Rooney do you read me?
The sound of Rooney’s voice blasts over the radio
ROONEY
HELP ME NOW!!! GET ME OUT!!! GET
ME OUT!!!
ERVIN
Rooney where are you?
The camera cuts to Rooney. He’s inside of a wooden coffin, the
light of his flashlight and the light from his gun are the only things fighting
off complete blackness.
ROONEY
HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!
ROONEY is buried alive inside a coffin. ERVIN is in the house by the front door where he awoke. The house is empty, completely devoid of all furniture.
ERVIN
How did you get buried? What
happened?
ROONEY
Something hit us! Something big,
it knocked you out and it dragged me into a wood box.
ERVIN
What was it?
As ERVIN stands listening to ROONEY’s response a figure in the
background crosses a doorway, out of focus.
ROONEY
It was the GHOST STUPID! It’s a
monster!
Ervin pulls the gun from over his shoulder and holds it at the
ready.
ERVIN
Where are you?
ROONEY
I don’t know
ERVIN
How can you not know where it
buried you?
ROONEY
Because it CLOBBERED me first -
my sense of direction is a little off when I’m unconscious.
ERVIN
Alright, alright. I’m going to
find you, man.
ROONEY
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLP!!!
ERVIN
I’m on my way!
ERVIN starts to inch his way into the house. Each step seems to
be like an explosion through the quiet abandoned structure. He starts to creep
down a hallway. As he does the shadows on the wall seem to move and swirl
around him. He walks slower more cautiously. Every footstep is a thud in the
eerily quiet building. He sees an open door heading to the backyard.
ERVIN
Rooney. I think I see where it
took you.
He makes a run towards the door but just as he gets close the
door slams shut. The darkness seems to surround him, it gets quiet.
With a jolt he's pulled off his feet by something unseen in the darkness, he's being dragged through the house trying to fight his way free but he's constantly over powered. He's being pulled towards the basement, he clings to the door frame fighting from being pulled into the black room. He pulls with all his might, he reaches into his belt and gets his flashlight and shines it towards his attacker and sees...nothing. The attack stops and he stumbles to his feet and bursts out the back door. At the entrance the blackness begins to swirl once more, the house groans and creaks.
Ervin searches the backyard and sees a mound of recently placed dirt and dives into it.
With a jolt he's pulled off his feet by something unseen in the darkness, he's being dragged through the house trying to fight his way free but he's constantly over powered. He's being pulled towards the basement, he clings to the door frame fighting from being pulled into the black room. He pulls with all his might, he reaches into his belt and gets his flashlight and shines it towards his attacker and sees...nothing. The attack stops and he stumbles to his feet and bursts out the back door. At the entrance the blackness begins to swirl once more, the house groans and creaks.
Ervin searches the backyard and sees a mound of recently placed dirt and dives into it.
ERVIN
I think I found you!
Ervin digs furiously
through the dirt with his bare hands until he feels something. It’s wooden. He
digs away the remainder of the dirt and starts to smash at the wooden coffin.
He reaches inside and grabs the unmoving figure by the hand and pulls.
ERVIN
I’ve got you!
Ervin pulls the hand
upward only to have it detach from the body, it's a decomposed hand of a
corpse, another victim.
ERVIN
ARRRRRRGGG!!!
Ervin flies out of the hole and falls back on
the ground.
ERVIN
Rooney. It wasn’t you.
ROONEY
(sarcastically)
Really Ervin. It wasn’t me?
Really Ervin. It wasn’t me?
Ervin catches his breath and thinks for a second.
ERVIN
Rooney are you still there?
ROONEY
ROONEY
What a STUPID question!
ERVIN
ERVIN
Rooney, we have to call for help. I am
radioing Randal.
ROONEY
Patch me in!
Back at the office
Randal is filling out reports when Mr. Dickmyer comes out of his office.
DICKMYER
RANDAL, have you heard from
ERVIN and RANDAL? Shift ended an hour ago and I have yet to get their report.
RANDAL
No sir, we still haven’t heard anything from
them.
MR. DICKMYER
Let me know when you do.
He slams the door
and returns to his office. Randal’s radio comes to life.
ERVIN
RANDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!
ROONEY
ROONEY
RANDAL RANDAL RANDAL RANDAL!!
RANDAL
Where the hell have you been Rooney,
Dickmyer’s looking for you.
ERVIN
Forget Dickmyer! Rooney’s buried alive in a
coffin somewhere and I don’t know where and something just tried to kill me in
the house!
RANDAL
Jesus…Rooney are you ok?
ROONEY
ROONEY
NO!
ERVIN
Call everyone. Get them down here to help
look.
RANDAL
I put out a 911 emergency signal at your
location 2 hours ago when you two stopped answering your radios. No one’s
responding. We’re spread thin over here.
ROONEY
RANDAL GET ME SOME HELP! But don’t tell
Dickmyer. Repeat, DON’T tell Dickmeyer.
RANDAL
Rooney I have to tell him, he’s our boss.
ROONEY
I’D RATHER DIE HERE IN THIS CASKET THAN GIVE HIM THE SATISFACTION OF WRITING ME UP FOR CARELESSNESS AGAIN!
RANDAL
Rooney I have to tell him, he’s our boss.
ROONEY
I’D RATHER DIE HERE IN THIS CASKET THAN GIVE HIM THE SATISFACTION OF WRITING ME UP FOR CARELESSNESS AGAIN!
RANDAL
Alright! Rooney, you need to stay calm. Don’t
yell. Don’t get upset. You need to stay calm and take soothing, shallow
breaths.
ERVIN
Uunnnhhh…
RANDAL
Ervin are you alright?
ERVIN
I am dizzy. That thing hit me hard.
RANDAL
Ervin you need to get out of there, wait for
help to arrive.
ROONEY
NO STAY!
ERVIN
We don’t know how much air Rooney has. Look,
Randall I need a super deep rundown of this residence. You said the files are
in storage, I need you to go get them. I have to go back into the house, I have
find some clue that tells me where Rooney is or he's dead.
RANDALL
RANDALL
Alright but sit tight and wait for me to...
ERVIN
ERVIN
No time. Get me those files.
Ervin dashes back
into the house.
RANDALL
Rooney sit tight, shallow breaths. I'll be right back.
Rooney sit tight, shallow breaths. I'll be right back.
RANDALL gets up to leave as Mr. Dickmyer enters.
Mr. DICKMYER
Was that Rooney you were just talking to?
RANDAL
Was that Rooney you were just talking to?
RANDAL
Yes Sir, I think they’re in a
pickle. I’m running to get a file for them
DICKMYER turns and walks for RANDAL’s cubicle and phone.
He grabs the mic.
MR DICKMYER
Rooney. Is that you? I want to talk to you
about something.
ROONEY
ROONEY
Now's not the time Dickmyer.
MR. DICKMYER
This is IMPORTANT Rooney – how many times do
I have to tell you that you can’t file your spectral unit maintenance forms
until your supervisor has checked them.
ROONEY
Maintenance forms? We’re talking about MAINTENANCE FORMS?!!
ROONEY
Maintenance forms? We’re talking about MAINTENANCE FORMS?!!
Rooney kicks and punches the coffin in anger as dirt pours in on
him.
MR. DICKMYER
Because of you I had to go all
the way down to central processing and explain to them why one of MY guys isn’t
following proper procedure.
ROONEY
Oh I feel SO SORRY for you. That must be awful!
Oh I feel SO SORRY for you. That must be awful!
MR DICKMYER
In the future do you think it would be such a
difficult thing for you to remember to GET YOUR MAINTENANCE FORMS SIGNED BEFORE
SENDING THEM IN?
ROONEY
YES!
MR DICKMYER
ROONEY
YES!
MR DICKMYER
And hurry up, you’ve been out there too long
already. It’s a simple assignment, just finish it up and get me the forms.
Mr. Dickmyer leaves,
through the radio Randal can hear Rooney screaming in a rage.
RANDALL
Rooney. Stay calm remember. Short breaths.
Rooney. Stay calm remember. Short breaths.
Randal runs out to
get the files.
INT – HOUSE - DOORWAY
Back at the scene at the doorway and puts his flashlight to the ground and follows the dark floor until he finds some black marks on the ground consistent with someone being dragged.
INT – HOUSE - DOORWAY
Back at the scene at the doorway and puts his flashlight to the ground and follows the dark floor until he finds some black marks on the ground consistent with someone being dragged.
He holds his gun
constantly on the ready. Suddenly, all the lights on his gun go dead. It’s
totally drained and won’t turn back on.
ERVIN
Damn it Rooney, you said you charged this.
Ervin puts the gun
back around his shoulder, pulls up his flashlight and continues to inch
forward. He hears a door open near the back entrance where he just was. He
freezes in tense fear. He hears the sound of someone taking heavy footsteps,
faint at first but getting louder. Closer. His flashlight goes out.
He unscrews the top of the flashlight, trying to fix the
problems while in the blackness of the room the footsteps are terrifyingly
close.
Each step is so loud now that the sound fills the room, they’re 10 feet away and coming closer still. They come to a stop. The silence fills the room, Ervin is unnerved. He knows there’s something there in the blackness, only feet in front of him standing and watching.
Ervin finally gets his flashlight to start by slamming it against the palm of his hand. He raises it towards the figure that’s just mere feet away and the light reveals…nothing. There’s no one there.
Each step is so loud now that the sound fills the room, they’re 10 feet away and coming closer still. They come to a stop. The silence fills the room, Ervin is unnerved. He knows there’s something there in the blackness, only feet in front of him standing and watching.
Ervin finally gets his flashlight to start by slamming it against the palm of his hand. He raises it towards the figure that’s just mere feet away and the light reveals…nothing. There’s no one there.
SQUAK!
His radio comes to life and gives him a hell of a scare.
RANDALL
Ervin! I got a hold of an emergency unit finally. They're on their way. You can get out of there.
ERVIN
Ervin! I got a hold of an emergency unit finally. They're on their way. You can get out of there.
ERVIN
We're out of time. I need the
information on this house, dammit!
RANDAL
RANDAL
I got the file! Apparently your
scrub location is a bit of a landmark in criminal history!
ERVIN
Great.
RANDAL
It’s like, THE LOCATION for
serial murderer John Allan Smith. The Butcher of the west coast!
ERVIN
Great.
RANDAL
The police pulled like, 15
bodies outta there about 30 years ago.
ERVIN
Great.
RANDAL
The news called it “the kill
box”. It was sealed due to legal as well as health and safety concerns. I guess
zoning laws got tied up with the courts and the ownership is a little fuzzy,
then our department took pseudo-ownership of it before the mayor split the
department into the admin and action sections. It all seems like this place has
been in limbo for like 8 or 9 decades but like…A LOT of people died in the
place. A LOT.
ERVIN
Great. Randal?
RANDAL
Yes?
ERVIN
Can you get to the parts that might help me
here? Like the department’s paranormal isometric breakdown? I have to know how
to deal with whatever is in here.
ERVIN starts to inch
his way into the house. Each step seems to be like an explosion through the
quiet abandoned structure. He starts to creep down a hallway. In the span of a
single frame he goes from being alone to having moving shadow in front of him.
Ervin stands perfectly still.
A completely silent standoff.
We blink an eye and the figure is suddenly nose-to-nose with ERVIN.
The figure is pitch black, it’s as if staring into a black hole.
The shaky figure bursts forward and reaches for Ervin, upon
contact Ervin is thrown violently across the room.
ERVIN goes hurtling down the hallway as if ploughed with a
rocket. He smashes into the ground and slides across the floor, coming to a
stop 15 feet from the initial encounter. He’s looking face up at the ceiling
from his back, grimacing in pain.
ERVIN
Get up, get up, get up.
ERVIN struggles to his feet. His flashlight spins on the ground
illuminating everything in 360 degrees. Ervin is alone again, on the ground.
His flashlight slows it’s spin and it comes to a stop, shining it’s light on a
closed door. Rooney’s tracks leading right up to it.
INT - COFFIN
Rooney's eyes are closed, his breathing is slowed down. Like a burst of light he has a vision, he sees a vision of Randall bloody and dead. Randal asks to be saved. The vision ends and Rooney snaps awake.
ROONEY
Randal! Are you ok?
RANDAL
uh, fine. Are you ok.
ROONEY
I keep falling asleep.
RANDAL
uh, fine. Are you ok.
ROONEY
I keep falling asleep.
RANDAL
Rooney don’t talk. Just focus on
your breathing, take slow breaths and stay awake.
ROONEY
I am not going to die here. I am
getting out of this coffin. I am STRONG. I can get out.
RANDALL
Rooney STOP moving. I have people on the way, they'll be there soon.
RANDALL
Rooney STOP moving. I have people on the way, they'll be there soon.
Rooney is getting mad. He’s punching the coffin, testing it. He
feels just enough give to get bold.
ROONEY
Spiderman got out of a coffin
once, that Kill Bill chick, too. How much do you think I can bench?
Rooney places his hands on the lid.
RANDAL
Rooney, listen to me. Every time
you move you burn up more oxygen. You can make it through this but you have to
stop moving and just try to imagine you’re somewhere else.
ROONEY
NO! I am not just going to fall
asleep here and die. I am STRONG! I AM STRONG!!
Rooney pushes upward on the lid, the casket begins to fill with
dirt and cover Rooney.
ROONEY
I WON’T DIE HERE
SCENE 5: Ervin descends the stairs into the basement. Apprehension is written on his face. As he slowly climbs down the broken staircase he passes shelves with medical instruments on them, on the walls are detailed diagrams of the human anatomy. He gets to the bottom, all of the floor is unfinished, it’s a dirt floor. On the walls are shackles, on the floor beside the shackles are feeding bowls; the type given to animals.
Ervin takes a moment to take it all in, he scans the room with his light, upon passing a patch of the ground he notices the dirt has been freshly tossed.
ERVIN
ROONEY!
Ervin lunges to the ground and starts once again to dig with his
bare hands.
SLAM!
The door slams shut upstairs.
Thump, thump, thump…
Something is walking downstairs. Ervin swings around, ready. The
dark figure stands still at the bottom of the stairs almost invisible in the
blackness.
ERVIN points the flashlight at the figure, the light reveals
it’s true face. The rotting corpse of a serial killer.
ERVIN drops the light and the black figure dissipates.
The figure melts in behind ERVIN and starts to reach for him.
ERVIN can sense this and drops down to his back and points the flashlight up at
the figures face, it recoils for a second before advancing upon him.
Ervin takes a step back and falls, the ground at his feet
pulsates upwards. Rooney bursts through the top in an explosion of soil and in
one motion pulls the Ionic Popper from his waist and points it at the bastard
that buried him. He pulls the trigger, the creature’s whole upper torso bursts
open and slime goes everywhere, covering both men.
ERVIN
ROONEY!
ROONEY!
ROONEY (triumphantly)
Rooney!
Rooney!
The radio pops on.
RANDAL
Someone talk to me, what
happened.
ERVIN
The monster’s dead and Rooney’s
out of the coffin
RANDAL
Seriously?
ROONEY
Yeah
BURSTING out of the ground before Rooney can finish
that sentence are about a dozen more screaming figures, the ghosts of the
killer’s victims.
ROONEY shoots a couple, causing them to explode and
cover them in more slime, he points the Ionic Popper at the next closest figure
and the gun’s power hum fades away. It’s dead.
ROONEY and ERVIN look at each other and the figures
start to move towards the duo.
The duo run up the stairs with the figures behind
them, then in front, then behind. After some tricky manoeuvring they get out
the front door back into their van and peel out. Fleeing the scene.
INT – Mr. Dickmyer’s office.
MR DICKMYER
It’s come to my attention that
you two were out on a call for the last seven hours?
ROONEY
Yes.
DICKMYER sits quietly behind his desk, measuring up the pair.
MR DICKMYER
And did you finish the removal?
ROONEY
No.
MR DICKMYER
Did you misplace some government
property at the location.
ERVIN
Yes.
MR DICKMYER
ERVIN, I’m not shocked this
coming from you.
Ervin is still in a state of shock
MR. DICKMYER
Rooney I've come to expect this from.
ERVIN
That's not fair sir.
ROONEY
I almost died out there today!
MR DICKMYER
And thank god that didn't happen, otherwise I'd have to explain to my bosses how two of my employes could screw up a simple removal so badly that one of them ended up dead. Do you know what kind of lawsuit the landowners could have filed against us if that happened?
ROONEY
I almost died out there today!
MR DICKMYER
And thank god that didn't happen, otherwise I'd have to explain to my bosses how two of my employes could screw up a simple removal so badly that one of them ended up dead. Do you know what kind of lawsuit the landowners could have filed against us if that happened?
ROONEY
Well that's why we have
liability release forms!
MR. DICKMYER
Did you even get the liability
release signed by anyone?
ROONEY
No.
Cut to black
