[ bottom ]
THE HOLE
by Gregory Von Dare
INT. QUIRKY USED BOOK STORE - DAY
JOHN ADAMS is 32, average in build and height. He's
standing still, looking at book titles near the back of a
musty old book store. There are other people in the
store, but John is immediately alone.
SOPHIE, a pretty young woman of about 25 walks by. She
notices John but keeps moving.
After a few moments, she comes back and stands right next
to John. She glances at him, but continues studying the
books. She points to an upper shelf.
SOPHIE
Could you reach that book down for me?
JOHN
Which one; the blue?
SOPHIE
No, next to it. The big brown one.
JOHN
Sure.
He stretches up and pulls the book off its shelf.
JOHN
Wheeww.. Descartes! I stink, therefore
I am.
He hands it to her. She ignores the book and stares right
into his eyes.
SOPHIE
Do you like philosophy?
JOHN
Nah, not really. A lot of pretense.
Those guys didn't have the answers.
SOPHIE
So you're a nihilist?
JOHN
I'm just not a fan.
Sophie looks concerned.
SOPHIE
Do you feel it? In the floor?
She turns and walks toward the front of the bookstore
with its big plate-glass windows.
JOHN
Feel what? Like a vibration?
Sophie bends forward and turns her head so she can see up
toward the sky.
SOPHIE
Wow, look at that...
A SOUND like a big electric motor starting up...
FAST FADE TO WHITE
FADE IN FROM WHITE TO PICTURE:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - DAY?
John is stretched out, asleep or unconscious at the
bottom of a very large hole. It's about 16 feet across,
circular like a well, perhaps 30 feet high. The interior
surface is uneven but smooth, and dully metallic. There's
a crude radius where the wall meets the floor, and most
of the floor is flat. The hole might have been made by a
giant machine, by erosion, by hand, a nuclear melt-down
or by some unknown process. There's no way to tell. A
brilliant, vertical beam of light shines down from high
above, over-illuminating the center of the space, but
leaving a darker, shadowy ring around the wall of the
hole.
John stirs. He's dressed in what looks like surgeon's
scrubs: green or blue cotton top and pants; very loose,
simple and unadorned. He's barefoot.
He comes fully awake and sits up. He looks around,
puzzled. Maybe he's dreaming. He takes a few steps and
feels the wall of the hole. It is solid and slightly cool
to the touch.
He goes back to the center of the hole and looks up. This
is starting to bother him - it doesn't really feel like a
dream, somehow.
JOHN
Hey! Hello! Hello! Anybody up there?
Hello?
He waits. Nothing.
JOHN (cont’d)
What the hell...?
He goes to the wall of the hole, where the light is less
intense and looks up from there. He can see the top of
the hole, way up there, and the smooth wall of the hole -
impossible to climb without serious equipment.
He walks to the center again and looks up.
JOHN (cont’d)
What the hell? Hey! Who is in charge
here?
He waits. Nothing.
JOHN (cont’d)
Goddammit! God damn it. OK now, wait a
minute. If there's a way in here,
there must be a way out.
He goes back to the wall and begins slowly pacing around
the perimeter, using his hands to feel for seams or
hidden doors. He's also looking very closely at the wall
for any sign of chips, nicks, or seams that might
indicate a door.
He goes most of the way around, slowly. Nothing.
JOHN (cont’d)
Look, this is very disturbing.
Confusing. I'd like to think I'm
dreaming. But this doesn't feel like a
dream. It feels... real.
He stops moving.
JOHN (cont’d)
Look, some kind of mistake has been
made. I mean really... Not even a
parking ticket. (beat) Yeah, right.
For parking tickets they put you in
jail...
He begins to cry, but he fights it.
JOHN (cont’d)
It's wrong; it's like torture. At
least give me some idea why I'm here.
That's not asking too much is it?
He waits. Nothing.
JOHN (cont’d)
Shit! Shit, shit, shit! It is a dream;
it has to be a dream. Has to. What I
need to do is get to sleep and then
wake up in the real world. This will
just be a memory, a bad dream.
He stretches out on the floor, using his arm as a pillow.
He fidgets a bit, trying to get comfortable on the hard
surface. He fidgets more.
LONG SLOW FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN ON:
INT. HOLE - DAY
John wakes. He jumps to his feet, but he's still in the
hole. He MOANS.
He looks around. At the other side of the hole is an old
man; a very old man, standing very still. The old man is
badly beaten. He's bruised, scabby and bleeding here and
there. His breath whistles in and out. The old man has
been holding his arms out, now he drops them.
John rushes over to the old man in panicked joy.
The old man sees John and his eyes widen. He tries to
speak, but he's too injured internally.
JOHN
Who are you? Where are we? How did you
get here? For God's sake, speak to me!
The old man's face twists into a mask of sorrow. He wants
to talk.
OLD MAN
Ahhhhh.... You.....
He's bent double by pain. He's trembling and shaking.
JOHN
Can you tell me anything? Anything at
all?
In tears, the old man shakes his head. John's mood
changes.
JOHN (cont’d)
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What can I do to
help you? Do you have any water, any
food?
The old man shakes his head: no.
JOHN (cont’d)
There must be a way out of here. If
they can move you in here they can
move us out. Right?
The Old Man shakes his head: no.
JOHN (cont’d)
Are you telling me no, or that you
don't know?
The old man points to his heart, then to his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
Your heart and your head. What about
them? I don't understand. It could
mean anything.
The old man points to his heart and then to his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
Yes, I get that part. Your heart and
your head. Wait! Is that how you got
in here? Your heart led you to commit
certain actions, and then you
regretted them. Are you a criminal, a
traitor?
The old man shakes his head: no. He points to his heart
and then his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
Your heart, your heart. Love. Did you
love someone and then you learned
something about them, something bad.
You lusted for revenge - you killed
someone!
The old man shakes his head: no.
John walks to the other side of the hole. He puts his
face against the wall, enjoying the coolness of the
surface.
JOHN (cont’d)
OK, how about this ...
He turns around.
The old man is gone. John runs over to where he was and
looks everywhere for a sign of him. There is nothing. Not
a thread, not a drop of blood.
JOHN (cont’d)
Shit! At least he was someone to talk
to.
John tilts his head up.
JOHN (cont’d)
Bring him back, goddammit. Bring him
back. He knew something, didn't he. He
was trying to tell me, so you had to
take him away. He knew the secret,
didn't he?
John plunks down in a sitting position, cross-legged.
JOHN (cont’d)
He knew things.
John stretches out on the floor and puts his head on his
arm. He sleeps.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - DAY?
John is sleeping in a different position than before, his
body pushed back against the bottom of the wall,
following the wide curvature of the hole.
He wakes quietly. He rubs his eyes, yawns, crawls a
little ways on his hands and knees. Sits cross-legged.
He breathes deeply. As he breathes out, he intones
"OHM..."
JOHN
(voice over)
I had never been big on meditating.
There was always something else to do.
But now... I had a lot of free time.
Why not use it. I'm visualizing how to
get out of here. When I become totally
relaxed and distanced from all my
hopes and desires, it will come to me
like a blinding flash of light.
He intones "OHM..."
JOHN (cont’d)
(v.o.)
Of course that means losing the desire
to get out of here - which is really
the only thing that's keeping me
going. Keeping me sane. But I have to
give it up. Just not care.
He intones "OHM..."
JOHN (cont’d)
(v.o.)
I'm free.
Free of attachments, of desires, of
motive and goal. I'm a blank slate.
His face twitches and his lips tremble. Tears run from
the corners of his eyes.
JOHN (cont’d)
(a whisper)
I'm free.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN ON:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - DAY?
John awakens violently, jumping up to defend himself from
some dream adversary.
Then he flinches again, when he sees a young woman curled
up in a fetal position on the other side of the hole. He
rushes over to her and shakes her.
JOHN
Hello... Hello...
She wakes with a start. It's SOPHIE from the bookstore.
But it looks like she's been beaten, too. Her face and
body seem to have recovering bruises all over.
With a look of overwhelming terror on her face, she
wrenches herself out of John's grasp and runs away from
him.
JOHN (cont’d)
Wait... Wait. I'm not going to hurt
you. I'm harmless. See?
He stands up slowly and stretches his open hands out at
his sides. He slowly walks toward her. She stands still
for a few moments, then something inside her cracks and
she flees to the wall of the hole, cowering there.
JOHN (cont’d)
Ahhh, for God's sake.
He goes after her.
JOHN (cont’d)
Look, I swear that I'm harmless. I am
NOT going to hurt you. Just relax and
calm down - I want to talk, that's
all.
Sophie backs away from him, not letting John get a step
closer.
SOPHIE
No! Stay away.
John continues after her.
JOHN
I've got to talk to you.
She turns and runs from him. He runs after her. She
speeds up; he speeds up. Now, they are both running flat
out around the perimeter of the hole.
They keep it up for a few moments, then Sophie, looking
back at John, stumbles and falls. In an instant, John is
on her. He kneels down next to her, raising his hands,
palms forward.
JOHN (cont’d)
(breathless)
OK? See? I don't want to hurt you.
He rolls over on a hip and sits cross-legged next to her.
She's also out of breath. She stares at John with huge,
fearful eyes. Sophie draws her heels up to her butt and
embraces her legs as she tries to become the smallest
package possible.
SOPHIE
Where am I?
JOHN
I don't know.
SOPHIE
You do! You must! You were in the
bookstore, weren't you?
JOHN
Yes I was.
SOPHIE
And now you're here. I think you know
what's happening.
JOHN
I don't. I don't know anything, except
that I'm here too.
SOPHIE
They beat me, slapped me, hit me with
... something. Sticks, I think.
JOHN
Who beat you? Who was it?
SOPHIE
MEN! It was men who did it.
She slowly stands.
SOPHIE (cont’d)
So don't tell me that you don't know
what is happening. You're one of them!
John unconsciously moves toward her.
JOHN
No, no I'm not...
As he moves, she breaks away and runs from him. He runs
after her.
SOPHIE
Nooooooo....
They are both running around the perimeter of the Hole
again, really fast. Sophie's eyes are open very wide. She
seems to be in the grips of a madness, herself.
Finally, John puts on a last, extra burst of speed. He
dives forward and tackles Sophie around the waist,
bringing both of them down in a tumbling heap.
She fights like a tiger but he holds her down. They roll
out toward the center of the hole. He straddles her.
She's screaming and crying hysterically.
He SLAPS her. She's surprised by it and takes a breath.
He slaps her again and she visibly calms down. Now,
they're both liking it. He slaps her one more time, for
pleasure.
Very slowly, he releases her wrists and stretches out
next to her, face to face. He reaches an arm across her
and hugs her close to him. She SIGHS.
Their foreheads touch. They KISS.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN ON:
John is sleeping, with Sophie tucked in behind him, like
spoons.
John's eyes open. He notices the arm that's holding him.
He twists his head slightly to see Sophie. She's sleeping
peacefully.
He sits up, looking up at the top of the hole.
Sophie wakes and sits up next to him. She scrunches up
close to him so that they have as much body contact as
possible.
JOHN
Hi.
SOPHIE
Hello.
JOHN
I had an idea. If you stand on my
shoulders, you might be able to see
something, up at the top.
She doesn't say anything, just looks down at the floor.
JOHN (cont’d)
I thought we might try it. Just to see
if there is anything ... up there.
Sophie leans her head on his shoulder.
JOHN (cont’d)
I mean, we could just try it.
She runs her hand over his leg - not provocative, just
for contact.
JOHN (cont’d)
Come on. What do you say?
Long pause.
SOPHIE
I don't think so.
JOHN
Why not?
SOPHIE
They might not like it. They'll beat
us if they don't like what we do. They
beat everyone.
JOHN
They haven't touched me.
SOPHIE
You're a spy for the overlords!
John pulls away from her.
SOPHIE (cont’d)
No, no... it's all right. I don't
care. It's better than being alone.
JOHN
Look; I'm not a spy. I'm not anything.
I'm in here just like you are.
Remember the bookstore. Something
happened there. Do you remember?
SOPHIE
Not really. There was a funny
vibration.
JOHN
Yes. And then what?
SOPHIE
A flash of light? Or was it an
explosion? I remember flying through
space.
JOHN
There was no explosion. It was like a
big paint sprayer blotted everything
out.
SOPHIE
I remember flying.
JOHN
Hey, why don't you stand on my
shoulders and look up to the top. Come
on... They won't beat us for a little
thing like that. No way.
Long pause.
SOPHIE
All right.
She gets up and brushes the dust off her clothes and
hands. She's ready to go.
JOHN
We'll use the wall for support. You
just climb up my body. OK?
He puts his back to the wall, and bends one knee.
JOHN (cont’d)
Put one foot there, and I'll help you
up. Come on, this is going to be
exciting.
He holds out his hands to her.
Sophie steps up in front of John. She takes one of his
hands. She puts a foot on his thigh and boosts herself
up.
JOHN (cont’d)
Keep going.
He makes a waist-high stirrup with his hands. She puts a
foot in it and he boosts her up. Slowly, she turns around
and faces out. She puts one foot on his left shoulder and
then one on his right.
He lifts up his arms and holds on to her calves. She
looks up.
JOHN (cont’d)
What do you see?
SOPHIE
(abrupt)
Nothing.
JOHN
Are you sure? Stretch up a little.
SOPHIE
There's...
Onto John's upturned face, a big drop of blood falls,
then another, then another. As he looks up at Sophie, the
crotch of her green scrubs has turned completely red and
the redness is rapidly running down her legs. John's face
twists in disgust - then fear.
JOHN (cont’d)
Hey...! You're bleeding. Get down.
SOPHIE
I can almost see something.
JOHN
You have to get down. You're bleeding;
can't you tell?
She looks down and sees the blood pouring out of her
crotch.
SOPHIE
Arrrr!! Help me down!
John is struggling to deal with the blood that's sluicing
down on his face.
Sophie turns around and climbs down John's body. She
seems shaky and weak. When she's standing on the floor,
she looks at herself and sees the flood of redness
extending down her legs.
She runs to the center of the hole, leaving a red, wet
trail. Blood is now dripping from her pant hems and her
pants are almost completely soaked.
SOPHIE
(screaming)
Punishment!
She flinches to keep from falling. John runs up to her
and helps lower her to the floor.
JOHN
What's happening?
SOPHIE
Punishment. For trying to find out.
JOHN
No. That can't be.
SOPHIE
You're not the one bleeding. I've got
to get these off.
She unties the cord at the waist and pushes off the
bloody pants. Her plain white underwear are also soaked
with dark red blood.
JOHN
What can I do to help you?
SOPHIE
Tell me that you love me.
JOHN
I don't even know your name...
SOPHIE
(weak)
Wrong answer.
Her head lolls over and she's unconscious.
John suddenly has a panic attack. Is she going to die? He
stands up and looks at his bloody hands.
MEDIUM DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - DAY?
John is very sleepy. It might be one or more days later.
He's determined not to go to sleep, but the flesh is
weak. He YAWNS. He shakes his head to dispel the claim
that sleep has on him.
He's sitting on the floor with his back against the wall
of the hole. Sophie, looking pale and very dead, lies in
a wide pool of blood, not quite in the center of the
floor, in the brilliant light.
His eyes flicker shut, then snap open. His eyelids drift
down and he yawns more deeply. He wills his eyelids up
and they stay up for a moment, then they drift down and
stay down. He falls asleep.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN ON:
INT. HOLE - DAY
Still backed up against the wall, John awakes. He looks
over to the center of the hole, but Sophie is gone.
John crawls over on his hands and knees to about the spot
she was last in. He looks at the floor for signs of
blood, of wetness, of anything. But there's nothing. He
puts his nose to the ground and SMELLS it, hoping for
some trace of Sophie. Nothing.
John gets up and walks to the wall of the hole. He leans
his face against the surface, liking the cool feel of it.
From behind him, a voice.
VOICE
(offscreen)
Fachay benne ta?
John spins around. Across from him, half in the light, is
a rustic Priest; a Catholic Priest wearing a long cassock
with buttons down the front and sandals - like an Italian
country priest, but without the wide-brimmed Padre hat.
JOHN
How did you get in here?
PRIEST
Yogh tam suggi. Mel nozzi terungia.
Shutto?
JOHN
Do you speak English? Anglais?
PRIEST
Barashalom. Gella nottem numquambis.
Perra stotvem. Spanavoia.
John shakes his head.
JOHN
Do you speak any other language?
The Priest stares at him, completely baffled.
PRIEST
Quim nell sutuorem. Heck mellor
farulestimheit?
John shakes his head.
JOHN
I can't understand you.
PRIEST
Nareshemplstoya. Aremb sut giglianni
ne bibi cal baref. Du sonne heit mar
num zocar?
JOHN
I said "I CAN"T UNDERSTAND YOU"
The priest looks angry and raises his hands and face to
the light.
PRIEST
Solutem ash car ne bibbintus. Zouk
folanna te bobem. Ratula, ratula,
ratula. Zhink ne pow sanni ne castula.
Sogen hasnesuiki. Pleshtar! Pleshtar!
Ignoring the priest, John puts his face against the wall,
enjoying its coolness.
PRIEST (cont’d)
(building)
Solutem ash car ne bibbintus. Zouk
folanna te bobem. Ratula, ratula,
ratula. Zhink ne pow sanni ne castula.
Sogen hasnesuiki. Pleshtar! Pleshtar!
There is a SOUND like a giant electric motor starting
up...
John turns to look, and the priest has vanished. However,
there's some small thing on the floor exactly where the
Priest was standing. John rushes over to it. He picks it
up and holds it in his hand. It's a small sea shell,
shiny, colorful and perfect. John closes his fingers
around it. He goes over to the wall and sits down.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN ON:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - NIGHT?
John awakes and it appears to be night. The brilliant
light down the center of the hole is off and has been
replaced by a soft bluish wash - moonlight?
John gets up and walks into it. He's considerably older
and has the long hair and beard of an island castaway.
His shirt is raggedy, sleeveless and torn in a hundred
places. His pants are now shorts, and they are also torn,
thready and stained by sweat.
He walks to the center of the hole and looks up. He can
see a portion of the night sky but no moon.
There are eight jillion stars twinkling as well as a
brightly colored nebula that stretches across the sky.
He notices some movement out of the corner of his eye and
turns quickly. There's something in the shadows. Is it a
person? A murderer? Is it a wild animal - or something
worse?
It's so dark that John can't see. He hears breathing and
the scraping of a slinking footstep. He edges back into
the shadows himself.
The snout of some tall, predatory creature sticks out
into the light and snuffs the air.
John inadvertently whimpers when he sees the thing.
The snout turns slightly, seeming to lock-on to where
John made his noise.
John presses his back up against the wall of the hole and
begins creeping backwards. He can hear a slight snarling
or growling from across the hole. Then he hears running
footsteps. He turns and runs himself; he's got to get
away from this monster.
As he looks back over his shoulder, the shadowy thing
overtakes him at great speed. HOWLING, IT LEAPS TOWARD
HIM...
DYNAMIC WIPE TO:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - DAY?
John, quite a bit older, wakes with a jolt from his
nightmare. His arms are stretched forward to keep the
thing off him, and he cries out very briefly.
JOHN
Ahhhh...!!!
Then he realizes that he's awake now and the thing is not
there. He SIGHS mightily and CHUCKLES a bit at the
absurdity of it. He tilts his head down and goes back to
sleep. He has lost a lot of hair and his skin is
beginning to sag.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN ON:
INT. HOLE - DAY
Using a TOOTH, John attempts to write on the wall of the
hole. He works at it very diligently, but the tooth
doesn't leave the slightest mark or impression on the
wall of the hole.
JOHN
Dear diary...
VOICE
(offscreen)
Hey you!
John spins around. His eyes open wide, then narrow.
In the center of the hole, in the brilliant light, stand
three tough, muscular, young men. They have very short
hair or shaved heads, tattoos and other tribalist, yet
urban markings and signs.
They have a pan-ethnic, multi-racial look, so that its
almost impossible to tell them apart. They are ripped and
their muscles are deeply cut. They're in awesome physical
shape. Right now, they are tense, ready for a fight.
Glowering.
John struggles to make himself smile.
JOHN
Hello.
One of the tough guys walks up and SLAPS John very hard
across the face. John finds it hard not to fall down, but
he stays on his feet.
TOUGH GUY
Don't speak until I ask you a
question, got it?
John nods.
JOHN
Yes...
Another young tough guy comes over and KICKS John in the
ass, hard.
TOUGH GUY
Don't speak until I ask you a
question, got it?
John only nods.
The third tough guy gets right in John's face.
TOUGH GUY (cont’d)
What are you doing here? This is our
place.
JOHN
No! I've been here for... a long time.
I mean, I'm willing to share, no
problem. Take what you...
One of the tough guys CUFFS John.
TOUGH GUY
I said, it's OUR place. Am I right or
not?
JOHN
(simply)
I've been here a long time. If it's
your place, I never knew.
Another tough guy PUNCHES John in the side. John GASPS in
pain.
TOUGH GUY
Let's kick his ass!
TOUGH GUY
Yeah. Let's mess him up.
TOUGH GUY
Jack him.
They step in and begin pummelling John. Despite the
blows, John puts up a strong resistance, but then he is
overwhelmed. The three tough guys bend forward to
continue beating on him.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - NIGHT?
Again it is dark, with only a dim wash of light in the
hole. John lies near the middle of the hole, crumpled and
limp. He is bruised and bloody, beaten to a pulp. He
looks incredibly old and battered.
With a soft cough, John wakes up. He opens his eyes,
squinting at first. He's relieved that it's dark and he's
alone. With a struggle, he sits up and takes stock of
himself.
As he checks himself for damage, he sees the ghostly
image of SOPHIE appear to walk in through the wall of the
hole. She's only a sketchy outline of herself, giving off
a dim blue glow. But she seems alive and unique. She
walks right up to John.
SOPHIE
Oh my god! You're so old! And what did
they do to you?
John shakes his head. He's speechless.
SOPHIE (cont’d)
They beat you. Remember? You thought I
was nuts.
John nods: yes.
SOPHIE (cont’d)
Oh well. That's all in the past, as
they say.
John finds his voice.
JOHN
You came through the wall.
Sophie's ghost sits down next to John, striking a nice
pose.
SOPHIE
I don't want to get religious on you.
That's not me. Philosophy maybe, but
not religion. Anyway. I found that, if
you free yourself from guilt and
desire, you can walk through these
walls.
JOHN
No!
SOPHIE
Oh, yes. It's not easy, you know. Even
for a free spirit like me. And for a
serious person - much harder. But it
can be done. It's possible. You might
be surprised to know how many
different holes... But, I'm not
supposed to tell.
JOHN
There are other holes? Many others?
SOPHIE
(uneasy)
Discover it for yourself.
She stands up.
SOPHIE (cont’d)
Maybe I've said too much already. It's
a shame to see you looking so damn
old. Ah, well. Good-bye.
JOHN
No, wait. How do I...
SOPHIE
Believe me, all you need to know of
life is in your heart and in your
head. Understand?
She gives him a teasing smile and then walks out through
the wall of the hole.
After looking at the place where Sophie's ghost walked
through the wall for a few moments, John gets up and
heads for the same spot. He half closes his eyes and
intones...
JOHN (cont’d)
Ohm.......
He continues walking nobly forward, seeming to become
more calm and confident with every step. He spreads his
arms out and strides forward...
He actually BOUNCES off the wall and stands there stunned
for a moment.
JOHN (cont’d)
Whoa...
He freezes.
TOUGH GUY
(offscreen)
Are you trying do some damage here?
TOUGH GUY (cont’d)
Yeah, some kinda damage.
TOUGH GUY (cont’d)
Some damage to MY hole?
From a high angle, we see the three tough guys move in on
John and beat him savagely. He can only wrap his arms
around himself to protect his fragile ribs from their
hammer blows, but even so, he only manages to stand for a
few seconds, then he slips down.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE - DAY?
John is stretched out on his back, unconscious or
sleeping. The silence is profound, but there's an
occasional resonance that might be wind moaning overhead.
With a slight twitch of pain, John wakes. He rolls up to
a bent-over, kneeling position.
He's in very bad shape: broken, battered and bleeding.
John twists his head toward the top of the hole. He can
barely speak.
JOHN
God, I need your help. You must let me
find spiritual peace so that I can
walk through walls. Please.
John rolls out to a sitting position and slowly,
painfully crosses his legs, yogi-style.
JOHN (cont’d)
All that I need to know of life is in
my heart...
He touches his heart.
JOHN (cont’d)
... and my head.
He touches his finger to his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
That's all I need. What's in my heart
and in my head. That's all.
John takes a deep, painful breath.
JOHN (cont’d)
I am an empty bottle. A hollow jar. I
am nothing... Nothing.
John gets to his feet and begins limping toward the
opposite wall, gaining speed as he shuffles along. He
stretches his arms out and lifts his chin. Almost
fluidly, he walks to the wall - and through it.
For a moment, his vision is obscured by a dark film or
grain. Then he steps through another interface and out
into a different hole. The stress has been enormous; it's
nearly wasted him.
Here it's full daylight. The first thing he sees is:
himself as a young man, asleep over on the other side of
the hole
John (the younger) wakes. He jumps to his feet, but he's
still in the hole. He MOANS.
He looks around. At the other side of the hole is an old
man, a very old man - John the elder. The old man is
badly beaten. He's bruised, scabby and bleeding here and
there, only half conscious. His breath whistles in and
out. The old man has been holding his arms out, now he
drops them.
John rushes over to the old man in panicked joy.
The old man sees John and his eyes widen. He tries to
speak, but he's too injured internally.
JOHN
Who are you? Where are we? How did you
get here? For God's sake, speak to me!
The old man's face twists into a mask of sorrow. He wants
to talk.
OLD MAN
Ahhhhh.... You.....
He's bent double by pain. He's trembling and shaking.
JOHN
Can you tell me anything? Anything at
all?
In tears, the old man shakes his head. John's mood
changes.
JOHN (cont’d)
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What can I do to
help you? Do you have any water, any
food?
The old man shakes his head: no.
JOHN (cont’d)
There must be a way out of here. If
they can move you in here they can
move us out. Right?
The Old Man shakes his head: no.
JOHN (cont’d)
Are you telling me no, or that you
don't know?
The old man points to his heart, then to his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
Your heart and your head. What about
them? I don't understand. It could
mean anything.
The old man points to his heart and then to his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
Yes, I get that part. Your heart and
your head. Wait! Is that how you got
in here? Your heart led you to commit
certain actions, and then you
regretted them. Are you a criminal, a
traitor?
The old man shakes his head: no. He points to his heart
and then his head.
JOHN (cont’d)
Your heart, your heart. Love. Did you
love someone and then you learned
something about them, something bad.
You lusted for revenge - you killed
someone!
The old man shakes his head: no.
John the younger gets up and walks to the other side of
the hole. He puts his face against the wall, enjoying the
coolness of the surface.
John the elder takes a deep breath and walks toward the
wall, and through it.
Again, his vision is darkened for a moment, but then he's
in another brightly-lit hole. He looks around.
On the other side of the identical hole, the three young
tough guys lie in a bloody pile. They are well and truly
dead.
John nods thoughtfully. He sinks down to the ground, he
stretches out. His body is wracked by spasms and palsy.
He twitches again and then lies very still.
His breathing stops and his eyeballs cloud over.
CUT TO:
EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY
Slow, tracking shot of a cemetery. Camera comes to rest
on:
A small crowd of mourners standing around a freshly
filled grave. It's a stormy day and the sky is a leaden
gray. A wind whips around and makes the trees shake.
Sophie stands near the middle of the grave, older herself
and dressed all in black. Several other mourners stand
directly around the grave. The Priest is near the head of
the grave, just to one side of a small marker stone.
PRIEST
Everyone who knew John will miss him,
I'm sure. He was a thoughtful man who
always did his best to know and to
love God. He was a good and close
friend to many of us, a loving husband
and father and a man who touched the
lives of so many people around him.
Let us pray. Our Father who art in...
CRASH CUT TO:
BLACK.
THE END.