INT. KITCHEN- MORNING
A gloomy morning in the kitchen of what looks like someone's childhood home. DENVER (29), sallow and breathless, draped with a gray shawl, stands at the stove. In one hand she holds a spatula; in the other, a silver tally counter. Two eggs sizzle quietly in a pan. A small radio sits on the table, buzzing softly.
Behind her, HUDSON (31), a stocky man who shares Denver's large brown eyes, is in the middle of putting on his coat.
HUDSON
I'm going to go visit her, but you don't have to. I mean… It would be nice if you did. She'd probably appreciate it.
Denver doesn't move, except to CLICK the tally counter with her thumb.
HUDSON (CONT'D)
I just don't want you to regret it later. They don't see her getting any better.
The eggs start to burn. Hudson puts on his hat and leaves the house, walking into the fog.
RADIO ANNOUNCER (O.S.)
-young girl who has been missing for two weeks, has had no recent updates. The police have yet to issue a statement, but the girl's parents ask the public to-
Bracing herself against the edge of the stove, Denver CLICKS the counter again.
EXT. LAKE - LATER
Denver stands on the windy waterfront, hugging herself and watching a small boat slowly move across the water. A small group of people wearing FBI garb stand a few feet away. One of them, JOSHUA (late 20s), shambles over to her, under-dressed for the weather in only a raincoat. He tries ineffectually to light a cigarette.
DENVER
How's progress?
JOSHUA
Slow. Two weeks and not even a whiff of her.
Denver puts her hand in her pocket. CLICK.
JOSHUA (CONT'D)
Feels like these parents are hiding something, but the detectives can't get anything out of them. This- we're basically moving into "last resort" territory.
Joshua flicks the lighter two, three more times, but the wind puts it out every time. He pockets it, but keeps the unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
DENVER
At least it's not too cold yet.
JOSHUA
Yeah, any later and we'd just be dragging up ice.
DENVER
Well, this kind of weather, hypothermia isn't…
She trails off and shuffles her feet, embarrassed. Joshua scoffs a little.
JOSHUA
What, you don't think she might still be alive, do you?
DENVER
It's entirely possible.
JOSHUA
Sure, if she's the kid from Hatchet.
He chuckles and looks at Denver, expecting her to laugh too.
CLICK.
Joshua clears his throat.
JOSHUA (CONT'D)
Anyways- if we find her out here, Jess is on leave, so you'll have to take the lead on this one.
CLICK, CLICK.
DENVER
I thought she was back already.
JOSHUA
No, she's out 'till next week. Can't handle being in charge?
CLICK. Joshua smirks at Denver. She looks away, at the cold water. CLICK.
DENVER
Of course I can.
JOSHUA
I'm just teasing. It's a good chance to show off, huh?
CLICK.
JOSHUA (CONT'D)
Hey, you hear that?
DENVER
What?
JOSHUA
Like… A ticking, like a clock or something.
CLICK.
DENVER
No, I don't hear anything.
JOSHUA
Oh, okay. Weird.
There's shouting in the distance. Everyone on the shore turns their heads to the water. The boat is moving towards them. On the deck, someone is waving their arms.
JOSHUA (CONT'D)
Oh, shit. They got her.
CLICK.
INT. FORENSICS LAB - DAY
Denver sits at a steel table, biting her thumb nail.
CLICK, CLICK.
The lab doors slam open and Joshua wheels in a metal table. On top of it is a figure covered entirely by a white cloth. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. Denver's leg begins to bounce.
JOSHUA
Hey, this cold is good for one thing. She's in pretty good shape, considering the time she was down there.
He starts to put on gloves and a mask, then looks up at Denver, still seated, thumb in mouth.
JOSHUA (CONT'D)
You good?
CLICK, CLICK.
DENVER
Yeah. All good.
JOSHUA
Alright, well, you gonna get geared up?
CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.
DENVER (CONT'D)
Yeah, sorry, I just…
Denver moves over to the table. Her hand brushes the cloth covering the small body's face. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK-
JOSHUA
Jesus, Den, are you okay?
She shakes her head, looking at the small body under the cloth. Joshua walks over to her and she gets up suddenly, kicking the tally counter under the table.
DENVER
Oh god, oh god. I don't. Oh god.
She stumbles and covers her mouth with her hand.
DENVER (CONT'D)
I'm sorry, I can't… I can't. I really can't. I'm sorry. Can you deal with it? Thank you, Joshua. Thank you so much.
JOSHUA
I… No, I can't deal with it, it's just me here, Jess is- hey, where are you going?
Denver bursts out of the door, weaving to avoid looking at the body.
JOSHUA (CONT'D)
(yelling after her)
Den! Denver, wait!
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
All of the lights are off, but Denver lies awake in bed. Her left hand squirms, clicking a phantom counter. Slowly, her eyes blink themselves closed.
DREAM - IN THE SKY
Someone covered in a sheet, like a Halloween ghost, floats among the clouds. Worms begin to eat through the sheet. Rot seeps through the cloth. A tornado siren SCREAMS in the distance. Denver tries to grab the cloth, but it melts away in her hands.
She's underneath the sheet with the body, now, and it's a skeleton that looks like it's been dead for decades, and the flesh melts off of it rapidly. She sees the worms making a home where eyes once lived.
She looks down at herself and sees the worms eating through her skin. She tries to slap them off, panicked.
END OF DREAM.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Denver slaps herself awake. She's sweating, breathing heavy. Her hair clings to her face.
INT. FORENSICS LAB - NIGHT
Denver rushes through the large metal doors, not bothering to turn on the lights. She makes her way towards the mortuary cabinets, picking up a basket of forensic tools on the way there.
She pauses at the cabinets and takes a deep breath before opening one. Out slides the small sheet-covered body on a metal drawer. She swallows and slowly folds the sheet back from the face.
Underneath the sheet is HER OWN FACE- bluer than usual, smaller and softer and somewhat bloated, but the same sunken eyes and sharp nose. Denver's breath is loud, but slow and even.
THE BODY awakens, revealing Denver's own large brown eyes. It's unmistakable.
THE BODY
Don't be scared.
DENVER
I'm not. Maybe I should be.
Denver folds down the rest of the sheet and sets it aside, then picks up a clipboard and begins to write.
THE BODY
I'm not scary, am I?
DENVER
I thought you were, before. But now that I get a closer look… No, not at all.
BODY
I'm not scared of you either.
With a gloved hand, she moves a lock of hair from the body's face.
DENVER
What did it feel like to die?
BODY
I don't know if I can describe it. It's hard to describe things you've only seen once. It was like a tidal wave. But instead of water it was made of air.
Denver clips the body's nails and puts the clippings in a sample container.
THE BODY (CONT'D)
Like I was using up all my breaths at once. Or maybe it was like going deep underground.
Denver wipes off her scalpel.
THE BODY (CONT'D)
And feeling all of the pressure in my head. Or it was just like being born, in reverse. Or it was exactly the same as falling asleep.
DENVER
Do you remember what happened when you were still alive?
THE BODY
I remember trees…
Denver makes an incision on the body's chest, starting at the shoulder.
DENVER
Does this hurt?
The body shakes its head.
THE BODY
You don't have to worry about hurting me.
Denver cuts all the way down the body's abdomen, then peels back the gray skin to reveal technicolor organs.
DENVER
Do children look like this on the inside?
THE BODY
Not always.
Denver starts to remove the organs, one by one.
THE BODY (CONT'D)
Something’s wrong.
DENVER
My mother is sick.
THE BODY
Are you sad?
DENVER
Sad… I think so.
THE BODY
Are you scared?
DENVER
Maybe I should be…
She places the organs in containers as she removes them.
DENVER (CONT'D)
She wasn't very nice to me.
Denver cradles the body's bright blue heart in her hand.
DENVER (CONT'D)
Maybe I am scared. She's been so large in my life, I don't know what the world looks like without her.
THE BODY
Is that a bad thing?
DENVER
She's been getting worse… I think she's going to die soon.
THE BODY
What have you been wishing for?
Denver clutches the end of the table with one hand.
THE BODY (CONT'D)
You don't have to feel bad. You don't have to feel bad if you want her to get worse.
Shakily, she begins working on removing the body's lungs.
DENVER
I don't want her to get worse… I just don't want her to get better. I haven't seen her in a really long time.
Denver’s scalpel stops moving.
DENVER (CONT'D)
There's… Your lungs are dry.
THE BODY
It's okay if you can't cry for her.
DENVER
You couldn’t have been a drowning victim. There’s no water in your lungs.
THE BODY
I used up all my breaths at once.
DENVER
Something must have happened to you before that. You were dead before you fell.
The doors to the lab SLAM open as Hudson and Joshua rush in. The organs DULL IN COLOUR as Denver whirls to meet them, her hands covered in blood.
JOSHUA
Denver! What are you doing?
HUDSON
I tried to call. Why are you here?
DENVER
What? What's going on?
HUDSON
I got a call from the nurse. She… Mom is dead. She died an hour ago. In her sleep.
Denver wavers, staring at her brother in shock.
JOSHUA
I am so, so sorry.
She turns back to the body. Its features have changed- the eyes are now hazel, the nose broad instead of sharp. Its mouth is closed and it stares wordlessly at the ceiling. Denver reaches out a hand and, with two fingers, slowly closes its eyes.