SCENE I
Dell is returning from a business trip and is shown tiredly walking to her car at Reagan National airport. She fumbles for her keys, unlocks the car, throws her suitcase in the back seat, collapses into the driver’s seat, shuts her door, then silence.
Snow falls lightly outside her window.
She starts the car and waits for it to warm up.
Large circles of light are visible in the parking lot; she is one of the few cars parked on the top level. No tire tracks are visible, only her footprints.
She catches a glimpse of something moving fast, just a blur, in her rear view mirror. She locks the doors, cranks the heat up, and backs out of her parking spot.
As she leaves the lot, the camera pans over to a dark corner of the lot, showing a mess of snow with some footprints, like a person had walked through there a bit clumsily.
Fade out.
SCENE II
Fade in.
Dell is in her bathroom at home, just finishing up prepping for bed. She leaves the room, turning out the light. Dim spaces of light appear in the hallway as she goes to her unlit bedroom. Without turning on the light, she gets under the bed covers and turns on the TV. A commercial for a fast food restaurant comes on and she watches it, distractedly.
NEWS ANCHOR
In tonight’s breaking news, we’ve received reports from the Georgetown area that indicate there may be a protest of some sort erupting. Details are still coming in, but at this time, eyewitnesses have reported being chased by seemingly crazed protestors. Some injuries have been reported. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes in.
Dell closes her eyes and falls asleep with the TV on.
NEWS ANCHOR
In other news tonight, numerous charges against corn producers in the U.S. have been filed in relation to the effects that GMOs are having on pregnant women and their unborn children. . . .
Fade out.
SCENE III
A closed elevator door, and then the sound of a ding. Doors open, and Dell, with about 15 other harried, distracted people, exit. She walks down the hallway and opens her office door. Her cell phone starts ringing immediately. She answers it.
DELL
This is Dell.
She puts her purse and briefcase down on the visitor chair and starts removing her coat. She stops immediately.
DELL
Calm down. I can’t understand –
Quick flash to a teenaged girl entering a house, carrying a book bag, home from school. Her face is swollen and splotched with varying sizes of purple bruise-like marks. The rest of her face is sweaty, pale white, almost fish like. Her neck bulges with purple spots and is swollen to twice its normal size. She sniffs the air, pauses, and then walks further into the house. The rest of her body appears normal.
DELL
What? Wait –
Quick flash to the same teenaged girl walking into a kitchen. A woman, Dell’s sister Cici, has her back faced to the girl as she washes dishes in the sink. Cici turns around, starts to smile and say hello, then her face suddenly falls as she starts towards her daughter. Cici gets about 2 feet away from her, and her daughter spits a stream of blood into her face. It lands on her lower face, neck, and chest.
DELL
Cici, slow down. Is she hurt?
Quick flash to the daughter grabbing Cici by the neck and pulling her close. Cici struggles to break free from her daughter’s grip. Her daughter tries to bite Cici and her hands are like claws, raking at Cici’s face. Cici manages to grab a knife from the draining board, but loses her grip on it and it falls to the floor.
DELL
(Forcefully) Are you hurt.
Quick flash to Cici wrestling with her daughter, screaming for her to stop. They fall to the floor by the open pantry. Cici kicks her daughter in the stomach, which buys her some time. Cici stands up. The girl attempts to get back to her feet, but Cici pushes her into the pantry, the girl screaming/growling and thrashing wildly. Cici tries to close the door, and the girl reaches her arm out. Cici repeatedly attempts to close the door until the arm disappears inside. She is crying hysterically.
DELL
Did you call the police?
Short pause.
Ok. Where is she right now?
Dell looks out her high-rise office window and can see the winter streets below. About 10 – 15 police car lights are visible, scattered about in the distance. Dell sighs, puts her fingers up to her forehead.
DELL
Ci, I think you’ll just have to wait until the police get there.
Short pause.
I know, but there’s obviously something wrong, and you need to stay put until the police get there. Neither one of you needs to cause any more injury.
Real-time flash of Cici sitting in a corner in her kitchen with her cell phone, sobbing. She is still blood splattered, and some of her clothes are torn. Her hair is a mess.
DELL
Sis . . . . . . Ci . . . . calm down. It’s gonna be ok. Did you call for an ambulance?
Short pause.
DELL
Ok, do that now. Call 911. Tell them everything that happened – they’ll be there before the police.
Flash of loud thumping on the pantry door, the door vibrates with every thump.
DELL
Ok. Keep me updated. I love you.
DELL disconnects the call. She continues to look out her window, noticing that snow is starting to fall again.
Fade out.
SCENE IV
Flash to scene. Paramedics are shown wrestling the girl through the house towards the front door. The girl is bloated in the face and neck, with dark purple splotches, varying in size, on her neck and cheeks. Her skin seems to be oozing, pale, watery, white. The rest of her body appears normal. She tries to bite the paramedics, but they are dressed for the cold in long-sleeved jackets. The man and woman exchange glances over the girl’s writhing body, grab her under the armpits, and give the nod to lift her. She continues to thrash wildly, the colors and spots on her face roiling. Her eyes are wide open, a deep green with small pupils, and they roll around as if she is possessed.
Cici is standing up now in the same corner of the kitchen, terrified. She is sobbing uncontrollably, with a look of complete bewilderment on her face. She is spattered with blood.
The EMTs struggle to carry/drag the daughter outside to the waiting ambulance. The girl breaks free from the man’s hold and manages to bite him. The EMT pulls away in surprise and pain, and the other EMT manages to get the girl into the ambulance and immediately gives her a shot of sedative, which goes into effect immediately. The EMT breathes heavy, reaches out to the bitten EMT, and pulls him up into the back of the truck.
Shot of Cici from the front of the ambulance looking out the back. Her daughter’s chest can be seen heaving on the bottom of the screen. The EMTs can be seen on one side, a bit blurry, attempting to bandage the bitten hand.
Fade out.
SCENE V
Dell’s bedroom. The camera pans from the doorway towards Dell’s bed. On the nightstand, multiple bottles of vitamins, pills, surgical masks, surgical gloves, and a large gun are visible. Plastic, the heavy opaque type, can be seen swaying in the wind outside her window. Dell appears to be sleeping on her bed. The TV is turned on low volume.
NEWS ANCHOR
Outbreaks of what has come to be commonly known as the Olus virus continue to rise in the U.S. The CDC has imposed level IV restrictions, alert orange, to the entire Eastern Seaboard, the California Coast, and most of the Midwest. Code orange requires the use of surgical masks at all times, avoiding areas with large concentrations of people, and disinfecting all water and food prior to consumption. As a reminder, consistent hand washing has shown to slightly reduce the risk of contracting the virus. You are urged to remain in your homes, and to not make contact with anyone who may be infected.
Next up, so called “healing camps” are sprouting up across the country, claiming they can cure the Olus virus. How do they do it?
Pan back to Dell, who awakes, hearing something. She slowly gets up, puts on a pair of surgical gloves, puts on a surgical mask, grabs her gun, and slowly, quietly, walks out of the room.
Long pause, more sounds heard from the interior of the apartment.
A single shot is fired.
Flash out.
THE END
***
Cheri Arfsten is a writer from the Colorado Springs area.
