EXT. LONG ROAD - THE NEXT MORNING
A beautiful over-head shot of a car moving down a rain-slicked road, with thick forests on either side. We come upon a tiny ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
Caption: "SATURDAY: Day Three"
EXT. MACKLIN P.S. - CONT'D
The convertible pulls up and Zelda, Logan, and Andrew pile out. They all look over at the very small, very quaint Macklin Public School.
ZELDA
Cute.
LOGAN
Okay, we've seen the damn school.
What now?
Andrew walks up to the front doors and peers into the darkness beyond.
ANDREW
Doesn't look like there's anyone in
there.
(turns to his friends)
I need you two to work together.
Zelda and Logan eye him, then each other. They almost seem to share a grimace.
ANDREW
Guys, I mean it. I need you to
get into the office and find a...
a file, I guess, on Mrs. Cromwell.
ZELDA
Who?
LOGAN
Samara's teacher.
ZELDA
(glaring)
I wasn't asking you.
ANDREW
Hey!
They stop.
ANDREW
It's a small, small school, it can't
house more than 100 kids, so there
probably won't be any security.
Can you guys do this for me?
It takes them a while, but they both nod.
LOGAN
What about you? What's your mission?
CUT TO
EXT. MACKLIN SCHOOL YARD - MINUTES LATER
What the school lacks in size makes up for it with this vast yard. Grassy knols, a couple of baseball diamonds, several trees. ANDREW wanders through, looking around, letting himself get lost. A steady wind blows the hair away from his face.
HIS POV: lazily panning across the landscape. It feels subtley forboding...
Andrew turns around and sees a large, dead tree. The wind grows slightly colder.
CLOSE UP: A large circle of dead, dried up soil runs around the base of the tree.
Andrew bends down and feels the dirt for a sec, and then stands back up again. He looks over and sees that just beyond the tree is an abandoned PLAYGROUND.
CLOSE UP: A crayon rendering of that same playground. We saw this earlier.
Andrew looks down and sees that a branch is sticking out of the tree in front of him, at waist-height. He looks closer and sees that a small HAND PRINT looks it's been burned right into the shrivelled wood. Curiously, and cautiously, he grabs the branch at the place of the burnt hand print.
FLASH TO
INT. SCHOOL YARD - EXT. PLAYGROUND - FLASHBACK
The screen has been tinted with an odd sepia tone. At the place where Andrew was once standing is SAMARA. Her hair has been parted and she looks with dull, curious eyes at the playground, which is now alive with children and activity. Her hand is grabbing the branch in front of her, in the same manner Andrew was.
We realize, upon seeing the frame WIDEN, that she's standing all by herself, letting the wind ruffle up her white dress, as she watches the children play.
Her expression remains blank and unreadable.
CLOSE UP: Samara's hand gripping the branch very, very tightly. So tightly, in fact, that blood begins to trickle from her clenched fist.
RETURN TO
INT. SCHOOL YARD - EXT. PLAYGROUND - PRESENT TIME
The force of it all THROWS Andrew back somewhat, he staggers to find his balance. Trying to find his breath, he looks down at his hand and gasps.
CLOSE UP: His palm to his fingers are completely drenched in blood, but there aren't any visible cuts. Puzzled, Andrew looks over at the tree branch he was just holding.
THE HAND PRINT IS BLEEDING. And not just mildly, it's letting loose thick rivers of deep, red, crimson blood.
FLASH CUT: One of the newer images of the video, and one most relevant to this scene: a tree, with bare, dead branches is framed in front of a playground, which contains several WRITHING CHILDREN screaming, being burnt to death.
CUT TO
INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - MACKLIN P.S. - SAME
CLOSE UP: There was once frosted glass on this office door, but it is now living happily as a pile of shards on the ground.
WIDER to reveal a small, quaint little office area with a small room for the secretary and another bigger room for the principal, files, records, and all that. ZELDA and LOGAN work furiously as they skim through mounds of files, working their flashlights in the darkened space.
LOGAN
Would you miss me?
Zelda makes a sound that's part snort, part chortle, and part disgust. She continues going through office papers.
LOGAN
Master of the english language,
ladies and gentlemen.
ZELDA
(eyes still on paper)
Logan, I'm not gonna honestly
answer that. I hate to see grown
men cry.
He glares at her. She goes through some more records, never looking at him.
ZELDA (contd)
Although the jury's still out on
that "grown man" part.
LOGAN
What the hell's your problem?
I'm gonna die.
ZELDA
No, you're not.
LOGAN
What makes you so damn sure?
Zelda slams a file down, finally making direct eye contact with him.
ZELDA
Because this is what you do, Logan!
You blew ever single thing out of
proportion! This murdering tape has
to the most assiest-sounding lie I've
ever heard.
LOGAN
Well how do you explain the phone call?
ZELDA
Crank call.
Logan shakes his heard, staring at her disbelievingly.
LOGAN
You weren't there. You couldn't have
known what it was like.
She crosses her arms and leans against the filing cabinet.
ZELDA
Why did you ask me that?
(he doesn't answer)
If you're so sure you're gonna die,
why waste your time in trying to get
me to like you again?
Logan KICKS the cabinet she's leaning on, causing her to JUMP a bit.
LOGAN
Here's a question for you, Zeldie,
why the fuck ARE you here? Your
"Logan=AntiChrist" agenda has been
clear for a long, long time, and I'm
just not comprending your presence
right now.
Zelda scowls and goes back to the papers, getting fed up.
ZELDA
I'm doing this for Andrew. Not you.
Beat. Logan goes back to their original duty as well.
LOGAN
(quieter)
Can I ask you something? About
Andrew?
ZELDA
Maybe.
LOGAN
(pauses)
Are you his only friend?
Zelda looks up to meet his gaze. She doesn't know how to answer.
ANDREW (O.S.)
Hey.
They both jump a bit as they look to the front of the office, to see Andrew entering through the broken door. He's obviously a bit shaken.
ANDREW
(gazing at the door)
For the record, I suggested the credit
card method of unlocking.
ZELDA
I kinda feel bad. This is practically a
basement daycare center and we're
bashing in their expensive frosted glass.
ANDREW
I'm sure they'll manage without it.
He goes to join them.
ANDREW
Find anything on her?
LOGAN
No, man. We've looked and looked and
looked...
ZELDA
Would using the needle-haystack
analogy seem redundant? Because
I'm pretty tempted to use it.
Andrew stick his hand into the pile, brings out a random file, and shines Logan's light on it.
ANDREW
(reading)
Cromwell, Ruth.
(beat)
Feeling tempted to use it now,
Zelda?
She forces a smile.
SMASH TO
EXT. HOUSE - DUSK
THE SUN dips lower and lower into the sky, it seems a little faster than normal. Andrew, Zelda, and Logan stand outside of a slightly creepy looking two story home. There's an untended, wildly overgrown lawn and blackened roses in the garden.
CLOSE UP: The front door. Andrew's fist knocks against it.
The trio glance each other over.
ZELDA
Are you sure this is a good idea?
ANDREW
Why do you say that?
ZELDA
I... don't know exactly. But doesn't
someone always ask that?
The door opens, and they find themselves being stared at by RUTH CROMWELL, a sour looking elderly woman in a conservative black dress and hair in a tight bun. She eyes them all with angry suspicion, partially hiding herself behind the door.
RUTH
Can I help you three?
ANDREW
Are you Ruth Cromwell?
RUTH
Maybe. Who wants to know?
ANDREW
The Mrs. Cromwell who used to teach
at Macklin Public School?
Ruth purses her dry lips.
RUTH
What's this all about?
LOGAN
We want to ask you about a student
you used to teach. In 1977.
RUTH
I've taught hundreds and hundreds
of kids, I can't attach any name to
any face.
She begins to close the door. Andrew steps up; desperate.
ANDREW
Samara Morgan.
Ruth grips the door so hard her fingernails start digging into the wood. She stares at Andrew, puzzled and bothered.
FADE TO
INT. RUTH'S LIVING ROOM - A LITTLE LATER
Dull wallpaper and even duller furniture adorn this considerably dull room. There's a tv, but it's an old-timey-dinosaur tv with the rabbit ear antennas. Ruth sits in an arm chair, a tray in front of her, pouring tea into three cups. The trio sits on a couch before her.
RUTH
It was my first class. I was terribly
nervous, that first day. But the
children were so happy and alive...
it made it easier.
ZELDA
And Samara was in that class?
RUTH
Not at first, no. In November, her
parents came in to meet with me
and the principal. There was
something about those two...
FLASHCUT: Richard Morgan standing ominously in front of a window of his home.
FLASHCUT: Anna Morgan brushing her hair peacefully in front of a small oval mirror.
RUTH
They said they had a little girl
who's never been educated, and
they didn't want to humiliate her
by putting her in a kindergarten
class. She was a bit too old for it.
Zelda, Andrew, and Logan simutaneously take a sip of tea, listening intently.
RUTH
So we decided we'd put Samara
in my class, for one week, to see
how she'd do, if she'd like it.
ANDREW
Did she?
Ruth's face darkens. She stares down at the rim of her tea cup.
RUTH
Samara barely said anything to
anyone. The students... me...
she was so damn shy. She'd sit
at her table and just... draw.
For hours and hours, she'd make
these pictures. And the other
students were so unsettled by her.
FLASHCUT: A sea of dead, bloody horses.
LOGAN
How did she get along with the
other kids?
Ruth gives a tiny laugh, but she doesn't sound or look amused at all.
RUTH
Samara hated the other children,
and they hated her back. I'd
watch them play at recess. They'd
force Samara to ask them to join,
and then they'd refuse and laugh
at her.
Andrew's mouth twists into an empathetic frown.
RUTH
So every single recess of those
four days she was with us... she'd
stand alone, under a tree.
FLASHCUT: Blood pouring from a low-hanging branch.
ANDREW
(barely audible)
That's all she'd do?
RUTH
One day she stood there long
after school ended. She refused
to move. Even when her parents
came to pick her up.
ZELDA
Wait, you said she was with you
for four days?
(Ruth nods)
Is that how long the schoolweeks
were back then?
RUTH
No... they were still five days.
She eyes each of them quickly, then looks back down.
RUTH
There was... an accident on the
fourth day.
The temperature in the room seems to drop dramatically.
ANDREW
Of what kind? Was Samara... hurt?
RUTH
Heavens, no.
Ruth takes a moment to compose herself. She smooths out her lap.
RUTH
There was a boy. On the first day
Samara came in, that boy would
run up to me and shriek "Miss! Miss!
The weird girl is making me see
things!" Everyday. And on that
fourth day, when Samara was
standing the tree, I could feel
her watching that boy. I saw her
gripping the branch in front of
her. I saw her blood run.
Andrew flinches a little.
RUTH
As I went running up to her, to
tell her to stop, there was this
terrible screaming in the playground.
It seemed to get louder and louder,
and I turned to Samara and...
She trails off, getting lost in the memory. But not in a good way.
LOGAN
Ma'am?
Ruth shakes her head slowly.
RUTH
She was smiling.
Beat. Andrew, Zelda, and Logan feel the temperature drop even lower.
RUTH
The boy was dead. Handprints
burned onto his body... but we
got a statement saying that
his heart just simply stopped
beating.
ZELDA
Do they know what-
RUTH
None of them "knew what". But I
certainly did.
She takes a long sip out of her now-cold tea cup. The trio have completely forgotten about theirs, and they follow suit.
RUTH
I'm not a religious woman, but
the moment I saw that...
(disgusted)
...that smirk... I knew the Devil
was in that child.
A stunned beat. Zelda leans forward, her voice small and plaintive.
ZELDA
Is there any possibility at all, that
you're being slightly overdramatic?
No reply, except for Ruth's icy glare. Zelda shrinks back and smiles fakely, while Logan puts his reddened face in his hands. Ruth crosses her arms, observing these three teens with cold annoyance.
RUTH
Are any of you related to this girl?
ANDREW
No. We don't... think so.
RUTH
Then I'm puzzled as to what your
intentions are concerning this girl.
ANDREW
Well, we're writing...
LOGAN/ZELDA
(simtuaneously)
A report/A screenplay.
The two of them glare at one another.
LOGAN/ZELDA
(trying again)
A screenplay!/A report!
And again.
LOGAN/ZELDA
(finally)
A book.
ANDREW
We'd really appreciate it if you could
share anymore insight on Samara.
You said she scared the other kids?
RUTH
(nods)
She'd write these... ominous messages
all over her desk, and on her last day,
she wrote something particularly odd
all over the dress I was wearing.
(she laughs a bit)
I didn't even know how the hell was
able to...
LOGAN
Do you still have this dress?
RUTH
I do.
A beat. None of the trio really want to ask the next obvious question.
RUTH
I suppose you'd like to see it.
ZELDA
If it's not too much trouble...
TIMECUT: Several moments later, a big CLOSEUP of a faded old rural-type flora dress. Over the belly area we see the large lettering of the following message:
"to release me, u have to be me"
Andrew, Logan, and Zelda stare at the scrawl in absolute bewilderment. Ruth films her hand away in disgust.
RUTH
It's been a little more than 20 years
and I still haven't found a way to get
that damn ink off the fabric. Makes
me wonder what kind of pen that
blasted girl used.
ANDREW
You didn't see, or feel her writing this
on you?
RUTH
I wouldn't have known at all if one of
my students' hadn't pointed it out to me.
ZELDA
Do you have any idea what this means?
Any at all?
RUTH
I don't understand a damn word. If
you ask me... Samara wasn't really
right in the head.
The CAMERA drifts over to Andrew, who's letting his shaking fingers feel the writing over the fabric. A dry coldness enters his body.
RUTH (o.s.)
...she never really belonged.
FADE TO
INT. ZELDA'S CONVERTIBLE - LATE NIGHT
It's late, the sky is dark, and our three adventurers are feeling damn tired. Zelda's driving, Logan's riding shotgun and Andrew is lying down in the backseat. He stares up at the car ceiling, deep in thought.
ZELDA
So, if anyone would like to explain
the validity of that outing, I would
appreciate it.
(quickly)
Not that I thought it was a waste
of time, Andrew.
LOGAN
We needed to find out more about
Samara. From someone who knew
her.
ZELDA
Ruth didn't know her. Ruth just...
reacted to her. Several times.
ANDREW
We know something new about
Samara.
They both look back to him. Andrew sits up.
ANDREW
She wants to be released. "To
release me, you have to be me."
LOGAN
I ain't gonna release that freaky
bitch!
ANDREW
Try seeing the grey side of things,
Logan! Samara was a loner. And
you guys read those Eola transcripts,
right? Her mom and dad weren't
exactly gonna win any Parental
Competency awards.
LOGAN
Christ, sympathetic much? This
girl's gonna kill me, Andrew. We
need to beat her.
ANDREW
Maybe this is the way! Maybe,
by releasing her, we'll appease
her spirit. And with you destroying
the tape - poof. No more curse.
Zelda shifts in her seat.
ZELDA
But what about the second part
of the message? "You have to
be me"?
Beat. Andrew starts scratching his neck.
ANDREW
And therein lies the mystery.
ON LOGAN, disappointed, but trying very hard to hide his feelings. He stares out of the passenger side window... peering into the darkness.
A beautiful over-head shot of a car moving down a rain-slicked road, with thick forests on either side. We come upon a tiny ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
Caption: "SATURDAY: Day Three"
EXT. MACKLIN P.S. - CONT'D
The convertible pulls up and Zelda, Logan, and Andrew pile out. They all look over at the very small, very quaint Macklin Public School.
ZELDA
Cute.
LOGAN
Okay, we've seen the damn school.
What now?
Andrew walks up to the front doors and peers into the darkness beyond.
ANDREW
Doesn't look like there's anyone in
there.
(turns to his friends)
I need you two to work together.
Zelda and Logan eye him, then each other. They almost seem to share a grimace.
ANDREW
Guys, I mean it. I need you to
get into the office and find a...
a file, I guess, on Mrs. Cromwell.
ZELDA
Who?
LOGAN
Samara's teacher.
ZELDA
(glaring)
I wasn't asking you.
ANDREW
Hey!
They stop.
ANDREW
It's a small, small school, it can't
house more than 100 kids, so there
probably won't be any security.
Can you guys do this for me?
It takes them a while, but they both nod.
LOGAN
What about you? What's your mission?
CUT TO
EXT. MACKLIN SCHOOL YARD - MINUTES LATER
What the school lacks in size makes up for it with this vast yard. Grassy knols, a couple of baseball diamonds, several trees. ANDREW wanders through, looking around, letting himself get lost. A steady wind blows the hair away from his face.
HIS POV: lazily panning across the landscape. It feels subtley forboding...
Andrew turns around and sees a large, dead tree. The wind grows slightly colder.
CLOSE UP: A large circle of dead, dried up soil runs around the base of the tree.
Andrew bends down and feels the dirt for a sec, and then stands back up again. He looks over and sees that just beyond the tree is an abandoned PLAYGROUND.
CLOSE UP: A crayon rendering of that same playground. We saw this earlier.
Andrew looks down and sees that a branch is sticking out of the tree in front of him, at waist-height. He looks closer and sees that a small HAND PRINT looks it's been burned right into the shrivelled wood. Curiously, and cautiously, he grabs the branch at the place of the burnt hand print.
FLASH TO
INT. SCHOOL YARD - EXT. PLAYGROUND - FLASHBACK
The screen has been tinted with an odd sepia tone. At the place where Andrew was once standing is SAMARA. Her hair has been parted and she looks with dull, curious eyes at the playground, which is now alive with children and activity. Her hand is grabbing the branch in front of her, in the same manner Andrew was.
We realize, upon seeing the frame WIDEN, that she's standing all by herself, letting the wind ruffle up her white dress, as she watches the children play.
Her expression remains blank and unreadable.
CLOSE UP: Samara's hand gripping the branch very, very tightly. So tightly, in fact, that blood begins to trickle from her clenched fist.
RETURN TO
INT. SCHOOL YARD - EXT. PLAYGROUND - PRESENT TIME
The force of it all THROWS Andrew back somewhat, he staggers to find his balance. Trying to find his breath, he looks down at his hand and gasps.
CLOSE UP: His palm to his fingers are completely drenched in blood, but there aren't any visible cuts. Puzzled, Andrew looks over at the tree branch he was just holding.
THE HAND PRINT IS BLEEDING. And not just mildly, it's letting loose thick rivers of deep, red, crimson blood.
FLASH CUT: One of the newer images of the video, and one most relevant to this scene: a tree, with bare, dead branches is framed in front of a playground, which contains several WRITHING CHILDREN screaming, being burnt to death.
CUT TO
INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - MACKLIN P.S. - SAME
CLOSE UP: There was once frosted glass on this office door, but it is now living happily as a pile of shards on the ground.
WIDER to reveal a small, quaint little office area with a small room for the secretary and another bigger room for the principal, files, records, and all that. ZELDA and LOGAN work furiously as they skim through mounds of files, working their flashlights in the darkened space.
LOGAN
Would you miss me?
Zelda makes a sound that's part snort, part chortle, and part disgust. She continues going through office papers.
LOGAN
Master of the english language,
ladies and gentlemen.
ZELDA
(eyes still on paper)
Logan, I'm not gonna honestly
answer that. I hate to see grown
men cry.
He glares at her. She goes through some more records, never looking at him.
ZELDA (contd)
Although the jury's still out on
that "grown man" part.
LOGAN
What the hell's your problem?
I'm gonna die.
ZELDA
No, you're not.
LOGAN
What makes you so damn sure?
Zelda slams a file down, finally making direct eye contact with him.
ZELDA
Because this is what you do, Logan!
You blew ever single thing out of
proportion! This murdering tape has
to the most assiest-sounding lie I've
ever heard.
LOGAN
Well how do you explain the phone call?
ZELDA
Crank call.
Logan shakes his heard, staring at her disbelievingly.
LOGAN
You weren't there. You couldn't have
known what it was like.
She crosses her arms and leans against the filing cabinet.
ZELDA
Why did you ask me that?
(he doesn't answer)
If you're so sure you're gonna die,
why waste your time in trying to get
me to like you again?
Logan KICKS the cabinet she's leaning on, causing her to JUMP a bit.
LOGAN
Here's a question for you, Zeldie,
why the fuck ARE you here? Your
"Logan=AntiChrist" agenda has been
clear for a long, long time, and I'm
just not comprending your presence
right now.
Zelda scowls and goes back to the papers, getting fed up.
ZELDA
I'm doing this for Andrew. Not you.
Beat. Logan goes back to their original duty as well.
LOGAN
(quieter)
Can I ask you something? About
Andrew?
ZELDA
Maybe.
LOGAN
(pauses)
Are you his only friend?
Zelda looks up to meet his gaze. She doesn't know how to answer.
ANDREW (O.S.)
Hey.
They both jump a bit as they look to the front of the office, to see Andrew entering through the broken door. He's obviously a bit shaken.
ANDREW
(gazing at the door)
For the record, I suggested the credit
card method of unlocking.
ZELDA
I kinda feel bad. This is practically a
basement daycare center and we're
bashing in their expensive frosted glass.
ANDREW
I'm sure they'll manage without it.
He goes to join them.
ANDREW
Find anything on her?
LOGAN
No, man. We've looked and looked and
looked...
ZELDA
Would using the needle-haystack
analogy seem redundant? Because
I'm pretty tempted to use it.
Andrew stick his hand into the pile, brings out a random file, and shines Logan's light on it.
ANDREW
(reading)
Cromwell, Ruth.
(beat)
Feeling tempted to use it now,
Zelda?
She forces a smile.
SMASH TO
EXT. HOUSE - DUSK
THE SUN dips lower and lower into the sky, it seems a little faster than normal. Andrew, Zelda, and Logan stand outside of a slightly creepy looking two story home. There's an untended, wildly overgrown lawn and blackened roses in the garden.
CLOSE UP: The front door. Andrew's fist knocks against it.
The trio glance each other over.
ZELDA
Are you sure this is a good idea?
ANDREW
Why do you say that?
ZELDA
I... don't know exactly. But doesn't
someone always ask that?
The door opens, and they find themselves being stared at by RUTH CROMWELL, a sour looking elderly woman in a conservative black dress and hair in a tight bun. She eyes them all with angry suspicion, partially hiding herself behind the door.
RUTH
Can I help you three?
ANDREW
Are you Ruth Cromwell?
RUTH
Maybe. Who wants to know?
ANDREW
The Mrs. Cromwell who used to teach
at Macklin Public School?
Ruth purses her dry lips.
RUTH
What's this all about?
LOGAN
We want to ask you about a student
you used to teach. In 1977.
RUTH
I've taught hundreds and hundreds
of kids, I can't attach any name to
any face.
She begins to close the door. Andrew steps up; desperate.
ANDREW
Samara Morgan.
Ruth grips the door so hard her fingernails start digging into the wood. She stares at Andrew, puzzled and bothered.
FADE TO
INT. RUTH'S LIVING ROOM - A LITTLE LATER
Dull wallpaper and even duller furniture adorn this considerably dull room. There's a tv, but it's an old-timey-dinosaur tv with the rabbit ear antennas. Ruth sits in an arm chair, a tray in front of her, pouring tea into three cups. The trio sits on a couch before her.
RUTH
It was my first class. I was terribly
nervous, that first day. But the
children were so happy and alive...
it made it easier.
ZELDA
And Samara was in that class?
RUTH
Not at first, no. In November, her
parents came in to meet with me
and the principal. There was
something about those two...
FLASHCUT: Richard Morgan standing ominously in front of a window of his home.
FLASHCUT: Anna Morgan brushing her hair peacefully in front of a small oval mirror.
RUTH
They said they had a little girl
who's never been educated, and
they didn't want to humiliate her
by putting her in a kindergarten
class. She was a bit too old for it.
Zelda, Andrew, and Logan simutaneously take a sip of tea, listening intently.
RUTH
So we decided we'd put Samara
in my class, for one week, to see
how she'd do, if she'd like it.
ANDREW
Did she?
Ruth's face darkens. She stares down at the rim of her tea cup.
RUTH
Samara barely said anything to
anyone. The students... me...
she was so damn shy. She'd sit
at her table and just... draw.
For hours and hours, she'd make
these pictures. And the other
students were so unsettled by her.
FLASHCUT: A sea of dead, bloody horses.
LOGAN
How did she get along with the
other kids?
Ruth gives a tiny laugh, but she doesn't sound or look amused at all.
RUTH
Samara hated the other children,
and they hated her back. I'd
watch them play at recess. They'd
force Samara to ask them to join,
and then they'd refuse and laugh
at her.
Andrew's mouth twists into an empathetic frown.
RUTH
So every single recess of those
four days she was with us... she'd
stand alone, under a tree.
FLASHCUT: Blood pouring from a low-hanging branch.
ANDREW
(barely audible)
That's all she'd do?
RUTH
One day she stood there long
after school ended. She refused
to move. Even when her parents
came to pick her up.
ZELDA
Wait, you said she was with you
for four days?
(Ruth nods)
Is that how long the schoolweeks
were back then?
RUTH
No... they were still five days.
She eyes each of them quickly, then looks back down.
RUTH
There was... an accident on the
fourth day.
The temperature in the room seems to drop dramatically.
ANDREW
Of what kind? Was Samara... hurt?
RUTH
Heavens, no.
Ruth takes a moment to compose herself. She smooths out her lap.
RUTH
There was a boy. On the first day
Samara came in, that boy would
run up to me and shriek "Miss! Miss!
The weird girl is making me see
things!" Everyday. And on that
fourth day, when Samara was
standing the tree, I could feel
her watching that boy. I saw her
gripping the branch in front of
her. I saw her blood run.
Andrew flinches a little.
RUTH
As I went running up to her, to
tell her to stop, there was this
terrible screaming in the playground.
It seemed to get louder and louder,
and I turned to Samara and...
She trails off, getting lost in the memory. But not in a good way.
LOGAN
Ma'am?
Ruth shakes her head slowly.
RUTH
She was smiling.
Beat. Andrew, Zelda, and Logan feel the temperature drop even lower.
RUTH
The boy was dead. Handprints
burned onto his body... but we
got a statement saying that
his heart just simply stopped
beating.
ZELDA
Do they know what-
RUTH
None of them "knew what". But I
certainly did.
She takes a long sip out of her now-cold tea cup. The trio have completely forgotten about theirs, and they follow suit.
RUTH
I'm not a religious woman, but
the moment I saw that...
(disgusted)
...that smirk... I knew the Devil
was in that child.
A stunned beat. Zelda leans forward, her voice small and plaintive.
ZELDA
Is there any possibility at all, that
you're being slightly overdramatic?
No reply, except for Ruth's icy glare. Zelda shrinks back and smiles fakely, while Logan puts his reddened face in his hands. Ruth crosses her arms, observing these three teens with cold annoyance.
RUTH
Are any of you related to this girl?
ANDREW
No. We don't... think so.
RUTH
Then I'm puzzled as to what your
intentions are concerning this girl.
ANDREW
Well, we're writing...
LOGAN/ZELDA
(simtuaneously)
A report/A screenplay.
The two of them glare at one another.
LOGAN/ZELDA
(trying again)
A screenplay!/A report!
And again.
LOGAN/ZELDA
(finally)
A book.
ANDREW
We'd really appreciate it if you could
share anymore insight on Samara.
You said she scared the other kids?
RUTH
(nods)
She'd write these... ominous messages
all over her desk, and on her last day,
she wrote something particularly odd
all over the dress I was wearing.
(she laughs a bit)
I didn't even know how the hell was
able to...
LOGAN
Do you still have this dress?
RUTH
I do.
A beat. None of the trio really want to ask the next obvious question.
RUTH
I suppose you'd like to see it.
ZELDA
If it's not too much trouble...
TIMECUT: Several moments later, a big CLOSEUP of a faded old rural-type flora dress. Over the belly area we see the large lettering of the following message:
"to release me, u have to be me"
Andrew, Logan, and Zelda stare at the scrawl in absolute bewilderment. Ruth films her hand away in disgust.
RUTH
It's been a little more than 20 years
and I still haven't found a way to get
that damn ink off the fabric. Makes
me wonder what kind of pen that
blasted girl used.
ANDREW
You didn't see, or feel her writing this
on you?
RUTH
I wouldn't have known at all if one of
my students' hadn't pointed it out to me.
ZELDA
Do you have any idea what this means?
Any at all?
RUTH
I don't understand a damn word. If
you ask me... Samara wasn't really
right in the head.
The CAMERA drifts over to Andrew, who's letting his shaking fingers feel the writing over the fabric. A dry coldness enters his body.
RUTH (o.s.)
...she never really belonged.
FADE TO
INT. ZELDA'S CONVERTIBLE - LATE NIGHT
It's late, the sky is dark, and our three adventurers are feeling damn tired. Zelda's driving, Logan's riding shotgun and Andrew is lying down in the backseat. He stares up at the car ceiling, deep in thought.
ZELDA
So, if anyone would like to explain
the validity of that outing, I would
appreciate it.
(quickly)
Not that I thought it was a waste
of time, Andrew.
LOGAN
We needed to find out more about
Samara. From someone who knew
her.
ZELDA
Ruth didn't know her. Ruth just...
reacted to her. Several times.
ANDREW
We know something new about
Samara.
They both look back to him. Andrew sits up.
ANDREW
She wants to be released. "To
release me, you have to be me."
LOGAN
I ain't gonna release that freaky
bitch!
ANDREW
Try seeing the grey side of things,
Logan! Samara was a loner. And
you guys read those Eola transcripts,
right? Her mom and dad weren't
exactly gonna win any Parental
Competency awards.
LOGAN
Christ, sympathetic much? This
girl's gonna kill me, Andrew. We
need to beat her.
ANDREW
Maybe this is the way! Maybe,
by releasing her, we'll appease
her spirit. And with you destroying
the tape - poof. No more curse.
Zelda shifts in her seat.
ZELDA
But what about the second part
of the message? "You have to
be me"?
Beat. Andrew starts scratching his neck.
ANDREW
And therein lies the mystery.
ON LOGAN, disappointed, but trying very hard to hide his feelings. He stares out of the passenger side window... peering into the darkness.