INT. CITY SEWERS - NIGHT
DANIEL HAZELTON runs frantically through the dank brick sewers of an unnamed city. He wears a business suit, now streaked with filth, tie flapping as he runs. He splashes through the sewer water, soaking his pant legs. Sweat runs down his forehead, past his eyes, which stare wide open at the tunnels before him. His greying hair is both slick with sweat and encrusted with sewer grime.
A sound is heard from behind him, and he looks back briefly before continuing on. The sound is a torrent of hard footsteps, all tapping quickly after each other, over and over. Daniel trips, hits the ground, and clambers back onto his feet.
Something turns the corner behind him, a dark mass of tentacles and countless small, red eyes. This is the monster Daniel runs from. It sees him and charges towards him, tentacles latching onto the brick, pulling itself forward.
Daniel turns to the right and heads down another brick path, other ways branching off to both sides. He runs down the tunnel, away from the thing behind him. Unfortunately for him, he is losing ground. The monster turns down his path, now much closer than before. Daniel looks back again, and then faces forward to make his next choice. He takes a left and rushes down the new branch of sewer.
This path has much fewer offshoots than the others, and Daniel runs by all but one. The last exit is before him to his right. He takes the turn and stops, horrified. Twenty feet before him the tunnel ends, blocked by a thick metal grating. There is no escape. Daniel turns back, only to see a shadowed tendril creep towards him.
Daniel remains facing the exit as he backs up, stepping towards the grating. The beast follows, its body now in the tunnel, snaking tentacles and red eyes clogging the opening. It chokes off the light, leaving Daniel with only the dimmest sense of its appearance. It comes closer, the tentacles now slower, more deliberate, more menacing.
Daniel is trapped, yet he remains where he is, five feet from the grating. He makes his stand, watching, waiting. The monster stops before him and rears up, its body almost touching the high curved brick ceiling. Daniel sees his only chance and bolts for the exit, running through the flexible limbs, a forest of tentacles. However noble his effort, Daniel is doomed, and he makes it no more than half way through the mass of tendrils before they wrap around him and pull him back. Daniel's body is held rigid as he's lifted up above the sewer floor, before the red eyes of the creature. He is held closer and closer to them, and in the light he can almost make out what looks like a tangle of grinding mandibles. What he does not see is the lone tentacle behind his head that pulls back for a moment before plunging itself into the back of his skull.
Daniel cringes with pain and-
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Daniel's eyes open wide as he wakes from the nightmare, a sharp breath sneaking down his throat. His back rises off of the mattress as his muscles tense. His eyes scan the darkness, searching for information, known visuals to place his location. Daniel sees familiar furniture and understands that he had only been dreaming. He lies back down and takes a few deep breaths.
EVELYN HAZELTON, sleeping beside Daniel, stirs, and slowly rolls over to see her husband. In the moonlight she comes across as the tired middle-aged wife she is. She looks at her husbands face, which seems much older than hers, much more weary and lined.
EVELYN
Another?
DANIEL
(nodding)
Yeah.
She lies her arm across his chest and rests her head against his shoulder. She closes her eyes.
EVELYN
It'll pass. Go to bed.
Daniel's eyes remain open, staring at the ceiling. His expression shows that he doubts it will pass, as it never does.
INT. LUXURY SEDAN - DAY
Daniel drives to work, sitting in the leather-clad seat of his expensive foreign car. He wears an impressive suit, and an equally formidable briefcase lies on the floor in front of the passenger seat.
Bags rest under his eyes, and he looks exhausted. There is another expression that is mixed on his face, however, something close to unease. Daniel drives and watches the world around him, looking at everything he knows as the world with a sense of mistrust. Something doesn't seem right, something Daniel can't place.
INT. PARKING GARAGE - DAY
Daniel's car pulls into a parking space in a basement garage. His name, Daniel Hazelton, is painted on the concrete wall before him. He gets out, briefcase in hand, and closes the door. He walks way from the car towards the exit, a metal door, and points his hand back towards the car without looking. The car doors lock, the lights flash, and the car makes a muted beep as the alarm is set by the remote on Daniel's key chain.
INT. ELEVATOR - DAY
Daniel steps into the large elevator and presses the button for the twenty- fourth floor. As the elevator rises, Daniel holds his hands in front of him, together holding the briefcase. Already a sense of calm is coming over Daniel as his daily routine kicks in.
INT. OFFICE FLOOR - DAY
Daniel steps out of the elevator and into the decorative lobby of his company's office. The RECEPTIONIST looks up from the computer before her and smiles at Daniel.
RECEPTIONIST
Good morning, Mr. Hazelton.
DANIEL
(smiling)
Good morning, Rose.
Daniel walks past the reception desk at a brisk pace, heading towards the heavy mahogany doors at the back of the floor. He smiles at some people, waves at others, nods to the rest. He finally reaches a door at the corner of the floor and opens it, stepping into the office behind.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY
Daniel steps into the corner office and walks over to the computer on the large wooden desk, turning it on. Large, high windows wrap around the walls of the office, providing a spectacular view of the other downtown skyscrapers. As the computer boots, he places the briefcase on the desk and opens it up. He takes out various papers and files and places them on the desk before him. Standing behind his desk, hands on the wood as he leans forwards, Daniel opens up his day-timer and looks at the schedule for the day, Monday.
Someone knocks at the door. Daniel remains fixed on the day-timer.
DANIEL
Come in.
The door opens and another man in a suit, TOM, steps into the office. Daniel looks up and grins, yet remains behind the desk.
DANIEL
Hey, Tom. How are ya?
TOM
I'm good, Danny. I just came by to see if we're still on for Wednesday
night.
Daniel flips the page and looks at Wednesday. He taps his finger at the eight-o-clock slot, which reads "Tom - poker". The rest of the schedule is packed, business related.
DANIEL
We are indeed.
TOM
Terrific. I know you're busy, so I'll get out of your hair.
Tom leans back into the hallway outside, but stops before leaving.
TOM
Have lunch with us one of these days, okay Dan? Take a break.
DANIEL
Sure thing. See you later.
Tom waves casually before finally closing the door. Daniel raises his eyebrows and shakes his head, suggesting that the lunch invite has little to no chance of coming to fruition.
The computer is ready and so Daniel sits down before it, rearranging some of the paper files he took out before getting to work.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY
Daniel looks up from the computer screen he types away at and takes a look at the clock beside him. It reads 12:28. Daniel closes up what he's working on and grabs his jacket from a coat hanger by the door. He opens the door and leaves his office.
INT. OFFICE FLOOR - DAY
Daniel walks briskly towards the elevator. He passes the Receptionist. He pushes the call button and waits for the elevator to arrive.
RECEPTIONIST
Lunchtime, Mr. Hazelton?
DANIEL
Yep.
RECEPTIONIST
See you in fifteen then.
The elevator door opens and Daniel steps inside. Daniel turns and smiles at the Receptionist.
DANIEL
Ten if things aren't busy.
The Receptionist smiles back as the doors close and Daniel heads down.
EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - DAY
Daniel exits his building and walks into the pedestrian traffic of the lunch hour. He walks down the street.
INT. CAFÉ - DAY
Daniel enters a charming little side café and stands in line to order. It moves quickly and soon it is Daniel's turn. LILY, The young woman behind the counter, recognized Daniel instantly and smiles at him. He smiles back.
DANIEL
How are you, Lily?
LILY
Doing good, Mr. Hazelton. And you?
DANIEL
Just fine, thanks.
Lily reaches past the buns and sandwich meats to grab a sandwich already made and wrapped in cellophane. She hands the sandwich over to Daniel.
LILY
Ham and cheese, all ready.
Daniel takes out his wallet and pays her.
DANIEL
Thanks, Lily. I'll see you tomorrow.
Daniel heads towards the door.
DANIEL
Take care.
LILY
You too. Bye now.
He opens the door and waves before leaving.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY
The office door opens and Daniel walks in, his clock reading 12:42. Daniel walks over to his computer and brings his files back up before opening the sandwich. He leaves half of it on the desk on top of the unwrapped cellophane. The other half travels with him towards the office windows as he eats, standing. Daniel takes the quite moment to enjoy the sunny day before him as he slowly chews his food. He looks at the people below, the clouds in the sky, a bird to his right that swoops past him.
As the bird reaches his window it stops. It doesn't stop flapping its wings and fall to the ground - no, it completely stops, frozen in time, hanging in midair, motionless. Its wings remain above it, anticipating a flap that will push the bird back into the air to keep it airborne, but a flap that presently seems unnecessary.
Daniel stares at the bird, awestruck. He swallows a mouthful of sandwich before his jaw drops. His eyes open slightly as he takes in the impossible scene. Daniel puts the sandwich down on the windowsill and steps closer to the window, pressing his hands against the glass pane. The bird still remains in its place in front of him, twenty-four stories above the city street.
Suddenly the bird is gone in a blur that streaks to the left. Daniel jumps backwards, startled, before going back to the window. He cranes his neck to the left to catch the bird again, but doesn't find it. He scans the sky for others, but finds it empty. On a second glance, however, he sees that the clouds move at an impossible speed. They flow and merge at time-lapse speeds. Daniel seems bewildered. He looks down at the street below, and the sight is equally amazing. Cars and people whiz by at a greatly increased rate, the lights and bodies a blur, lines of motion.
Without warning, the people below stop, frozen in their places as the bird was moments before - if it was only moments before. Daniel look down on the men and women, motionless, like mannequins. Some seem to have been caught in a run, as they hang above the ground, neither feet touching the pavement.
Time reverses again and the people race by. Daniel steps away from the window, disoriented. Things speed like this for what seems to be a few seconds before halting. Daniel begins to breath quickly, and he swallows, fighting back nausea. The flow of time switches again, the change quicker than before. Fast, then slow, fast then slow. Daniel's eyes remain fixed on the spectacle below, yet the strain is obvious.
Someone knocks at his door. Daniel turns to it and it opens slightly. The Receptionist peeks in and sees Daniel. She moves at a normal speed. Daniel looks to the street and sees that everything is normal there as well. The Receptionist takes a long look at Daniel and furrows her brows.
RECEPTIONIST
Is everything all right, Mr. Hazelton?
Daniel struggles to process what he's just witnessed.
DANIEL
Yeah ... yes. What is it, Rose?
RECEPTIONIST
It's just that you haven't been answering your calls for close to an
hour now. I know it's lunch and all but, well ... you always work
during lunch.
Daniel looks at his clock. It says that the time is 1:42. The Receptionist looks at Daniel again with a worried look.
RECEPTIONIST
Is everything all right?
DANIEL
Everything's fine.
RECEPTIONIST
(beat)
Okay then.
The Receptionist leaves reluctantly. Daniel faces the window again, bewildered.
DANIEL
What the hell was that?
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
Daniel's European sedan drives into his driveway. Daniel gets out of the car, briefcase in tow, and heads towards the front door.
INT. FOYER - NIGHT
The front door opens and Daniel walks into his house. He closes the door behind him and takes off his jacket and shoes. He leaves his briefcase beside the nearby staircase before walking down the hall.
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Evelyn stands by the stove, preparing dinner. Daniel walks up behind her and kisses her on the neck.
EVELYN
Hi hon. Dinner's almost done.
DANIEL
Smells great.
Daniel walks over to the counter and picks up the mail before sitting down at the kitchen table. He loosens his tie and sighs heavily.
EVELYN
How was your day?
Daniel stares off into space for a moment, thinking, before chuckling.
DANIEL
It was interesting, to say the least.
DANIEL HAZELTON runs frantically through the dank brick sewers of an unnamed city. He wears a business suit, now streaked with filth, tie flapping as he runs. He splashes through the sewer water, soaking his pant legs. Sweat runs down his forehead, past his eyes, which stare wide open at the tunnels before him. His greying hair is both slick with sweat and encrusted with sewer grime.
A sound is heard from behind him, and he looks back briefly before continuing on. The sound is a torrent of hard footsteps, all tapping quickly after each other, over and over. Daniel trips, hits the ground, and clambers back onto his feet.
Something turns the corner behind him, a dark mass of tentacles and countless small, red eyes. This is the monster Daniel runs from. It sees him and charges towards him, tentacles latching onto the brick, pulling itself forward.
Daniel turns to the right and heads down another brick path, other ways branching off to both sides. He runs down the tunnel, away from the thing behind him. Unfortunately for him, he is losing ground. The monster turns down his path, now much closer than before. Daniel looks back again, and then faces forward to make his next choice. He takes a left and rushes down the new branch of sewer.
This path has much fewer offshoots than the others, and Daniel runs by all but one. The last exit is before him to his right. He takes the turn and stops, horrified. Twenty feet before him the tunnel ends, blocked by a thick metal grating. There is no escape. Daniel turns back, only to see a shadowed tendril creep towards him.
Daniel remains facing the exit as he backs up, stepping towards the grating. The beast follows, its body now in the tunnel, snaking tentacles and red eyes clogging the opening. It chokes off the light, leaving Daniel with only the dimmest sense of its appearance. It comes closer, the tentacles now slower, more deliberate, more menacing.
Daniel is trapped, yet he remains where he is, five feet from the grating. He makes his stand, watching, waiting. The monster stops before him and rears up, its body almost touching the high curved brick ceiling. Daniel sees his only chance and bolts for the exit, running through the flexible limbs, a forest of tentacles. However noble his effort, Daniel is doomed, and he makes it no more than half way through the mass of tendrils before they wrap around him and pull him back. Daniel's body is held rigid as he's lifted up above the sewer floor, before the red eyes of the creature. He is held closer and closer to them, and in the light he can almost make out what looks like a tangle of grinding mandibles. What he does not see is the lone tentacle behind his head that pulls back for a moment before plunging itself into the back of his skull.
Daniel cringes with pain and-
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Daniel's eyes open wide as he wakes from the nightmare, a sharp breath sneaking down his throat. His back rises off of the mattress as his muscles tense. His eyes scan the darkness, searching for information, known visuals to place his location. Daniel sees familiar furniture and understands that he had only been dreaming. He lies back down and takes a few deep breaths.
EVELYN HAZELTON, sleeping beside Daniel, stirs, and slowly rolls over to see her husband. In the moonlight she comes across as the tired middle-aged wife she is. She looks at her husbands face, which seems much older than hers, much more weary and lined.
EVELYN
Another?
DANIEL
(nodding)
Yeah.
She lies her arm across his chest and rests her head against his shoulder. She closes her eyes.
EVELYN
It'll pass. Go to bed.
Daniel's eyes remain open, staring at the ceiling. His expression shows that he doubts it will pass, as it never does.
INT. LUXURY SEDAN - DAY
Daniel drives to work, sitting in the leather-clad seat of his expensive foreign car. He wears an impressive suit, and an equally formidable briefcase lies on the floor in front of the passenger seat.
Bags rest under his eyes, and he looks exhausted. There is another expression that is mixed on his face, however, something close to unease. Daniel drives and watches the world around him, looking at everything he knows as the world with a sense of mistrust. Something doesn't seem right, something Daniel can't place.
INT. PARKING GARAGE - DAY
Daniel's car pulls into a parking space in a basement garage. His name, Daniel Hazelton, is painted on the concrete wall before him. He gets out, briefcase in hand, and closes the door. He walks way from the car towards the exit, a metal door, and points his hand back towards the car without looking. The car doors lock, the lights flash, and the car makes a muted beep as the alarm is set by the remote on Daniel's key chain.
INT. ELEVATOR - DAY
Daniel steps into the large elevator and presses the button for the twenty- fourth floor. As the elevator rises, Daniel holds his hands in front of him, together holding the briefcase. Already a sense of calm is coming over Daniel as his daily routine kicks in.
INT. OFFICE FLOOR - DAY
Daniel steps out of the elevator and into the decorative lobby of his company's office. The RECEPTIONIST looks up from the computer before her and smiles at Daniel.
RECEPTIONIST
Good morning, Mr. Hazelton.
DANIEL
(smiling)
Good morning, Rose.
Daniel walks past the reception desk at a brisk pace, heading towards the heavy mahogany doors at the back of the floor. He smiles at some people, waves at others, nods to the rest. He finally reaches a door at the corner of the floor and opens it, stepping into the office behind.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY
Daniel steps into the corner office and walks over to the computer on the large wooden desk, turning it on. Large, high windows wrap around the walls of the office, providing a spectacular view of the other downtown skyscrapers. As the computer boots, he places the briefcase on the desk and opens it up. He takes out various papers and files and places them on the desk before him. Standing behind his desk, hands on the wood as he leans forwards, Daniel opens up his day-timer and looks at the schedule for the day, Monday.
Someone knocks at the door. Daniel remains fixed on the day-timer.
DANIEL
Come in.
The door opens and another man in a suit, TOM, steps into the office. Daniel looks up and grins, yet remains behind the desk.
DANIEL
Hey, Tom. How are ya?
TOM
I'm good, Danny. I just came by to see if we're still on for Wednesday
night.
Daniel flips the page and looks at Wednesday. He taps his finger at the eight-o-clock slot, which reads "Tom - poker". The rest of the schedule is packed, business related.
DANIEL
We are indeed.
TOM
Terrific. I know you're busy, so I'll get out of your hair.
Tom leans back into the hallway outside, but stops before leaving.
TOM
Have lunch with us one of these days, okay Dan? Take a break.
DANIEL
Sure thing. See you later.
Tom waves casually before finally closing the door. Daniel raises his eyebrows and shakes his head, suggesting that the lunch invite has little to no chance of coming to fruition.
The computer is ready and so Daniel sits down before it, rearranging some of the paper files he took out before getting to work.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY
Daniel looks up from the computer screen he types away at and takes a look at the clock beside him. It reads 12:28. Daniel closes up what he's working on and grabs his jacket from a coat hanger by the door. He opens the door and leaves his office.
INT. OFFICE FLOOR - DAY
Daniel walks briskly towards the elevator. He passes the Receptionist. He pushes the call button and waits for the elevator to arrive.
RECEPTIONIST
Lunchtime, Mr. Hazelton?
DANIEL
Yep.
RECEPTIONIST
See you in fifteen then.
The elevator door opens and Daniel steps inside. Daniel turns and smiles at the Receptionist.
DANIEL
Ten if things aren't busy.
The Receptionist smiles back as the doors close and Daniel heads down.
EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - DAY
Daniel exits his building and walks into the pedestrian traffic of the lunch hour. He walks down the street.
INT. CAFÉ - DAY
Daniel enters a charming little side café and stands in line to order. It moves quickly and soon it is Daniel's turn. LILY, The young woman behind the counter, recognized Daniel instantly and smiles at him. He smiles back.
DANIEL
How are you, Lily?
LILY
Doing good, Mr. Hazelton. And you?
DANIEL
Just fine, thanks.
Lily reaches past the buns and sandwich meats to grab a sandwich already made and wrapped in cellophane. She hands the sandwich over to Daniel.
LILY
Ham and cheese, all ready.
Daniel takes out his wallet and pays her.
DANIEL
Thanks, Lily. I'll see you tomorrow.
Daniel heads towards the door.
DANIEL
Take care.
LILY
You too. Bye now.
He opens the door and waves before leaving.
INT. CORNER OFFICE - DAY
The office door opens and Daniel walks in, his clock reading 12:42. Daniel walks over to his computer and brings his files back up before opening the sandwich. He leaves half of it on the desk on top of the unwrapped cellophane. The other half travels with him towards the office windows as he eats, standing. Daniel takes the quite moment to enjoy the sunny day before him as he slowly chews his food. He looks at the people below, the clouds in the sky, a bird to his right that swoops past him.
As the bird reaches his window it stops. It doesn't stop flapping its wings and fall to the ground - no, it completely stops, frozen in time, hanging in midair, motionless. Its wings remain above it, anticipating a flap that will push the bird back into the air to keep it airborne, but a flap that presently seems unnecessary.
Daniel stares at the bird, awestruck. He swallows a mouthful of sandwich before his jaw drops. His eyes open slightly as he takes in the impossible scene. Daniel puts the sandwich down on the windowsill and steps closer to the window, pressing his hands against the glass pane. The bird still remains in its place in front of him, twenty-four stories above the city street.
Suddenly the bird is gone in a blur that streaks to the left. Daniel jumps backwards, startled, before going back to the window. He cranes his neck to the left to catch the bird again, but doesn't find it. He scans the sky for others, but finds it empty. On a second glance, however, he sees that the clouds move at an impossible speed. They flow and merge at time-lapse speeds. Daniel seems bewildered. He looks down at the street below, and the sight is equally amazing. Cars and people whiz by at a greatly increased rate, the lights and bodies a blur, lines of motion.
Without warning, the people below stop, frozen in their places as the bird was moments before - if it was only moments before. Daniel look down on the men and women, motionless, like mannequins. Some seem to have been caught in a run, as they hang above the ground, neither feet touching the pavement.
Time reverses again and the people race by. Daniel steps away from the window, disoriented. Things speed like this for what seems to be a few seconds before halting. Daniel begins to breath quickly, and he swallows, fighting back nausea. The flow of time switches again, the change quicker than before. Fast, then slow, fast then slow. Daniel's eyes remain fixed on the spectacle below, yet the strain is obvious.
Someone knocks at his door. Daniel turns to it and it opens slightly. The Receptionist peeks in and sees Daniel. She moves at a normal speed. Daniel looks to the street and sees that everything is normal there as well. The Receptionist takes a long look at Daniel and furrows her brows.
RECEPTIONIST
Is everything all right, Mr. Hazelton?
Daniel struggles to process what he's just witnessed.
DANIEL
Yeah ... yes. What is it, Rose?
RECEPTIONIST
It's just that you haven't been answering your calls for close to an
hour now. I know it's lunch and all but, well ... you always work
during lunch.
Daniel looks at his clock. It says that the time is 1:42. The Receptionist looks at Daniel again with a worried look.
RECEPTIONIST
Is everything all right?
DANIEL
Everything's fine.
RECEPTIONIST
(beat)
Okay then.
The Receptionist leaves reluctantly. Daniel faces the window again, bewildered.
DANIEL
What the hell was that?
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
Daniel's European sedan drives into his driveway. Daniel gets out of the car, briefcase in tow, and heads towards the front door.
INT. FOYER - NIGHT
The front door opens and Daniel walks into his house. He closes the door behind him and takes off his jacket and shoes. He leaves his briefcase beside the nearby staircase before walking down the hall.
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Evelyn stands by the stove, preparing dinner. Daniel walks up behind her and kisses her on the neck.
EVELYN
Hi hon. Dinner's almost done.
DANIEL
Smells great.
Daniel walks over to the counter and picks up the mail before sitting down at the kitchen table. He loosens his tie and sighs heavily.
EVELYN
How was your day?
Daniel stares off into space for a moment, thinking, before chuckling.
DANIEL
It was interesting, to say the least.