Limbo By Chelsea Jordan

7390 La Terza Canutillo, TX 79835 cjo@nmsu.edu (210) 617-0183

INT. FOSTER HOUSE - FOYER - NIGHT The room is dark and nicely furnished. A small black, indecipherable figure briefly appears in the corner of your eye. VIVIENNE FOSTER, mid-twenties, wearing a short black skirt, a revealing red shirt, and glossy red stilettos, stumbles in the front door. She tosses her clutch to the side, kicks off the stilettos, and heads upstairs. Framed photographs line the staircase wall. A picture of Vivienne and Levi on their wedding day. A picture of Vivienne and her grandma. A picture of Levi with his family. She stumbles a few times but makes it to the top. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Nice sized master bedroom furnished with antiques. Dark. LEVI FOSTER, handsome and in his mid-twenties, is asleep on the bed. He hears Vivienne, which prompts him to pull the covers over his head. Vivienne intentionally falls face-forward into the bed, on top of the covers. INT. KITCHEN - DAY Clean. Organized. The window blinds are up. The room is illuminated by the sun. Levi, in a white button-up, dark blue tie, dark gray dress pants, and wearing a wedding ring fixes himself a cup of coffee. He sits at the kitchen table in a chair in direct sunlight. He puts his coffee by his bowl of oatmeal. Levi picks up the front page of the newspaper and reads. Vivienne, still wearing last nights clothes, enters in a slow pace. She winces and covers her eyes, blinded by the sun. She goes to the windows, puts down the blinds, and closes them half-way. Levi takes a sip of his coffee, but pays no attention to his wife. (CONTINUED)

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2.

Vivienne gets a small glass cup and fills it with water from the tap. She grabs the bottle of aspirin off the counter, opens it, and pops two. She opens a cabinet, retrieves a mug, and pours herself a cup of coffee, black. She sits at the kitchen table. They sit in silence, in their own worlds. EXT. ST. JAMES HOSPITAL - DAY Nice, upper class suburban hospital. INT. ST. JAMES HOSPITAL - NURSES STATION - DAY Levi, wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck, in addition to his attire from the morning, stands at the desk. He examines a patients records, which are attached to his clipboard. He looks at his watch, then at the nurse on duty. LEVI Im taking my break. INT. BREAK ROOM - DAY Levi sits on the break room couch with an audible sigh. The door opens and CHASE WILLIAMS, 26, well-built man wearing typical doctor attire, appears. He is energetic and always the center of attention. CHASE Hey, Levi! Hows your day? LEVI Tiring. Chase pours himself a cup of coffee and adds one packet of Stevia. CHASE Weve only been here for a couple hours. Any rough patients? He takes a sip of coffee, smiles. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: LEVI No. Chase sits near Levi. CHASE Hows it going with Vivienne? Silence. CHASE (CONTD) That good, huh? Did she go out again last night? LEVI Yup. Just like the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that... CHASE What are you going to do? LEVI (defeated) What CAN I do? CHASE Youve talked to her about it, right? LEVI Ive tried. She doesnt listen. CHASE How about we have a double date night where we just chill out at your place. That way Viv will have no excuse, we can keep her away from drinking, and Ill bring Anna. LEVI I guess its worth a shot. INT. FOSTER HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

3.

ANNA WILLIAMS, mid-twenties, in skinny jeans and a casual blouse, stands across from Vivienne, who is sitting on a couch. Anna is making wild gestures, playing charades. Levi and Chase sit across from each other, intently watching Anna. (CONTINUED)

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4.

Anna swings a "golf club." VIVIENNE Golf! Golfing! Anna motions "keep going." VIVIENNE (CONTD) Uh! Golf ball! Golf club! Anna shakes her head, makes a "go back" motion. Vivienne is confused and flustered. She sees the top of the small hourglass on the table about to become empty. Anna swings the "golf club" again. VIVIENNE (CONTD) Golf cart? Golf...tee? CHASE Oh! Times up! VIVIENNE Damn! What was it? ANNA "Fore!" Everyone laughs. VIVIENNE What? You cant be serious! Anna hands Vivienne a small card that reads, "Fore." LEVI Ok, thats enough charades for tonight! How about some Clue? Vivienne heads to the kitchen. VIVIENNE I need a drink. Anna and Chase look at Levi, who is disappointed. Anna goes to the kitchen.

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INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Vivienne pours two glasses of wine. She hands one to Anna. ANNA Oh, no thanks. Im cutting back. VIVIENNE Oh. Sorry. ANNA So, any luck with the job search yet? Vivienne drinks her wine. VIVIENNE Nope. ANNA Have you picked up any cool hobbies? Silence. Have I told you what I really love to do? I mean, I love my job, sure, but what I really love to do is ghost hunt. I know it sounds absurd, but its true! Vivenne nods, a bit skeptical. ANNA (CONTD) (hesitant) Listen. I know youve hit a rough patch. It happens. You just have to look on the bright side. Vivienne scoffs. ANNA (CONTD) Use this time to explore yourself. View it as a sabbatical. FADE TO BLACK INT. FOSTER HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY The blinds are shut, but some light seeps through. Vivienne lays in bed, somewhere in between sleep and consciousness. The clock on the nightstand reads 12:01.

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Uncomfortable, she gets up and heads to the bathroom. INT. KITCHEN - DAY The kitchen is clean and bright with sunlight. Vivienne, in pajamas, pops a TV dinner into the microwave. INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Vivienne gently and purposefully plops the TV dinner on a tray table by the couch. She sits down, pulls the table close to her, and turns on the TV. TV You had sex for a cheeseburger? And ended up having triplets? A loud THUD is heard coming from directly above Vivienne. She notices, but takes another bite of her meal. TV How will you be able to afford kids meals for your children if you cant even buy a cheeseburger. It sounds like a vicious cycle! CRASH. GLASS SHATTERS. Vivienne jumps, becomes on edge. She cautiously goes to investigate. INT. FOYER - DAY Vivienne walks by the front door on the way to the stairs. She grabs the pepper spray by her keys. INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY Vivienne grips the pepper spray tight, with her finger on the trigger. Very slowly she walks down the hall. She passes by a broken vase lying on the ground. She notices, keeps walking. She checks out the whole upstairs, does not find anyone. She returns to the vase, picks up some of the pieces, and wonders. FADE TO BLACK

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INT. FOSTER HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT Vivienne, still wearing her pajamas, breaks down a cardboard box that reads, "Lasagna - Dinner for Two." LEVI (O.S.) (humorously) Honey, Im home! Levi walks in the kitchen, elated. VIVIENNE (sharply) Well, someone had a good day. LEVI It was great! Nothing went wrong and all my patients are doing really well! VIVIENNE How great. LEVI How was your day? Anything exciting happen? VIVIENNE The vase upstairs broke... LEVI Oh, thats ok. I was never that into it, anyway. VIVIENNE But its not that...It broke by itself. LEVI What do you mean? It grew legs and was like, "I dont want to live on this planet anymore!"? VIVIENNE No, I mean I was downstairs and I heard a crash upstairs. And I checked to see if anyone was here, but there wasnt! Levi goes over to Vivienne and puts his hand on her forehead.

(CONTINUED)

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8.

LEVI Are you feeling ok? FADE TO BLACK INT. FOSTER HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY Vivienne sits cross-legged on the floor by the coffee table. On it lies a Ouija Board. Viviennes hands are on the planchette, the moving piece. "S-T-U-P-I-D." Vivienne laughs at the ridiculousness. She then feels the vibration of someone HUMMING in her ear. She jumps, hitting her legs on the table. The Ouija Board falls off the table. She stands up and hurries out the front door. EXT. FOSTER HOUSE - FRONT PORCH - DAY VIVIENNE What the FUCK was that?! FADE TO BLACK INT. FOSTER HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY Bright with sunlight. Anna, wearing jeans and a casual blouse, and Vivienne, in jeans and a tight-fit tee, sit on the couch. A flashlight, K2 Meter, and an audio recorder lie on the coffee table. ANNA Im really glad you want to learn about ghost hunting! Its really fun, and not scary, I promise! Vivienne picks up the K2 meter and examines it. ANNA (CONTD) Thats a K2 meter. It measures EMFs, or Electromagnetic Fields. EMFs naturally occur, but if there are weird spikes, its possible that there is a ghost around. Theres a connection between high EMFs and paranormal activity. (CONTINUED)

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9.

Vivienne nods, but doesnt really follow. ANNA (CONTD) My favorite piece of equipment, though, is probably the good old audio recorder. It can be used to do EVP sessions, which is short for Electronic Voice Phenomenon. For some reason, you can have the recorder going while you ask questions, and sometimes you can hear responses to those questions when you play back the audio! VIVIENNE Woah. Thats crazy. ANNA I know! And Im tired of acting like an old, boring college prof so how about we jump in and try it? VIVIENNE Now? Will it work during the day? ANNA (laughing) Oh, you have so much to learn. INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY Vivienne and Anna look at the area where the vase broke. Anna holds the audio recorder and K2 Meter. She sits down, and Vivienne follows her lead. Anna presses "Record" on the recorder, and sets it and the K2 Meter down on the floor between the two women. ANNA Ok, you see how the K2 has one green light right now? Well, if it goes into the yellow or red, then we may have company. VIVIENNE Ok. How do we do the audio thing? ANNA We just ask questions, kind of like a conversation, but we just dont know what the other side is saying.

(CONTINUED)

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10.

VIVIENNE Sounds familiar. ANNA Lets start off with some basic questions. (pause) Can you please tell us your name? Silence. ANNA (CONTD) Good! Its important to give a pause so we can allow for a response. Now you try. VIVIENNE Um. How old are you? Silence. ANNA Great question! (pause) Can you please give us a sign of your presence? Silence. VIVIENNE Where are you fro... A KNOCK on the wall, a few feet away from the women, is heard. Vivienne becomes anxious. Anna is excited. They remain silent until the few knocks are done. ANNA Do you need help? The K2 meter flashes red. Both womens eyes widen. Vivienne goes pale. Anna smiles. ANNA We have this device right here that you can talk into and we will be able to hear you when we play it back. Tell us how we can help you. Silence. The K2 meter shows a solid red. A few seconds pass. The K2 meter goes down to yellow, then back to one green light. Down the hall, a THUD.

(CONTINUED)

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ANNA (CONTD) (yells down the hall) Thank you! She looks at Vivienne, then pressed "stop" on the recorder. Lets go check out this audio! INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Anna and Vivienne sit at a computer, which displays a program with sound waves. Both wear over-ear headphones and are listening intently. Vivienne winces. Anna has her eyes closed in concentration. In unison, they both widen their eyes and look at each other. Vivienne shivers. VIVIENNE Oh my God.