THE AIR-CONDITIONED NIGHTMARE By Jon Moncayo

First Draft - 11/29/13

EXT. OUTER SPACE A MAN floats aimlessly through the endless void of space. There is nothing here- no planets, no sun- only him. He is at the center of the abyss, surrounded by nothing but total blackness. He begins to choke, but not from lack of oxygen; something appears to be caught in his throat. The sound of his coughing is drowned out my the vast emptiness around him. His eyes roll into the back of his head as he starts to convulse. Finally he coughs up a thick black substance in his hands. It floats into his palms. He stares with great, morbid fascination before closing his eyes. He smears the tar-like substance across his face. His eyes open- they are bloodshot. The man screams- no sound. He screams until its loud enough that his voice finally breaks through the barrier. INT. ROOM - DAY The man opens his eyes, gasping for breath. His head is resting on a pillow soaked with sweat. The sound of an old air-conditioner RATTLES through the room. A quick tour of the room reveals a small television, a mini-fridge, peeling wallpaper, a dirty rug. Its obvious this is in fact a cheap motel room. And this particular cheap motel room is being occupied by a man named CAL. Cal kicks the sheets off the bed and sits up. The time on the alarm clock reads 3:55. Still early, and hes barely gotten any sleep. He shivers, having just now felt the temperature. The air-conditioner has been blowing all night. The room is freezing. Cal gets up to check how cold it is, and the A/C reads off 60 degrees. It feels much colder. He turns it off and makes his way to the bathroom. The camera lingers on the air-conditioner, slowly zooming in. WATER RUNNING can be heard off-screen. INT. BATHROOM - DAY The sink hasnt been cleaned in quite some time. Cal turns the faucet and dries his face with a towel. Suddenly he hears an unsettling noise. RATTLING.

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INT. ROOM - DAY He peaks his head out through the doorway to get visual confirmation. Cal slowly exits the bathroom, looking very confused. The air-conditioner is running full-force. He stands in the middle of the room and begins to look around, as if he expects to find someone in there with him. He finds no one. CAL Who the fuck?... He glances at the door. Unlocked. Once again he walks over and turns off the A/C. He turns his attention back to the door, and starts taking careful steps toward it. His eye draws nearer to the peephole; his hand gradually reaches for the doorknob. Hes not sure what awaits him on the other side, but hes nervous. Someone is playing games, but who? He grasps the knob and gently turns it. But before he can open the door... he hears a noise coming from behind him. RATTLING. Cal knows what the sound is, but he turns around to see it himself. Sure enough, the air-conditioner is blowing once again. He cautiously moves toward it before realizing- if someone is screwing with him, they cant be outside. They must be in the room with him right now. He quickly makes his way back to the bathroom. INT. BATHROOM - DAY He hastily pulls back the shower curtain- nothing. If not here, then where? The motel room is not at all spacious; there are not many places to hide. INT. ROOM - DAY Cal moves toward the bed, gets down, and checks underneath. Again, no one is there- he is bewildered. Surely someone must be responsible. He walks back over to the air-conditioner and turns it off once more. He decides hed be better off going back to sleep. After taking a few steps back toward the bed- RATTLING. The air-conditioner is on. Cal turns around; he is no more than three feet away from the machine.

(CONTINUED)

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CAL How the fuck? He presses the button. This time, it doesnt work. The air-conditioner does not turn off- as if it refuses to follow his orders. He hits the button again. And again. He repeatedly hits the button to no avail. He decides the button must be broken, and yanks the plug out of the socket. The A/C shuts off. Relief washes over him; he can finally go back to bed. He lays down and pulls the sheets over him. And as soon as his eyelids close... RATTLING. His eyes shoot open and his body violently jerks out of bed. He moves toward the air-conditioner and in a fit of rage throws a closed fist right into it. CAL MOTHERFUCKER! FUCK! He pulls back his hand in pain, immediately regretting his decision. He let his anger get the best of him. Cal shakes off the sting and fixates his gaze upon the A/C. The camera once again slowly zooms toward the box as it continues to rattle and blow cold air in the face of Cal. Taunting him. Mocking him. Cal decides hes had enough- he puts on his shoes and heads toward the door. But this time when he goes to turn the knob, it too refuses to turn. The door is unlocked, but the knob will not budge. He violently pulls the door again and again but it does not move. Cal yells for help, hoping anyone out there will hear him. CAL HEY! HEY SOMEONE COME OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR! LET ME OUT! Cal punches the door out of frustration; there is no escape from this prison. Cal falls to his knees, out of breath. Then he remembers- the window! He hops up and runs over, pulls back the curtain to reveal... nothing. He slowly backs away, stunned by the solid wall in place of where a window should be. He stops and turns around, looking back at the air-conditioner. His expression quickly changes from that of a man whos scared of this machine, to that of a man whos determined to beat it.

(CONTINUED)

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Cal grips the machine as tightly as he possibly can, and begins trying to pull it out of the wall. He uses all his strength, but it too will not budge. After a minute or so of exerting himself, he admits defeat and falls to the floor. He lies down on his back, staring at the ceiling. Directly at the light above him. His eyes feel the strain of the bright bulb, but he does not look away. His face is empty he is no longer here. Its so cold in the room that his breath is now visible. CLOSE ON Cals face as a smile begins to form. The sound of WAVES CRASHING against the shore of a beach, SEAGULLS high up in the sky, the WIND blowing across the sand. Instead of a motel carpet, hes lying on a beach towel. For a moment, he has escaped his air-conditioned nightmare. The light bulb BLOWS OUT and gives him a rude awakening- he is thrust back into the current predicament. Cal his the his gets to his feet and paces around the room, glancing at enemy. He sits down on the bed, his eyes still locked on A/C. At this point hes drained; he places his head in hands. The situation has given him a serious headache.

Somethings not right. He senses a disturbance somewhere around him. Looks to his left, then his right. Gets down on his knees, checks under the bed; theres nothing there. As he gets back up, he notices something protruding from underneath the bed sheet. A strange outline of some object. Carefully he begins to pull back the sheet. A long, wooden handle is revealed. He continues to pull the sheet slowly until the object is in full view. A sledgehammer. Again he looks around, but by now he knows he is completely alone. Theres no possible way another person could have put this here. He reluctantly reaches down and grabs the handle, just to make sure hes not hallucinating. He picks it up and holds it in front of him with both hands. CLOSE ON the sledgehammer- the word "TRUTH" is written across the head in bold, red letters. Cal stares intently at this new found friend. Any feelings of confusion are already gone. He does not care where it came from, but he knows just what to do with it. A sinister smile forms.

(CONTINUED)

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He loosens his grip on the handle and lets the hammer reach the floor, tightening once more as soon as the head hits the rug. The camera follows the sledgehammer as its dragged across the room; it then comes to a stop. Cal lifts it up once more, both hands gripping it in front of him. His gaze hints hed like to kiss this weapon of his as a sign of affection. He swings it back over his shoulder to gain momentum and prepares to deliver a fatal blow. Everything begins to move in slow motion. Cal swings at his enemy with all his might. The camera follows the sledgehammer on its voyage. It feels like an eternity. Contact is made; the hammer strikes and busts the surface of the air-conditioner. Everything is back to its normal pace. Cal stares for a moment- the machine has finally stopped. There is no relief in his face; he knows better. And sure enough, the rattling begins once more. He wastes no time and takes another swing, bashing it again. And again. Cal releases some of his frustration with each and every hit. Pieces of the unit are breaking off, flying across the room. After several swings... the A/C surrenders. The rattling has ceased. No more noise. No more cold air. The machine has stopped. Cal breathes heavily, wiping sweat from his forehead. He slowly backs away. His foe has seemingly been vanquished- but hes reluctant to accept the victory. Not yet. He takes a couple more steps back. Cal stops in his tracks. Its no longer silent. A faint sound is coming from the air-conditioner; not the familiar rattling, but instead a DRONING sound. The DRONING builds and builds. Cal has not moved. The DRONING escalates to RUMBLING. And then... BOOM. Cal is startled but he does not look away. Silence once more. The camera lingers on Cals face. Then on the machine. Slowly zooming. Closer and closer. And suddenly- blood shoots out of the air-conditioner with the force of a fire hose. A geyser of blood blasts Cal, covering him head to toe. He drops the sledgehammer and tries to shield himself with his hands, but its no use. After a few seconds, the eruption subsides.

(CONTINUED)

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Cal has been showered in blood. He attempts to shake it off and tries to regain his composure. Before he can even take a step... RATTLING. The A/C unit once again turns itself on, now with blood dripping down its wrecked exterior. CUT TO: INT. BATHROOM - DAY CUT to the bathtub as it fills with water. Cals shirt is off. He runs his hand under expecting warm water; its freezing cold. He turns the faucet all the way- the pipes make a CLANGING noise. The water stops running. He tries the sink- nothing. No water. Cal washes himself off with the cold water he managed to secure. He wipes off as much blood as he can with the complimentary towels. He tosses them aside and grabs his bloody shirt. Theres no point in trying to wash it; hed be better off facing the cold with no shirt than a wet one. The camera focuses on his left forearm. Several indistinct marks- maybe scars. He puts his shirt back on too fast to get a clear look. CUT TO: INT. ROOM - DAY Small icicles hang from the doorknob. The ceiling light flickers. CUT to the alarm clock; the time is now 6:19 AM. The numbers can barely be made out through the frost forming on the clock. Frost is forming everywhere- it looks more like a freezer than a motel room. Cal sits on the bed, wrapped in the cheap bedsheets, trying his best to stay warm. No luck. He cant keep himself from shivering. The beast continues to growl and fill the room with cold air. He rips the curtains off the wall and wraps himself in those as well. No amount of layers can battle the cold. Cal reaches over and jerks open the drawer next to the bed. It has nearly been frozen shut. Inside he finds only an old bible. Hes never been a religious man, but at this point hed believe in anything. (CONTINUED)

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He pulls out the book and opens it to the first page. A photograph falls out of the bible and into Cals lap. He puts down the book and picks up the photo. He studies it for a moment- his face fills with unease. Even after all thats happened, he still has trouble believing what he sees. A shot of the photograph reveals its of Cal himselfpictured with another man and a woman. Its unclear whether these are friends or siblings. Its unclear if this woman is his lover- or was. What is clear is that Cal is deeply disturbed by the presence of this picture. Cal drops the picture and grabs the bible once again. He flips through the pages- several more photographs fall out. He jumps out of bed and the photos scatter all over the floor. Only a few land face up, and the ones in view all feature Cal in some fashion. By himself or with others, all at different stages in his life. He runs his hand through his hair and looks around, trying to figure out his next move. Cal takes a deep breath and reaches into his pocket. The camera focuses on his hand as he pulls out a matchbook with the name of the motel on it. CUT to a pile of all the photographs and pages ripped out of the bible on the bed. Cal stands over it and lights a match. He uses the lit match to light the others in the matchbook and drops it onto the pile. The pages ignite, then the photos, then the sheets. A fire begins to spread. Smoke fills the room as Cal turns toward the air-conditioner. He inhales the smoke and coughs. Cal takes a seat on the bloodstained carpet, right in the middle of the room. Right next to the sledgehammer. His gaze is fixated on the A/C. He smiles; hes found his way out. He into his hand again. He examines it- a black substance in his palm. The flames continue to spread. The smoke is overwhelming. Cal lies down on his back and closes his eyes. The air-conditioner is still running. The scene fades to black. FADE OUT. FADE IN:

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CUT to the alarm clock. There is no time displayed, but time has definitely passed. The room is darker than it was before. The flames have subsided. The bed is no longer on fire; there is only a pile of ash and debris. CLOSE ON the air-conditioner. Still with its wrecked surface. Frost and frozen blood. Out of no where, the RATTLING stops. The machine is off. The door opens. All that can be seen through the doorway is white. After a moment, a wheelchair rolls in. A MAN follows soon after. His face cannot be seen. He picks up Cal and sits him in the wheelchair. He then begins to push Cal out of the room. The camera follows the wheels of the chair through the doorway until its swallowed up by the blanket of white. A few seconds pass. SEAGULLS are squawking. WIND is blowing, the OCEAN is roaring. FADE IN: EXT. BEACH - DAY Cal wakes up in the wheelchair, alone in the middle of the beach. He looks around, but he is not the least bit confused. He knows exactly where he is. And its exactly where he wants to be. He stands up from the wheelchair and begins walking toward the ocean. The camera pans up. The sun is shining. Theres a rainbow in the sky. THE END.