ARTOS By Ian VanDuzer

Prep. For Francis Leeming FILM 312 December 4, 2013

INT. PUCKS HOUSE, HALLWAY - NIGHT PUCK, 6 years old but young for his age, starry eyes and floppy hair, staggers sleepily down the darkened hallways of his house. He clutches a worn TEDDY BEAR in his arms. He PADS down a single flight of stairs, turns the corner, and heads towards a lit doorway. He peers in.

INT. PUCKS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Inside the room warm with firelight, sits ARTHUR, prime age for a mid-life crisis, a father with a newspaper. The fire CRACKLES and SPITS throwing light into the room. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) When I was a little kid, I used to get really bad nightmares. Most of them starred my mom. They woke me up all the time. OLDER PUCK sounds like hes a new dad - early 30s, tired. The door CREAKS as Puck wanders into the room. Arthurs head immediately turns and in a flash he is by his sons side. ARTHUR Hey, hey hey hey hey. Shhhhh. Shhhh. He picks Puck up and carries him over towards the mantle. ARTHUR Nother nightmare, buddy? Huh? Its ok. Shhhhhh. Its right here. On the fireplace mantle is a TALL BLUE VASE that could have been bought on a trip to China. It has a crude rubber stopper stuffed into the opening. Arthur balances Puck on his hip and then takes the lid off of the jar. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) My dad had me convinced that he was a wizard. I thought he used his magic powers to create a magical jar that could swallow all my nightmares. It helped me sleep. As we are listening to the voiceover, Puck murmurs his bad dreams into the jar. We can barely make out what hes saying.

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PUCK (whispering) The dragon took mom and flew away, and he made a tornado with his wings and then the bear showed up and roared at me and then I was swimming and there were eels and -CUT TO: 3 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, BEDROOM - NIGHT Puck is tucked in by Arthur, who then hesitates in the doorway. We see his silhouette framed by the door as he watches his son drift off to sleep. Arthur rubs his chest QUIETLY COUGHS, and closes the door behind him. 4 EXT. PUCKS HOUSE, YARD - DAY A sunny day, no clouds in the sky. The green grass is penned in by a tall wooden fence that runs against the small brick townhouse. Puck is hunting for cats, stalking the bushes by the wall. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) Dad said later that it wasnt my fault. Still, part of me thinks it really was. He sees a flash of ginger hair and darts into the foliage. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) (cont) I found that cat cause I thought hed like it. A ginger, short-haired cat YOWLS as Puck manages to grab it around its midsection. 5 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY Puck wanders into the room carrying the CAT. The beast has apparently resigned itself to its fate at this point. Suddenly, it YOWLS and twists and falls out of Pucks arms. The cat leaps to the top of the mantle and, racing along it, knocks the blue jar off the mantle. It falls and CRASHES loudly on the floor. Arthur careens into the room from around the corner. The cat bolts out an open window.

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ARTHUR What the - PUCK! WHAT DID YOU DO? Puck is petrified, trapped between his father and the broken Pandoras box. ARTHUR THAT WAS YOUR MOTHERS. YOUR MOTHERS FAVOURITE VASE! WHAT DID YOU DO? Puck, eyes brimming with tears, lashes out. PUCK Stop! Dad, stop! He hits his father in the chest and we hear an almost-too-loud THUMP. Arthurs eyes widen as he falls to the floor. 6 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY (LATER) TWO PARAMEDICS lift Arthur onto a stretcher and strap him in for transport. A bunch of medical equipment - IVs, oxygen masks - cover Arthurs body. Puck is sitting on a chair watching the whole ordeal. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) The Greeks believed that a long time ago people used to be friends with bears. But then we stopped and now the bears dont like us anymore. Dad always said they can still keep us safe. We just need to show them whos boss. An old MAN, thin and bearded, enters the room and walks up to Puck. This is UNCLE THOM. UNCLE THOM Hey, Puck. PUCK Hi Uncle Thom. PUCK Arthur - your dad - hes gonna be just fine. Nothin to worry about. Hes just gotta go away for a little bit and get looked at.

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PUCK Ok. The Paramedics lift the stretcher and leave the room. UNCLE THOM Youre a good kid, yknow? You didnt mean to hurt him. PUCK He was scaring me. UNCLE THOM Yeah, Art can be a touch scary sometimes, huh. Anyways, I was thinkin I could take you out. PUCK Where? UNCLE THOM The markets today. Lots of candies an sweets. PUCK No thanks. UNCLE THOM That baker will be there. The one with the cookies you like. PUCK ... really? UNCLE THOM Yeah, let me take you to the market and Ill get you a cookie. PUCK ... ok. UNCLE THOM Thas the spirit. He ruffles the boys hair as Puck gets up out of the chair and walks out the door.

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EXT. PUCKS HOUSE - DAY Puck and Uncle Thom leave the house just as we see the paramedics SHUT the door to the ambulance, climb into the vehicle, and drive away. UNCLE THOM Cmon kid. Puck and Uncle Thom head to Thoms car: a beat-up something-or-other pickup that looks like it belongs in the 60s. Thom opens up the door and lifts Puck into his seat.

EXT. TOWN ROAD - DAY Dark clouds begin to billow overhead as Uncle Thoms car rabbles down the cobblestone street. Its an old British town, a la the rougher end of Liverpool. Brick townhouses frame a narrow street. The tips of trees peep out from over top of the roofs.

EXT. MARKET SQUARE - DAY A clearing in the middle of a claustrophobic city. The wind is HOWLING now, whipping the colourful canopies to and fro. Uncle Thom climbs out of the truck and lifts Puck down after him. The boy is almost knocked over by a gust of wind and he almost lets go of his teddy bear. UNCLE THOM See, theres the place. Puck dashes over to the colourful BAKERY TENT, which is a buttercream yellow. The table of baked goods (shortbreads, brownies, butter tarts) look so delicious and fresh we can almost smell them. BAKER Hey Thom! Quite the weather, huh? UNCLE THOM Hi Nick! Yeah, its a doozy. Lets get the kid a biscuit, eh? BAKER Sure thing. The baker wraps up a frosted shortbread cookie for Puck and hands it to him. Puck immediately chows down and takes a huge bite. A ginourmous grin breaks across his face.

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UNCLE THOM When did the wind get so bad? BAKER This morning. Outta nowhere. Now it looks like the storm of the century. Puck, bored with the conversation, starts wandering slowly around. UNCLE THOM Dontcha think - hey Puck, stay close now - dontcha think thats a bit harsh? Puck has wandered out of direct earshot. Still eating his shortbread, hes made his way to a tent full of ceramics. Hes looking at a GREEN JAR with embossed carvings of BEARS on it. POTTER You like bears, kid? And old woman, with wizened eyes and grey hair, stands behind the table. Puck nods, transfixed by the jar. In a moment of magic, one of the bear carvings turns its head and stares at Puck. He GASPS and the illusion is gone. POTTER (cont) Thats Artos. I saw her once, when I was a kid. Big mama bear out in the woods. Havent seen anything like that since. She shows up whenever nature has fallen off its kilter. Just to check up on things while her sprites make it right again. (beat) You dont talk much, do you kid? The Potter chuckles to herself, takes an apple out from under the table and takes a big bite out of it. We can hear the CRUNCH. PUCK Dad says not to talk to strangers.

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POTTER Thats good advice. Wheres your dad, kid? At that moment, a huge gust catches a giant red tent at the edge of the market. It blows into the side of another tent causing immediate panic. POTTER You oughtta find that man you came with and get home quick. Storms brewing and its not gonna be pretty. Uncle Thom hurries over at the sound of the crash and grabs Pucks arm. UNCLE THOM Alright, its too windy out here. Time to go, lets go, lets go. He leads Puck through the crowds, lifts him up into the pickup seat, and then Uncle Thom scrambles in himself. 10 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT A flickering fire lights one half of Pucks face. The blue glow of a TV lights the other half. Hes watching his favourite show and we can hear CARTOONISH BOOMS emanating from the tube. Hes wrapped up in blankets. Outside we hear the HOWLING wind. Hes slowly spooning tomato soup into his mouth. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) Not a lot of people blame kids for things that happen, but they can be guilty too. I was. I remember just thinking about how I was going to fix everything now that my world was falling apart. Uncle Thom comes into the room and kneels down next to the boy. UNCLE THOM Time for bed, Puck. Youve had a long day. PUCK Wheres dad?

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UNCLE THOM I guess hes gotta stay the night. He might be back when you wake up. Lets go. He scoops up Puck and carries him out of the room. 11 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, BEDROOM - NIGHT Uncle Thom puts Puck down and tucks the boy in. He kisses Pucks forehead and shuts the door on his way out. Darkness. Puck screws his eyes tightly shut and tries not to hear the HOWLING WIND and RATTLING BRANCHES slamming into his window. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) But how can you fix something like a storm? Or Pandoras Box? Once things are out, what can a kid do? The glass window SHATTERS as a tree limb comes CRASHING into Pucks room. Puck shoots straight up in his bead, petrified. Hes still for a moment, and then dashes out of the room... 12 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, HALLWAY - NIGHT ...and down the flight of steps, taking them two at a time. He peers into the lit living room and we see Uncle Thom, SNORING in a chair, watching the television. 13 EXT. PUCKS HOUSE - NIGHT Puck bolts out the door and runs down the center of the road, bare feet slapping the cobblestones. 14 INT. PUCKS HOUSE, BEDROOM - NIGHT The empty room, with the broken glass coating the floor in a silvery film. From the hallway we can hear Uncle Thom. UNCLE THOM (O.S.) Puck? Hey, you alright? He takes one step into the room and stops, surveying all he sees. UNCLE THOM PUCK? Shit, PUCK! PUCK! And turns tail and runs out of the room.

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EXT. FORESTS EDGE - NIGHT Puck veers off the street, now a gravelly road, and after a moments hesitation, dashes into the trees.

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EXT. THE DEEP FOREST - NIGHT Branches whip Pucks face as he stumbles through the darkness. He crashes through some bushes and into

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EXT. FOREST CLEARING - NIGHT Puck trips on a tree root and falls to the forest floor. He stays there a moment crying to himself. Wind is RUSTLING the trees. Mountains of clouds, illuminated by the glowing moon, fly across the sky. Suddenly we hear a LOW GROWLING. Puck looks up and sees from across the clearing a LARGE BLACK BEAR. The Bear trundles towards the boy and stops in the center of the clearing. Puck slowly, very slowly, rises to his knees. The Bear raises up on its hind legs and lets out a terrifying ROAR that shakes the trees themselves. Suddenly overcome with bravery, Puck leaps up and YELLS back at the bear with all the ferocity he can muster. The bear SLAMS back to its four legs and slowly steps closer to Puck until they are right in front of each other. The bear lifts its head, sniffs his hair, and HUFFS. PUCK I guess were friends now. Kind of. The bear turns around, gallumphing back into the woods. Puck stands silently in the clearing, awestruck, as a smile breaks out across his face. Above him, we can see that the clouds have cleared and it is now a beautiful starry night.

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EXT. TOWN ROAD - MORNING A tired, dirty, and disheveled Puck stumbles down the middle of the empty road. The sun rises in the distance, staining the sky pink.

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INT. PUCKS HOUSE, HALLWAY - MORNING Sunshine pours through the stained glass window of the houses front door, splashing the hallway with rainbows. A CLICK as the doorknob twists and opens to reveal Puck.

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INT. PUCKS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - MORNING Uncle Thom and Arthur (with dark rings under red eyes), rise from their chairs and turn to see Puck standing in the entrance to the room. ARTHUR Oh thank God. He lunges towards the sleepy Puck and wraps him in a giant bear hug. ARTHUR Where the hell did you go? Huh? Whered you go, scaring me like that twice in a day. I should lock you in that jar. PUCK Hi dad. Are you here to stay now? ARTHUR Im home forever. Im not leaving you ever again. Not until my heart stops for good. From in the corner, we hear: UNCLE THOM Arthur, the boy needs some sleep. Hes almost dead on his feet right now. ARTHUR Yeah, yeah. Arthur scoops up his son and carries him out into the

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INT. PUCKS HOUSE, HALLWAY - MORNING Where we began the film. As Arthur climbs the stairs with Puck in his arms we see a smiling, sleeping, contented Puck. OLDER PUCK (V.O.) I didnt need a magic jar after that. Meeting an ancient Bear God will do that: everything becomes (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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OLDER PUCK (V.O.) (contd) afraid of you instead of the other way around. So when my kids have nightmares now, I tell them: I used to be a little boy too, and a big bear saved me from the monsters. And you know what? Shes going to do the same thing for you. Arthur goes into Pucks Bedroom room, but we stay in the hallway and watch as the door swings shut. As soon as we hear the CLICK of the shutting door, we CUT TO BLACK.