Temple of Time

FADE IN:
EXT. FOREST - DAYTIME

EXTREME LONG SHOT of four college students are hanging out in

an enclosed forest. The four friends, JUSTIN, HAILEY, SCOTT,
and ALEX find a place in the forest to sit down and chill.

In a MEDIUM SHOT Hailey points towards some fallen trees.

SHOT REVERSE SHOT of the each person talking

HAILEY
Hey guys look, we can sit on those broken trees.

ALEX
But they are dirty and slippery and I’m not trying to explain
to my parents why I came home all muddy.

SCOTT
Alex mate I swear you're 18 in a few weeks? How are you
worried about getting dirt on your clothes?

ALEX
You know what my parents are l....

Before Alex can finish his reply Scott pushes him into a bush.

Hailey looks at Scott annoyingly.

SCOTT
(Giggling)
What?

JUSTIN
Not cool bro.

Justin winks at Scott as Hailey walks off towards the broken

trees.

SCOTT
 (Under his breath)
Simp.
In a TWO SHOT Justin walks faster to catch up with Hailey.

JUSTIN
(Awkwardly)
Scott is so annoying right?

Hailey smiles and looks down to the floor.

CUT TO:

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT looking towards Justin and Hailey.

Scott turns around as Alex is dusting himself off.

SCOTT
Hey Alex, do you think Hailey and Justin will ever get
together? It’s almost like we’re in a movie and those two are
too dense to realise they like each other.

ALEX
Uhm...not even a “sorry” for pushing me into a bush?

SCOTT
Eh we’ll get to that later, but seriously, what do you think?

ALEX
I think you’re a prick for pushing me into that bush.

Scott stares down Alex.

ALEX
(Continued, sighs)
Fine, I guess they’re just waiting for either one to make the
first move. Justin has liked her for way too long to let her
just run away from him.

SCOTT
I guess so.

LONG SHOT as the group get to the trees and sit down. Justin
sits next to Hailey.

JUSTIN
 (Claps his hands once)
So, what we doing?

SCOTT
Don’t you mean “who”?

Scott winks at Justin.

HAILEY
You’re disgusting Scott.

JUSTIN
(Giggling)
How are you saying that when I asked a question to the group?

Scott pauses to think of a reply.

JUSTIN
(Continued)
We’re not gonna roll up on someone and go to town on them.

Everyone bursts into laughter.

ALEX
Seriously though, what are we actually doing here?

The group hear a “whoosh” in the wind and it picks up

intensely. WORMS-EYE VIEW SHOT as the branches on the trees
begin to spiral out of control.

JUSTIN
(Startled)
What’s going on?

Some of the branches fall off the trees, one almost lands on
Hailey. TRACKING SHOT of the branch falling.

MEDIUM SHOT as Hailey screams and clings on to Justin. Justin

awkwardly hugs her to keep her safe.

SCOTT
(Sarcastically)
It’s over now you can stop with the PDA.
Justin and Hailey look at each other and let go of each other.
They start awkwardly giggling.

ALEX
I knew we should’ve gone somewhere else today.

SCOTT
Alright Mystic Meg relax. It was just wind, it’s not like the
world is ending.

HAILEY
Yeah Alex for once I agree with Scott, nothing to worry about.

Justin looks over at Hailey surprised.

SCOTT
Sick...Well I’m not watching whatever this turns into so I’ll
be back in about 10 minutes to allow you to, you know (raises
eyebrows).

Scott wanders further into the forest.

Justin, Alex and Hailey stay back and talk.

INAUDIBLE SOUNDS

As Scott goes deeper into the forest he notices strange

objects appearing on the ground and hidden under fallen
leaves. The first being an hourglass stuck in a mud puddle.

He carries on walking, going past obscure shaped trees and

pushes. He looks at one bizarrely for a couple of seconds
before carrying on through the forest.

Scott reaches an open space in the forest where the trees form
a circle around a singular tree stump. The wind from before
returns ferociously and blows a pile of leaves off of the tree
stump.

Scott approaches the stump and finds a small piece of paper in

one of the cracks. It reads “Time is endless, the end stops
time”
 SCOTT
What the fuck?

The ground begins to rumble and the stump splits open with a
glowing light beaming out of it. Scott jumps back in shock and
looks up at the beam of light.

CUT TO:

Back with the group, Justin and Alex are talking about Hailey
as she goes to find Scott.

ALEX
So what’s going on with you and Hailey?

JUSTIN
Nothing bro.

ALEX
Are you seriously gonna deny that after we all saw you two
cling on to each other like that? You’ve liked her for so
long.

JUSTIN
Yeah nothing is going on right now.

ALEX
Right now?

JUSTIN
I know it’s obvious I like her, but why would she like me
back? I’m nothing special to write home about.

ALEX
Bro it doesn’t matter what you think about yourself, what
matters is what she thinks. She was the one that jumped to you
when she almost got hit by that branch.

JUSTIN
I don’t know man, what if I fuck up?

ALEX
That’s better than not trying at all.
Hailey rushes back to Justin and Alex.

HAILEY
(Worried)
Guys something is wrong.

All three race to the center of the forest where Scott is, all
looking up at the beam of light in disarray.

JUSTIN
(Shocked)
Scott are you okay?

SCOTT
Yeah I’m fine, this shit is fucked up though. Look at this
piece of paper I found in the tree.

Scott shows everyone the quote on the paper.

The light stops beaming from the stump.

Scott walks towards it and finds what looks like a board game.
The box is old and dusty, on the front it reads “Temple of
Time”.

ALEX
Yeah I definitely should’ve stayed home today.

SCOTT
Are you seriously wimping out now? We at least need to open it
and check it out.

ALEX
(Frustrated)
Are you out of your mind?

SCOTT
I mean we have nothing else planned, we might as well make the
day interesting.

JUSTIN
We could go back to my house and check it out, no one is home.

ALEX
 Justin please tell me you’re taking the piss.

JUSTIN
Alex remember what you told me earlier, it’s not what I think
about myself.

HAILEY
(Confused)
Huh?

Alex and Justin look at each other in shock.

ALEX AND JUSTIN TOGETHER

Uh, nothing?

SCOTT
Are we going then? Waiting around, especially in this weather,
isn’t a good idea.

HAILEY
Yeah but that wind came out of nowhere. It’s probably best to
go somewhere that’s inside.

JUSTIN
My house then?

ALEX
Looks like you’re not taking the piss.

SCOTT
(Excited)
YES! This is gonna be epic!

FADE TO:

INT. JUSTIN’S HOUSE - DAYTIME

Everyone sits down at the table in Justin’s living room to

open up the board game.
Justin opens the box and inside it looks like any ordinary
board game, a game board, two dice, player pieces and
instructions are all inside, plus a mysterious hourglass.

SCOTT
Hang on, I swear I’ve seen that hourglass today?

It takes Scott a second to realise that the hourglass from the

mud puddle had ended up inside the box.

SCOTT
(Murmured, confused)
But how?

HAILEY
What’s up Scott?

SCOTT
(Stunned)
I saw that hourglass stuck in a puddle on my way through the
forest before you all followed.

ALEX
Are you sure it’s the exact same one?

SCOTT
(Angrily)
Specs after the shit we’ve already seen today I don’t know how
this can’t be possible. We saw a light beam come up from a
fucking tree stump!

JUSTIN
Yeah Scott is right, it’s unsettling but he is right.

ALEX
Okay then what do we do now?

Justin picks up and reads the instructions.

JUSTIN
“Temple of Time. Roll the dice and move places on the board,
each space has a different task, some tasks are repeated..”
yeah pretty self explanatory now.
 HAILEY
Scott, wake up!

WHIP PAN to Scott falling asleep.

SCOTT
Shit, what did I miss?

JUSTIN
Nothing much, it seems like any other ordinary board game.

ALEX
(Sarcastically)
Yeah, except it came from a fucking light.

JUSTIN
We ready to play or not?

MONTAGE of the group playing the game, the longer it goes on

the more involved and enthusiastic they get.

An hour passes.

JUSTIN
How long does this game last?

HAILEY
It should be an hour, that’s why we have the hourglass right?

They all look to the hourglass. The sand has not moved.

HAILEY
(Continued)
Is it stuck?

SCOTT
That’s what she said.
ALEX
(Bluntly)
Wow you will never grow up.

SCOTT
(Smiling)
And I intend to keep it that way.
 JUSTIN
Does anyone hear a rumbling noise?

Everyone looks at each other and then looks outside the

window.

ALL
Shiiiit.