Audition Sides - 3.22.

21
MATTEO 4.

Suddenly these DREAM PEOPLE sit up in bed and stare at Dave.

They speak to Dave in a whisper that echoes through the room.

DREAM PEOPLE
We bare a message... Beware of the
elephant.

One of the dream people gets out of bed and rings the whale's
uvula like it's a bell.

DING! DING!

The Dream people begin to CHANT:

DREAM PEOPLE
Ma-Weh. Ke-no. Na-Wah./ Ma-Weh. Ke-
no. Na-Wah.

The walls of the temple/whale's mouth begin to tremble as the

dream people continue to chant.
START
SCENE 1 MATTEO
(distant)
Dave? DAVE!

PRE-LAP: The sound of GLASS BREAKING.

INT. DEXALABS SECURITY ROOM - NIGHT

MATTEO (O.S.)
DAVE!

Dave GASPS as he snaps awake.

We’re in a small control room with a desk and several

surveillance monitors.

As Dave lifts his head, he suddenly realizes that -

He's fallen backwards in his chair and collapsed on the

floor.

As Dave brushes his hair back, BLOOD drips onto his forehead.

DAVE
What the fu....

Dave sees that he's bleeding from a gash on his hand. Dave's
partner, MATTEO, a night watchmen in his early thirties
stands over him looking concerned.

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 5.

MATTEO
Don't get up, man! There's glass
all over the fucking floor! I'll
get the first aid kit.

TIME CUT:

Dave winces as Matteo pours hydrogen peroxide on his cut. He

bites open a bandage and adheres it to the wound.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
There you go.

DAVE
Thanks man. I really appreciate it.

MATTEO
Oh it's my pleasure. I love
spending my 4th of July like this.
Instead of sipping a beer at the
beach, I'm stuck here taking care
of your crazy ass.

DAVE
Love you too, pal.

MATTEO
You really don’t remember any of
it?

Dave shakes his head.

DAVE
I was having a crazy dream...

MATTEO
I shit you not, man. You were just
sitting there, mumbling to
yourself. Then you started throwing
your pills around the fucking room.

DAVE
Really?

MATTEO
Yes, you psycho! Then you fell
backwards, and smashed a glass...

DAVE
Jesus.

MATTEO
I should’ve filmed you and uploaded
that shit.

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 6.

Matteo avoids the glass as he walks across the room and grabs
the dust pan. He starts sweeping the floor.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
There’s still a couple pills on the
floor. You want’em?

DAVE
Hell yes I do.

Matteo picks them up.

MATTEO
They've got some hairs on'em.

DAVE
Don’t care at all.

Matteo hands them to Dave, who blows the hairs off the pills
and drops them into their bottle. Matteo keeps sweeping up.

MATTEO
You’ve gotta be careful with that
shit, man. A friend of mine at the
VA hospital was on this crap, and
one night he woke up and found out
that he had driven to the parking
lot of his kid’s school. He had no
fucking idea how he got there. He
didn’t remember getting out of bed
and driving his car. 

DAVE
I know. I know. It’s just a
temporary thing. I’m trying to get
used to sleeping alone. 

Matteo smiles and puts down the dust pan.

MATTEO
You need someone to keep your bed
warm? Give me your phone.

Matteo reaches for Dave’s phone, but Dave swipes it away.

DAVE
No.

MATTEO
C’mon. I’ll do it all for you.

DAVE
No way...

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 7.

Matteo sits.

MATTEO
Yup. Tonight’s the night, man. I’m
signing you up; all the dating
apps, Hinge, tinder, we’re doing
this. 

Dave groans.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
It’s easy. You create a profile -
And you write something like Hi, my
name is Dave, I'm twenty-nine, and
I’m weird as fuck. Then you just
swipe right, swipe right, swipe
right...

DAVE
It sounds like the worst video game
ever. 

MATTEO
Except it’s better than a video
game because you can actually get
laid. 

DAVE
I’m not ready yet. Maybe next week.

MATTEO
What the hell are you waiting for?
It's not like Katie's coming back.

Dave glares at Matteo.

DAVE
Fuck you.

MATTEO
Bro, I’m sorry. But how long has it
been since she ghosted you? Two...
three weeks?

Matteo rolls closer in his chair.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
I know you’re dealing with some
shit right now, trying to get a
handle on your condition - but the
guys who did best who came back
from Iraq made an effort, even the
fucked up ones with PTSD...
(MORE) END

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 11.

MATTEO (O.S.)
(distant)
Dave! You here?! What the hell is
going on?!

SMASH CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL LOBBY - DAY

Dave, Linda, and Katie sit across from Matteo in the lobby.
They watch him in silence, as he holds his head in his hands.

START MATTEO
Jesus Christ.
SCENE 2
As he covers his face, he makes a noise - it’s hard to tell
if he’s laughing or crying.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
This is a nightmare.

He lets out a loud breath that turns into a scream.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
FUCKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

Matteo stands and starts pacing nervously. The others just

sit in silence, unsure what to say.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
I mean, you can't be a hundred
percent sure that it's sleep,
right? It's just so fucking crazy.

LINDA
Yeah. It is crazy, but look at
what’s happened... Everyone who
went to sleep last night is dead,
and everyone who was awake is still
alive. So as crazy as this sounds,
it seems to be connected to sleep.

Matteo pulls out his phone and dials frantically.

MATTEO
I gotta call my mom. She lives in
El Paso. I gotta call my sister -

DAVE
Take all the time you need, man.
Give them a buzz.

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 12.

LINDA
Just remember that with every
minute that passes, we'll grow more
and more tired. I'm going to need
the both of you to help me -

DAVE
(cutting her off)
Thanks Linda. We got it.

Katie turns to Linda.

KATIE
Why don’t we give the guys a
minute?

Linda stands.

LINDA
I'll be at my station. In ten
minutes, I'll need help with the
cadavers.

Katie and Linda exit the lobby.

Matteo paces, making a call - RING. RING. RING...

MATTEO
Fuck. She isn’t picking up.

We hear the BEEP of a voicemail over the phone -

MATTEO (CONT’D)
Mama. Es tu Hijo. Llámame.
(he hangs up)
You think she’s okay?

Dave puts a hand on Matteo’s shoulder.

DAVE
I don’t know what’s happening. But
we're going to figure it out, okay?
Just take a breath.

Matteo takes a deep breath and pulls Dave in for a hug.

MATTEO
I'm glad I got you here, man.

DAVE
Me too.

Matteo steps back, seemingly calmer.

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 13.

MATTEO
Yo. Do you trust this chick?

DAVE
Linda? Umm, I don't know. I guess
so. I just met her last night.
She's an ER nurse so, she's pretty
intense, but that's probably a good
thing given the situation.

MATTEO
You sure she’s a nurse?

DAVE
Yeah. She works right here.

MATTEO
I don’t know, bro. I know plenty of
nurses... from Iraq, from the VA,
and she doesn't act like no nurse.

DAVE
And how do nurses act?

MATTEO
Not like her.

DAVE
Well, she's a little odd. It
probably doesn't help that we're
running on no sleep.

MATTEO
It's funny, man. You haven't been
able to sleep your whole fucking
life. Maybe that'll help you now. END

Off Dave's expression, staring into the distance -

CUT TO:

BEGIN FLASHBACK -

EXT. M.I.N ENTRANCE - DAY

SUPER: “Yucca Valley, California. 1995.”

Tracy and John stand with Child Dave outside the entrance of
a large adobe style medical clinic. The sign out front reads
“The Mojave Institute of Neuropsychology”.

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 19.

START LINDA
Dave Torres and Matteo...?
SCENE 3
Matteo flips the camera on himself.

MATTEO
Matteo Leon. I’m a Capricorn. I
like cross fit and college
basketball -

DAVE
Matteo...

MATTEO
What?

LINDA
We are examining the cadavers of
four individuals...

As Linda talks, she pulls back the sheets that cover the
cadavers.

LINDA (CONT’D)
Duane Bradley. Sixteen-year-old
male. Checked into the hospital on
the evening of July 4th for first
degree burns. John Trent, fifty-
year old male. Checked in for
severe heartburn. And...

Linda pauses, staring down at the lifeless MOM and her INFANT
SON, who Dave saw die in the waiting room. They’ve kept the
baby in his mother’s arms.

LINDA (CONT’D)
Nola Carveth. Thirty-one-year old
female and her six-week-old son.
(sighs)
She checked in this morning for an
injured ankle.
(beat)
We’ll start with Mr. Bradley.

Linda stands over the teenager. All of the bodies’ heads have
been shaved, with incision lines drawn around their skulls.

LINDA (CONT’D)
I’ve marked the incision on the
parietal, and will begin half a
centimeter above the left ear.
(to Dave)
Pass the bone saw.

LINDA
Pass the bone saw.
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 20.

Dave points to a tool on the surgical tray.

DAVE
This one?

Linda nods. Dave hands it to her.

LINDA
Thank you. And...

She flips the switch, turning on the ELECTRIC SAW. We see the
powerful blade begin to WHIRL.

LINDA (CONT’D)
Here we go.

The saw enters the skull, slicing deeply above the ear.

LINDA (CONT’D)
We are cutting along the
parietal...

The saw grinds through the teenager's head, when suddenly -

A SQUIRT OF BLOOD sprays from the incision and splashes on

Matteo's shirt and face mask.

DAVE MATTEO
Woah! Yo, what the fuck!

LINDA (CONT’D)
Shit.

MATTEO
(grossed out)
Oh! No. No. Fuck this shit!

LINDA
I must’ve hit a capillary...

Matteo runs to the sink.

MATTEO
Is it on my face?!

Matteo turns on the faucet and scrubs himself furiously.

MATTEO (CONT’D)
God damn it...

LINDA
It’s okay. It’s just a little
blood.

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 21.

MATTEO
I didn’t see any splash on you!

LINDA
I'm a nurse. I get sprayed with
blood every day.

MATTEO
Do you even know what the hell
you’re doing right now?

LINDA
If you want to take over pal, be my
guest.

MATTEO
What kind of nurse just cracks open
heads like their coconuts?

Dave SNIFFS the air, smelling something strange. He looks

over to the body.

LINDA
I have a PHD in Neurology. Okay? So
try to relax and follow my lead.

MATTEO
Then why the fuck are you working
as an ER nurse?!

DAVE
(staring at the body)
Hey...

LINDA
I wasn't always a nurse. I used to
work for Biostar.

MATTEO
Un-fucking-real man. I knew it.

DAVE
(fear rising)
Hey!

MATTEO
(To Dave)
This chick is into some deep state,
big pharma shit.

DAVE
HEY!

Dave grabs Matteo by the shoulder and points to the body.

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 22.

DAVE (CONT’D)
Look!

When Linda and Matteo look over to the body, SHOCK spreads
over their faces.

MATTEO
What the fuck?

LINDA
Step back.

They all shuffle backwards. Linda turns to Matteo -

LINDA (CONT’D)
Are you getting this?

Matteo raises his phone, recording -

THE BODY

There is a trail of smoke rising from the incision in the

corpses’s head.

Linda steps closer, carefully inspecting -

DAVE
What the hell is it?

LINDA
It looks like... smoke. It’s rising
from the incision I made with the
bone saw.

She turns on the electrical saw.

DAVE
What are you doing?

LINDA
I’m continuing with the incision -

DAVE
You sure about that?

Linda nods. She brings the saw down and continues along the
incision line, GRINDING against skull --

POOF - More smoke starts to rise as she cuts.

MATTEO
Oh Jesus.

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 23.

LINDA
(coughs)
It’s trapped inside the skull.

BZZZZT. More grinding as she keeps cutting.

DAVE
It smells like something burning.

BZZZZTTT. More GRINDING.

LINDA
I’m almost all the way around.

BZZZZTTTT.

LINDA (CONT’D)
Okay. I’m removing the skull cap...

Linda lifts off the top of the head and a large PLUME OF
SMOKE rises up from the brain. They all start COUGHING.

LINDA (CONT’D)
There’s just so much smoke.
(coughing)
It’s obscuring the brain...

Linda starts FANNING THE SMOKE away.

DAVE
Do you see anything?

Linda continues to fan, and then GASPS as she stares at the

inside of the skull.

Dave and Matteo peer inside, and are horrified by what they
see.

MATTEO
Holy shit.

DAVE
What is that?

LINDA
I don’t know. END

Linda grabs a pair of SURGICAL PLIERS and inserts them into

the skull. We hear SIZZLING. As she removes the pliers, we
see smoke rising from the end of the tool.

INSIDE THE SKULL -

12/13
 24.

We see a BURN, still glowing like a hot ember. It is a BLACK

TRIANGLE that is burnt on the surface of the subject’s brain.

CUT TO BLACK:

END OF EPISODE

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