LILIM

Sophie Breeze
INT. HOSPITAL - LATE NIGHT

MRS BARD (34) and her son, JACKSON (5) huddle close together
on a mattress in the emergency room examination bay. Most of
the other mattresses are occupied, paper curtains doing
little to veil the other patients, all groaning for
attention.

Jackson's face is raw with tears. He clutches his left arm to

his chest.

Mrs Bard checks her phone. An angry bruise has begun to

purple under her left eye.

The paper curtain separating Jackson's mattress from the next

screeches open. A woman in nurse's scrubs, EILEEN BECKET
(27), appears on the other side, a dozen flyaways hanging out
of her ponytail. She scans her clipboard.

EILEEN
Jackson?

Mrs Bard flinches to attention.

MRS BARD
Y-yes, that's us.

EILEEN
I'm so sorry to keep you waiting,
Mrs...

Eileen scans her clipboard again.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Bard. How can we help?

MRS BARD
It's his arm, I-I think it's broken. I
mean, I don't know, but I heard a-a
snap and---

EILEEN
I'll schedule him for a couple X-rays
straight away. What happened?

Mrs Bard swallows.

MRS BARD
It was an accident.

Eileen's face drops.

 2.

EILEEN
The M3 collision? You should've told
the nurse at reception, we're
transferring everyone to the ICU.

MRS BARD
No, we--he had a nightmare.

EILEEN
Sorry?

MS BARD
Jackson. He had a nightmare and he
wanted to sleep with us, but he...he
fell.

Eileen stops. She examines Mrs Bard for a moment, suddenly

noticing the rising bruise on her face.

EILEEN
Us?

MRS BARD
My husband and I.

Eileen continues to examine Mrs Bard's face, but the other

woman won't meet her look.

Another beat. Eileen speaks softly.

EILEEN
And you said Jackson fell?

Mrs Bard squeezes up closer to Jackson. She smooths his hair

back, over and over.

Eileen frowns. Slowly, she nods.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Okay.

She looks to Jackson.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Hi there, Jackson. How are you holding
up?

Jackson stares at Eileen with big eyes, hardly daring to

move.
 3.

MRS BARD
I'm sorry, he doesn't talk to
strangers.

EILEEN
That's okay.

Eileen offers a gentle smile.

EILEEN (CON'T)
You're a very brave boy, aren't you?

Jackson's bottom lip twitches. He turns into his mother's

chest. She responds instantly, her whole body opening to let
him in.

MRS BARD
It's okay, baby. Mama's got you.

She looks at Eileen.

MRS BARD (CON'T)

Is there something you can give him?
While we wait for the X-ray?

EILEEN
Of course.

Eileen produces an anaesthetic from a metal cabinet under the

mattress. She swabs Jackson's arm, still cradled against his
chest, with alcohol, and prepares the needle.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Little pinch...

Swiftly, she inserts the needle. Jackson jumps, his cry

muffled by Mrs Bard's breast.

Eileen retracts the needle and hastily covers it with a

cotton bud.

EILEEN (CON'T)
All done. Gee, you really are brave.
Your mummy must be so proud of you.

Mrs Bard meets Eileen's look over the top of her son's head.
Her voice is tight.

MRS BARD
Thank you.
 4.

Eileen smiles. Nods.

Before Mrs Bard can fold back over her son, Eileen speaks up.

EILEEN (CON'T)
And Mrs Bard, I-I know it's bold of me
to make assumptions, but if there's
something going on at home---

MRS BARD
Thank you. Please let me know when the
X-ray machine is ready for us.

EILEEN
Of course, but please, we have a lot
of support available here. If you
needed, our social services team could
really--

Mrs Bard holds Jackson tighter into her chest. Her face
darkens.

MRS BARD
I said thank you.

Eileen bites the inside of her lip.

EILEEN
Mrs Bard...

MRS BARD
Just leave us alone. Please.

Eileen stops. She gives a final, sombre nod.

EILEEN
Another nurse will come pick you up
for the X-ray in a bit. If you need
anything else, just ask for Eileen.

She turns to go, but catches herself. Her eyes flash.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Actually...

Eileen faces the mother and son.

EILEEN (CON'T)
While I'm here, I should probably take
a blood sample.
 5.

Mrs Bard tilts her head.

MRS BARD
What for?

EILEEN
Just checking all the bases. Can't be
too careful.

Mrs Bard frowns, but doesn't argue.

EXT. SUBURBAN TOWN - EARLY MORNING

A grey Mazda hatchback rolls through the shabbier side of

suburban Melbourne. Shops are all either closed or closed
down. Dawn waits on a murky horizon and the streets are dark.

Traffic lights blink needlessly; orange, red, green. There

are no other cars on the road.

INT. CAR - CONT.

Eileen drives with both hands on the wheel. She stops at an

orange light she probably had time to cross. Checks her
rearview mirror. Stares ahead, out at the road.

A blue cooler occupies the back middle seat. Eileen checks

her rearview mirror again.

Quickly, before the light changes, Eileen puts the car into
PARK. She swivels around and pulls a seat-belt over the
cooler. It CLICKs into place.

Eileen readjusts herself. She puts the car back into DRIVE.
The light turns green.

EXT. CUL-DE-SAC - CONT.

The Mazda hatchback pulls up out the front of a run-down

bungalow. There are no functioning street lamps, leaving the
headlights to illuminate the street.

The engine dies. A couple seconds later, the headlights

switch off. The inside of the car is still lit up, with
Eileen's profile visible in the driver's side window. She is
completely still, staring straight ahead.

Finally, the driver's side door opens. Eileen hoists herself

out and gently presses the door back into place. She opens up
the second door to pull the blue cooler out of the backseat.
 6.

Carrying the cooler in one hand and the car keys in the
other, Eileen follows the walkway up to the bungalow. With a
soft CLUCK-CLUCK and flash of the headlights, the car locks
behind her.

INT. BUNGALO - CONT.

The front door rattles, unlocks, and groans open. Dust bursts
up from the floorboards.

Eileen shuffles into the foyer and closes the door behind
her. The space turns pitch black.

She pulls her iPhone from the pocket in her scrubs and turns
on the flash. Dust catches the light, following her every
movement. She puts the cooler down.

Eileen finds a box of matches next to a boarded-up window.

She kneels down to light a couple of candles strewn across
the space. There is no furniture to be seen. Dated floral
wallpaper curls off the surfaces and the floorboards have
started to sink with rot.

Guided now by the low amber hue from the candles, Eileen
turns off her phone. She retrieves the cooler and carries it
into the next room.

INT. LIVING ROOM - CONT.

This space is also pitch black. Eileen sighs.

Feeling her way along the wall, Eileen makes it to the front
of the room. She bumps into a piece of furniture; an old
dresser; and stops. Carefully, she burns a second match, and
lights another several candles atop the dresser.

The room begins to glow; hot, dark, orange. The candles cast
short shadows, far enough to track Eileen's movements, but
not far enough to reveal the deep black space behind her.
There are odd red markings spray-painted to the floorboards,
but the shape it makes disappears into the dark.

Behind Eileen, the shadows watch. They seem to be moving,

swelling and deflating like breath.

Eileen lifts the cooler onto the cabinet dresser. She undoes
the latches.

Behind her, the dark purrs. Low, deep.

Eileen pulls a ceramic salad bowl out of the cooler and

 7.

places it on the dresser.

Behind her, the sharp CLINK and SCRITCH of nails on wood.

Eileen dives her hands back into the cooler, rustling through
plastic until she pulls out something slick and chunky. Meat.
It falls into the ceramic bowl with a fat SLAP.

Behind her, the murky outline of a CREATURE materializes in

the dark. Even several paces away, it towers above Eileen,
lean and long-limbed.

Eileen pulls out another slab of meat. There is blood on her

hands.

Behind her, the Creature's low purr deepens into a hum.

CREATURE
What's his name?

Silky and rich, the Creature possesses a profoundly female

voice. She doesn't move, perfectly poised among the shadows.

Eileen proceeds to rummage through the cooler, trying to get

her hands on another piece of meat.

CREATURE (CON'T)
(sing-song)
I know you want to tell me, Eileen.

Eileen slaps the next piece of meat into the bowl.

EILEEN
You must be hungry.

Eileen picks up the salad bowl. She walks it into the centre
of the room and places it on the floorboards, a few paces
away from the Creature.

After several moments, the room filled with that low,

rumbling breath, the Creature sidles forward. She reaches a
black claw into the bowl, bringing her figure closer to
light: smooth, taupe skin. Black, leathery armour across her
chest and legs. Taloned feet.

The Creature rolls her shoulders back, revealing her enormous

black-feathered wings. She is a predator in every facet of
her body, primed for the hunt and kill. Yet, her silvery-
white eyes and dark tussle of hair could lend her the
impression of humanity.
 8.

The Creature paws idly at the meat in the bowl.

CREATURE
Starving.

Without warning, she grabs the bowl and hurls it across the
room. Ceramic CRASHes against the peeling wallpaper and the
meat THUNKs to the soggy floor.

The Creature looks at Eileen.

CREATURE (CON'T)
What's his name?

Eileen's fists clench, but she keeps her voice steady.

EILEEN
You didn't need to do that.

CREATURE
You know full well I am not a pet.

Eileen walks across the room and crouches down at the mess.

EILEEN
I was just trying---

She begins to collect the ceramic pieces.

EILEEN (CON'T)
---to be hospitable, but you're---

A jagged shard pricks her finger.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Ow.

She examines the cut. It is impossible to tell her blood from

cow's blood.

The Creature licks her lips. Her tongue is pale and sharp.

CREATURE
All foreplay aside, darling, I could
smell the real prize the second you
walked in.

Eileen stops.

CREATURE (CON'T)
Left pocket, if I'm not mistaken.
 9.

Eileen tightens. Instinctively, her hand reaches for her left

pocket, where she fondles the outline of a small glass vial.

The Creature chuckles.

Eileen stands up. Without looking at the Creature, she

returns to the front of the room and places the vial on the
dresser.

EILEEN
You said all you need is a sample.

The Creature purrs her agreement.

EILEEN (CON'T)
So the sample of a biological
offspring...that would work?

The Creature takes another step forward, her talons drawing

delicate white lines in the wood.

CREATURE
Mmm.

The Creature looms behind Eileen, so close the candlelight

flashes across her eyes.

CREATURE (CON'T)
Give me that blood, and I promise you,
I will find him.

Eileen's eyes flutter closed. Her body sways, almost as if

she's about to fall backwards into the Creature's waiting
embrace.

The Creature sighs. Her breath makes the hairs on Eileen's

neck bristle.

CREATURE (CON'T)
Just think of it, Eileen. Your world,
but with one less monster.

EILEEN
I thought you were the monster.

Lowly, the Creature laughs.

CREATURE
I am what you ask of me, my love.

Eileen opens her eyes. Her jaw tightens.

 10.

Without looking around, Eileen grabs the cooler and blows out
the candles. She slips past the Creature and makes a hard
beeline for the door.

Just before she disappears, Eileen stops. After a beat, she

glances over her shoulder.

EILEEN
(sternly)
He's all yours.

Behind her, the Creature's smile parts into a grin, exposing

a set of deadly canines. She begins to laugh, louder, her
voice so thick it makes the whole room buzz.

She is still laughing as Eileen storms out, stopping only to

extinguish the remaining candles.

INT. TOWN HOUSE - MORNING

Sitting at the extended kitchen bar, XAVIER BECKET (27) blows

on a spoonful of oatmeal. His iPhone lies flat on the table
surface, as he scrolls through current events on a news app.
He is dressed in a clean-cut, well-ironed police uniform.

The house is awash with fresh morning light, illuminating the

spitting-image of an old IKEA catalogue: simple white wood
surfaces, a firm two-person couch and matching armchairs.
Placid scenic artwork chosen to accompany an understated teal
carpet. Cosy, compact and sterile, the space is well dusted
and regularly maintained.

Xavier lifts the spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. His face
contorts.

XAVIER
(through food)
Mmph--hot.

At that moment, Eileen enters from the bedroom, still in her

nightgown. Seeing Xavier, she smiles.

EILEEN
How many times?

Xavier groans.

XAVIER
(through food)
Hot.
 11.

With a final grimace, he swallows. Promptly, he resumes

sifting through the oatmeal.

XAVIER (CON'T)
You got home late.

EILEEN
Big accident on the M3.

XAVIER
You know I don't like you on those
night shifts.

Xavier's phone chimes. He looks down.

XAVIER (CON'T)
Shit.

Eileen straightens.

EILEEN
What?

XAVIER
Turn on the T.V. Local news.

Eileen purses her lips, but does as instructed. She finds the
remote on the coffee table and switches on the local news. A
REPORTER stands outside a modest suburban home, speaking
fervently into a microphone.

XAVIER (CON'T)
Eileen, volume.

Eileen turns up the volume. The reporter's voice fills the

room.

REPORTER
---housewife Sharon Bard found her
husband, Michael, brutally killed in
his own bed in the early hours of the
morning. Preliminary police reports
indicate the body had been completely
exsanguinated, linking the case to a
recent murder only several towns over.
The police are reluctant to release
further details, but anxieties have
begun to circulate---

Xavier's face drops.

 12.

XAVIER
I need to get to the station.

Eileen mutes the T.V. She lowers herself to the sofa.

XAVIER (CON'T)
What the hell is wrong with people?
Exsanguinated? How do you even do that
to another human being? I mean,
literally, how do you do that?

Eileen is quiet. She stares ahead at the T.V, watching

blankly.

XAVIER (CON'T)
It's one thing to kill the poor guy,
but then to leave the body for his
wife to...God.

Xavier shakes his head. He glares into his oatmeal like it

suddenly disgusts him.

EILEEN
(quietly)
Where was she?

XAVIER
Huh?

Eileen looks at him over her shoulder.

EILEEN
His wife.

XAVIER
What about his wife?

EILEEN
Where was she? News report said she
found him this morning. So where was
she all night?

Xavier scowls.

XAVIER
Are you serious, Eileen? What does it
matter?

EILEEN
It doesn't seem strange to you that
she wasn't at home?
 13.

XAVIER
The hell do you care? Maybe she'd been
out of town.

EILEEN
Yeah.

She turns back to the T.V. Her jaw is hard.

EILEEN (CON'T)
Maybe.

The couple sit in silence until Eileen switches the volume

back on. The news reporter's voice returns.

REPORTER
---series of noise complaints and
suspicious activity, but police insist
that no formal charges were ever
filed. It is worth noting that similar
charges had come up against the Walker
house, where the first victim was
discovered. As of yet, our police
informants refuse to speculate.

Watching the screen, Eileen's eyes flash. She bites the

inside of her lip, as if she were trying to hide a smile.

END