DARKNESS FALLS "BLUE" BY BETH MAYO THIRD DRAFT INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT JONATHAN is asleep at his computer. It scrolls through code while he sleeps. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT The camera moves through maze-like hallways fast, jerkily, and seemingly at random. The color is a little off, suggesting that these scenes are not real. A girl is seen in the hallway. The camera runs up to her and around her, shakily. The girl is BLUE. She holds her hand out to the camera. BLUE Welcome to the Wired... INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT JONATHAN wakes up slowly, looking strangely at his computer. It is still scrolling through code. JONATHAN sits up and opens a program. He begins writing code and is apparently very nervous about what he is doing. He glances at the time on his computer. It is the middle of the night. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT The camera moves through the hallways, like it's searching for something. Suddenly a closed door appears. On it is marked "THE CRYPT". INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT JONATHAN types furiously, like he's trying to finish as quickly as possible. Suddenly his computer makes a warning noise and windows begin opening. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT The camera turns and sees LAWRENCE; a man dressed in black. It quickly turns around and begins heading the other way. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT JONATHAN Damn it! He almost freaks out but controls himself. He begins closing all the windows and getting rid of the code he was writing as fast as possible. EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT The camera gets out of the hallways and goes outside of the building. It slows and eventually stops moving, focusing on a lamppost. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Finally JONATHAN'S screen goes blank. He sighs in relief. The phone RINGS. Jonathan jumps and then answers it. JONATHAN Hello? BECKETT Are you working on the code? JONATHAN Beckett, I, uh... Well, I've been really busy lately... BECKETT Doing what? JONATHAN (laughs nervously) Well, working at my desk job... You know how it is... BECKETT You don't have much time left. You owe us that code in two days. And if it's not done, we'll hire someone else to write it. JONATHAN (really scared) I know. I know. I'll get right on it. BECKETT Good. BECKETT hangs up and the phone goes dead. Jonathan stares at it, obviously upset, and then hangs up. He gets a hold of himself, and then turns off his computer and goes over to his bed. He pulls a gun out from under his pillow and checks to make sure it is loaded. He sets it next to his bed and then goes to sleep. EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT JONATHAN is standing under the lamppost from before. He goes into a nearby building. INT. BUILDING - NIGHT JONATHAN is wandering the halls of the building. He comes to a door marked "THE CRYPT". JONATHAN tries the door but it is locked. BLUE walks down the hallway towards Jonathan. He doesn't notice her because he is staring at the door. BLUE Welcome to the Wired... JONATHAN whirls around and stares at BLUE. She is holding out her hand, and in it is a key. Jonathan stares at it and then back at the door. He looks suspiciously at Blue and then takes the key from her. He uses it to open the marked door. On the other side of the door stand BECKETT and LAWRENCE. JONATHAN stares at them in disbelief and then turns and runs. BLUE looks after him like she is confused. She then looks over to where Beckett and Lawrence were standing. The door is closed and there is no one there. INT. APARTMENT - MORNING The alarm clock BEEPS loudly. JONATHAN rolls over and gets up to turn it off. He turns on his computer and then goes into the bathroom. BLUE enters the room. She sits on Jonathan's bed. Jonathan comes back dressed in work attire (khakis with a shirt and tie). He sits down at his computer and starts running programs and checking his email. BLUE walks over and looks over his shoulder, but he doesn't notice her at all. JONATHAN opens up a screen full of code. He scrolls through it but doesn't write anything. BLUE The Crypt... JONATHAN The Crypt... If only I had the key... BLUE You could erase everything. JONATHAN They could never find me. BLUE To them, you would cease to exist. JONATHAN If Beckett knew I can't write the code... BLUE He'd kill you if he knew. JONATHAN I just wish I didn't have them looking over my shoulder anymore. BLUE looks hurt and backs away. She sits down on the bed and watches Jonathan. JONATHAN suddenly looks at the time on his computer. JONATHAN Damn it! He puts his computer back to scrolling through code and then gets the gun from beside his bed and stuffs it in his bag. He grabs a few more things and then leaves the apartment. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - MORNING JONATHAN is seen walking through the parking lot towards his car. BLUE is standing on the curb watching Jonathan. He notices her and then pretends not to. Jonathan gets into his car. He checks the mirror and sees that Blue is still watching him. Jonathan turns on the car and peels out of the lot. Blue turns and watches him leave. INT. OFFICE BUILDING - DAY JONATHAN is seated at a desk, talking on the phone. BLUE is seated on the edge of the desk, watching Jonathan with interest. He seems not to notice her at all. Jonathan cannot be heard but is obviously hassled, punching buttons on the phone and looking up stuff on a computer. Finally he hangs up the phone and sighs in relief. JONATHAN gets his bag and walks out of the office, Blue following him. INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY JONATHAN is seated, drinking coffee and staring out the window. BLUE is seated next to him, but he seems not to notice her. Suddenly JONATHAN'S eyes widen. He turns the other way and tries to look inconspicuous as LAWRENCE walks in the door. Lawrence sees Jonathan and heads over to his table. He sits without invitation. BLUE Good to see you, Lawrence. Neither Jonathan nor Lawrence notices Blue. LAWRENCE Lunch break? JONATHAN Yeah... BLUE You can't do anything here. LAWRENCE Shouldn't you be doing something else? Something important? BLUE Stop trying. JONATHAN Look, I had to work today. LAWRENCE Yeah, for me and Beckett. So get on it. BLUE He can't do anything for you. JONATHAN Yeah. JONATHAN gets up and leaves, looking very upset. BLUE looks after him and then turns to Lawrence. BLUE He's mine. Lawrence looks through Blue, like he thought he heard something but he doesn't see her. Blue gets up and follows someone out, leaving Lawrence at the table. EXT. APARTMENT - AFTERNOON Jonathan pulls up in his car and gets out. BLUE is standing on the sidewalk near his apartment. He sees her and once again pretends not to. Jonathan quickens his steps and goes into his apartment. INT. APARTMENT - AFTERNOON The microwave BEEPS loudly. Jonathan emerges from the bathroom, hair wet and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He gets his dinner out of the microwave and then sits in front of the computer eating. The gun is seen sitting next to the computer. Jonathan eventually opens a window with code and he starts writing. INT. BUILDING - NIGHT The camera moves quickly and shakily through hallways. It keeps going past BLUE but never seems to notice her. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Jonathan has fallen asleep at his computer. The code scrolls on without him. INT. BUILDING - NIGHT Jonathan wanders through hallways. He comes upon the door to THE CRYPT. He stands staring at it for a while. Suddenly he turns and sees BLUE. JONATHAN You! Jonathan runs from Blue. EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT JONATHAN gets out of the building and is standing on the steps when Blue walks up to him. He turns and tries to get back into the building but the door has locked behind him. Blue walks up the steps towards Jonathan. JONATHAN What do you want? Blue faces Jonathan and stares at him, silently. JONATHAN I know you work for Beckett. BLUE They need the code. JONATHAN I know! BLUE If they don't get it, they will kill you. JONATHAN What do you want?! BLUE You want to run. But you can't get into the Crypt. And so they've got you. JONATHAN Who are you?! Blue smiles and gestures at their surroundings. BLUE I am Blue. Welcome to the Wired. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Jonathan is asleep at his computer. There is a loud KNOCK at the door. Jonathan wakes up and looks at his computer. There is another KNOCK. Jonathan stands groggily and picks up the gun. There is a really loud KNOCK. The door shakes. JONATHAN quickly puts the gun down and opens the door. BECKETT and LAWRENCE stand there. Lawrence is wearing black and Beckett has on an expensive suit. Lawrence carries a gun. JONATHAN Beckett... BECKETT Hello, Jonathan. Just thought we'd stop by. Beckett and Lawrence walk in, Lawrence taking up position by the window, constantly looking outside. Jonathan closes the door. JONATHAN The code isn't due until tomorrow... BECKETT I know. There's been some strange activity near the Crypt recently. Now, both Lawrence and I know you're hard at work writing that code for us. JONATHAN Yeah... BECKETT So obviously it couldn't be you that's been hanging around the Crypt. JONATHAN Yeah... BECKETT Because if it was, we could always get someone else to write the code for us. JONATHAN I know. BECKETT Lawrence will meet you tomorrow at midnight, at the usual place. You will give him the code then. JONATHAN Okay. Beckett walks over to the door and opens it. He turns and faces Jonathan. BECKETT And don't even think about not showing up. Your information is in the Crypt, and we'll find you wherever you run. LAWRENCE and BECKETT leave. JONATHAN closes the door behind them and sinks to the floor, head in his hands. Jonathan shakes his head and then pulls himself together. He goes into his room, turns off his computer, and grabs the gun and stuffs it in his bag. Then he leaves the apartment. EXT. CAMPUS PATH - NIGHT Jonathan is walking slowly along the path, obviously enjoying being away from his computer. However, he is still tense and reaches for the gun in his bag several times. He approaches a lamppost along the path. Suddenly he notices that BLUE is standing by the lamppost. Jonathan freezes. JONATHAN You... What do you want? BLUE begins walking slowly towards Jonathan. JONATHAN reaches for the gun in his bag. BLUE Are you running away? JONATHAN No! Look, I know you work for Beckett. I'm almost done with the code, I'm just out taking a break! What do you want? BLUE You can't run. You can't write the code, and you can't escape them. JONATHAN Stop it! Jonathan pulls the gun from his bag and aims it at Blue. She seems unperturbed. BLUE They'll kill you if they find out... JONATHAN Leave me alone! I'll shoot! BLUE You can't escape them... JONATHAN Shut up! He fires several shots at Blue. She doesn't even seem to be hit, though it would be almost impossible for Jonathan to miss since she is so close. JONATHAN drops the gun in disbelief. JONATHAN What are you? The screen goes black. A phone RINGS. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Lawrence is asleep in bed. The phone RINGS again. He rolls over and answers. LAWRENCE Hello? INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT BECKETT sits at a desk, talking on the phone. BECKETT Are you watching the Crypt? INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT LAWRENCE sits up quickly and goes to his computer, which is already on and running. LAWRENCE Yeah. Nothing's happening. I think you scared him good earlier. BECKETT Good. He needs all the time he's got left to finish that code. LAWRENCE And if he doesn't finish it? BECKETT You take care of him. Just like the last one. Keep watching the Crypt. LAWRENCE Sure. Beckett hangs up. Lawrence takes out his gun and loads it. INT. APARTMENT - MORNING JONATHAN slowly awakes in his bed. He looks around groggily, and then remembers what happened. He jumps out of bed, finds his bag, and digs out his gun which he makes sure is loaded. Jonathan goes through his apartment, gun drawn. He doesn't find anyone. He looks around the living room. JONATHAN I must be going crazy... He goes back to his room only to discover BLUE sitting at his computer. Jonathan aims the gun at her. JONATHAN Get out! Get out or I'll shoot! BLUE That didn't work last time. Remember? Jonathan stares at her in disbelief. He crosses the room to his bed but continues pointing the gun at her. JONATHAN What the hell do you want? I'm not finished with the code. Tell Beckett I'll give it to Lawrence tonight. BLUE I never said I work for Beckett. JONATHAN Then who do you work for? Lawrence? BLUE Wrong again. JONATHAN Then who the hell are you? BLUE I told you. I'm Blue. JONATHAN And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Look, just go the hell away! I've gotta finish that code. BLUE And then you can erase your info from the Crypt. And be rid of them. Jonathan visibly gets scared. JONATHAN How do you know about the Crypt? BLUE I used to work for Beckett. I built the Crypt. JONTHAN Used to? How did you get out? BLUE I didn't. JONATHAN What are you saying? BLUE Beckett hired me to build the Crypt for him - a database where he could store all of the information he needs where no one could find it. And when it was finished, he had Lawrence kill me. I knew too much. JONATHAN But you're still here... Why? BLUE I'm a ghost in the machine. They never erased my information from the Crypt, which is why I'm still around, I guess. JONATHAN But why did you come to me? BLUE I've been in your shoes. I didn't survive. So I want to make sure that you do. JONATHAN You want to help me? How? BLUE You want to erase your info from the Crypt. Because sooner or later, Beckett and Lawrence are going to figure out that you can't write the code for them. Jonathan stares at her in astonishment, and then gives in. JONATHAN I never knew it would get like this. I figured I'd take the money and run. But then they put me in the Crypt, and they can find me wherever I go. BLUE Not true. JONATHAN Where would I go? BLUE To the Wired. There is a sudden shot of the camera flying through the hallways of the building. JONATHAN The Wired? BLUE When I was building the Crypt, I came across an anomaly. I don't really know how to describe it - I had never seen anything like it. I built the Crypt around this anomaly, and spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it was. I was getting nowhere until the day that I died. It was a entrance to the Wired. JONATHAN So what is the Wired? BLUE It's the digital world - you can live there just like you live in this one. JONATHAN Hang on. You said the only reason you figured out what it was was that you died. Are you saying that I have to die to get there? BLUE Honestly I don't know. I was planning on hacking back into the Crypt and then to the Wired and just seeing what happens. JONATHAN What about my information in The Crypt? I still need to erase it. BLUE No you don't. I think that one of the reasons I got into the Wired was that I exist digitally in the Crypt, even if I don't exist in a physical sense. Your info has to stay in the Crypt. JONATHAN But what if it doesn't work? BLUE You already want to cease to exist in this world. Getting your info out of the Crypt was how you planned to erase yourself. Why not escape completely? Besides, you're dead anyway, once Beckett figures out you won't deliver the code. Jonathan looks like he's considering the thought, but then shakes his head. JONATHAN I can't even get into the Crypt to begin with. Lawrence is watching it like a hawk. BLUE That's where I come in. I built it, remember? I know all the passwords. Jonathan considers, and then nods slowly. JONATHAN Alright. Where do we start? Blue smiles. EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT The camera starts out outside the building, and then moves inside and goes down a staircase. INT. APARTMENT - DAY JONATHAN sits at his computer typing while BLUE looks on. BLUE There's actually a back door. into the Crypt. Just [techno babble - go around] and in through [techno babble]. INT. BUILDING - NIGHT The camera moves through hallways and comes upon the door marked "THE CRYPT". It pauses and then continues down the hallway. Eventually it reaches another, smaller door. INT. APARTMENT - DAY JONATHAN What's the password? BLUE Beckett. JONATHAN So simple you'd never guess it. He continues typing. INT. BUILDING - NIGHT The door opens and the camera goes through. It travels through more hallways and a few stairwells. The camera comes upon a very large double door. It opens and blackness is beyond. INT. APARTMENT - AFTERNOON Jonathan is still typing while Blue looks on. Suddenly a window opens and code begins scrolling past very quickly. JONATHAN Got it! We're in! INT. WAREHOUSE - AFTERNOON BECKETT is seated at his desk on the phone. BECKETT How? How did he get in? INT. APARTMENT - AFTERNOON LAWRENCE, on the phone, stands by his computer. LAWRENCE I don't know! There was nothing and then boom! - he was in! INT. WAREHOUSE - AFTERNOON BECKETT I'll meet you there. He hangs up the phone and pulls a gun out of his desk. INT. APARTMENT - AFTERNOON JONATHAN Now what? BLUE points at the screen. BLUE The anomaly is over here. Just try hacking it and see what happens. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - EVENING BECKETT and LAWRENCE walk up to the building. INT. APARTMENT - EVENING JONATHAN Okay... There is a loud BANG from the direction of the door. BECKETT Jonathan... JONATHAN Oh, god. BECKETT Jonathan, we know you're in there. Jonathan jumps up and grabs the gun. BLUE There is no way out in this world. JONATHAN What? BLUE So let's go to the next. There is a substantial pause. JONATHAN To the Wired. EXT. APARTMENT - EVENING LAWRENCE kicks down the door to Jonathan's apartment. BECKETT and LAWRENCE enter, guns drawn. BECKETT Jonathan. All we want is the code. LAWRENCE (under his breath) And you splattered on the wall... Lawrence kicks down the door to Jonathan's room. The computer is running, code scrolling madly down the screen. Jonathan and Blue are not in the room. LAWRENCE Not in here... Lawrence checks the rest of the apartment while Beckett stares at the computer. Suddenly it clicks off and the screen goes black. Lawrence comes back into the room. LAWRENCE He's not here. He sees Beckett staring at the computer. LAWRENCE Hey, wasn't that on? Did you turn it off? Beckett simply stares at the empty chair. INT. BUILDING - NIGHT The screen is black. Then a door opens and blinding light comes in. The camera moves outside and focuses on the sky. BLUE Jonathan... Welcome to the Wired. FADE TO BLACK. THE END.