DARKNESS FALLS "OTIS" BY SEAGRUMN SMITH SECOND DRAFT FADE IN: INT. BUILDING ON CAMPUS - DAY It's mid-afternoon, and the building is not too busy. DAVIS BROWN stands alone before the elevator doors. He fidgets with his hands, appears to be mumbling to himself, and his eyes stare unblinkingly at the elevator doors. DAVIS (mumbling under his breath) Damn codes on the doors. Can't use stairs. Come on you metal box. I just wanna get this over with. Elevator dings and Davis steps inside. Doors shut behind him. CUT TO: INT. ELEVATOR - Davis punches 8th floor button and moves to stand in middle of the elevator. Davis still fidgeting. Elevator moving upward then a lurch. Davis stumbles. Elevator is stuck. DAVIS (loudly and annoyed) What the hell? This is just great. (hollering) Hello. Can anybody hear me? Help! Davis pounds on the door. He sees the emergency phone. Picks it up. Hears no dial tone. DAVIS Wonderful. Gotta love - Davis's words halt when the lights go out. DAVIS (very annoyed now) And it just gets better and better. (Hollering again) Hello. Can anybody hear me? Hello. Can hear Davis banging around elevator, and then a scurrying noise is heard on top of the elevator. Davis stops his movement. DAVIS (Sounding confused and increasingly apprehensive) What the hell? Noise increases to the point it's deafening. Inside the elevator now. A light comes on in the middle of the elevator. Davis had a little pocket flashlight on his key chain. Focus on Davis's eyes as they widen fearfully. DAVIS (at first quietly shocked) Ohmigod.. (loudly) Help! Somebody please help me. Help... BEGIN FADE TO BLACK. Davis hysterical. Drops flashlight to floor. See black spider crawl over it. Still hear Davis screaming for help as the scurrying noise becomes overpowering. FADE TO BLACK. FADE IN: INT. SAME BUILDING - DAY Still mid-afternoon. DANA FERGUSON and KIM TURNER are standing in front of the elevator doors chatting. Dana pushes the button repeatedly as they talk. DANA So, when's your interview? KIM Ten minutes. DANA You nervous? KIM Not terribly. DANA How can you be so calm? KIM You do this enough and its no big deal anymore. DANA Must be nice. No matter how many times we do this, I'm always a mess. KIM Well, on time would be nice, but this elevator is being - DANA (Elevator doors open with a ding.) Wa-la... DANA and KIM enter elevator, briefly acknowledging DAVIS, who stands stiffly in the corner. DAVIS's hands are fidgeting and he stares at the floor lights above the elevator doors. KIM pushes 8, and then turns back to DANA. KIM So, what are you headed back up for? DANA Just need to drop off this revised resume. KIM Well, good luck. DANA Same to y- Elevator lurches to a stop, cutting off DANA's words. Both stumble slightly. DANA What in the world? KIM (matter-of-factly) Elevator's stuck. DANA (in jest) Thank you Captain of the Obvious. Both laugh. KIM (sarcastically) Figures that this thing would break at a time like this. DANA Quite a coincidence. KIM Yeah, a coincidence of crappy maintenance. DANA (laughingly) Gotta love - Lights go out in the elevator. KIM (annoyed) Ok now, this is starting to get old. Can you find the emergency phone Dana? DANA (flatly) Dead. KIM Hmm. I guess this is the part where we scream. (loudly) Hello?! Anyone out there? Help?! Come on Dana. Help me out here. (More anxiously) Hello. DANA (darkly/sadistically) Feeling nervous now, Kim? KIM (distracted) Huh? What was that Dana? DANA (Sharply) I said, are you feeling nervous now? KIM What kind of a question is that, Dana? Help me scream here. DANA Why would I do that? KIM Isn't it obvious. So we can get the hell out of here. DANA Or rather, so you can get that position. So you can get *my* place. KIM (annoyed) Dana, what the hell are you talking about? DANA (eerily calm) I want that position Kim. KIM (placatingly) I know that Dana. But it's a fair compet- DANA (same tone as above) That's just it Kim. It's never been fair. All through high school I was second best. Salutatorian. Runner up for Morehead. Vice-President of the Honor Society. And why? (mockingly) Because perfect little Kim was always number one. KIM (more nervously) Are you okay, Dana? DANA Oh, I will be when I'm sailing through law school without you always blocking my way. *I'll* be the one in the lead. KIM (nervously) Dana, I don't know what you're talking about. This isn't about competition. We've always done this together - as equals. They're giving out two of these scholarships. You and me. DANA (growing angry) Bull! You used me. I read all the books. I did all the study guides. And what did you do? Talked on the phone with your boyfriend. Watched TV. And yet you were always number one thanks to the glory of a copy machine and Vivarin. But this time, I'm not going to save you... KIM (very hesitantly) Dana. Please calm down. I'm sure you'll get the scholarship. DANA Oh, I know I will. You're the only person who can stop me, and I'm going to remedy that little problem. KIM (quizzically) What do you mean, Dana? I'm not going to pull out. DANA (comically) Well, whatever is the selection committee going to do when they're star candidate turns up, hmm... (flatly) Dead. KIM begins backing up into the corner. DANA closes in on her, while opening her purse and pulling out a switchblade. KIM (sounding very scared now) Dana, you don't know what you're saying. Please, let's just talk this over. You know, maybe I will withdraw my application. It's no big deal. I'll just - KIM's eyes grow larger as Dana backs her up against the wall. DANA Forget it, Kim. You can't sweet talk your way out of this one. I won't take that chance, Kim. Its finally my turn. Say night night Kimmy. KIM Please Dana. NO!!... FADE TO BLACK - Hear Kim screaming still and then stabbing or slashing sound. FADE IN: INT. SAME BUILDING - DAY Still mid-afternoon. Grad Student PARKER MYERS is waiting in front of the elevator. Holding open manila folder of papers. Adjusts his glasses and appears to be reading top paper in folder. Blindly punches "Up" button again. Elevator doors open. PARKER closes his folder and steps in. Briefly smiles and nods to DANA and KIM and DAVIS who are in opposite corners though they are still all in comatose fashion (see previous DAVIS). PARKER pushes 8th floor button. Doors closing when BEN ABRAMS comes running toward the elevator. BEN (Loudly and urgently) Hey wait!! Hold that Elevator! PARKER pushes "door open" button. BEN jogs into elevator. Brushes back hair. BEN (Out of Breath) Thanks man. PARKER (politely w/ a smile) Sure thing. What floor? BEN (looking down shyly) 8 works for me. PARKER PoliSci major? BEN Yeah. (sarcastically and also shyly) How'd you guess? PARKER (laughingly) I'd say we have a pretty good claim on that floor. Too bad we got the worst looking building on campus. BEN Gotta love that seventies architec - Squealing noise and elevator lurches to a stop. PARKER (annoyed) And apparently seventies mechanics as well. (to BEN) Do you see an emergency phone around anywhere? Ben picks up the phone and holds it to his ear. Then pulls it away, and sort of waves it, indicating that it's broken. PARKER (off-handedly) Figures. Well there's always the old-fashion way... (Screaming loudly) Help! Can anyone hear me?! We're in the elevator. Help!! (getting annoyed) Help me out here man. BEN (Half-heartedly) Help. Anyone out there? PARKER (annoyed) Gee thanks, buddy. BEN (calmly and quietly) Hollering won't make much difference. BEN slides down the elevator wall to sit on the floor. BEN (continuing) I was stuck in one of these in my dorm last semester, and you pretty much just have to wait until the guy gets here. They've probably already called him downstairs. PARKER (giving up) I suppose you're right. (changing the subject - trying to make conversation) So, where you headed? BEN (brushes hair out of his eyes - looks up for first time) I was actually coming to see you. PARKER (surprised) Really? Why didn't you say something earlier? (extending hand) Parker Myers. I assume you're a Poli41 student. BEN (Not extending hand in return. Nods and meets eyes.) Ben Abrams. PARKER (draws hand back and trying to remember) Ben Abrams, Ben Abrams. Hmm. Oh yeah. Wasn't your paper the one on education in the federalist system? BEN (a bit more evil and meeting the grad's eye) Yeah, and about that - Elevator lights go out. PARKER (more anxious) Ok now. This is getting ridiculous. (screaming loudly again) Hello. Is anybody out there? We just lost power in here? (quizzically) Aren't you going to do something, Ben? Help me scream here. (screaming loudly again) Help!! Hello!! BEN (sadistically) Why would I do that when I have a captive audience? PARKER (annoyed and pacing) Look kid, I don't know what your deal is, but we'll discuss it later. My immediate concern is getting us out of here. BEN (offended) Kid? You're what, five years older than me at most? PARKER (placating) Look, I'm sorry, *Ben*. I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just a bit nervous right now. BEN (flatly) You should be. PARKER (distracted) What was that, Ben? BEN (louder and sharply) I said you should be nervous! PARKER Whoa, Ben. Calm down. I'm sure we'll get outta here. BEN (non-chalantly and standing up) Oh, I know I'll be getting out of here, but you on the other hand. Out, maybe... alive, maybe not. PARKER (sounding nervous now) Ben, what are you talking about? BEN (eerily calm) You know that paper you mentioned earlier? PARKER (trying to follow) Yeah, your paper on education in the federalist system. Interesting work. Pretty good paper. BEN (outraged) Pretty good?! You gave me a C! PARKER (defensively) It wasn't A work! It was good, but it could have been better. Relative to your classmates, it was a C. BEN (grounding out words as he backs PARKER into corner) Do you know that that's the first C I've ever gotten. Straight A's all through high school. 4.0 my first semester of college while most of my friends are wasting away in an alcoholic haze. And now some holier than thou TA is going to mess it all up?! PARKER (quickly trying to reason) Look kid, I've been there myself. That first C is always tough to take. But you gotta realize that this isn't the sandbox anymore. College is tougher than high school. You gotta get over it and just do better next time. You still have another paper and the final. You can probably even pull it up to a B+. BEN (sharply) I want an A!! And that C is never going to make it into the grade book, because you're never going to make it to your office. BEN goes for his waistband. See the glint of silver from a switchblade. PARKER Ben, you don't want to do this. Please don't do this.. BEN (sadistically) I'm sorry, but office hours are cancelled today. BEN raises knife. FADE TO BLACK. HEAR... PARKER HELP!!! Hel- (gurgling) FADE IN: INT. SAME BUILDING - DAY Still mid-afternoon. BRYAN, CHRISTINE, ANDREW, and KEITH are waiting in front of the elevator doors. Talking among themselves. Doors ding open. DAVIS standing in same corner, fidgeting with hands, etc. (same as before), and PARKER, BEN, KIM and DANA are in lala land too in the other corner. BRYAN SMITH moves to the front corner by the button panel. BRYAN We all going to ten? CHRISTINE answers from across the elevator. CHRISTINE (sarcastically) It's the only floor with a large enough study spot for us. We can grab that table next to the windows. Tell me again who came up with the group study session idea? ANDREW Shut up, Christine. May I remind you who broke the study group yesterday so she could go to (annoyingly in girly voice) "chapter meeting." CHRISTINE And may I remind you whose fault it is that we're studying on a Friday afternoon because his fraternity had a hall crawl last night. BRYAN Guys, give it up. I think the person truly at blame here is the professor who puts a test on the day after Halloween! ANDEW Hell yeah. CHRISTINE (simultaneously) You got that right! ANDREW And on registration weekend too! BRYAN Look, let's just get this done fast, memorize what we need to, and get outta - BRYAN's sentence is cut off as the elevator lurches to a stop. ANDREW Aww man. Not again. CHRISTINE What the hell? ANDREW This happened to me last year in freakin' Morrison. BRYAN Everyone just calm down. Let's see if this phone works. BRYAN picks up the phone, but its dead. Put its back down. ANDREW What's wrong with it, dude? BRYAN It's dead. CHRISTINE I think I have my cell phone in my bookbag. CHRISTINE goes to check. KEITH Thank god for spoiled sorority brats. ANDREW Oh, like you have room to talk Mr. Eddie Bauer Explorer. CHRISTINE pulls out her cell phone, and turns it on. Waits for a few secs. BRYAN Does it work? CHRISTINE Give me a sec. (frowns) Looks like reception isn't so hot in an elevator. ANDREW (mockingly) Why look kiddies. Sherlock here has made a earth-shattering discovery. CHRISTINE (annoyed) How many times do I have to tell you to - Christine's words are cut off as lights go out in elevator. KEITH Aww, crap. ANDREW (jokingly) See, someone up there just doesn't want us to study for this test. It's the ghost of Halloween pasts. CHRISTINE This can not be good. Can hear the group getting more anxious. BRYAN OK, calm down everyone. Surely, they know we're stuck. ANDREW Let's give it a hollar. Hello?! Can anyone hear us? We're in the elevator. BRYAN and OTHERS (banging on doors) Help! Help! CHRISTINE curls up her nose, sniffing. Brow squishes together as if deciphering something. CHRISTINE Please don't tell me one of ya'll let the cat out of the bag in such a tight space. ANDREW Eww. Christine. CHRISTINE No, I'm serious, take a wiff of jiff. BRYAN Guys, shut up, I hear something too. Everyone quiets down, and a hissing can be heard coming from near the top of the elevator. ANDREW What the hell? BRYAN It must be some kind of gas. CHRISTINE Let me repeat. This cannot be good. BRYAN Hey Keith. You're the chem. major right? Can you tell what this stuff is? KEITH I think its... ANDREW Hey, I've got a lighter. Let's see where its coming from. ANDREW goes to grab for his lighter. KEITH Andrew NO! It's meth - Spark and then FADE TO BLACK as we hear loud explosion. INT. SAME BUILDING - DAY Elevator doors open on the tenth floor to show an elevator full of comatose students looking up at the top of the elevator (where the numbers are). Elevator doors close. See the numbers drop in rapid succession. FADE TO BLACK with a loud CRASH! THE END 1