DARKNESS FALLS "SEVENTH ECHO" BY BETH MAYO PROLOGUE EXT. RIVER – DAY (echo zero) Black and white shots of a river bank, a peaceful and tranquil scene. ERIN, a young man wearing a monk's robe, goes down to river and then looks out over the water. VOICEOVER – ADRIAN Are you watching him again? He won't die on you, you know. CARRIE But he almost did. ADRIAN So what? You saved him – that's what we do. CARRIE I know, but… It made me realize something. ADRIAN What? That they are all really the same? CARRIE No. He's different. Erin, he's different. ADRIAN What are you saying, Carrie? There is a long pause. CARRIE I'm going down, Adrian. And I'm not coming back. INT. VENABLE HALL – NIGHT (7th echo / dreamworld) CARRIE, a college student, wanders the halls, in a daze. She is either lost, or searching for something. Perhaps both. She stops and shakes her head, uncertain where she is going. She finds a stairwell and goes down into the basement, which is very dark. She continues to wander around. Suddenly, as she nears a darkened doorway, the lights go out. Carrie stands transfixed in fear in front of the doorway. VOICEOVER - ADRIAN I'll be waiting for you. INT. DORM ROOM – MORNING (7th echo, 2000) CARRIE is asleep in bed, tossing and turning. The alarm is going off loudly. Suddenly she sits up and looks around. CARRIE Was I dreaming? She notices the clock and what time it is. CARRIE Dammit! She jumps out of bed, goes to the closet, and pulls out some clothes. EXT. DORM – MORNING CARRIE is seen exiting the dorm and running full throttle to campus. INT. BOTTOM OF LENOIR CAFÉ – MORNING ERIN, a college student, sits at a table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. He folds the newspaper up and then throws it and his coffee away on his way out the door. EXT. LENOIR – MORNING ERIN exits the dining hall and looks at his watch. He is in no hurry to get to class. Suddenly, CARRIE rounds the corner of the building, still running. ERIN steps off right into her path. The two collide and fall to the ground. CARRIE gets up and offers her hand to ERIN who is still on the ground. CARRIE Oh God, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Erin looks up at Carrie and takes her hand. ERIN Thanks. Their eyes meet as Carrie helps Erin up. Suddenly – EXT. RIVER – DAY (echo zero) ERIN, in a monk's habit, is seen standing by the river. CARRIE, in a simple, old-fashioned dress, walks along the riverbank. From afar, a dark figure (ADRIAN) is seen watching by the river, followed by a shot of the swift-moving river water. EXT. LENOIR – MORNING (7th echo) CARRIE and ERIN stand staring at each other. Suddenly, they both look away, realizing they've been staring. CARRIE Are you okay? ERIN Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. ERIN stares at Carrie oddly, as if trying to figure something out. He apparently gives up, and then turns to go. CARRIE Hey, wait! Do I know you from somewhere? ERIN I don't know. You going to class now? CARRIE Yeah. In the CDA. ERIN Me too. We're gonna be late. They walk off towards the CDA. CARRIE My name is Carrie. Are you a drama major? ERIN I'm Erin. I've got a minor in acting. But I haven't been in a play in two years, since no one does Shakespeare anymore. CARRIE Oh. I do tech theatre, but I wouldn't know you from any of that. ERIN Yeah. They reach the CDA and go inside. INT. CDA – DAY Carrie opens the door to the hallway for the scene shop. Erin stops and turns to face her. ERIN I guess I'll see you around, Carrie. CARRIE Yeah. I still feel like I know you from somewhere though. ERIN Must be déjà vu. CARRIE I guess so. Bye, Erin. ERIN See ya. ERIN walks off down the hall and into an acting studio. CARRIE stands, leaning on the door, lost in thought. EXT. RIVER – DAY (echo zero) ERIN stands by the river. INT. CDA – DAY (seventh echo) CARRIE shakes her head, clearing her thoughts, and goes through the door. INT. GREENLAW CLASSROOM – DAY (7th echo) SUBSCRIPT – "one week later" English 58, Shakespeare. Class is almost over, and most students have packed up. Two students, MELANIE and DAN, sit near each other. PROFESSOR Oh, and just as a side note… Mr. Tuckett has informed me The Professor indicates DAN. PROFFESSOR that Company Players is doing a production of Cymbeline that will open in a few weeks. It's not on your required reading, but it is one of Shakespeare's later romances. It might make an appearance as an essay choice on the exam. I'll remind you all again when it opens. That's all for today. The students rise and leave the classroom. EXT. GREENLAW – DAY MELANIE is seen leaving Greenlaw and heads into Lenoir. INT. LENOIR – DAY CARRIE is sitting at a table reading a newspaper. MELANIE approaches her. MELANIE Hey, Carrie. CARRIE Melanie! How are you? MELANIE Pretty good. Have you eaten yet? I'm starved. CARRIE No, I haven't. I'm not too hungry, but I can keep you company? MELANIE Sure! Carrie gets up and the two go upstairs. They get their food and then go and sit down at a table near a window. They eat in silence for a moment. While Carrie and Melanie sit and eat, DAN is seen sitting down by himself at the table next to them. MELANIE So, what's up? I haven't seen you in a while. You seem kind of distracted. CARRIE Well, it's kind of a stupid thing that's been bothering me. On the first day back from spring break, I met this guy named Erin. I thought I knew him from somewhere, and he said he felt like he knew me from somewhere. But we couldn't figure out from where. I haven't even seen him since, but I can't seem to forget about it. MELANIE That's kind of odd. CARRIE I guess the one thing that really struck me was his eyes. He looked like he was really upset, but he acted like nothing was wrong. Like being upset was completely normal. MELANIE Hmm… I guess we'll just have to wait and see if you run into him again, and then see what happens. His name was Erin? DAN overhears the mentioning of Erin's name. CARRIE Yeah. DAN turns around in his chair. DAN Excuse me. Melanie and Carrie look over at Dan. Dan addresses Melanie. DAN Hi, I'm Dan. You're Melanie, right? MELANIE Yeah. Have we met? DAN Well, not exactly. You're in my English 58 class. The 11 o'clock with Professor Philips? MELANIE Oh yeah, you're the one that he mentioned was in Cymbeline. DAN Yeah. I couldn't help but overhear you mention someone named Erin? CARRIE Yeah? DAN He's kind of tall, a little mopey, has a thing for Shakespeare? CARRIE Yeah, that's him. How do you know him? DAN He's in the play with me. We're playing brothers. So you must be Carrie, then. CARRIE Did he mention me to you? DAN Well, he's just trying to figure out how he knows you. I guess he thought that maybe some of the drama people working on the show would know you. CARRIE Oh. Have you guys started doing tech rehearsals yet? DAN No, why? CARRIE I usually volunteer to be the sound or light board op for a night or two. DAN Oh, cool. Yeah, come to a rehearsal and ask the director. And then you and Erin can talk some more. CARRIE When do you guys rehearse? DAN 6:00 at the Company Players Theatre. CARRIE Gotcha. I'll be there Thursday night. DAN Okay. CARRIE I've gotta go to my next class. Melanie, will you give me a call sometime? MELANIE Sure. CARRIE stands and gets her stuff together. CARRIE I'll see you guys later. MELANIE Bye! DAN See you at rehearsal! CARRIE leaves. DAN Mind if I join you? MELANIE No, not at all. So, are you an English major? DAN Double in English and drama. And you? EXT. LENOIR – AFTERNOON CARRIE is seen leaving Lenoir. She walks up across the quad. ADRIAN appears from around a corner and watches CARRIE walk past him. He waits, and then follows her. INT. LENOIR – AFTERNOON DAN and MELANIE continue their discussion. DAN Yeah, Cymbeline is going to be so awesome. It's really haunting… EXT. CAMPUS – AFTERNOON ERIN is seated on a wall reading from a book. ERIN And though he came our enemy, remember, He was paid for that: though mean and mighty, rotting Together, have one dust, yet reverence (That angel of the world) doth make distinction Of place 'tween high, and low. The cover of Erin's book is seen. It is the play Cymbeline. EXT. SAUNDERS HALL – LATE AFTERNOON ADRIAN is standing outside the hall, waiting for something. Eventually, CARRIE comes out of the hall and ADRIAN follows her. ADRIAN follows CARRIE most of the way back to her dorm, and Carrie is oblivious. Eventually, Adrian catches up to her. ADRIAN Excuse me. Carrie stops and turns around. Seeing him, she looks confused. CARRIE Me? ADRIAN Yes, Carrie. You. CARRIE Do I know you? Adrian stops, looks crestfallen. He draws himself up, determined. ADRIAN We knew each other a long time ago. I'm not surprised you don't remember. EXT. RIVER – DAY (echo zero) ADRIAN stands watching the river. EXT. CAMPUS – LATE AFTERNOON (7th echo) CARRIE From where? EXT RIVER – DAY (echo zero) CARRIE walks along the riverbank. EXT. CAMPUS – LATE AFTERNOON (7th echo) ADRIAN smiles. ADRIAN I'm sure it'll come to you. Just give it a little time. Carrie decides that she's not going to buy it. She rolls her eyes, turns and starts to walk away. ADRIAN Carrie! She keeps walking. Adrian looks at the ground. ADRIAN I'll be waiting for you. Carrie stops dead in her tracks. Slowly she turns to regard him with a look of dreamlike incredulity. CARRIE What did you say? ADRIAN You may not remember me now, Carrie. But you will. And until you do, I will always be waiting for you. CARRIE Who are you? ADRIAN I'll be waiting for you, Carrie. He turns and walks away, turning a corner. Carrie stands, dumbfounded. Then she runs after him. CARRIE Wait! She turns the corner, but there is no one there. CARRIE I don't understand… what's going on? EXT. WOODS – DAY (dreamworld) Black and white shots of woods by a riverbank. INT. DORM ROOM – AFTERNOON CARRIE lies asleep in bed. EXT. RIVER – DAY (dreamworld) In black and white, CARRIE, wearing an old-fashioned dress, is seen walking through the woods towards the river. She walks along the riverbank, and then sees a dark shape in the distance by the water. She runs to it and collapses on it, but we cannot see what it is. ADRIAN is seen through the trees. INT. DORM ROOM – AFTERNOON CARRIE is asleep in bed. Suddenly the phone rings and she gets up to answer it. CARRIE Hello? MELANIE Hey, Carrie? This is Melanie. Did I wake you up? CARRIE Yeah. But I needed to get up anyway. MELANIE I'm sorry. Are you going to the Cymbeline rehearsal tonight? CARRIE Yeah. In like half an hour. MELANIE Do you mind if I come with you? CARRIE No, not really. Why? MELANIE Well, I really hit it off with Dan the other day, and he asked me to go. I figured the four of us could go out for coffee or something after rehearsal. CARRIE Okay. You want to meet me behind the dining hall? MELANIE Sure. I'll see you in half an hour. CARRIE Okay. Bye. MELANIE Bye. CARRIE hangs up the phone and stands thinking. EXT. CAMPUS – EVENING (7th echo) CARRIE and MELANIE are seen walking from dinner to rehearsal. They are talking but we cannot hear the words. The two arrive at Old PlayMakers theatre and go inside. ADRIAN is seen across the street. He walks up to the theatre and sits on the porch. INT. OLD PLAYMAKERS - EVENING ACTORS are milling about on stage, in street clothes carrying scripts. DAN and ERIN are among them. The DIRECTOR, along with a few others are sitting in the audience. DIRECTOR Okay, everyone take five minutes. The DIRECTOR stands and stretches, and sees CARRIE and MELANIE standing in the back of the theatre. DIRECTOR Can I help you? CARRIE Yeah. I'm Carrie, and I'm a friend of a cast member who told me that you guys were looking for people to run tech equipment during the show. I've run sound and lights before on a few other shows, and I'd like to help out. DIRECTOR Great! I'm Leigh, the director. We haven't even really designed the sound and lights yet, but just give me your phone number and I'll let you know if we need someone. You're welcome to sit and watch rehearsal if you want to. CARRIE Thanks! CARRIE continues talking with the DIRECTOR while MELANIE, hanging back, watches the actors on stage. ERIN and DAN are sitting going over lines and Dan looks up and sees Melanie. He smiles and waves, and then continues reading the script with Erin. DIRECTOR Okay, let's go. Act Four, Scene 2. Carrie and Melanie sit down a few rows behind the director. Guiderius (Dan) walks onto the stage. GUIDERIUS (DAN) Where's my brother? Arviragus (Erin) enters, from a different direction, carrying Imogen. ARVIRAGUS (ERIN) She is dead. I had rather skipp'd from sixteen years of age to sixty: To have turn'd my leaping time into a crutch, Than have seen this GUIDERIUS (DAN) Oh sweetest, fairest lily: My brother wears thee not the one half so well As when thou grew'st thyself. MELANIE (to Carrie) She's not really dead – she drank one of those poisons that make her look dead but she's still alive. You know, like Juliet. Carrie is not listening to Melanie, instead, she is enraptured by what is unfolding on stage. ARVIRAGUS (ERIN) And let us, Polydore, though now our voices Have got the mannish crack, sing him to th' ground. GUIDERIUS (DAN) Cadwal, I cannot sing: I'll weep, and word it with thee; Erin lays Imogen down on the stage. ARVIRAGUS (ERIN) So, begin. GUIDERIUS (DAN) Fear no more the heat o' th' sun, Nor the furious winter's rages, Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages. Golden maids and girls all must, As chimney sweepers, come to dust. ARVIRAGUS (ERIN) Fear no more the frown o' the great, Thou art past the tyrant's stroke, Care no more to clothe and to eat, To thee the reed is as the oak: The scepter, learning, physic must All follow this and come to dust. GUIDERIUS (DAN) Fear no more the lightning flash, ARVIRAGUS (ERIN) Nor th' all dreaded thunder stone, GUIDERIUS (DAN) Fear not slander, censure rash, ARVIRAGUS (ERIN) Thou hast finished joy and moan. BOTH (DAN AND ERIN) All lovers young, all lovers must Consign to thee and come to dust. Dan is acting very well, but it is nothing compared to Erin. He is on the verge of tears, expressing a sorrow he never knew he felt as well as a wish to die once and finally, and never to be reincarnated again. His sorrow overcomes him and he walks off the stage. ADRIAN All lovers young, all lovers must Consign to me, and come to dust. CARRIE jumps in her seat, hearing ADRIAN speak the lines behind her. She turns and sees him standing just inside the door to the theatre. Carrie turns to Melanie. CARRIE I'll be right back. Melanie looks confused and then sees Adrian at the back of the theatre. She shrugs and continues to watch rehearsal as Carrie leaves. EXT. THEATRE – NIGHT Carrie follows Adrian out of the theatre. CARRIE What do you want? ADRIAN Only for you to remember. CARRIE Remember what? Who are you? Adrian starts walking towards Carrie and she starts backing up. She backs into a wall and stands, mesmerized, as he approaches. ADRIAN I want you to remember a time when we watched over others. ERIN is seen rounding the corner of the theatre. He stops and stares as he sees Carrie and Adrian. ADRIAN When we watched over each other. He moves as if to kiss Carrie, she appears helpless. ERIN Hey, get off her! Erin runs up to them while Carrie snaps out of it and ducks under Adrian's reach. Erin steps in between Adrian and Carrie. ADRIAN Should have known you'd show up. ERIN Just leave her alone! CARRIE Erin… ADRIAN Since when do you protect her? She's the one who watches over you! ERIN What are you talking about? ADRIAN Oh, so you don't remember either, do you? ERIN Remember what? CARRIE Stop it! Carrie jumps between Adrian and Erin. ADRIAN Ah, that's more like it. Though you're better off without him. And you know it, somewhere inside. CARRIE What are you talking about? ADRIAN Not much longer now. I'll be waiting for you, Carrie. He stalks off into the night. Carrie is about to go after him, when Erin collapses onto the ground. CARRIE Erin! Erin appears exhausted and deeply upset. ERIN Carrie, what's going on? CARRIE I don't know. That guy seems familiar, but I don't know who he is. We'll figure it out. Erin stands, angrily. ERIN I don't want to figure it out! I'm so tired of this! CARRIE Tired of what? ERIN This! Everything! I just want it to be over. Erin starts to leave. CARRIE Erin! I don't understand what's going on either, but we can figure it out! Just talk to me! ERIN I'm too tired to go through this any more. Erin leaves Carrie on the steps of the theatre, heartbroken without knowing why. MELANIE comes out of the theatre. MELANIE Carrie? What happened? CARRIE God, Melanie. I don't know. I need to go talk somewhere. MELANIE Sure. Let's go. Carrie and Melanie leave the theatre. EXT. COFFEE HOUSE – NIGHT (7th echo) CARRIE and MELANIE sit at an outside table drinking coffee. MELANIE So what's going on? Who was that guy in the theatre? CARRIE I don't know. None of this makes any sense at all. MELANIE What's going on? CARRIE I don't know! I just get the feeling that if I miss something, if I mess this up, it will be irreversible. MELANIE And it has something to do with this guy? CARRIE Yeah, and with Erin too. He keeps saying that he'll be waiting for me, but I don't know what that means. I get the feeling that time is running out. MELANIE What's going to happen then? CARRIE I don't know. Something horrible if I mess this up. But I don't even know what's going on, how am I supposed to know what to do?! MELANIE It'll be okay, Carrie. This crazy guy has just weirded you out a little, that's all. And the rehearsal was kind of spooky. Why don't you go back to your room and get some sleep? CARRIE Yeah, if I could just get some decent sleep, this would be easier to deal with. Melanie stands. MELANIE Come on. I'll walk you back to your dorm. CARRIE Okay. Carrie stands and the two leave. EXT. DORM – NIGHT ERIN is seen walking up to the dorm, a figure following him. Erin reaches the dorm and is about to open the door when the figure catches up with him. It is DAN. DAN Hey Erin, wait. ERIN What is it? DAN What was going on back at the theatre? That was more than just acting – is something bothering you? Erin pauses, weighing whether or not to send Dan away. ERIN Why don't you come up to my room? Erin opens the door and the two go inside. INT. ERIN'S DORM ROOM – NIGHT ERIN opens the door and turns on the light. He and DAN enter and sit down. DAN So what's bothering you? ERIN I don't really know. All I know is that it has something to do with Carrie and this guy I saw her with at the theatre. DAN Do you like her? ERIN I don't know. But it's something more than that. All along I've had this feeling that I know her from somewhere. But I get the feeling that once I remember, it'll set things in motion. Something's going to happen that I can't prevent. And I feel so tired. DAN Tired of what? ERIN Of whatever is going on. But it only started like a week ago, and I feel like it's been going on forever. You probably think I'm crazy. DAN You're not crazy. You just need to figure out what the problem is and act on it. ERIN Well, this whole thing started when I met Carrie. Whenever I try to think about it, I just get so tired. DAN Well, maybe you just need some sleep then. You can think about it better after you've slept. ERIN Maybe you're right. There is a substantial pause, then Dan stands up. DAN Well, I'll show myself out then. ERIN Thanks a lot, man. DAN No problem. Dan leaves. Erin turns off the light and then curls up on his bed in a ball. INT. CARRIE'S DORM ROOM – NIGHT CARRIE lies asleep in bed. EXT. RIVER – DAY (dreamworld / echo zero, circa 1300) CARRIE walks down by the river in an old-fashioned dress. ERIN is seen standing by the river. ADRIAN comes out of the woods and confronts Erin. Erin backs away from Adrian and into the river. Adrian grabs Erin roughly and then holds him underwater until he drowns. Adrian pulls Erin's body out of the river and leaves him on the riverbank. Adrian backs off into the trees and watches what happens. CARRIE is still walking down the riverbank and then sees Erin's body lying by the water. She starts running and then collapses on his body. CARRIE Oh, God. Carrie cries over Erin's body. Adrian watches from the woods. CARRIE Maybe…we can still be together. I don't want to die, but… Oh God, please let us be together. Carrie pulls a knife out of the folds of her dress. She takes it and stabs herself, and then falls over across Erin's body. Adrian realizes what has happened and goes berserk. ADRIAN Carrie, no! Adrian runs down to the riverbank and cradles the now dead Carrie. ADRIAN Oh God, Carrie, you weren't supposed to kill yourself! I just wanted you to see how foolish loving a human was and come back to me. Carrie! There is a pause while Adrian cries over Carrie's body. Then he stands and addresses her. ADRIAN You're still an angel, Carrie. God will grant your prayers. I've already fallen for killing this man. But I can at least follow you, wait for you. Someday you will see that no matter how much you loved this man, I loved you first and more than he ever could. Down through the centuries, I will wait for you, Carrie. Always. EXT. CAMPUS – EARLY MORNING Day breaks over campus. INT. CARRIE'S DORM ROOM – EARLY MORNING CARRIE wakes but lies still, absorbing all that she has remembered. CARRIE Oh my God… INT. ERIN'S DORM ROOM – EARLY MORNING ERIN lies asleep in bed. INT. CARRIE'S DORM ROOM – EARLY MORNING CARRIE Adrian… INT. ERIN'S DORM ROOM – EARLY MORNING ERIN is still asleep in bed. The light snaps on. Erin sits up, looking around half-confused and half-afraid. Then he sees it is ADRIAN. Erin freezes. ADRIAN Hello Erin. ERIN What do you want? ADRIAN I take it you still don't remember. But I'm about to explain. And then I'll take you to die. ERIN What? ADRIAN Just listen, Erin. I know how tired you are. Just let me tell my story, and then you can finally rest. There is a pause – Erin is scared but wants this to be over with. Adrian continues. ADRIAN About 700 years ago, there was an abbey somewhere in Ireland. But one day, one of the brothers almost drowned when he went down to the river to get some water. Luckily, he was saved. By his guardian angel. INT. CARRIE'S DORM ROOM - MORNING CARRIE Adrian...and Erin! Oh my God, I have to find Erin! CARRIE jumps out of bed and runs out of her room. INT. ERIN'S DORM ROOM - MORNING ADRIAN Angels live forever, you know. Or at least they can if they want to. But when this angel saved this man, she fell in love with him. She decided to become human herself so she could be with him. But the angel already had someone she loved – another angel. And when she decided to leave her angel for a man… I got angry. So when she was on her way to meet him, I got to him first. And I drowned him in the river. ERIN Oh my God… ADRIAN I drowned you, Erin. ERIN Oh, God… EXT. CAMPUS – MORNING CARRIE is seen running across campus to Erin's dorm. INT. ERIN'S DORM ROOM - MORNING ADRIAN But my angel didn't see what I had planned. She took her life, in hopes that she would be reborn into another life where she could be with you. But I made sure that didn't happen. Down through seven centuries, seven lives, I have followed you, And made sure that you never met Carrie. You succeded in this life, but it's too late now. And once I'm rid of you, Carrie will be mine again. So you see, you have no choice but to come with me. After all that you've been though, do you really want to keep on living? Isn't it time for you to rest? ERIN Rest…and never have to live again? ADRIAN Yes. To never be made to live another pointless life, where you die without ever knowing the reason you were born. Adrian holds out his hand. ADRIAN I promise, it'll be over soon. And then you can finally rest. Erin pauses, considering, but is overcome with fatigue. He rises out of bed and grabs Adrian's hand, leaning on him for support. ADRIAN Let's go. The two leave Erin's room. Moments later, someone bangs on the door. CARRIE Erin? Are you in there? She tries the door and finds it unlocked. Carrie enters Erin's room. CARRIE Dammit, they've already gone. The river! Carrie slams the door shut behind her and runs off down the hall. EXT. LENOIR – MORNING MELANIE sits at a table with a large coffee, thinking. DAN walks out of Lenoir and sees Melanie. It is obvious that neither of them has gotten any sleep. DAN Oh, hey Melanie. What are you doing up this early? MELANIE I couldn't sleep. DAN Carrie and Erin? MELANIE How did you know? Dan sits down at the table with Melanie. DAN 'Cause I'm thinking about the same thing. Suddenly CARRIE is seen running up to the dining hall. MELANIE Hey, there's Carrie. CARRIE runs up to them. CARRIE Where's the nearest river? MELANIE What? CARRIE Where's the river, godammit?! DAN Uh, there's one about fifteen minutes east down Highway 12. But why – CARRIE Melanie, I'm borrowing your car. Give me your keys. Melanie pulls our her keys and hands them to Carrie. MELANIE What's happened to Erin, Carrie? CARRIE Nothing if I can get there fast enough. Carrie turns and runs off. Melanie starts to go after her but is stopped by Dan. MELANIE Carrie! She turns to Dan. MELANIE Do you have a car? DAN Let's go. They run off. EXT. WOODS – DAY CARRIE is seen running through the woods. She sees ADRIAN near the river and runs towards him. CARRIE Where is he? ADRIAN You're too late to save him this time. But I'm still here. CARRIE Why would I want you? Look at what you've done! ADRIAN But I did it for us, Carrie! That's all I ever wanted. Surely you can see that. CARRIE We can never be together. Not after what you did. You think you've made it so I have no choice in this. But that's not true. ADRIAN But what else can you do? Erin is dead, once and for all. He is lost to you. CARRIE But you're lost to me too. After all that you've done. So I'm going to be with Erin. Carrie brushes past Adrian on her way to the river. Adrian is so shocked he doesn't try to stop her. Carrie walks a few feet and then turns to face Adrian. CARRIE Adrian, I give you the hardest punishment to bear. ADRIAN What can be worse? CARRIE I forgive you. Carrie continues on to the river. Adrian stands there, stunned. EXT. RIVERBANK – DAY Shots of the river – everything is peaceful and beautiful. CARRIE and ERIN are seen, lying dead on the riverbank holding hands. After a few moments, DAN and MELANIE appear on the scene. DAN Oh my God… MELANIE Carrie! Melanie moves as if to hold Carrie's body, but Dan holds her back, soothing her. Melanie is crying uncontrollably. DAN Sshh…it's okay. MELANIE What happened? Why does it have to be like this? DAN I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. But the things that happen are the things that are supposed to happen. Let's let them be. Dan leads Melanie off. The camera pans over CARRIE, her hand in Erin's and then ERIN. ADRIAN is seen standing in the woods, watching. He has resigned himself to his fate. DAN and MELANIE are seen walking further down the riverbank. Dan says something and Melanie smiles through her tears. Shot of the river, flowing by. Fade to black. THE END.