[SIC] A darkness falls script Written by Brian Godwin Inside his professor's office, JACOB REYNOLDS reclines on a couch. He feels that he needs to explain some things to PROFESSOR MICHAELS, who is offscreen. Jacob says it all started with his nightmares... With a jolt, Jacob sits upright in his bed. Beside the bed, his alarm blares. He looks at it in dismay before realizing he's late for class. Cursing, he throws on some clothes and looks to the bed above him. His roommate is gone. He grabs his bookbag and slams the door behind him. Frantic cross-campus run to Jacob's class. Out of breath, Jacob opens the door to his first class and closes it softly. He turns and sees that half the class is crying. Confused, he takes a seat beside ANGEL NORRIS, an attractive girl who smiles up at him. He begins to ask her a question when Prof. Michaels informs the class that their classmate, DEBORAH WINTERS, was murdered the previous night. After class, Angel and Jacob are walking. Neither can believe what has happened. Angel wants to get together to study for their upcoming exam, and Jacob agrees to call her. He turns as someone calls his name, but no one is there. He hears it again, louder, and turns to see his roommate, RONNIE BOWDEN. Angel leaves, and Jacob sits down for lunch with Ronnie. Ronnie has heard about the murder but doesn't think anything bad about it - now he'll have an excuse to walk women home. Jacob thinks Angel is interested in him. Jacob sits in Prof. Michaels office. He has been coming here for a few weeks because of nightmares he was having, but now he's mostly here to talk about his deceased classmate and the upcoming exam. Prof. tells him that his door is always open, and hopes he'll visit again. Inside Jacob and Ronnie's room, the boys are playing Playstation. After Ronnie kicks Jacob's ass in Tekken, Jacob decides he needs a shower. He turns on the water and is about to get undressed when Ronnie calls him for the phone. He returns to the room and talks to her - she wants to get dinner then study together. Jacob agrees to this, but he needs to leave now to meet her. Inside the bathroom, the steam from the hot water causes the bathroom mirror to fog up, revealing a clear message: "LISTEN". Jacob and Angel sit in her room, trying to study. It is clear she's very distracted by him, and makes a few subtle comments as to better ways they could spend their time. Jacob does not understand. Just before she becomes blunt, her phone rings. It's Ronnie. He tells Jacob to turn on the television. Jacob does, and sees that there was a blood trail found that leads to their dorm. Ronnie informs him that the hall has been summoned for a meeting. Jacob and Ronnie are part of a large group crowded into a study lounge. Their RA, BRAD WILSON, informs them that blood prints were found going up the stairs, and they stopped on their floor. Therefore, the whole floor has become suspected. Brad informs the residents to remain in their rooms and lock their doors. Jacob and Ronnie walk back to their room. While Jacob is clearly shook up by the news, Ronnie is still joking. Jacob urges him to take the murders seriously, but Ronnie just laughs. As Ronnie walks away, Brad's words of caution echo in Jacob's head. Jacob wakes from a nightmare as there is yelling outside his room. Still groggy, he walks outside as police swarm around. He asks a student what has happened, and the student informs him that Brad was killed. Frightened, Jacob runs into Prof. Michaels' office. The professor listens as Jacob explains the situation. Prof. Michaels is curious and wants to help, and Jacob leaves about an hour later much calmer. Jacob is walking through campus when he hears someone speaking to him. He turns, but recognizes no one. Again he hears it, again no one. He starts backing away, and runs right into Ronnie and Angel, walking together. They're laughing that Jacob just didn't seem to hear them. Angel says she has to go, but sets a date with Jacob to study at his place that night. She leaves. Jacob asks what was up, and Ronnie says he just ran into her. He then says he doesn't like her for some reason. Later that night, Angel comes to Jacob's room. Ronnie has left for the evening. The pair sit and study for a while, but begin talking soon. Hours pass, and eventually it's late and Angel has to leave. Standing at his door, she makes it clear that she likes him, and they kiss. She leaves, and Jacob lays down, eventually falling asleep. Inside Jacob's nightmare, someone calls his name. He chases them, but no one answers his calls. Generally disturbed shit. It ends with Jacob's face looking at the camera and whispering "Wake up." Jacob jumps out of bed. He has fallen asleep. He looks at the clock. It's almost two. His heart sinks - he's late for his review session. Grabbing his backpack, he darts out the door. As the door closes, we see that Ronnie is not in his bed. Jacob reaches the door, but there's a note reading "Session Cancelled". Confused, he walks to the professor's office, but his sign reads "Office Hours Cancelled." Jacob walks to Angel's to find out what has happened, but when he knocks on the door, he is greeted by her crying roommate. Angel was murdered last night. Shocked, Jacob staggers away, and wanders the campus until nightfall thinking of all that has been going on. When he walks in his room, it is empty. Like a zombie, he drops his backpack and sits at his computer. That's when he looks down and notices blood on some keys of his keyboard. He turns on the monitor. One sentence has been repeated over and over: YOU ARE NEXT. Jacob shrinks back, and the door opens. Ronnie. Jacob quickly turns off the computer and covers the keyboard. Ronnie asks what's up but Jacob says it's broken. He then says he needs to make a phone call. Jacob grabs the cordless phone and dashes into the bathroom. In the bathroom, he sits on the toilet and dials the professor. Answering machine. Jacob leaves a frantic message that Ronnie has been committing the murders. He then goes to dial the police, but his attention is drawn to something in the bathroom. A bloody knife. Suddenly there's a flash on Angel screaming. Jacob jolts. Mechanically, he walks over to the knife, all the time having visions of Angel's murder. He stares at the knife, as it turns from bloody to normal and back. He picks it up and looks at himself in the mirror. He has flashes of himself, covered in blood and wielding a knife. Then his eyes grow cold and he grips the knife tightly. In the dorm room, Ronnie has on headphones and is singing. The camera closes in on him, and once it gets close enough, a knife shoots out and pierces Ronnie. He turns and is stabbed in the chest by Jacob. Over and Over. Blood pours from his wounds. Jacob raises the knife for the final blow when the feeling leaves him. He looks down at his best friend, bloody and covered with blood, and is speechless. Ronnie doesn't even have the energy to scream. Jacob tries to help him. Ronnie cries for an ambulance. Jacob picks up the phone and begins to dial when a voice whispers "He'll tell." Jacob looks around, confused, as the voices begin speaking constantly. Urging him to finish the job. Urging him to cover his tracks. After a brief moral tussle, Jacob picks up the knife and finishes off Ronnie. Covered in his friend's blood, he smiles. Flashforward to the present. Jacob is still on the couch. His story is finished. He thinks the nightmares and voices will stop now - he is a whole person. He thanks the professor for listening, then waves the answering machine tape at him. Can't leave any evidence, can he? As he walks out the door, we see the professor. His throat has been slit. FADE OUT / "ORESTES" CREDITS 2000 Brian Godwin 3 3