[SIC] A darkness falls treatment (4) Written by Brian Godwin Inside his professor's office, JACOB REYNOLDS (JR) reclines on a couch. We see PROFESSOR MICHAELS, his psychology teacher, from behind. Jacob feels that he needed to explain some things to the professor, since he knows the situation. Jacob says it all started with his nightmares... FLASH of white light. With a jolt, Jacob sits upright in his bed. Beside the bed, his alarm blares. He looks around the room in a daze before glancing at the alarm clock. 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 class and closes it softly. He turns and sees that half the class is crying. Confused, he takes a seat beside ANGELA NORRIS, an attractive girl who is on the verge of tears. 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, Angela and Jacob are walking. Neither can believe what has happened. Since the professor decided to postpone their upcoming psychology exam for a few days in light of the recent tragedy, Angela wants to get together to study for the exam and Jacob agrees to call her. They exchange phone numbers and addresses. He turns as a VOICE calls his name, but no one is there. He hears his name again, louder and in a different voice, and turns to see his roommate, TRENTON (TRENT) DAVIS. Angela leaves, and Jacob sits down for lunch with Trent. Trent asks about the girl Jacob was with, and Jacob says she's just a girl in his Psyc class who wants to study together. Trent remarks that she's attractive, and Jacob shrugs his agreement. Trent has heard about the murder but doesn't think anything bad about it - now he'll have an excuse to walk women home. Jacob is not amused. Jacob sits in Prof. Michaels' office. It comes out in their conversation that Jacob has been visiting the professor for the last few weeks because of some bad dreams which he cannot remember. Today, however, he talks more about the recent death of his classmate and general class business. Prof. tells him that his door is always open. After a brief conversation, Jacob has to leave, and the professor wishes him luck and encourages him to study hard. Inside Jacob and Trent's room, the boys are playing Playstation. After Trent kicks Jacob's ass in Tekken, Jacob decides he needs a shower. He turns on the water and is about to get undressed when Trent calls him for the phone. It's Angela. 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 in his dorm lobby. Inside the bathroom, the steam from the hot water causes the bathroom mirror to fog up, revealing a word: "LISTEN". Back in the room, Jacob rushes out the door to meet Angela. Trent yells that he forgot to turn off the shower, then just shrugs and goes back to playing the Playstation. Jacob steps out of the elevator and into his dorm's lobby. The lobby is in chaos, as police seem to be everywhere. Jacob is curious as to what is going on, and out of the corner of his eye he notices Prof. Michaels. Just as he's about to ask him what's going on, Angela shows up. Jacob turns back to look for the professor, but he's gone. Jacob and Angela sit in her room, trying to study psychology and, in particular, Freud and his theories on id, ego, and superego. 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, very dense, does not understand. Just before she becomes blunt, her phone rings. It's Trent. He tells Jacob to turn on the television. Jacob does, and sees that there was a blood trail found that leads to their dorm. Trent informs him that the hall has been summoned for a meeting. As Jacob enters the study lounge for the meeting, he is checked off a list. Once there, he finds Trent and stands beside him. Trent is as confused as Jacob as to what's going on. When the last residents filter in, the doors are closed. Jacob and Trent 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. Brad informs the residents to remain in their rooms and lock their doors. Jacob and Trent walk back to their room. While Jacob is clearly shook up by the news, Trent is still joking. Jacob urges him to take the murders seriously, but Trent just laughs. As Trent walks away, Brad's words of caution echo in Jacob's head. FLASH of white light. The next morning, Jacob jumps awake from a nightmare. There is yelling outside his room. Still groggy, he walks outside as police swarm around. He asks a nearby resident what has happened, and the student informs him that Brad was killed. The hall has been summoned for another meeting. The OFFICER in charge states that everyone will have to be questioned. For this purpose, the police have brought in a special consultant. The consultant is Prof. Michaels. In an interrogation room, Jacob sits down with the professor. He explains that he was brought in because he knows the students very well. The police also feel that an outside presence in this case could help. The professor asks Jacob questions, such as where he was, and Jacob answers them all. The talk turns from professional to more personal, as Prof. Michaels talks to Jacob about his nightmares and the stress he must be undergoing as a result of all this. Jacob agrees. After a short period, the professor feels that he's learned all he can know and tells Jacob he's done. Before Jacob leaves, however, Prof. Michaels gives him a card with the police number, in case he happens to find anything else out. He also makes sure to include his office number, in case Jacob needs him for anything else. They say goodbye and Jacob leaves. Jacob is walking through campus when he hears the VOICE calling his name. He turns, but recognizes no one. Again he hears this, again no one. He starts backing away, and runs right into Trent and Angela, walking together. They're laughing that Jacob just didn't seem to hear them. Angela 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 Trent says he just ran into her. He then says he doesn't like her, and Jacob is confused. Trent just thinks she's too nice, so nice it's almost creepy - he likes his women a little "dirtier." Jacob shakes his head in amusement. Later that night, Angela comes to Jacob's room. Trent has left for the evening. Angela says she had trouble getting in - the police questioned her extensively as to her business and escorted her to the room. She also says she saw Prof. Michaels downstairs, and Jacob tells her that their teacher was brought in as a special consultant on the case. The pair sit and study for a while, and Angela seems to have a much better grasp on it tonight. They go from discussing Freud to just talking. Hours pass, and eventually it's late and Angela has to leave. After a quick review of their studies at his door, she asks him if he's every going to just go for it. He doesn't know what she's talking about. With amusement, she closes in on him and kisses him on the lips. Jacob seems initially surprised, but soon gives over and begins kissing her back. After reminding him about the study session the next day, she leaves, and Jacob lies down on his bed, smiling and with his arms behind his head. His eyes close in content. FLASH of white light. Jacob opens his eyes and rises from the bed. He walks out of the room and into the bathroom, where he stares at himself in the mirror. Then he hears the VOICE call his name. He opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out. He seems a little shocked by this but hears his name again. He leaves the bathroom, searching for the source of the calling. And as soon as he steps through the door, he's in a forest. He's disoriented by this new place, and looks around confused until he hears the VOICE calling his name. He begins to run through the woods, toward the noise, and eventually comes closer. It's here that he sees someone leaning against a tree, stabbed repeatedly. He goes closer to help the victim. It's himself. Horrified, he backs away. His victim-self holds out his hands for help, but Jacob continues to back away. Then he hears the VOICE behind him, calling his name. He turns, and a figure is masked by shadows. It is clad in black and covered in blood. FLASH of white light. Jacob jumps out of bed. He has fallen asleep. He looks at the clock. It's almost two in the afternoon. 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 Trent is not in his bed. Jacob reaches the door, but there's a note reading "Psyc Exam Cancelled". Jacob is ecstatic. He walks to Angela's to share the good news, but when he knocks on the door, her crying roommate greets him. Angela was murdered last night. Shocked, Jacob staggers away, and wanders the campus in denial until nightfall. When he walks in his room, it is empty. Like a zombie, he drops his backpack and sits at the room's only computer. That's when he looks down and notices blood on some keys (E,R,T,Y,U,O,A,X,N, and the space bar) of his keyboard. He turns on the monitor. One sentence has been repeated over and over: YOU ARE NEXT. Jacob shrinks back in horror, and the door opens. Trent. Jacob quickly turns off the computer and covers the keyboard. Trent asks what's up but Jacob says it's broken. Trent makes a joke that Jacob must have been looking at Internet porn after Angela left last night. Jacob manages a slight laugh then grabs the cordless phone. He tells Trent that he just needs to make a quick private call, and then Jacob rushes off to the bathroom. Trent shakes his head in amusement as he leaves. In the bathroom, he paces the floor and dials the professor. Answering machine. Jacob leaves a frantic message that Trent 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 of white light, and then a shot of Angela screaming. Blood pours down her face. Jacob jolts. Mechanically, he walks over to the knife, all the time having FLASHes of white and visions of Angela's murder. He picks it up and looks at himself in the mirror. His eyes close, and there's a FLASH of white light. He's back in his nightmare from the previous night. The figure steps out of the shadows. It is himself. There's another FLASH, and his eyes reopen. In the dorm room, Trent has on headphones and is singing. Jacob steps out of the bathroom, knife in hand. The camera cuts between the two men. Trent is oblivious to the danger creeping up behind him until it's too late. The knife shoots out and pierces Trent. 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. Suddenly, there's a FLASH of white light. He starts blinking his eyes and shaking his head, like he's waking up. He looks down at his best friend, covered in blood, and slowly backs away in shock. Trent doesn't have the energy to scream, but he begs for an ambulance. Jacob picks up the phone and begins to dial when the VOICE whispers his name. His eyes widen in horror. The VOICE has been his own. Suddenly more of his own VOICEs begin talking, all urging the same thing. Urging him to finish the job. Urging him to cover his tracks. Jacob sinks from the weight off it all. His hands are over his ears as the voices, one by one, begin to take up a common chant. "Do this, and make us whole." Jacob nods his head back and forth in acceptance, then slowly rises and picks up the knife. Trent looks at him with pleading eyes, but it's no use. Jacob closes his eyes and lifts the knife high. Cut to black. 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. His id, which he has denied for so long, is now acknowledged. 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 / CREDITS 4 1