Authors: Scott Nicholson
JULIA
Death? I thought she was missing.
WALTER
A thing like that, you know it in your heart.
JULIA
I thought Wheatley was missing, too.
WALTER
Only when he wants to be.
JULIA
Damn you. Not you, too.
She jumps out of the Jeep, runs to her house, slams door.
CUT TO:
INT. JULIA'S LIVING ROOM.
Julia waits with her back at the door for a moment, half-expecting Walter to use his key. Nothing. Julia goes to her bedroom.
CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM.
From POV of someone watching from the woods. Julia approaches her dresser and opens her jewelry box.
The engagement ring is gone, replaced with the skull ring. Julia looks around, goes to the window, and closes the curtains.
CUT TO:
EXT. WOODS BY THE RIVER- NEXT MORNING.
Julia, pale, is led by the brawny cop to the crime scene. They stoop under the yellow tape.
Rick O'Dell's body is on the ground, face down. The leaves around him are dark with blood.
A crime scene photographer takes pictures. Lt. Snead walks up to Julia and smiles.
SNEAD
The privileges of the press, Julia.
JULIA
(barely able to speak)
What happened?
SNEAD
We'll have to wait for the coroner's report. But I'd guess he was talking a little too much.
JULIA
Why's that?
SNEAD
They took his tongue.
(beat)
Cut his heart out, too. And they say men don't have them.
JULIA
Any suspects?
SNEAD
Hundreds. And none of them have faces.
JULIA
Do you think it's related to the first murder?
SNEAD
Serial killers? You reporters love that, don't you? Almost as much as a conspiracy theory. All I know is whatever crazy fucker we catch will say, "The devil made me do it."
JULIA
The devil doesn't exist.
SNEAD
That's exactly what he wants you to believe.
Snead walks away.
CUT TO:
INT. DR. FORREST'S OFFICE- AFTERNOON.
The curtains are darker and drawn. The chairs are closer together. Julia looks small and defeated as she sits. Dr. Forrest stands over her.
DR. FORREST
Can you remember?
JULIA
Forget, remember. Which one am I supposed to do now?
DR. FORREST
You forget the new things and remember the old. You want to get better, don't you?
JULIA
Too much is happening at once. Rick's death, Mitchell's attack, Walter's wife—
DR. FORREST
You're getting confused again, Julia. I don't like this.
JULIA
Why did you tell me that you had been abused, too?
DR. FORREST
So you'd know that you're not alone. Except you still don't trust me.
JULIA
I told you everything.
DR. FORREST
You found a skull ring in Memphis.
JULIA
I—
DR. FORREST
Julia. You shouldn't keep secrets from your therapist.
JULIA
I'm not keeping secrets.
DR. FORREST
You talked to a detective. You went back to your childhood home. You saw the barn where you suffered Satanic ritual abuse. Why didn't you tell the police about the skull ring?
JULIA
I don't trust them.
DR. FORREST
Julia, that sounds like paranoid thinking. You want to be healed, don't you?
JULIA
Yes.
DR. FORREST
You want to be free, don't you?
JULIA
(closing eyes)
Yes.
DR. FORREST
Freedom is surrender, Julia.
JULIA
Surrender.
DR. FORREST
He owns you, Judas.
Julia's eyes open. Dr. Forrest's face is inches away.
DR. FORREST (CONT'D)
There's someone here to see you, Julia.
Snead enters the room as if he's been listening at the door.
SNEAD
You don't like me, do you, Julia?
JULIA
How come you followed me from Memphis?
DR. FORREST
(to Snead)
I told you she was paranoid.
SNEAD
(to Julia)
I didn't follow you. I was already here.
(beat)
I'm a friend of Dr. Forrest's. And I've talked with your therapist in Memphis. I'm concerned about you, Julia.
JULIA
Did you find out anything about Rick's murder?
SNEAD
Who says it was murder?
JULIA
What's the matter with you two? A man is dead and you're acting like I'm the one who's done something wrong.
DR. FORREST
Julia, Julia. That's not the path to healing. You can lie to us all you want, and that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're lying to yourself.
(to Snead)
She said she saw two red eyes at her window last night.
SNEAD
(to Julia)
Are you sure you weren't dreaming?
Julia shakes her head, not sure of anything.
DR. FORREST
Let's pretend that a creep really is after you. What was it you think this person said?
JULIA
"He owns you."
DR. FORREST
"He owns you." And what do you think this means, Julia?
JULIA
I don't know what it means.
DR. FORREST
I'll tell you what it means. You're still a slave to the past. You're denying the truth. But the fact that you're ready to hear the message is a good sign, even if it came in a dream.
JULIA
I wasn't dreaming. And I don't want to talk about this in front of him.
SNEAD
You might know something that can help us.
DR. FORREST
You trust me, don't you? We're moving forward.
Julia stands and paces.
JULIA
We're not moving forward. I'm going backwards, back to that four-year-old girl who saw horrible things.
DR. FORREST
You know who the bad man really is. What did he do, Julia? Tell us what he did.
Dr. Forrest and Snead close in on Julia, working together, hammering her with questions.
SNEAD
Tell us, Julia.
DR. FORREST
Julia, trust us. We understand, more than anybody in the world. We know what it's like, how hard it is to accept the truth. How hard it is to accept the master.
SNEAD
We don't want you to fight it any longer, Julia. He doesn't want you to fight. He's been very patient with you because he cares for you so very much.
JULIA
Who cares?
DR. FORREST
You might wonder why he bothers, when he has so much power that he can easily take what is his.
Julia shakes her head. She sits in her chair again.
DR. FORREST (CONT'D)
I'll tell you why he's so patient, Julia. Because he loves you.
SNEAD
He owns you, Jooolia.
JULIA
(to Snead)
I found something in my closet the other night.
SNEAD
What's that, Julia?
JULIA
The drawing.
Dr. Forrest and Snead exchange looks.
DR. FORREST
Drawing?
JULIA
A picture of a pentagram. With 'Hello Julia' underneath, only 'Julia' was spelled 'Jooolia' with three O's in the middle, just like Daddy used to spell it when he was teasing me.
SNEAD
Where is this picture now?
JULIA
I gave it to Dr. Forrest.
Dr. Forrest looks sadly at Julia, then at Snead. She shakes her head.
JULIA
What?
DR. FORREST
There's no picture, Julia.
JULIA
(standing)
What do you mean, there's no picture? I gave it to you yesterday.
DR. FORREST
You're imagining things again.
JULIA
(to Snead)
I gave her the picture, right here in this room. Yesterday.
DR. FORREST
Please sit down.
JULIA
What did you do with it?
DR. FORREST
Sit down.
(to Snead)
She's worse off than I thought.
JULIA
(not sitting)
It's not me that's crazy, it's all of you.
Julia runs for the door, throws it open, and flees the office.
DR. FORREST
Julia!
Dr. Forrest and Snead smile at each other and kiss.
DR. FORREST
The master will be pleased.
SNEAD
Not half as pleased as Wheatley.
CUT TO:
EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD- LATE AFTERNOON.
Julia wildly drives her car up the winding road toward her house. As she pulls up, Mabel Covington comes off of her porch, walking stick in hand. Julia gets out of the car as Mabel hobbles over.
MABEL
He's here. He come back.
JULIA
Who's here?
(looks at apartments)
The Peeper?