ONE OF TWELVE

Written by

Los Silva

Draft 1-20-16

Ipulis Films
11501 Hatteras St. Unit 6
N. Hollywood, CA 91601
917-519-7902
Silvaeyez@gmail.com
WGA: X016457
FADE IN:

INT. SHERIFFS STATION - BATHROOM - NIGHT

SHERIFF PETER BALL washes blood off his hands in the sink. A
man of average height and build, sunken eyes, and greasy
hair. A fresh black eye and fat lip adorns his weary face.

He dries his hands off and stares at his reflection in the

mirror, peering deep into his soul.

KNOCKING on the main door breaks his trance.

INT. SHERIFFS OFFICE - MAIN ENTRANCE - MOMENTS LATER

Peter opens the door, spots TWO PEOPLE dressed in black,

running 50 yards away.

PETER
Hey!

He chases after them.

EXT. SHERIFFS STATION - CONTINUOUS

Peter runs down the desolate street of a small Oregon town.

PETER
Stop!

The people take a sharp turn down an alley. Peter pulls his
gun from his waist, slows his pace and pants as he catches
his breath. From o.s. the sound of a dirt bike WHIZZES away.

Peter clutches his ribs, hes been through hell and his body
cant take the stress of a chase.

He takes in the quiet of this small town. The closed

storefronts lit by street lights. A single traffic light
stuck on red. The sound of a FREIGHT CAR chugging along in
the distance.

Peter takes deep breaths of the cool night air, stands and
heads back towards the station.

EXT. SHERIFFS STATION - NIGHT

As Peter approaches the building he stops dead in his tracks.

Stares o.s. at something we dont see.
 2.

A WOMANS LAUGH echoes eerily as the wind blows. Peter turns

on his heels, pulls his gun looking for the source. Nothing
or no one in sight.

Peter walks towards the entrance. He kneels to the welcome

mat, on it rests a WOODEN BOX with the symbol of a PENTAGRAM,
ANCIENT WRITING carved into each of the five sections.

INT. SHERIFFS OFFICE - NIGHT

The box rests on Pauls desk. He hovers over it, cautious and
anxious of whats inside.

Paul opens the box to discover a clear/mirrored DVD inside a

plain square case. Surrounding the case are dried weeds, like
a nest cradling the object.

Paul opens the DVD case and pops the disc into his computer.

ON DVD - SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE FROM A CARS DASH CAMERA

A WOMAN, 25, brunette hair with glasses, rolls down her

window. A MAN approaches shining a flashlight.

PAUL
Shit.

The footage is an unwelcome surprise.

ON PAUL AS HE STARES AT THE SCREEN

PAULS VOICE
(flirtatious)
Wheres the fire Lilly?

LILLYS VOICE
Sorry Sheriff. I had the radio on
and didnt notice how fast I was
going.

PAULS VOICE
(playful)
I should take you in for reckless
driving. You been drinking tonight?

LILLYS VOICE
Now Sheriff you know I dont drink.

Paul clicks the computer mouse and fast-forwards the video.

 3.

ON DVD - FAST-FORWARDING FOOTAGE

Lilly unbuckles her seat belt, steps out of the car and
stands to the rear of her car.

Paul presses play.

ON PAUL AS HE STARES AT THE SCREEN

LILLYS VOICE (CONTD)

What are you doing!? Stop! No! I
said No!

A GUN SHOT rings out.

PAUL
Fuck! Fuck!

He ejects the disc and snaps it in half. Paces around his

office. Crosses to his desk where the box rests and searches
for a clue. He smells the dried weeds in the box, grimaces at
the foul smell, slams the box shut.

The station phone RINGS. Paul stares as it continues to RING.

On the sixth RING he finally picks up.

PAUL (CONTD)
Sheriff Ball.

IRISH WOMANS VOICE

Come to Stanton Lodge. Alone.

PAUL
Who is this?

CLICK...the caller hangs up.

PAUL (CONTD)
Hello? Hello!?

Paul slams the phone down.

EXT. SHERIFFS STATION - NIGHT

Paul steps outside with a trash can and lighter fluid. He

dumps the pieces of the DVD in the trash can, soaks it with
the fluid, then lights a match, setting the disc on fire.
 4.

INT. SHERIFFS STATION - ARMORY - NIGHT

Paul loads a double-barrel shotgun with shells. Holsters a

second handgun in his waistline. Pockets some extra shells
into his parka.

EXT. SHERIFFS STATION - NIGHT

A red pick up truck, recently in an accident, a smashed

fender and tail light, crumpled hood.

Paul exits the station and moves to the truck. He spots

something stuck in the front bumper.

ON BUMPER

A deers antler, bloody and broken.

Paul removes the antler and hops in the truck, revs the
engine.

INT. PAULS TRUCK - NIGHT

Paul drives down a dark back road engulfed by Douglass Fern

trees. On the passenger seat rests the wooden box next to his
shotgun.

EXT. ROAD - SAME

A sign reads: STANTON LODGE 2 MILES

Pauls truck races by. A discarded and crumpled FLIER flies

in the air and lands on the ground.

ON FLIER

A picture of the brunette girl in the video. Text reads:

LILLY PLUMBER - MISSING

EXT. STANTON LODGE - NIGHT

A STONEWALL runs horizontal across an open field leading to

the forest. A small opening in center, wide enough for a car.
 5.

INT. PAULS TRUCK - NIGHT

Paul slows down as he approaches the wall. He rolls down his

window and peers into the darkness. He drives through the
opening in the stone wall.

EXT. STANTON LODGE - FOREST ROAD - NIGHT

The truck creeps through a narrow dirt road flanked on both

sides by towering trees. The high beams illuminate hanging
STRAW MEN effigies and CELTIC crosses painted into trees.

The truck stops and the lights shut off. Paul steps out with
his shotgun in hand. He closes the door of his truck.

IRISH WOMANS VOICE

Take the box with you.

Paul scans the tree line, nothing and no one.

PAUL
Who are you?

An owl WHOOTS, the leaves rustle in the WIND.

PAUL (CONTD)
I want some answers!

An eerie silence falls. An ARROW shoots from high up piercing

the trucks front right tire...TSSS.

Paul cowers down and points his shotgun to the trees.

ON TREE STAND HIGH UP IN THE CANOPY

A PERSON, wearing a Balaclava mask, aims a CROSSBOW down at

Paul.

PAUL (CONTD)
Who are you!?

Another arrow flies from above and strikes the trucks back
left tire. Paul turns and spots another ARCHER in the trees.

Another arrow strikes, then another. Pauls head swivels as

he spots not two but several MASKED PEOPLE all with bows and
crossbows atop tree stands, hes surrounded and outnumbered.

IRISH WOMANS VOICE

Drop your weapon!

Paul lowers the shotgun to the ground.

 6.

IRISH WOMANS VOICE (CONTD)

All of them.

Paul pulls his ankle gun and drops it to the earth. Another
gun from his waistline. He raises his hands in defense.

PAUL
Alright. Lets talk.

IRISH WOMANS VOICE

Take the box with you.

Paul opens the truck door.

INT. PAULS TRUCK - CONTINUOUS

Paul reaches for the box on the passenger seat. He slides his
hand underneath the seat and tucks a knife in his jacket
sleeve.

EXT. STANTON LODGE - FOREST - NIGHT

Paul walks down the road flanked on both sides by towering

trees. The full moon illuminates his path. He looks up to the
canopy where every thirty feet stands a masked archer
pointing a crossbow directly at him.

IRISH WOMANS VOICE

Stop!

Paul freezes in his tracks. A masked archer raise a BUKKEHORN

and blow a long note that echoes throughout the forest.

Each of the archers descends the trees via rope/cable line.

They slide down expertly, dropping out of the sky like
ninjas.

The archers approach Paul, forming a circle around him, a

group of 11 people.

One of the archers removes their Balaclava mask to reveal

the IRISH WOMAN, 60, with bright blue penetrating eyes. She
stares into Paul, then looks to the group of masked archers.

IRISH WOMAN
This man has killed and raped one
of our own. One of twelve.

ALL ARCHERS
One of twelve.
 7.

The archers remove their masks revealing a group of WOMEN, of

various ages, races, and sizes.

Paul looks around him, doesnt know what or who they are.

IRISH WOMAN
(stares at Paul)
He murdered her in cold blood. Then
defiled her body, and set her on
fire in the wood.

She takes the wooden box from him, faces the women.

IRISH WOMAN (CONTD)

This man is an abomination against
nature. He stole from us our
dearest Lilly, and cast her spirit
into darkness. For this most horrid
act, Lilith demands vengeance! What
sayeth you, members of the twelve?

ALL ARCHERS
The debt must be paid, three times
the shade, for crimes he has made.

Paul takes in the stares of the women, anger in their eyes,

like daggers stabbing into his flesh.

PAUL
What the fuck is this? Some sort of
witch-bitch cult?
(beat)
Im the law! Ill have every one of
you locked up.

IRISH WOMAN
Quiet your tongue, vermin.

Paul goes to spout his mouth again but cant speak. He

swallows hard and grips his throat.

Two of the women grab Paul and bring him to his knees. They
hold his arms as the Irish Woman approaches. She opens the
wooden box and crushes some of the dried weeds in her hand.

She speaks into the palm of her hand, recites some words to
the crushed weed.

She blows the crushed weeds, now a powder, into Pauls face.
He breathes in and begins a coughing fit.
 8.

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

Dense forest with no light or civilization in sight. Paul

lays face down in the dirt. He awakens suddenly, as if from a
nightmare.

PAULS POV

The leaves blend into one another, the stars in the sky buzz
with twinkling twilight, sounds become amplified. Paul
experiences a kind of trip, his senses charged and distorted.

A wolf HOWLS. Paul gets to his feet and staggers. Disoriented

and terrified, he trudges through the dark.

EXT. DENSE WOODS - LATER

Paul shivers from the cold. He leans against a tree and

vomits, gripping his bruised ribs. He wipes his mouth and
hears a noise in the bushes.

PAUL
Whos out there?

A GROWLING from nearby, Paul turns slowly and stares into the
eyes of a WOLF foaming at the mouth with razor-sharp teeth.

Paul stares frozen in fear. A cry from the Bekkehorn blasts.

The wolf charges and Paul runs for his life.

The wolf gains on Paul and pounces on him.

PAUL (CONTD)
Ah!

The wolf chews into his arm, ferociously ripping his flesh.
Paul fights back but the beast is too strong. He pulls the
knife from his sleeve and stabs the wolf in the throat. The
wolf lets out a cry and scatters into the woods.

Paul grips his hemorrhaging arm. He drags himself to his feet

and collapses. He crawls to a nearby tree and rests his back
against the trunk.

He blinks his eyes, still hallucinating as he bleeds. The

eerie LAUGHTER of a woman echoes throughout the forest.

PAULS POV

Shadows of FEMALE FIGURES dance across the leaves. FACES of

mischief and terror.
 9.

PAUL (CONTD)
Im sorry! Ill do my time. Justice
will be served. I promise.

A twig SNAPS -- pauls head swivels. Paul blinks his eyes

again, stares into the dark. A dark FIGURE emerges from
behind a tree and walks slowly towards him.

ON FIGURES FEET

Decomposed burnt flesh and earth-stained skin.

ON PAUL

He stares in horror at the figure now in front of him.

PAUL (CONTD)
(pleading)
Please.

ON FIGURE

Lilly, burnt from head-to-toe, torn clothes like rags, with a

numb facial expression. Her blue eyes prominent against her
dead appearance and dirt covered hair.

She kneels to be eye level with Paul. Raise her hand slowly,
Pauls gaze follows. She plunges her fist into his chest with
incredible force and speed -- rips his bleeding heart out and
holds it up for him to see.

Paul stares down at the cavernous hole in his chest. His

HEART BEAT heard over the night breeze.

Lilly stands and walks away into the darkness.

Paul shivers, body in shock, his life barely clinging to

whatever force still drives it.

SNAKES and INSECTS slither and crawl towards him, like moths
to a flame.

PAUL (CONTD)
No! No! No!

The creepy-crawlys cover Paul in a swarm, consuming him until

hes nothing more than a pile of vermin.
 10.

EXT. STANTON LODGE - STONE WALL - NIGHT

Pauls screams overlaps, echoing in the distance. The women

archers stand in two lines, five women on each side, parallel
to one another. At the head of the lines, between them,
stands the Irish Woman.

Lilly walks between the lines of women, towards the Irish

Woman facing her. She carries Pauls still beating heart in
her hand.

The Irish Woman opens the box. Lilly places the heart inside.
The Irish Woman bows respectfully and offers the box to her.
Lilly takes the box and walks past her, through the opening
of the stone wall.

The Irish Woman watches Lilly enter the dark abyss until no
longer visible.

IRISH WOMAN
One of twelve.

ALL ARCHERS
One of twelve.

EXT. STANTON LODGE - FOREST - SAME

An open grave in the earth, near a large tree. Lilly lays in

the grave facing the sky. Her arms crossed over her heart
gripping the wooden box with Pauls heart BEATING inside.

CAMERA descends from above for a MCU on Lilly, her eyes open.

FADE OUT.
11.