outsdr | My entry into the 72 Script Fest- Write a movie script in 72 hours following the given criteria

I'll put the judges' scorecards at the end.

Waiting for the New Light

Who's afraid of the dark? Anyone who wants to live! A teen girl tries to rescue her brother from what lurks in the night.

Criteria:

Setting: 80s or 70s

Genre: One (wo)man Against The World

Writer's Block (Something that must be incorporated into the script somehow): Flashlight goes out.

***

                                             FADE IN:

EXT. ROAD  NIGHT

In the distance a light is bobbing in the dark as someone

can be heard running towards the camera.

                      DESIREE (VOICEOVER)

          In 1984, we thought Reagan was a

          god and the worst that could happen

          to us was AIDS, yuppies and Mount

          St. Helens.

Close up of Desiree's running feet, flashlight bobbing and

lighting the road in front of her.

                      DESIREE (VOICEOVER) (CONT'D)

          And then the Darkness came. Most

          people blamed the Soviets. But no

          one cares any more.

EXT. ABANDONED GAS STATION  NIGHT

A street light illuminates the parking lot and front of the

building, but flickers occasionally. Desiree runs towards

the station, silhouetted from the front by the light,

gasping for breath. There's mindless screams and howls in

the darkness behind her.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          The lucky ones died. Some of us

          didn't. And some ... went Dark.

Desiree runs into the parking lot, which is strewn with

trash and broken music cassette tapes. Seen fully for the

first time, Desiree is a tall, wiry 18-year-old black girl.

She's wearing very tight acid-washed jeans, leg warmers and

Nike high-top sneakers. Metal-studded belts hang across her

hips, and she's wearing a tank-top with a loose sweatshirt

over top of it, the sleeves and collar ripped out. Her hair

is teased out. She has an aluminum baseball bat slung over

her left shoulder on a rope.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          People who went Dark went crazy.

          The sunlight burns their skin; even

          dim light hurts their eyes. They

          took over the night, and we fenced

          our cities and turned on all the

          lights.

The windows of the service station are boarded over. There

are posters that say things like 'Go into the light!' and

'Be Afraid of the Dark' plastered on the walls.

                      DESIREE

                (Pounding on boarded

                 windows)

          Hello! Hello! Is anyone in there?

Desiree tries to pry open a window and then a door, but has

no luck.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          We heard that someone is working on

          a cure. Doi. Like it matters now.

          We go out in the day to get what we

          need to survive and try to adjust

          to a new way of life. Everything's

          grody now. Grody to the max. If

          you're outside the fences at night,

          you're dead. Totally.

The light illuminating the parking lot flickers ominously.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          My younger brother Jonny didn't

          come home today. I'm all he's got

          left. And he's out here ... some

          where.

Desiree spins around.

                      DESIREE

                (Shouting)

          Jonny! Where are you!

In the darkness surrounding the parking lot, flashes of

humanoid shapes can be seen moving in the darkness. They're

nondescript and fast. Their frightening aspects should come

from the viewers' imagination.

The light flickers again.

Desiree runs to the other end of the building, and trips

over something in the trash. She drops her flashlight. She

winces, rubbing her knees and picks up her flashlight, which

blinks one and off. She smacks it with her hand and it stays

on. She looks down at the trash and her eyes go wide.

                      DESIREE (CONT'D)

          Oh no ...

Desiree begins frantically brushing away trash. A cassette

tape goes flying. Her eyes widen as she finds a lifeless

hand.

                      DESIREE (CONT'D)

                (Sobbing)

          Jonny! No ... No!

Long shot of the parking lot; Desiree is cradling a body in

her arms and rocking back and forth while she's crying.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          All we know is that the Dark hate

          anyone who can live in the light.

          And they're trying to destroy us.

EXT. STREET LIGHT  NIGHT

Close up of the street light as a rock suddenly bangs off of

it. Howling and freakish laughter can be heard in the

darkness, getting closer.

EXT. GAS STATION  NIGHT

Close up of Desiree as she slams her back into the side of

the service station. Over her shoulder can be seen a poster

of Ronald Reagan with the slogan'It's Morning in America!'

There's blood splattered across the poster.

Desiree is afraid, and tears are on her face. She looks

around frantically as she hears more noise from the dark.

She's surrounded.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          Sometimes, it's hard to believe

          anything will ever go back to

          normal.

EXT. STREET LIGHT  NIGHT

Another rock cracks into the street light.

EXT. GAS STATION  NIGHT

Desiree frantically whips her head around. Her nose is

running.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          Sometimes, it's hard to believe

          another morning will ever come.

The laughing and howls are getting louder; as the light from

the street lamp flickers, the dark shapes can be seen a

little more clearly, moving around. Shadows in the night.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          And sometimes- most of the damn

          time- it's easy to just want to

          give up. Totally.

With the sound of shattering glass, the light from the

street lamp goes out.

                      DESIREE

                (Screaming)

          Bastards!

Desiree's flashlight blinks again. She hits it with her

palm, and it briefly lights back up again before going out

for good. The screen goes completely black.

                      DESIREE (CONT'D)

                (Whispers)

          Jonny, I'm sorry.

The howling closes in. Desiree briefly screams.

ROLL CREDITS

Credits should roll quickly without being too fast- 30

seconds max, maybe, depending on length of film. White on

black, dead silent.

CREDITS END

EXT. SERVICE STATION  NIGHT

Suddenly, the screen lights up. It's Desiree's flashlight!

She finishes twisting the flashlight top back on firmly,

then gives a wicked smile as she grabs her bat off her

shoulder.

                      DESIREE

          As if, you dickweeds!

Caught in the light, we see flashes of humans wrapped in

black clothes, rags and bandages; there's no skin exposed.

They're all wearing sunglasses or welding goggles, and their

heads are wrapped too. They're still never seen too closely;

they're still mysterious.

Desiree moves between them, smashing them with her bat as

they cower from her flashlight.

The light is starting to increase. Desiree is standing

surrounded by three indiscriminate humanoid shapes lying

motionless on the ground.

                      DESIREE (CONT'D)

                (Smugly)

          Totally.

EXT. ROAD  DAWN

Desiree is silhouetted from the front as she walks down the

road into the rising sun.

                      DESIREE (V.O.)

          Yeah, sometimes, it's hard to keep

          going. But I can do it. For Jonny.

          It's cool though. Some day, things

          will be different. But until

          there's a cure...

ECU of Desiree's profile, looking into the sunlight, her

face glowing.

                      DESIREE

          It's war.

                                             FADE OUT.

I do not exist