INT. RESTAURANT - EVENING

Alva Keel and Paul Callan enjoy the beginnings of a sumptuous meal.

KEEL
Notice the aroma. Now swallow. Mmm. A delightful Bordeaux 1975. Oui, ce sera bon avec le repas, laissez le respirer, s’il vous plait.

He says this to the sommelier, who nods and retires with the bottle. Keel holds up his glass of white wine.

KEEL
And this to whet the appetite. A lovely Californian Sauvignon Blanc.

PAUL
You drink American wine?

KEEL
Sure, why not? There are decent American wines. A votre sante.

PAUL
Cheers. This is an expensive place.

KEEL
Yes.

PAUL
Well, we take buses to travel long distances. That car of yours must be twenty years old at least. You live on a couch in your office. Can you afford this?

KEEL
Oh. Sometimes one has to splurge. Every once in a while. Have you decided on what you’re having for dinner tonight?

PAUL
It’s in French. The menu.

KEEL
May I make some suggestions?

PAUL
Go right ahead.

KEEL
The Chateaubriand is excellent. Sirloin steak with blue cheese melted on top, done quite rare. And as a starter, certainly the risotto aux fruits de mer, seafood and rice, prepared to perfection. Trust me.

PAUL
I’m trying.

Keel smiles and studies Paul, unusually high spirited.

KEEL
Everything is power versus integrity. Divide and rule. And you and I carry both the lightness and the dark in us at all times. Each moment a choice. To Life as we know it.

He raises his glass to Paul’s. They clink. Paul in his turn studies Keel.

KEEL
What do you want to know?

PAUL
About you? I’m curious.

KEEL
Yes?

PAUL
How did you get into all this?

KEEL
It’s not important.

PAUL
It is to me. I need to understand something about you.

KEEL
Not much to understand.

Paul stares at him, waiting. Keel looks uncomfortable.

KEEL
Son of wealthy parents, didn’t toe the party line, refused to become the diplomat to an empire I would have been required to lie for, black sheep and all that, became fascinated with the link between religion and the human psyche, plunged into researching the matter, travelled the world, studying the multifaceted tapestry that is human culture, Africa, China, the Middle East, Europe, the South Pacific, went to Harvard to teach for a year, got fed up with that, started Soliditas Quaeritos. And here we are.

PAUL
Yes but. Something must have happened.

KEEL
To me? No. I’m an open book.

The waiter arrives to take the order.

WAITER
Que desirez vous, messieurs?

PAUL
I know about your mother.

Silence. Keel goes pale.

INT. INSANE ASYLUM - FLASHBACK

A woman stares into the camera with shining mad eyes.

INT. RESTAURANT - CONTINUOUS

Keel stares at Paul, who looks away.

KEEL
How did you find out about that?

WAITER
Messieurs?

END OF TEASER

ACT ONE

INT. RESTAURANT - MOMENTS LATER

Keel stands suddenly and starts to exit. Paul hurries to catch him.

EXT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Keel exits at a pace, followed by Paul.

PAUL
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.

KEEL
Not at all. It’s your prerogative. It’s what I hired you for. Your perspicacity. I just didn’t expect the light of interrogation to be turned on me. Taxi.

Keel climbs into a taxi and slams the door.

KEEL
Goodnight, Paul.

And the car pulls away, leaving Paul standing in the middle of the street.

INT. PAUL’S APARTMENT - LATER

Paul is in bed. He reads William Blake. Images of Biblical fury in a book. Paul closes the book, turns on his side. He studies the crucifix, hanging off the bed lamp for a moment, glances at the ticking clock, which reads 11:59, then turns out the light. Darkness.

INT. PAUL’S APARTMENT - MIDNIGHT

A banging at Paul’s door. Paul sits up suddenly. Midnight. Tick tick tick 12:01. The banging continues. Paul climbs out of bed and goes to the door of his one room apartment. He opens the door slightly.

EXT. PAUL’S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

There stands Keel, looking frail and nervous. Very unlike him.

KEEL
Get dressed quick.

PAUL
What’s wrong?

KEEL
Get dressed. I’ll explain it to you on the way.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - NIGHT

As Paul hurries from his building door and climbs into the car. A grim faced Keel puts his foot down on the accelerator.

PAUL
Where are we going?

KEEL
St. Jude’s Hospital, Harvard. A woman claiming to have given birth to the Second Coming.

Long silence, Paul stares at the road.

PAUL
I’ve heard of cases like this when I was working for the Church.

KEEL
I know, they are usually victims of traumatic rape and have run from the sick world into the arms of an illusion. But this one’s different.

PAUL
How?

KEEL
The child has the mark. Six six six. And the number of the beast is Man.

EXT. ST. JUDE’S HOSPITAL - DAWN

Keel’s car pulls up. The building is quiet.

INT. ST. JUDE’S HOSPITAL - DAWN

Paul and Keel walk quietly down a maternity ward corridor, accompanied by a young nurse.

ELIZABETH
I saw the mark on the child’s head, when she gave birth, she couldn’t have faked it, and of course now the poor girl is hysterical, strapped down. She’s heavily sedated, they’ve had the psychiatrist in, who is transferring her out of here in the morning to an asylum. They’ve taken the baby down to the basement.

KEEL
What about the girl’s parents?

ELIZABETH
They signed the papers.

KEEL
No husband? Boyfriend.

ELIZABETH
None that we know of.

PAUL
How did you know to get in touch with us?

ELIZABETH
I’m on the Internet. I stumbled across your web site about a year ago, under Esoteria. I thought maybe you wanted to know about this. Maybe you can do something.

KEEL
We can try. Is this her room?

The nurse nods. Keel enters a private room, followed by Paul.

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING

Keel and Paul sit by the bed of the sleeping girl. She must be in her teens. They have been there for a few minutes. She opens her eyes.

KEEL
Hello, Mary. My name is Alva Keel, and this is Paul Callan.

MARY
They took him away.

She tries to get up but she is strapped to the bed.

KEEL
We know. We’re here to help you.

MARY
They took my baby away. Please.

KEEL
Unstrap her.

ELIZABETH
Look, I don’t want to lose my job.

KEEL
Little too late for that now, don’t you think?

A silence. Then Paul and the nurse untie the girl.

MARY
It’s not all meaningless. I was a doubter too. I sinned against the holy spirit. But in my dreams, He came, for Heaven is a God’s black heart.

KEEL
Mary, did you see the mark?

MARY
Six six six and the number of the beast is man. There will be much weeping. And wailing and gnashing of teeth. God is Nowhere. God is Nowhere.

PSYCHIARIST
What are you doing in here?

For he has entered unnoticed and now stands at the door, offended by the intrusion.

PSYCHIARIST
Why is this girl out of her straps? Nurse? I demand an explanation.

ELIZABETH
I...it’s not right.

PSYCHIARIST
Are you qualified to make such an assessment, nurse? What’s your name?

ELIZABETH
Elizabeth Proctor, sir.

PSYCHIARIST
Mm hm, and these men? Are they relatives?

KEEL
This is her brother and I am a distant cousin, why is this girl being restrained?

PSYCHIARIST
She’s a danger to herself and others. Her state is delusional, she was in hysterics...

KEEL
So would you be if your child was taken from you, where is the child at this time?

PSYCHIARIST
I don’t have any knowledge of a brother, why isn’t he mentioned in the documentation?

KEEL
Sir. I would appreciate knowledge forthcoming about the whereabouts of my niece’s child.

PSYCHIARIST
The child has been signed over to the appropriate authorities, the parents have agreed and signed all appropriate documents.

KEEL
Documents. You talk about her as if she were a number in your head, let me see that.

Keel grabs the file from the psychiatrist.

PSYCHIARIST
Hey. I shall have to alert security.

He goes for the phone, but Alva simply pulls the phone cord from its socket.

KEEL
What’s your name?

PSYCHIARIST
Doctor Greenwalt.

KEEL
Your Christian name.

PSYCHIARIST
It’s David.

Keel is studying documents.

KEEL
David. My name is Alva Keel, and this is Paul Callan. We’re not here to do anyone any harm, but I cannot permit you to interfere with the purpose at hand. Please sit down.

David sits.

PSYCHIARIST
This is highly irregular. There will be consequences.

KEEL
Where is the child?

INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - MOMENTS LATER

The psychiatrist and Keel, together with Paul, Mary and Elizabeth, stand in one spot. Going down.

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

Ping! The doors open and the group moves slowly down an unused basement corridor. Abandoned. He arrives at a door.

PSYCHIARIST
I’m warning you, you can’t get away with this.

KEEL
Just get on with it.

He pushes the door open for the doctor.

INT. BASEMENT ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The doctor enters, a nurse sitting by a single cot stands.

PSYCHIARIST
Thank you, nurse. You can go now.

NURSE
But my shift doesn’t end till...

PSYCHIARIST
That will be all.

NURSE
Yes, doctor.

She gathers her affairs and exits. Paul is watching as a beaming Mary lifts her newborn child into her arms. Keel approaches. He stares at the child’s head. Paul appears over his shoulder.

There it is. A mark which could be seen as 666.

Keel licks his thumb and gently tries to rub it away. Unsuccessfully.

PAUL
What do we do now?

KEEL
We improvise.

Keel rips a sheet strip.

INT. BASEMENT ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

The doctor has been tied to the basement piping. Keel tugs at a final knot. Stands. Paul pulls him to the side.

PAUL
Alva, what are you doing? This is insane.

KEEL
You are of course free to go at anytime. I shall have to give you a lift in the car to the nearest train station or such...and we’ll be on our way.

PAUL
On your way where?

KEEL
It would not be wise of me to divulge that information, Paul. What you don’t know is for your own good, as they say.

PAUL
Keel, you’re kidnapping a child. It’s a serious offence.

KEEL
Sorry, Paul, I’d love to stay and chat but time is running out. We haven’t got long.

Keel is hurrying Mary and her child out of the room. He stops and winks at the nurse, tied up like the doctor. She smiles quickly, not for the doctor’s eyes.

PAUL
Haven’t got long before what?

KEEL
The end of reality as we know it, Paul.

And Keel exits, leaving Paul in the room.

PSYCHIARIST
Untie me. Untie me or I’ll remember you.

Paul looks at the psychiatrist. Hesitates.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - SEVERAL HOURS LATER

Keel drives, with Paul in the backseat, and Mary, asleep with child in front. Paul is furious.

PAUL
The end of reality as we know it. What the hell does that mean, anyway? Hey. Keel. I want some answers and I want them now.

KEEL
I can only give you the example of my own very personal experiences, Paul.

PAUL
Well something, give me something.

KEEL
Here’s a bus station.

PAUL
Keep driving. Don’t stop. Tell me.

KEEL
When I was a little boy in Africa, I remember distinctly the moment when an alien force entered me. I was me, you understand, but a cold logic, a repressed fury which knew far more than a three year old could, had invaded my spirit, and was inhabiting this body. Soon after I began to kill things. Little things, ants, cockroaches, mice, you know, slowly torture them, oh the joy of biology class. Ever get to slice open a breathing frog then puncture its tiny little lungs? Cruelty, Child be thy name. And with cruelty comes the private shame, the lie, the “I didn’t do it”, the corruption of innocence is absolute. Split personalities inside little me. And oh, the vanity of getting away with it. Soon I was killing larger creatures. Dogs, chickens, goats, the odd cow here and there, and then one night, oh, I must have been twenty, I was a freshman at university in London, I was a heavy drinker by now. The private guilt of it all. I frequented the shady districts of town, my nights were spent in the exclusive company of criminals and madmen. And my dreams were terrible visions of falling inside Satan, becoming the darkness...killing was my only release. I decided it was time to initiate little me to my own very first human being. Ah, here’s a motel.

PAUL
What happened?

KEEL
How long have we been driving?

PAUL
Four hours. What happened next?

EXT. MOTEL - FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER

Paul carries Mary into a room. Keel follows with the child.

INT. MOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS

As Keel and Paul slowly shut the door and carry the sleeping mother and child over to the bed.

They tuck them in.

INT. MOTEL ROOM - LATER

Keel and Paul sit at the table. Whispering.

KEEL
Spontaneous combustion.

PAUL
What?

KEEL
I chose as my victim, a stranger in a bar, a drunk, three in the morning, followed him down deserted streets, God, I felt so alive, the blood pounding in my veins, the thrill of the blood lust, the utter honesty of the hunt. And then. As I pounced on my victim, the razor with which I intended to slit his throat was swallowed from this realm, before my very eyes. With what can be only described as the roar of angel’s wings. And then my victim ran for his life. And I was left standing there on a deserted street corner, changed irrevocably.

PAUL
By God?

Keel looks searchingly at Paul.

KEEL
Get some sleep. You take the bed.

PAUL
You seriously think I’ll be able to sleep after that?

KEEL
Forty winks.

Keel closes his eyes and goes into his inner light. Paul stares at this strange man with unease. Then at the girl in bed with the newborn. He feels very much alone.

INT. MOTEL ROOM - THIRTY MINUTES LATER

Keel is asleep on the bed, Paul still sits in his chair, unable to doze off. A telephone goes. Keel’s mobile on the table. Paul looks at Keel who raises a tired arm.

KEEL
Answer it. Might be important.

PAUL
Hello?

JERGENSEN
Alva?

PAUL
No this is Paul Callan, can I take a message?

JERGENSEN
Paul. This is Charles Jergensen, remember me?

PAUL
Yes.

JERGENSEN
Are you with Alva? Paul?

PAUL
Yes.

JERGENSEN
This is serious Paul. Where are you?

PAUL
Do you want me to pass on a message?

JERGENSEN
OK, Paul, have it your way. The police and the FBI are looking for you.

The child starts to cry. The mother wakes and tries to quieten him.

PAUL
Uh huh.

JERGENSEN
Is that the kid? Paul?

PAUL
I’ll say you called.

He hangs up. Keel is awake. Paul and Alva watch the girl breast feeding the child.

PAUL
That was your friend, Charlie.

KEEL
Jergensen?

PAUL
He sounded serious. Says he’s on the case, with the FBI and the police.

KEEL
With friends like Charlie, hey?

PAUL
We’ll have to lose the car.

KEEL
Irrelevant.

PAUL
I don’t understand. We have to go now.

KEEL
Where?

Keel has risen and walked into the bathroom.

INT. MOTEL BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS

He relieves himself. Paul enters behind and shuts the door.

PAUL
I thought you had a goal in mind. Some destination.

KEEL
No. I’m improvising, remember?

PAUL
Well, we can’t stay here, they’ll track us down eventually, the manager at the desk might have seen the girl. And besides, that’s no six six six, it’s open to interpretation, it’s just a birthmark, Alva. No, this is crazy, we’ve got to surrender to the authorities now. You’ll get off with a couple of years for good behavior.

Keel looks pensive. Catches sight of himself in a mirror.

KEEL
Schizophrenia. Puzzling. Questioning oneself in an everlasting universe of vast emptiness. We come into time to know who we are. Mortified flesh or holy spirit? Doubt is the black hole we must be annihilated by to arrive at faith.

PAUL
She doesn’t seem mad at all.

Keel dabs foam onto his face.

KEEL
Precisely. My mother was a schizophrenic. Quite a coincidence, this. Because she too believed she was impregnated by God, if you will. Hyperion to a satyr. The authorities of course felt they had no choice in the matter, back then. Incarceration in an asylum for the unsound of mind. Because she was unfit for motherhood, I was taken from her custody by the law and adopted into the correct environment for a child. Wealthy, respected. Psychologically fit.

PAUL
British Ambassador to Egypt during Nasser’s regime, then into colonial Africa in the Sixties...

KEEL
You’ve done your research.

Keel takes a razor and begins to shave carefully.

PAUL
Sorry.

KEEL
No need. I admire your perspicacity. Not something I dwell on anymore. The past. It lingers.

PAUL
But you did. Dwell on it.

KEEL
Hm? Oh, yes. They say it’s in the genes. Generational curse. I seem to have acquired the damn disease. Schizos Phrenos. Ancient Greek, means broken heart. Or soul. And in my youth I rather foolishly came to believe in the distinct fact that I was indeed the Antichrist. Led to sociopathic tendencies. I found myself drowning in the electrical storm of my own brainwaves, a baptism of fire, awash in a sea of self-importance. One needs a sense of humor to survive, Paul. Sometimes a very corrupt one. One may smile and smile and be a villain.

Keel smiles. He wipes his face with a towel and folds up the razor blade.

KEEL
Point is; my mother was crazy, and so was I.

PAUL
What changed?

KEEL
The gift of utter darkness. Death paid me a visit. And I had to turn away. Complete and utter mental breakdown. I wanted to change the world. Instead it was the world that changed me. This is real, Paul. We’re not hallucinating this.

PAUL
You honestly think that child in there is the Second Coming?

KEEL
I do. And the Dictators of reality as we know it, are closing in. They will bury the evidence, Paul. They will make that mother and child disappear, the coroner’s office posits a corpse for dissection but we can reveal to the world a genuine resurrection. It’s about perspective, Paul. The bigger picture. The darkness really does want you Paul. Integrity and all.

PAUL
You’ve kidnapped a child, Alva. That’s a criminal offence. Twenty years in prison.

KEEL
And what of the prison bars of our imagination? How do we break free of those? The law exists to be broken. Or why else deem it necessary?

Keel swings at a glass, it explodes violently into thin air and is gone.

KEEL
An illusion. All matter is emptiness. The teachings of all the great prophets lead to this conclusion. Self is hallucinated. A fleeting fancy. Wake up, Paul. Wake up. The enemy lies within. He smiles. Sadness. Bows his head to Paul. There, amongst the hairs, in the crown, is a monk-like patch of skin. A birthmark, bearing a vague resemblance to the child’s triple digits, is visible.

END OF ACT ONE.

ACT TWO

INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY

Paul sits up with a gasp, from a nightmare. He looks around. The mother is up, and changing the baby’s diapers, she smiles a contented smile. Keel is on the mobile phone. In the background, the TV is on.

KEEL
Yes. It’s Alva. Hi, how are you, look, I’m in a tight corner here, I’ve kidnapped a mother and her child, the feds are circling in, I’m going to try and cross the border into Canada. Meet me at the Falls.

Keel hangs up.

KEEL
Sleep well? You were tossing and turning.

PAUL
I was having a dream.

KEEL
Spare us the details for now, we must get on the road.

PAUL
Where are we going?

KEEL
North into Canada. I’ve got friends up there.

PAUL
Who were you talking to?

KEEL
My friends. We’re going to have to ditch the car quite soon. Are you ready to go?

PAUL
Uh...yes. What about Jergensen?

KEEL
Who?

PAUL
Charles Jergensen. Or did I dream that?

Keel chuckles.

KEEL
Paul, you’re dreaming about Charlie Jergensen, I worry for your sanity.

PAUL
That’s not all I’m dreaming about.

On the TV, a photo of Keel, accompanied by images of Mary and Paul. And the words “amber alert”. The sound is muted, but we know what’s going on.

KEEL
Let’s hit the road.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - DAY

They are in the country, on isolated roads, heading away from population, into the hills. The windows are up, the air is cold out there. Keel is driving, Paul in front.

PAUL
Alva, do you think some people on this planet have certain powers?

KEEL
Powers?

PAUL
Yes, special powers, I remember when I was a boy, I could fly in my dreams.

KEEL
Ah.

PAUL
But then I grew up and Peter Pan flew away.

KEEL
To Never Never Land. Perhaps we should look for a signpost.

PAUL
I’m serious. What about psychic powers? Poltergeist phenomenon. Ghosts. Black holes. UFOs. All disobeying the Laws of Mankind.

KEEL
Screaming to be heard from the tower of Babel. Some of the prophets go mad and jump. Or fly planes into it.

PAUL
What if one of them jumped and started to fly? What then?

KEEL
We shall see.

MARY
God is Now Here.

KEEL
Hello, Mary. How’s the child?

MARY
God is Now Here.

She smiles with shining eyes at Paul. Who smiles back.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - DUSK

The car winds into the unexplored landscape, trees in abundance. Wind howling. Ghosts of angels singing.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - DUSK

PAUL
I’m possessed.

KEEL
By?

PAUL
By doubts. Fear. Selfish desires. They say Love is blind, but that’s a lie. Lust is blind. You’re blinded by the surface of things.

KEEL
Certain societies still believe that a camera can steal your soul away, by soul I mean of course the essence of who you are.

PAUL
Is there a map for where we’re going?

Keel taps his head.

KEEL
In here.

Paul looks out. They head up a dirt road into the middle of nowhere. Just darkness looming as the sun sets.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - NIGHT

The car pulls up by a river. Darkness profound. Except for the headlights, which blink three times, then go dark.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - NIGHT

Keel peers into the darkness. Across the river, in the distance, a light flashes three times.

KEEL
Let’s go.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - NIGHT

With a flashlight, Keel finds a tall tree by the river. Beneath it is camouflaged a small wooden boat. Keel pulls away the tarpaulin and drags the boat to the river edge.

KEEL
Paul, help me.

PAUL
What river is this?

KEEL
I call it the Styx. Passage to the other side. Grab that rope.

Keel flashes the torchlight on a heavy rope which disappears into the fast moving current of the river. Paul grabs at it and pulls. The torchlight shows us that it is attached to a tree on the other side of this river. Paul hears now for the first time a distant roar.

PAUL
Waterfall?

KEEL
Falling several hundred feet. Not negotiable.

Mary is in the boat with the child. Keel climbs in. The boat rocks unsteadily, almost throwing Keel into the river.

KEEL
Whoa. Come on, Paul.

Paul climbs in. Keel and Paul begin to pull on the rope and carefully negotiate their flimsy raft across the torrent.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - MOMENTS LATER

The boat is in the middle of the river when a huge set of industrial lights light up the entire area. Raising their hands to the glare, Paul and Keel glimpse silhouettes of what appear to be military vehicles and helmeted paratroopers carrying large guns. A voice booms on a loudspeaker.

VOICE
You are surrounded on all sides. Do not attempt to go any further.

More lights flash up on the other side of the river. A helicopter circles overhead, drowning out all human voices.

INT. BOAT - NIGHT

KEEL
We’ve been set up.

PAUL
You mean your friends?

KEEL
I don’t know, I can’t see why...there appears to be no way out.

VOICE
Make your way to the river’s edge, you are surrounded.

KEEL
I know that voice...

VOICE
Alva Keel...

KEEL
My God, it’s...

VOICE
This is Charles Jergensen. Come on in, Alva.

Keel turns to Paul, sudden fury in his eyes.

KEEL
You!

PAUL
No. That was a dream.

KEEL
It was real, Paul. This is real.

PAUL
No. A dream. This is still a dream.

KEEL
Reality as we are experiencing it, Paul.

PAUL
I did not tell Jergensen where we were. I did not.

KEEL
Paul...

PAUL
Stay away from me! You’re not real...you’re...

Paul has a sudden inspiration. He lets go of the rope and lunges at Keel. As Keel holds on for dear life, Paul attempts to release his grasp on the rope. On reality as it were. But Keel is a strong man and holds firm. Paul begins to pound at Keel’s arms, his face, his body, with blow after blow. Keel is on his knees, bloodied by Paul’s brute strength. Mary is huddled in a corner, repeating the Lord’s prayer. Keel smiles through bloodied teeth.

MARY
Our Father who art in Heaven, haloed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven...

VOICE
You are under arrest. Come to shore immediately. You have nowhere to go. Wait. Stop! Don’t let go!

KEEL
Is it worth it, Paul?

Paul answers his question with a final blow to the head. Keel topples over and away goes the boat, pulled down river by the torrent, away from the lights, away from the soldiers, away from the screaming voice.

VOICE
Jump! Swim! Swim!

INT. BOAT - MOMENTS LATER

As the boat travels fast, picking up momentum, and that roar ahead, pulling them toward their fate faster and faster. Paul is breathing heavily. He drops to his knees next to Keel.

PAUL
I’m sorry.

KEEL
Don’t be. You’re acting on faith.

PAUL
Am I?

Keel laughs and begins to sing.

KEEL
Row row row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is like a dream.

EXT. WATERFALLS - NIGHT

Lit up by the helicopter hot in pursuit overhead, we see the boat careening towards a wall of thin air, where the torrent simply drops away, to certain death.

INT. BOAT - NIGHT

Paul looks up at the helicopter, then back at the girl.

PAUL
Oh my God oh my God what have I done?

MARY
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

Paul looks around desperately for some escape. Ahead, a branch reaches out to Paul, one last way out. Paul grasps at it and succeeds in arresting the motion of the boat. But he can either cling to the tree and let the boat go, or stay on the boat. He can’t leave the girl. He releases the branch, and falls overboard.

INT. RIVER - NIGHT

Paul beneath the surface, amidst the bubbles. A hand reaches in and grasps at his collar.

EXT. RIVER - NIGHT

Paul comes up for air, held by Keel, still in the boat, the boat still gathering momentum and soon over the edge.

Keel smiles. He shouts above the roar.

KEEL
At least we tried.

And the boat, with Keel, Mary and the child, dragging Paul behind it, disappears over the edge into the roaring absence.

END OF ACT TWO.

ACT THREE

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - NOW

Charles Jergensen stares into the lens. As Paul opens his eyes.

JERGENSEN
He’s awake.

Paul coughs blood. He is bruised and battered. He tries to say something.

JERGENSEN
What?

PAUL
What happened to the others?

JERGENSEN
Never mind about that, let’s concentrate on you now. What were you and Keel up to precisely?

Silence.

JERGENSEN
Come on now, I know Keel, he was a strange one but I never figured him for a kidnapper, just what was so special about that kid anyhow?

PAUL
Was.

JERGENSEN
Hunh?

PAUL
You said was. Keel was.

Jergensen suddenly looks furious. He backhands Paul with unpredictable violence. Paul falls to the floor. A boot connects with his stomach. Very painfully.

JERGENSEN
Just answer the man who’s asking the questions, honey.

PAUL
All an illusion.

JERGENSEN
What’s that?

Charles Jergensen kneels down to hear.

PAUL
I said it’s all an illusion. The pain. The hatred. Not worth the time devoted to it.

Silence. Jergensen studies Paul with renewed interest.

JERGENSEN
Dead. They’re all dead. Your partner, the girl, that precious kid of hers.

PAUL
Dead?

JERGENSEN
And you killed them, buddy.

PAUL
They’re dead?

JERGENSEN
That’s what I said. How you survived, God only knows.

PAUL
Who said it was God?

He begins to chuckle. Jergensen eyes Paul curiously.

JERGENSEN
Yeah, well, you’re looking at a long stretch of prison time, we’ll make sure you get life, and don’t think some lawyer is going to get you off the hook with some kind of insanity plea.

PAUL
Oh, I’m sane. Tell me one thing. Just one thing.

JERGENSEN
What’s that?

PAUL
Did you find the bodies?

Silence. But Jergensen’s look tells Paul all he needs to know. He smiles. Jergensen grabs Paul and throws him into the wall.

JERGENSEN
Now you tell me what happened back there, I want to know the truth.

PAUL
No you don’t.

Jergensen punches him in the solar plexus.

JERGENSEN
Don’t make me do this. Paul?

He punches him again and again and again. Fade to black.

TOMMY (v.o.)

Paul?

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS

A circle of light, surrounded by darkness. No walls.

TOMMY (v.o.)

Paul?

Paul’s battered face peers into the darkness.

PAUL
Tommy?

TOMMY
It’s here.

PAUL
What?

TOMMY
The darkness.

PAUL
Where?

TOMMY
It’s you.

Tommy has stepped out of the dark, pointing at Paul.

PAUL
No!

Paul scrabbles into the darkness. Tommy has vanished. Only the sound of Paul breathing hard. Then a girlish giggle.

HANNAH
Paul?

Hannah/Lucinda walks into the pool of light.

PAUL
Hannah?

HANNAH
Paul?

PAUL
Lucinda?

HANNAH
It’s Hannah.

Paul cautiously advances into the light.

PAUL
What are you doing in here?

HANNAH
Oh, Paul, what happened to you?

She has a wet cloth and begins to wipe the blood away from Paul’s face.

PAUL
I’m in trouble, Hannah, you have to help me get out of here.

HANNAH
Out of here?

PAUL
Yes, I’m being held against my will. Tortured...

HANNAH
Out of here? Come, my love...

She is gently kissing his face.

PAUL
Hannah, you must help me...

More urgently now, erotic.

HANNAH
Kiss me, my love, my saviour, kiss me...

PAUL
Hannah...

She is pulling him to the stone cold floor, spreading herself open. He is falling into his desire for her.

HANNAH
Take me here, Paul. Take me now.

PAUL
Hannah...

HANNAH
It’s Lucinda. Lucinda Morgan-Bryant.

PAUL
Hannah...

HANNAH
Lucinda.

Paul suddenly pulls away and stares at her. She smiles, a wicked glint in her eye. From the darkness, more figures advance. Catherine and Martin Morgan-Bryant.

MARTIN
It’s not our fault, did you know there are 2,342 suicides a day, across the planet. That’s 855,000 a year.

CATHERINE
I can’t do this again. I can’t do this again.

MARTIN
No matter how far away you go it’ll find you.

Paul looks at Hannah. She lies on the ground in an awkward position, as if having fallen from a height, like a broken doll. She smiles as blood trickles from her lip.

HANNAH
You don’t know me. You don’t know me.

Paul screams and runs from the pool of light. A figure in the darkness grabs him. Caleb, the Amish man.

CALEB
This is the devil’s work.

Paul shakes free of the Amish man’s grip and runs as fast as he can. He trips over something, goes crashing to the ground. As he looks around, there sits Karen Longview, paralysed in her wheelchair.

PAUL
Sorry, I...Karen.

Karen stares expressionless at him.

PAUL
Karen, I can’t stay, I have to try and find a way out of here...

Karen starts to laugh hysterically. Suddenly a fury.

KAREN
There’s no way out of here, you moron. What, did you think you were a kind man? That you were a humble servant? You self-deluded fool. You are going down.

PAUL
What have I done?

KAREN
You know...

PAUL
No. I don’t know. I don’t remember.

KAREN
You were afraid.

PAUL
Afraid of what?

Mark Longview suddenly appears.

MARK
Sorry...oh Hello, Paul, I don’t know what happened, I was pushing her around and I stopped, I don’t know why, got distracted for an instant, just an instant, and suddenly she was gone, come on Karen, we’ve got that doctor’s appointment.

Paul looks at Karen. She is expressionless again. Paralysed from head to toe.

PAUL
Karen. Afraid of what?

Mark begins to push her away.

PAUL
Afraid of what, Karen?

They have slipped into the dark, leaving Paul in that pool of light, alone. The pool of light ripples out wider and wider. Karen and Paul have vanished.

INT. EMPTY SPACE - NOW

Paul stands there in a vast bright emptiness. Except for two chairs and a table. He walks over and sits down. Silence. From the distance, we hear a pair of feet approaching. As the figure gets closer, Paul realizes it is Father Calero.

PAUL
Poppi!

He stands excitedly. Calero motions for him to sit with him.

CALERO
Sit down. We haven’t got long.

Calero studies him with concern.

CALERO
How are you doing, Paul?

PAUL
I’ve seen better days.

CALERO
This is not a very pleasant matter.

Paul can’t help it. He begins to sob. Heartbroken. Calero gently touches his shoulder.

CALERO
I know.

PAUL
I’m very disturbed.

CALERO
It’s disturbing, yes. Garcon.

A waiter approaches. The same one in the restaurant.

CALERO
Deux espressos, s’il vous plait.

The waiter hurries away. Calero observes the sniffling boy.

CALERO
You’ve got to pull yourself together. There isn’t much time.

PAUL
What’s going to happen to me?

Paul suddenly notices, out of the corner of his eye, a man with a gun trained on him. John Doubek, the professional hit man. Calero notices him too.

CALERO
Ignore him, he’ll go away. What is happening to you, Paul, is you are passing the ultimate test known to the human spirit.

PAUL
Is this a dream I’m dreaming?

CALERO
Of sorts, don’t try to understand this with your logical mind; here, there are no opposites, except those at war in your own imagination.

PAUL
But where am I?

Calero points to Paul’s head.

CALERO
A King of infinite space.

PAUL
So I’m making all of this up as I go along?

CALERO
As Gandhi said, the only demons in this world are in our hearts, where all our battles must be fought. Ignore him.

For John Doubek is very aggressively sticking that gun in Paul’s face.

DOUBEK
God has forgiven me.

PAUL
But why is this all bad?

CALERO
Because you are refusing to let go of an illusion, which is that everything is separated. These images are your own fears, your mental blocks, and soon, all this too shall pass.

PAUL
And then what?

CALERO
Ah. Paul. Just surrender the illusion that any of this is real. Please. It should be easier now. Everything stripped bare. No distractions. Hm?

He motions to the great emptiness that surrounds them. Then Calero knocks back his espresso and rises.

CALERO
Goodbye, my friend. You are like a son to me. I hope I shall see you again. Soon.

Paul stares at his espresso, then at Calero.

PAUL
Goodbye, father.

Calero turns and walks away. Paul watches him go. The waiter appears next to him.

WAITER
Quinze francs, monsieur.

Paul reaches into his pocket instinctively. Then remembers his father’s words.

PAUL
Just put it on my tab, OK?

WAITER
Of course, monsieur.

The waiter walks away. Paul turns to look at him, but he has vanished. He sits there alone for a while. Then rises. Looks around. Which direction?

Suddenly, a rope ladder drops in front of his face. He looks up. The ladder dangles there, disappearing into the disconcerting white light. Paul tugs on the ladder. It holds. He puts a foot on the lowest rung. And as he climbs out of view...

END OF ACT THREE.

ACT FOUR

EXT. MOUNTAINS - DAY

A gorgeous windswept day, the clouds barely ominous, the sun, beating down warm on this our earth, trees whispering love stories to one another. And here, on this grassy clearing, a hillside, punctuated at its peak in the distance by a great oak tree offering refuge from the rays of an overzealous sun. In the foreground, the seemingly immoveable earth begins to give way, and a trapdoor hidden beneath the grass is pushed open. Paul climbs out. He unties the rope ladder and lets it drop into the white void. Then he closes the trapdoor, and looks around. Oh, God, it is beauty. And Paul’s unbruised, unbloodied face reflects the landscape. He sets off toward the summit of the hill.

EXT. HILLSIDE - DAY

There beneath the great oak, a picnic is in progress. Paul walks up. Keel, sitting on a rug, smiles and hands him a glass of champagne. No need for words. Paul looks around. There, among the salad, and the French bread, the knives forks and glasses, sits Mary with her child. And next to her, Elizabeth Cottrell. Evelyn and her child. And his father. Larry Kittredge and his wife; and their son. Phil, that flight attendant who was speaking Aramaic is serving the crowd sandwiches. And there too is Georgia.

PHIL
Cheese sandwich, sir?

PAUL
Uh, no thanks, I just had a coffee, my appetite’s...

PHIL
Can I offer you a beverage? Tea? Juice? More coffee?

PAUL
No, I’m...

PHIL
You’re not finished with that champagne yet, are you? Nshe Mhaymanuta.

PAUL
Nshe Mhaymanuta.

KITTREDGE
Hi Paul, this is my son, Kevin. He’s back. Say, I’ve got a great deal on some property back west, if you’re financially solvent, I kid you not, a developer’s dream...

GEORGIA
Paul. Have you seen Poppi?

PAUL
Yes. Why?

GEORGIA
I think he’s in some kind of predicament. Perhaps you could drop in on him on your way back into the city...

PAUL
Sure.

Keel wanders up.

KEEL
We thought you’d never make it.

PAUL
Looked that way for a while.

KEEL
Well, welcome back.

PAUL
Thanks. I have to get back.

KEEL
Why?

PAUL
I have to check in on Poppi.

KEEL
Who?

PAUL
Father Calero, he’s a...

KEEL
Never met him. Friend of yours?

PAUL
Yes.

KEEL
We should get together with him sometime, have a pint. Well, we lucked out with the weather.

PAUL
Yes, you did.

A sudden harsh gust of wind blows paper plates and plastic cups. Are those storm clouds gathering in the distance?

KEEL
We did, Paul. We did.

PAUL
None of this is real, Alva.

Keel laughs. He points to the sky.

KEEL
Indeed. We came from out there fifteen million years ago, but our future, clearly, is in here.

He taps Paul’s forehead.

KEEL
What an imagination you have. Such power. Be careful, Paul.

Paul frowns; a thunderclap followed by hard rain. Many run for cover beneath the tree. Not Keel. Not Phil, who tries to tidy up in a hurry. Not Mary and her child, whom Paul stops with a firm hand as they try to take cover. A lightning bolt strikes the tree. In a cloud of sulfur, several characters disappear, others drop lifeless to the ground.

KEEL
We should make a run for it. Where’s the car?

PAUL
Straight ahead.

Keel, Mary, the child, and Phil all make a run for the car. Paul stands there as the heavens weep upon his face. He screams.

PAUL
God is Now Here.

More lightning. The car pulls up, a door opens.

KEEL
Get in.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - LATER

Silence from Paul as the others sing along merrily, while Keel drives back down winding roads into the valley of the shadow of death.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - SUNSET

Mary climbs out of Keel’s car, holding the child. She waves to Paul and walks up to the door of a house, rings the bell. The door opens. Mary’s concerned father and mother, who seem to have been expecting her, hug her and take her into the house. The door closes.

EXT. BOSTON AIRPORT - EVENING

Phil climbs out of the car, waves at Paul, and makes his way through sliding glass doors into the airport terminal.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - NIGHT

Silence.

KEEL
What happens now?

PAUL
The Tao says that life is but a dream flowing into another dream.

KEEL
Precisely. I’m famished. Fancy a bite to eat?

PAUL
I need to make a stop.

EXT. ORPHANAGE - NIGHT

Keel’s car, parked outside, engine running, Keel on the mobile phone.

INT. ORPHANAGE - NIGHT

Paul wanders down a deserted hallway. To Calero’s office. A light is on. He knocks.

PAUL
Poppi?

No answer. He turns the doorknob and slowly pushes open the door.

PAUL
Poppi?

The office is empty. Paul inches over to Calero’s desk. On it, an open Bible. Stabbed into the thickness of the Bible, a large rusted nail. Paul peers closer. Blood begins to seep out of the hole and onto the page, spontaneously forming into the words...

‘Hello, Paul.’

Paul stares at the words with growing unease. A force flickers across the page, ripping it away from the book...discarded, it falls gently to the ground...the blood continues to seep...

‘I’ve been expecting you…’

PAUL
Who are you?

Another page is ripped clean, the blood oozes faster.

‘Father of Lies.’

PAUL
Stop. I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, our saviour, to leave this place.

Behind him, a mirror cracks, Paul swings around; across the mirror, in lipstick, the words...

‘You don’t know me.’

PAUL
Yes. I do. You’re me. The enemy lies within. I’m dreaming all of this.

Suddenly, Paul sees Calero appear behind him, in the mirror’s reflection. His face is distorted by the cracks. He smiles.

CALERO
I am a pool, which holds all heaven and the earth.

PAUL
Poppi?

CALERO
And I the dreamer who looks into the pool.

Calero swings a large crucifix at Paul, slamming it into his head. Paul goes down. Calero towers over Paul, a vision of demoniac fury. Calero begins to chant in tongues. He takes the crucifix and pushes it inside himself. It vanishes completely. He continues to chant as Paul stares at him. Then Calero goes silent and smiles. The moment seems to go on forever.

PAUL
I’m not afraid of you.

Calero seems to laugh but we can’t hear him. We can barely even see him anymore either, as his shape seems to have been absorbed into the surrounding light and shadows. Paul blinks. Calero has vanished completely.

INT. KEEL’S CAR - MOMENTS LATER

Paul climbs in. A huge bruise on his head. Keel studies him curiously.

KEEL
How’d you get the bruise?

PAUL
I walked into a crucifix. Let’s eat.

INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

The same restaurant as before. Deja vu.

Keel and Paul enjoy the beginnings of a sumptuous meal.

KEEL
Notice the aroma. Now swallow. Mmm. A delightful Bordeaux 1975. Oui, ce sera bon avec le repas, laissez le respirer, s’il vous plait.

He says this to the sommelier, who nods and retires with the bottle. Keel holds up his glass of white wine.

KEEL
And this to whet the appetite. A lovely Californian Sauvignon Blanc.

PAUL
You drink American wine?

KEEL
Sure, why not? There are decent American wines. A votre sante.

PAUL
Cheers. This is an expensive place.

KEEL
Yes.

PAUL
Well, we take buses to travel long distances. That car of your must be twenty years old at least.

You live on a couch in your office. Can you afford this?

KEEL
Oh. Sometimes one has to splurge. Every once in a while. Have you decided on what you’re having for dinner tonight?

PAUL
It’s in French. The menu.

KEEL
May I make some suggestions?

PAUL
Go right ahead.

KEEL
The Chateaubriand is excellent. Sirloin steak with blue cheese melted on top, done quite rare. And as a starter, certainly the risotto aux fruits de mer, seafood and rice, prepared to perfection. Trust me.

PAUL
I’m trying.

Keel smiles and studies Paul, unusually high spirited.

KEEL
To Life as we know it.

He raises his glass to Paul’s. They clink. Paul in his turn studies Keel.

KEEL
What do you want to know?

PAUL
About you? I’m curious.

KEEL
Yes?

PAUL
How did you get into all this?

KEEL
It’s not important.

PAUL
It is to me. I need to understand something about you.

KEEL
Not much to understand.

Paul stares at him, waiting. Keel looks uncomfortable.

PAUL
Something must have happened.

KEEL
To me? No. I’m an open book.

The waiter arrives to take the order.

WAITER
Que desirez vous, messieurs?

PAUL
I know about your mother.

Silence. Keel goes pale.

EXT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Keel exits at a pace, followed by Paul.

PAUL
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.

KEEL
Not at all. It’s your prerogative. It’s what I hired you for. Your perspicacity. I just didn’t expect the light of interrogation to be turned on me. Taxi.

Keel climbs into a taxi and slams the door.

KEEL
Goodnight, Paul.

And the car pulls away, leaving Paul standing in the middle of the street.

INT. PAUL’S APARTMENT - LATER

Paul is in bed. He reads William Blake. Images of Biblical fury in a book. Paul closes the book, turns on his side. He studies the crucifix, hanging off the bed lamp for a moment, glances at the ticking clock, which reads 11:59, then turns out the light. Darkness.

INT. PAUL’S APARTMENT - MIDNIGHT

Except for the clock which reads midnight. A banging at Paul’s door. Tick tick tick.

THE END.