HAINTS
created by
Tyson Kaiser
& Ian Aitken
SCENE 1
The river water sits still. The only thing that can be heard is faint whispers from the deep. Then—
SPLASH.
RANI rope swings into the water. After coming up, ALEX calls for her to swing the rope to him. After doing so, RANI swims back to the island where CASEY and MARTIN sit, waiting for ALEX to jump.
MARTIN
(sarcastic)
You won’t!
CASEY
(playing along)
Yea…you won’t!
ALEX
(convincing himself)
I’m about to, hold on!
RANI
(nudging CASEY)
Stop giving him a hard time.
MARTIN
(still antagonizing him)
We all know you won’t!
ALEX takes a deep breath, while MARTIN continues to tease him from the island.
ALEX then steps off the tree limb and swings into the water. He instantly gets back to the surface of the water, gasping for air. Then, in the distance, he hears a faint whisper.
ALEX looks around confused and haunted by the eerie sound.
CUT TO:
Thunder strikes. RANI, MARTIN, and CASEY sit up.
CASEY
(looking up the the greying sky)
Hey guys, I think we should get goin’.
They all nod in agreement. One by one they cross the river to the bank side.
ALEX is last in the water but he stalls due to him hearing more whispers in the distance.
CASEY, MARTIN, and RANI come upon the shore, but in the back is ALEX, struggling to keep up. Then—
ALEX goes under. Sucked into the river, unnoticed.
SCENE 2
RANI, MARTIN, and CASEY make it to the bank side.
CASEY
(laughing)
I swear, Martin. You always pick the worst days to go out on the river.
The two are distracted, meanwhile RANI notices something wrong. She looks back behind her, cutting CASEY and MARTIN’S conversation off.
RANI
(nervously)
Wait, guys…where’s Alex?
MARTIN
He’s fine. He’s prolly…
(trails off)
ALEX! Hey, Alex!
Nothing.
MARTIN
ALLLLEXXX! Stop playing around dude!
RANI
He…he was just…right behind us.
CASEY
(shouting)
Maybe he just got pissed off and went ahead… ALEX!?
RANI & CASEY
(shouting together)
ALEX!!
RANI steps into the water, wondering if perhaps he had drowned. She then hears a faint whisper and decides to come to shore.
MARTIN
Look guys, he’s fine. Let’s just go, he’s probably waiting for us at the car.
CUT TO:
A few bubbles come up from underneath the water.
SCENE 3
RANI, MARTIN, and CASEY are walking along the river walk path.
RANI
(in disbelief)
Guys are you sure he went up ahead…he was right behind us.
MARTIN
(cutting in)
He’s just being annoying—maybe waiting to scare us or something.
RANI peers out at the water, scanning for bubbles or movement. Nothing. The river drifts lazily past, indifferent.
They fall into silence again.
RANI
It just doesn’t really seem like him.
MARTIN
(annoyed)
It does.
CASEY
Guys? What’s that?
They hurry closer to whatever CASEY is pointing at down at the bank. Down by the edge of the bank there lies several half-deflated river tubes. RANI then begins to hear the whispers again. Suddenly, RANI gasps. Floating down the river is Alex’s hat. RANI runs into the water and grabs it.
RANI
(turning around)
Guys… This is his ha—
RANI gets tugged into the water. CASEY and MARTIN rush toward her, grabbing her arms, pulling hard. They shout!
CASEY
Hold on! Rani, grab my arm!
MARTIN
(pulling desperately)
Don’t let go!
But the suction is too strong. The water surrounding her gives way and engulfs her in seconds.
CASEY and MARTIN fall back onto the bank, panting, horrified, hands covered in mud where they tried to hold her. They stare at the river, wide-eyed.
MARTIN
(out of breath)
What the hell…
CASEY
(yelling)
Rani!! No! RANI!
CASEY tries running into the water but MARTIN pulls her back. She lies down in the fetal position, crying into her hands.
CASEY
What the hell, like seriously—this can’t be real!? What’s happening?!
MARTIN
(firm, but voice cracking, trying to convince himself)
Hey—hey! Listen to me. It’s okay. She’s okay…
CASEY
(snapping)
NO! MARTIN—no! I had her! I had her in my hands!
MARTIN glances at the tree line nearby, then back at CASEY. He swallows hard, trying to decide what’s next.
MARTIN
(intense)
Casey—look at me. We can’t panic. I don’t know what is goin’ on, but we can’t panic. Look, I’m gonna go to the car and you stay here and wait—
CASEY
(interjecting)
WHAT? No! I’m coming with you!
MARTIN
No, just stay right here. I’m gonna get help and you’ll stay here in case… in case she comes back up, okay!?
CASEY
NO wait, MARTIN!
MARTIN
(starting to run to the car)
JUST STAY HERE!
MARTIN begins to sprint for his car, while CASEY has her hands over her head.
SCENE 4
MARTIN stumbles as he runs. His breath is ragged. He grits his teeth, pushing forward.
Suddenly, his foot catches on something. He trips violently, crashing to the ground. His head smacks against the paved trail with a dull thud. He groans, clutching his head, rolling onto his back. The world begins to tilt.
WHISPERS.
He sits up slowly, disoriented, head throbbing. He spins in place, scanning the darkness.MARTIN gets back to his feet, unsteady, clutching the side of his head.
He sees his car in the distance. MARTIN gasps, stumbling toward it. He is about to place his hand on the car door handle—then he blinks. His eyes widened in horror. The car is gone. His hand rests in the icy current of the river.
CUT TO BLACK:
WHISPERS.
SCENE 5
CASEY is still pacing the riverbank.
CASEY
(panicking)
This isn’t real…it isn’t real…
Suddenly, she begins to hear the whispers. They grow louder and louder, pressing in on her until she stumbles back into the woods, then breaks into a run.
The voices follow her until she bursts onto a barren road. In the distance, headlights approach.Casey waves frantically at the car.
CASEY
HELP! Please—help me!
Suddenly:
HAINT
(in a breathy voice)
Hey!
She glances at her feet and sees a puddle.
The car stops. The driver gets out—but there’s no one there. With a shrug, he climbs back in and drives away, his tires splashing through the puddle.
CUT TO BLACK:
THE END.