Sam's Dreams
Scene 1
The disembodied laughter of Rosemary Shivers floats out of the darkness.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!..........
Sam - Ahhhhhhhhhh!
The laughter echoes menacingly around the room as Sam wakes and sits up rapidly. He’s in bed and has been having nightmares sent by Rose to torment him. He allows himself a moment to calm down, then gets out of bed, opens the curtains, throws on some clothes and leaves the bedroom.
He walks down the stairs and straight out of the open front door.
Scene 2
There is a courtyard outside and Robert has his head underneath his tractor’s hood, tinkering with the engine.
Sam was unable to go back to school after his family were murdered by Rose. He lives with Farmer Walker who kindly took him in. He helps out on the Farm.
Sam stretches.
Sam - Why didn’t you wake me up? It’s late.
Robert stops working and looks up.
Robert - Ahhhhh ye had another bad night.
Sam - Yelling again?
Robert - Aye.
Sam - Sorry.
Robert - Its no bother. Forgot to put me bleeding plugs in again.
Sam - What day is it today? I’m finding it harder to remember.
Robert - Well, that’s the other reason. It’s Saturday.
Sam - Great. Well, I’m going for a run then.
Robert - Good idea. If you don’t mind, can you check the fencing in the South field?
Sam - Course’
Sam starts to head off.
Robert - Sam.
Sam - Yea?
Robert - Why don’t you take Rufus along?
Rufus walks around from behind the tractor.
Sam - No thanks.
Robert - Run’ll do ‘im good.
Sam - You walk him through the fields every day. Maybe next time.
Sam turns around and runs off. Robert turns back to the tractor then looks at the dog.
Robert - ‘e loves you really. (Sighs)
Scene 3
Sam is running along paths, across fields, through trees and finds himself running towards the fence bordering his old home where he first met Robert and Daisy the Cow.
Before he reaches the fence he hears the cry of a crow in distress (craaww.) He looks around and sees a large crow with a badly damaged wing flapping around on the ground. He quickly catches the bird and examines it’s injuries.
Sam - Dam. It's bad. Sorry. There’s nothing I can do for you.
Sam expertly takes hold of the creature’s head and quickly pulls with a twist. The bird does not die and starts flapping and crawing. Sam is surprised.
Sam - Shit! Sorry!
Sam quickly tries again but again the bird fails to die.
Sam - Dam!
Sam pins the bird to the ground and stamps hard on it’s neck twice. He then checks the body and finds the animal has finally died.
Sam - That was terrible. I'm sorry bird. I'll give you a proper burial later.
Sam shudders then picks up the bird and continues on to the fence. He slows then stops. He stares across at the now forbidding structure. Although it is bright with the morning sun, the light doesn’t seem to penetrate very far into the house. Sam closes his eyes as he hears faint laughter.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Scene 4
Rose's laughter get's suddenly louder.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!..........
Sam - Ahhhhhhhhhh!
The laughter echoes menacingly in the darkness as Sam sits up rapidly. He’s in bed and has been having nightmares sent by Rose. He allows himself a moment to calm down, then gets out of bed, throws on some clothes and leaves the bedroom.
He walks down some stairs and straight out of the front door.
Scene 5
Outside, Robert has his head underneath his tractor’s hood, tinkering with the engine.
Sam stretches.
Sam - Why didn’t you wake me up? It’s late.
Robert stops working and looks up.
Robert - Ahhhhh ye had another bad night.
Sam - Yelling again?
Robert - Aye.
Sam - Sorry.
Robert - It's no bother. Forgot to put me bleeding plugs in again.
Sam - What day is it today? I’m finding it harder to remember.
Robert - Well, that’s the other reason. It’s Saturday.
Sam - Great. Well, I’m going for a run then.
Robert - Good idea. If you don’t mind, can you check the fencing in the South field?
Sam - Course’
Sam starts to head off.
Robert - Sam.
Sam - Yea?
Robert - Why don’t you take Rufus along?
Rufus walks around from behind the tractor.
Sam - No thanks.
Robert - Run’ll do ‘im good.
Sam - You walk him through the fields every day. Maybe next time.
Sam turns around and runs off. Robert turn back to the tractor then looks at the dog.
Robert - ‘e loves you really. (Sighs)
Scene 6
Sam is running along paths, across fields, through trees and finds himself running towards the fence bordering his old home where he first met Robert and Daisy the Cow.
Before he reaches the fence he hears the cry of a crow in distress (craaww.) He looks around and sees a large crow with a badly damaged wing flapping around on the ground. He quickly catches the bird and examines it’s injuries.
Sam - Dam. It's bad. Sorry. There’s nothing I can do for you.
Sam expertly takes hold of the creature’s head and quickly pulls with a twist. The bird does not die and starts flapping and crawing. Sam is surprised.
Sam - Shit! Sorry.
Sam quickly tries again but again the bird fails to die.
Sam - Dam!
Sam pins the bird to the ground and stamps hard on it’s neck twice. He then checks the body and finds the animal has finally died.
Sam - That was terrible. I'm sorry bird. I'll give you a proper burial later.
Sam shudders then picks up the bird and continues on to the fence. He slows then stops. He stares across at the now forbidding structure. Although it is bright with the morning sun, the light doesn’t seem to penetrate very far into the house. Sam closes his eyes as he hears faint laughter.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Scene 7
Rose's laughter get's suddenly louder.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!..........
Sam - Ahhhhhhhhhh!
The laughter echoes menacingly in the darkness and Sam sits up rapidly. He’s in bed and has been dreaming of Rose. He allows himself a moment to calm down, then gets out of bed, throws on some clothes.
Sam - What? What the hell?
He looks around then hurries out of the room with a really anxious expression on his face.
He walks down the stairs and straight out of the front door.
Scene 8
Outside, Robert has his head underneath his tractor’s hood, tinkering with the engine.
Sam - Why…….didn’t you…….wake me up?
Robert stops working and looks up.
Robert - Ahhhhh ye had another bad night.
Sam - I...know. Yelling again?
Robert - Aye.
Sam - Sorry.
Robert - Ey, its no bother. Forgot to put me bleeding plugs in again.
Sam - ......put your bleeding plugs in again. Yea. What day is it today? I…….I…….can’t remember.
Robert - Well that’s the other reason. It’s Saturday.
Sam - Something's really wrong. I need to clear my head. I’m going for a run.
Robert - What's that?
Sam - I said i'm going for a run!
Robert - Can you check the fences in the South field?
Sam - Yes! See you later.
Sam starts to head off. He’s really anxious. He really wants to get away.
Robert - Sam?
Sam - What? I really need to get going.
Robert - Why don’t you take Rufus?
Sam - No way sorry!
Robert - You can’t forget Sam! Don’t forget them!
Sam turns around and runs off. Robert turns back to the tractor then looks at the dog.
Robert - Dead Rufus. Dead Rufus.
Scene 9
Sam is running along paths, across fields, through trees and then finds himself running towards the fence bordering his old home where he first met Robert and Daisy the Cow.
Before he reaches the fence he hears the cry of a crow in distress (craaww.) However, the cry also sounds as if the crow is calling his name at the same time. He looks around and sees a crow with a badly damaged wing flapping around on the ground. (It is not a crow but his mother, Claire Emery. She has a badly broken arm although he still thinks he sees the crow.) He quickly rushes over and examines her injuries as if he were examining a crow’s wing.
Sam - No. It's bad. Sorry. There’s nothing I can do for you.
Sam expertly takes hold of his mother’s head.
Claire - Sam. Please.
He quickly pulls with a twist. She does not die and starts flapping and saying Sam’s name.
Sam - I’m really sorry.
Sam quickly tries again but again his mother fails to die.
Claire - No….stop. Please. I’m alive.
Sam - Christ!
Sam pins his mother to the ground and stamps hard on her neck twice. He then checks the body and finds she is dead.
Sam - That was terrible. I'm sorry. I'll give you a proper burial later.
Sam shudders then grabs his mother by the hand and starts dragging her towards the fence. He slows then stops. He stares up at the forbidding structure. Although it is bright with the morning sun, the light doesn’t seem to penetrate very far into the house. He looks around. Sam sighs and closes his eyes as he hears the faint laughter of Rose.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Scene 10
Rose's laughter get's suddenly louder.
Rose - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!..........
Sam - Ahhhhhhhhhh!
The laughter echoes menacingly in the darkness and Sam sits up rapidly. He’s in bed and has been dreaming of Rose. He allows himself a moment to calm down then remembers this has happened before. He stumbles to the ground and appears to be very dizzy. He scrambles on some trousers.
He stumbles down the stairs and straight out of the front door.
Scene 11
Outside, Robert has his head underneath his tractor’s hood, tinkering with the engine. Rufus the dog is tied up but straining against the rope and barking in Sam’s direction. (Dog continues to bark through whole scene.)
Sam - Why didn’t you wake me up?! You just left me there!!
Robert stops working and looks up.
Robert - Ahhhh ….(cough)…..I……(cough)….I……..ahhhhh (cough, cough.)
Sam - What’s the matter? Are you alright?
Robert starts to cough and choke. Sam becomes frightened for him and rushes over. Sam starts hiting him hard on the back.
Sam - What’s wrong!?
Suddenly Robert vomits blood onto the ground and his coughing becomes laughter.
Robert - Cough…ha..cough…..ha ha ha.
Sam - Robert?
Robert - Cough….ha ha.
Sam - I’m going. Now!
Sam turns and starts to run away.
Robert - Ha ha ha….cough…take the mut! No?! Too dead?! Cough…can’t remember what day it is?! Cough….ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Scene 12
Sam is running along paths, across fields, through trees and then finds himself running towards the fence bordering his old home where he first met Robert and Daisy the cow.
Before he reaches the fence he hears the cry of a crow in distress (craaww.) However the cry also sounds as if the crow is calling his name at the same time. He looks around and finds his mother with a badly damaged arm flapping around on the ground. (He still thinks it’s an injured crow.) He quickly rushes over and examines her injuries as if he were examining a crow’s wing.
Claire - Sam. Help me.
Sam - There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
At this point a distant screaming starts and gets gradually louder.
Sam takes hold of his mother’s head and quickly pulls with a twist. She does not die and starts flapping and calling Sam’s name.
Claire - Sam, please!
Sam - Just die!
Sam quickly tries again but again his mother fails to die.
Claire - No! Please! Stop.
Sam pins his mother to the ground and stamps hard on her neck twice. He then checks the body and finds she is dead.
Sam - I....can’t.....take it. Just (stamp)! Die (stamp)!
Sam shudders then grabs his mother by the hand and starts dragging her towards the fence. He slows then stops. The screaming is getting louder. He stares up at the forbidding structure then turns around to look at the body of the crow but is then able to see that it is in fact the body of his mother. The screaming becomes very loud as Sam screams out and throws himself on the body and hugs it.
Sam - No! Noooo!! I didn’t know! What’s happening to me?
Suddenly the body’s eyes flick open and all the noise stops dead. Sam immediately drops the hand in fright.
Sam - Ahhhh!
Sam is terrified. The body speaks with a man’s voice (Sergeant Alex Alderney’s voice.)
Claire - Wake up Sam. Wake up.
Scene 13
Sam is lying in his old bedroom in his old home. Sergeant Alex Alderney is kneeling next to him attempting to wake him up.
Alex - Wake up Sam. Come on, that’s it.
Sam opens his eyes and leans forward to hug Alex fiercely.
Alex - Easy. You’re alright. I’m here now.
Sam - It’s her. She’s in my head.
Alex - I know.
Sam - I can’t escape. I don’t know what’s real and what’s a dream.
Alex - You’re strong Sam. Be strong. You wouldn’t have lasted this long if you weren't.
Sam -How did you find me?
Sam has a flashback – He’s standing at the fence between his old house and Robert’s land.
Alex - Robert told me you went for a run but had been gone for too long.
Sam has another flashback. He’s climbing over the fence and walking up to the front door of the house. (Everything in the house is dirty and soiled. There is evidence of the horrors that were inflicted on his family. The scene moves quickly as if in fast forward.)
Alex - We were worried about you so I came looking. You always end up here, so…..
Sam has another flashback. He opens the door to his family home and steps inside. He walks around downstairs touching things. (Happens in fast forward except when touching the familiar objects in the house.) The real Rufus follows Sam around, although shadowy, like a wraith. Rufus also has jet black eyes.
Sam - Two hours? I can’t even remember coming up here.
Sam has another flashback. He walks up the stairs and into the bedrooms. He dives on his parents old bed, screaming, crying and thrashing about. He picks up a bedside table and hurls it through the bedroom window.
Alex - Sam!?
Sam - What?
Alex - You keep phasing out. Don’t you want to get out of here?
Sam has another flashback. He leaves his parents bedroom and runs into his sister’s bedroom. He throws himself onto the bed as if for comfort and flinches, launching himself into the corner of the room, curling up into a ball and crying. Like Rufus, the shadowy figure of Isabel forms on the bed. Sam can’t see as she beckons towards him.
Alex - Sam!
Sam - Yes! Yes. I need to get out now. Right now.
Alex - Come on.
Alex holds Sam's arm as they rush out of the bedroom, along the corridor and start down the stairs. Halfway down, Sam has a vision and his legs suddenly stop responding and he falls headlong down the rest of the stairs, bowling Alex over, and slamming his face into the floor at the bottom.
Sam has another flashback. He is kneeling before his Father, David.
David - It’s my turn now son.
Sam - Ugghh, no. It was Rose…..
David - No. It was you. You did it.
David grabs Sam’s throat and starts to pour acid into his mouth. Sam’s throat and cheeks start to dissolve as the acid eats them away.
Scene 14
There is darkness and silence. Into the silence comes a rapid, ragged breathing. It is Sam who is genuinely waking up from his nightmares this time. He’s in his bed, in his bedroom in Robert’s Farmhouse. He suddenly sits bolt upright clutching at his heart, panting and sweating.
Sam - Dad! No!
He becomes fully awake and looks around. He struggles out of bed and mindlessly throws on any clothing to hand. He stumbles down the stairs, through the front door and into the farm courtyard, where Robert has his head underneath his trusty tractor, tinkering with the engine. Sam stops suddenly. He looks very frightened, confused and unsteady on his feet. Robert hears movement and pulls his head out from under the engine hood and turns towards Sam.
Robert - Mornin’.
Sam - Something’s wrong. I feel …....I feel……...wrong. It’s all......wrong.
Robert - Sam, listen to me. You’re awake and it’s Saturday morning.
Sam - I’ve done this……..I’ve done this already. I think I’m asleep. I don’t know.
Robert starts walking over towards Sam.
Robert - You’ll be ok. You’re awake Sam. This is real.
Sam - No. Stay away from me! This is a dream!
Sam doubles over and starts to vomit violently. Robert reaches out to steady Sam and helps hold him up while he empties his stomach.
Robert - I’ve got you son. I’ve got you. It’ll be alright.
Sam vomits again, then passes out.
Scene 15
It is morning and Rose is lying on her bed with her eyes closed. She slowly opens her eyes and smiles.
Rose Mmmmm. Poor Sam. Soon, he’ll cut off his own head rather than face the madness.
She gets up and walks out of the bedroom and along the corridor. She opens the door to another bedroom and looks inside. It is Mort’s bedroom. The room is completely immaculate and very sparsely furnished. The bed has not been slept in. The walls are completely bare apart from one small area in the center of the wall, opposite the bed, which has been marked by Mort with hundreds of tiny, complicated symbols. Rose walks over to the wall and traces her finger along some of the symbols then turns sharply on her heal and walks out. She goes down the stairs and into the kitchen. She walks to the kettle, puts water in it, places it on the hob and then takes a mug out of a cupboard. She stands looking out of the window whilst waiting for the water to boil, then puts a teabag and then hot water into the mug. She then walks over to the fridge and opens the door. Mort is inside the fridge, apparently asleep. He has shoved the small amount of food aside and forced the shelving out of the way. Rose does not register any suprise at all.
Rose - Mort.
Mort’s head comes up and faces Rose instantly.
Rose - What are you doing in the fridge?
Rose - Mmmmmm. And why do you like the cold and the dark?
Rose - You've been there before? It helps? Helps what?
Rose grabs what’s left of the milk.
Rose - Fine, stay there then, (Rose slams the fridge door) miserable wretch.
Rose walks over to her tea then looks up.
Rose - I don't know Mort.
Rose pours the milk in her tea and walks out of the kitchen.
Scene 16
Robert and Alex are sat down near Sam who they have laid down on the sitting room couch. Sam gradually regains consciousness and can hear Robert and Alex talking quietly.
Alex - He’s getting worse.
Robert - I know. We should take ’im back to the Doc.
Alex - Yea? Because that really helped didn’t it.
Robert - What else c’n we do?
Alex - There’s only one thing left. We have to find Rose and stop her.
Robert - Ha!
Alex - Why not?
Robert - Because we’ll end up dead or mad. What can we do against that? (Points at Sam)
Alex - Look. He can’t take much more of this. We’re losing him after we both promised to look after him.
Robert - (Sighs) Ok.
Sam moves slightly and Alex notices he’s awake. Alex nudges Robert to let him know.
Robert - How are you feeling?
Sam opens his eyes and stretches his arms.
Sam - Where’s Rufus? I want to see him.
Alex and Robert share a knowing and sad look. Robert gets up.
Robert - I’ll see ye later. I’ve got to see to the animals.
Robert walks out clearly distraught.
Alex - Sam, there’s no dog called Rufus. Not here at the farm anyway.
Sam - What do you mean? Robert walks him every day. He asked me to walk him earlier. I didn’t want to....but...
Alex - I know this is difficult for you because of these dreams you’re having, but there is no dog, not any more. And before you say anything, since the day Robert and I rescued you, you’ve never been back to that house, or anywhere near it.
Sam - I'm totally lost.
Alex - No. We're going to fight and we're going to save you.
Sam - I feel strange all the time now. I’m going insane.
Alex - It's bad, but you're not insane yet. We’ve got a plan to get rid of her, but you’ve got to hold on.
Sam - Hold on to what? She took my family, my dog and now she’s taking me.
Alex gives Sam a short but fierce hug then stands up.
Alex - We won’t let that happen.
Sam - So what’s the plan?
Alex - Get up and get dressed. We’re gonna turn the tables on her.
Sam - Oh good.