Lost By Savannah Houston
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. DAY A large black landrover with mud splattered across the side of it and the wheels, trundles through the country road at a slow speed. The car passes through the fog as it whirls around the top of it, blocking the sight of the FATHER who is driving. INT. THE LANDROVER. DAY The FATHER squints his eyes trying to see out the windscreen due to the thick grey fog blocking his vision. The DAUGHTER is sitting in the front passenger seat with her elbow on the door and her hand holding her head up. FATHER (Turns his head to a slight degree and faces his DAUGHTER) You know.. you can’t sit here all day Louise and sulk, lighten up you silly billy. DAUGHTER (Looking out the window) I’m not sulking, I just.. don’t feel very well. FATHER (Says in a sarcastic voice) Sure you don’t... The FATHER turns his head to keep an eye on the road. He chuckles to himself and keeps turning the steering wheel avoiding any collisions. EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. DAY The landrover passes through the fog at a slow speed still. It stops at a junction for a few seconds and carries on down the straight road. The fog is starting to go away. Revealing parts of the landscape that surrounds the car. INT. THE LANDROVER. DAY The DAUGHTER sighs and carries on looking through the windscreen. She looks down at her phone and scrolls through her messages. She comes across one from a boy. She sighs.
(CONTINUED)
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2. DAUGHTER Dad.. FATHER Yes? DAUGHTER Can I go out tonight? FATHER Where exactly? DAUGHTER Out.. FATHER With who? DAUGHTER With a boy. FATHER I’ll think about it. Is it that popular boy from your school who keeps annoying me. You know I don’t like that guy. DAUGHTER (Chuckles to herself) It’s not him dad. FATHER Okay, then you can go out.
The car slows down and stops to a halt. The FATHER and DAUGHTER perk up and sit up straight. The DAUGHTER puts her phone down and observes what is happening. DAUGHTER What is that? FATHER A person I think, I can’t see very well because of the fog darling. DAUGHTER Should we help them? FATHER I’ll get out and have a look, stay here. And don’t put gangster music on the radio please. Remember what happened when you got kicked out of the supermarket for that. (CONTINUED)
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3.
DAUGHTER (Laughs) I won’t dad, don’t you worry. EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. DAY The the The his
vehicle is in one place. It has stopped on the side of road. The fog still swirling around the top of the car. car door opens and the FATHER steps out of it. Making way around the front bonnet.
Standing there is a medium sized girl is standing there. Her thumb lowers and she looks up. Her long soft brown hair covers her face because of the wind. She raises her hand and tucks one side of it behind her ear. She smiles as she looks up, sparking up as she does so. FATHER Hello, do you need some help? LOST GIRL Hi, yeah I do.. may I catch a lift with you? FATHER Yeah sure, come on in. You’ll have to tell me where you live though. I am currently lost myself. LOST GIRL Yes of course. Thanks so much.. er.. sir? FATHER (chuckles) Call me David, dear. The FATHER puts his hand behind her back to guide her to the back of the car. He opens the back door and gestures the LOST GIRL to get in. She shuts the door and the FATHER makes his way back to the drivers seat. INT. THE LANDROVER. DAY The LOST GIRL puts her seatbelt on and shivers to herself, looking out of the window. The FATHER does up his seatbelt and turns on the engine of the car. It makes a rattling sound.
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4.
FATHER Oh.. that can’t sound good. Might have a bit of trouble starting up the car here. Hold on a sec. DAUGHTER (Turns to face the LOST GIRL) So who might you be? The LOST GIRL faces the DAUGHTER and stares at her. Then looks away back to the window. DAUGHTER (Turns her head back to her phone) Oh, okay then. Only trying to be nice. FATHER So where abouts do you live.. LOST GIRL Just five miles from here. Carry on straight. And call me, Anna. FATHER (smiling) Okay then, Anna. We won’t be too long. DAUGHTER (Sighs) Good. EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. DAY The car still driving slowly, sets apart the fog. The FATHER moves his hand slightly and switches on the indicator. He turns right down a narrow, foggy, creepy looking road. He continues driving down the road past a few old houses. INT. THE LANDROVER. DAY FATHER So where exactly is this house of yours then? Down the road, to the side or where? LOST GIRL Continue slowly.
(CONTINUED)
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5.
FATHER Tell me when to stop alright? I don’t know these roads as good as you do. The LOST GIRL recognizes what the FATHER has said but chooses to ignore him and looks straight out the window again. Legs closed in a neat position like a little girl, hands on her lap. She moves one hand to wipe the condensation on the window and creates a little circle just enough for her to peer her eyes out of. The FATHER continues driving at a steady pace. FATHER So what does your house look like Anna? LOST GIRL Turn your head left. FATHER I see nothing but a narrow track, are you sure this is it? LOST GIRL Of course I am sure. This is MY house. FATHER Alrighty then. EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. DAY The landrovers wheels pushes the car through the muddy grass. Ahead of the car is a narrow track, covered with trees which have no leaves, dark shadows linger as the cars headlights shine through the patchy fog. The car pulls up at a black rusty gate. A big black gate. The headlights of the landrover, shine through the gate, leaving stripy shadows, which project onto the side of the old creepy house. INT. THE LANDROVER. DAY The FATHER pulls the handbrake and stops. The DAUGHTER puts her phone in her pocket and looks eager to look around. She fumbles around her pocket and finds a piece of gum. FATHER (Turning his head) So this is your house?
(CONTINUED)
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6.
The FATHER turns round completely and looks in shock, he turns to the windscreen and back again to the backseat. FATHER (Shocked) Louise! She isn’t there, Anna isn’t there. She isn’t in the backseat anymore, she’s gone, competely dissapeared! DAUGHTER Perhaps she just got out to let us through the front gate. FATHER No, she isn’t anywhere, look around, look around the car, look around the grass, I see nothing, you see nothing. DAUGHTER (One eyebrow raised) It’s too foggy to see anything Dad, we couldn’t see her in the fog remember? She is probably just letting us pass through. FATHER Look, I’m telling you, I heard no seatbelt go off, I heard no door slam, I heard nothing. Nothing at all. I see nothing at all either. The FATHER looks around abruptly and is confused as to what is happening, he shakes his head and pinches his skin to check that it’s not a dream. He looks at his DAUGHTER and looks back out the windscreen, staring at the black gate and breathing heavily through his nose. FATHER Right, I’m going to go inside and speak to her parents, just to check that she hasn’t already gone inside or whatever. This is seriously freaking me out. DAUGHTER I’m coming with you Dad, this is too freaky for me. FATHER Okay, unfasten your seatbelt and we’ll go into the gate and see who’s in the house.
7.
EXT. GIRLS HOUSE. EVENING The DAUGHTER and FATHER both unfasten their seatbelts and open their doors. The FATHER grabs a torch from the side of the door and holds it steadily in his hand. They meet eachother at the front of the car and stare at the big black gate ahead of them. DAUGHTER Do you reckon it’s already open? FATHER It must be if the little girl managed to go back to her house. Let’s give it a try. They both approach the gate, carefully treading on the muddyy ground beneath their feet. The leaves crinkle and disintergrate on the floor beneath them making small crunching noises. The FATHER puts his hand out while shining the torch on the gate, trying to find a way to open it. He pushes the gate gently, nothing. He waits a few seconds and kicks the gate open with the bottom of his foot. FATHER (Sounding impressed) Must’ve of been a bit rusty. DAUGHTER Yeah, it really looked like it. FATHER (Chuckles) I don’t appreciate your sarcasm sometimes. The FATHER makes sure the DAUGHTER goes through the gate first, making sure she is safe. He puts his arm around her and guides her to the front door. FATHER So I guess this is it. DAUGHTER This looks creepy. It reminds me of a haunted church Dad. You know, the ones in horror movies. FATHER You’ll be fine, I’m here to protect you.
(CONTINUED)
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8.
The FATHER notices an old, tainted handle, he touches it and knocks it. Making a loud echo noise on the door. You can hear footsteps travelling from inside the house. With some slight muffling noises coming from the inside. A small woman opens the door ajar, enough to see who is there. She opens it wider and looks upset. SMALL WOMAN And who might you be? FATHER I passed a girl on the road around 20 mintues ago, she directed me here. To this house. SMALL WOMAN (Sighs) This is not the time of night to be playing jokes on me sir. It’s not funny anymore. FATHER Joke? What joke? I’m not joking. A young girl.. The FATHER puts his hand out, indicating the height of the young girl he saw. The OLD WOMAN interupts. OLD WOMAN I don’t need this today. it’s her birthday, have some respect. This better not be a sick joke. I lost my beautiful young girl 4 years ago. She is meant to be 12 today. Please can you leave me alone and never come to this house again. I mean never. FATHER I’m sorry for what I’ve done but I really did see her, she had her thumb out, she wanted to come here. She directed me here, I swear. OLD WOMAN (Sighs) Just don’t come here again. The OLD WOMAN slams her door shut, causing a slight breeze to sweep pass the DAUGHTER and FATHER’s faces. They both signal eachother with slight confusion and start to head out from the front door and walk back to the car.
9.
INT. THE LANDROVER. EVENING The FATHER and DAUGHTER both sit in awkward silence. The FATHER looks at the backseat, and then back to his daughter. FATHER I could have sworn I saw that little girl right there. I could’ve sworn I did. I just know it. DAUGHTER That was some freaky shit. I don’t even know what to say. Can we just go home and sleep. Perhaps it was all a dream. FATHER I think it’s best that we do. The FATHER turns on the radio and attempts to start the car up. The car doesn’t start up and he looks stern. FATHER (Angrily) Ughhhh, not today. Please not today. C’mon, c’mon start up. The radio starts up, the volume gradually getting louder. A happy birthday tune starts playing. And the name Anna is repeated over and over again.