Draft 3 - Remnants

ext. COUNTRY ROAD. evening
we see a car drive rather quickly down an empty dusty, but maintained road.
ext. WALTER'S HOUSE. evening
we see the car from the other shot pull up alongside WALTER'S house, TOM exits with a cigarette hanging loosely between his lips, he takes a deep and long drag from the cigarette and throws it to one side
TOM
(to the car driver)
see you later
We hear TOM'S ride speed away behind him. Its 5:30, the house is the only one for a good half a mile. the weather is good but slightly cloudy. TOM walks up to the front door of the house and knocks firmly, almost straight away the door swings open and TOM is greeted by WALTER JOHNSON, a 40 year old man who appears very neat and well-presented, he is wearing a fitted beige cardigan with neatly ironed brown trousers. WALTER smiles and invites TOM inside.

As TOM walks in past WALTER we see his face react badly to the smell of cigarettes on TOM'S clothes.

INT. WALTER'S HOUSE. EVENING

WALTER

Hi there Tommy, you're The babysitter right?

TOM

Yeah, TOM, that's me!

WALTER

Nice to meet you Tommy, my names is Walter.

TOM

Nice to meet you.

WALTER

Firstly Im guessing your a smoker, there will be no smoking inside the house, and you're not to leave any of that tobacco laying around anywhere, it looks revolting, secondly I would like to show you around the kitchen so you know where everything is and you enjoy your time here.

TOM

Ah, ok then, thanks

WALTER

I can imagine that you'd rather be out with your friends tonight instead of spending time here at a strangers house!

TOM

Aha, well yeah I guess but someones gotta do it haven't they? I'm saving up for a new bike so the money is going to come in handy!

WALTER

I suppose you're right TOMMY, someone has to! Well I'll show you around the kitchen to start with, I'm sure you'll know everything but I like to run a tight ship here.

WALTER proceeds to walk TOM through to the kitchen. 

INT.WALTER'S HOUSE, KITCHEN.EVENING

WALTER

So, you can help yourself to whatever you would like in the cupboards and fridge but please don't touch this food because it is gluten free, and this is part of my special diet.

TOM

Right? Ok no problem, so I can make all the food I want?

WALTER

Yes of course, within reason! I like all of my guests to feel at home. Follow me.

WALTER walks TOM into the lounge where he gives him further instructions. 

INT.WALTER'S HOUSE, LOUNGE.EVENING

WALTER

So, you can watch the TV, this remote controls the DVD player and this one controls the TV, and this...

TOM

(interrupting WALTER)

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll figure it out.

WALTER

OK, then, I'll leave you to it - I might be quite late. You are sure you don't mind? Oh and by the way, this is important: it took quite a while to get Charlie off to sleep and he's a very light sleeper. Please, please try to avoid going upstairs.  He wakes up at the drop of a feather! So as I say, if you don't mind please don't go upstairs.

TOM

Yeah, sure thing. But what about if he wakes up and I hear him crying?

A hint of a confused look seems to pass across WALTER's face, just for a second. 

Walter

Oh...yes.  If that happens he usually settles down on his own again anyway. Right I'll be off then. See you later.

WALTER leaves the lounge and exits via the front door. He locks the door behind him.

INT.WALTER'S HOUSE, KITCHEN.EVENING

TOM is seen looking through the masses of foods in his cupboard 

INT.WALTER'S HOUSE, lounge.EVENING

TOM slumps down onto the sofa and turns the TV on and begins shoveling food down his gullet.

fade out

FADE INTO

INT.WALTER'S HOUSE, LOUNGE.EVENING

TOM is seen sleeping on the sofa with the TV on in the background, he is awoken by his phone ringing, he quickly pulls his mobile from his pocket, the name on the phone reads LUKE.

TOM

(To the phone)

Yo alright man, what's up?

LUKE

Not a lot , you coming out tonight?

TOM

Nah sorry I can't I'm babysitting for some guy.

While TOM is on the phone he gets up from the sofa and looks at various things while on the phone. 

Luke

Haha, what you doing that for?

TOM

I need some money obviously, you should come round here mate, the guy won't be back till late he said and there is loads of food and drink.

LUKE

I think I'll pass mate, sounds pretty shit.

TOM

Alright then man, I wont be here too much longer so I might be out in a bit.

LUKE

It's a bit early for you to be leaving isn't it?

TOM

Its like 10 o'clock?

LUKE

Nah it aint mate, its only 7:30

TOM

Oh my god, I thought it was later than that, I've been asleep for ages

LUKE

Unfortunately not haha

Voices are heard in the background of LUKE'S phone asking for him to hurry up

LUKE

I've got to go man, I'll see you later

TOM

(exhausted/angry)

Yeah, alright.

TOM then hangs up his phone and chucks it down on the table in front of him, he sits up in the seat and puts his hands in his head and sighs, TOM then brushes of various crumbs and empty crisp packets from his body and gets up, he once again double checks the time to make sure LUKE wasn't messing him around, it reads 7:31, TOM looks hopelessly at the clock, and wonders what he's going to do with his boredom. He decides to look around the bottom of the house, as there is literally nothing else for him to do. 

TOM continues to walk around the bottom of the house looking at various things, he walks past the bottoms of the stairs and looks up them, he is tempted to go up there but fights the temptation. Although after some thought he decides to venture upstairs so, very quietly, he climbs the large wooden stairs. 

INT. WALTER'S HOUSE.landing.EVENING

TOM appears from the top of the stairs and looks straight ahead, he can see a room ahead of him with a child's warning note on the front, it reads 'WARNING, do not enter, Josh's room!' It has obviously has been made by a child. TOM doesn't dare walk down that end of the corridor in fear of waking the child, instead he enters the closest room on the right, the only door to be left a jar, he slowly walks in moving the door open extremely gently, it makes a loud creek and TOM stops opening the door immediately, he looks back towards the child's door, but hears nothing, so he walks into the room.

INT. WALTER'S HOUSE. WALTER'S ROOM.EVENING

TOM walks quietly into the bedroom, being wary of anything which could make noise, the room is very neat and clean, TOM walks over to the bedside table and sees a very expensive looking item, he picks it up and inspects it, but being the rude boy that he is he throws the expensive item onto the table.

Realizing that the upstairs is no more interesting than the lower floor he decides to go outside for a cigarette, so he pulls out a pouch of tobacco along with rolling papers and filters, he starts to roll a cigarette. but as he has rolled it he puts the roll up in between his lips and as he is about to put the tobacco pouch back into his pocket he drops accidentally by the side of  it along with all the tobacco onto the clean, cream carpet by the side of WALTER'S bed

TOM

Oh, shit!

TOM quickly covers his mouth, realizing what he has just said and how loud he said it, thinking that it could of woken the child, but once again, he hears no noise from the child's bedroom, TOM looks relieved, but then realizes that he must clean up the mess he has made in WALTER'S bedroom otherwise he will know that he has definitely been upstairs. 

TOM bends down by the side of WALTER'S bed and struggles to get every strand of tobacco up from the carpet, but as he reaches slightly under the bed to receive a small lump of tobacco, he notices a small, expensive looking box, being the curious boy that TOM is he pulls the box out from underneath the bed, he then sees that there is an opened padlock on the front of the box, so TOM takes off the padlock and looks inside, but the box is just completely full up with old newspaper cut outs, TOM'S excitement lowers as he realizes it's nothing interesting, but TOM still pulls out a couple of cut outs and inspects them, they are dated from around 8 years ago and they are about a family who were involved in a car crash and a young child and the mother died but the father survived, TOM then starts to wonder as to why this man has these cut outs under his bed, he goes on to read and realizes that the name of the father is WALTER, and the child who died is named CHARLIE, TOM thinks back to when he met WALTER earlier that night and he introduced himself, TOM then reads on another cut out saying how a grave robber stole a young child's corpse from a recently passed child.

TOM instantly jumps up and walks swiftly over to the doorway of WALTER'S bedroom and looks down the corridor at the child's door, TOM then begins to walk slowly towards the child's door, slowly he grips the door handle, takes a deep breaths and opens the door.

INT.walter's house.charlie's room

The first thing TOM sees as he enters the room is a small nightlight on in the far corner of the room, someones appears to be in the bed, but even if there is a sleeping child, TOM needs to make sure, he walks over cautiously and sees that the child is completely under the covers, as he gets closer to the bedside he begins to notice a foul stench coming from that side of the room and getting worse as he gets closer, once TOM reaches the child's bed he grips the duvet and draws it back slowly, TOM gasps in disbelief to what he has just discovered, a small child's corpse has been put into the bed and has begun to decompose, a strong stench hits TOM and he quickly tries to cover his face and nose in order to try and lessen the smell.

TOM moves slowly away from the bed and sits down onto a small child's chair which is in the corner of the room, he places his hands in his head and stares at the rotting body in the corner of the room, he gags slightly but manages to hold back the vomit. TOM decides then that he needs to call someone and he pulls out his phone and goes to call LUKE, but the call fails and his phones alerts him that he has no signal, he tries to move his phone into an area higher up which could get some signal but it's no use, so decides to go downstairs in order to find some better signal.

As TOM begins to walk down the hallway he hears WALTER enter through the front door and shout out for TOM.

WALTER

Tom! Im back, you can go now!

TOM turns frantically and rushes back into CHARLIE'S room in a panic, WALTER continues to call out for him.

WALTER

Tom? Where are you!

WALTER'S voice begins to sound more and more angered and he begins to quickly run upstairs.

TOM, who is still in CHARLIE'S room heads for a closet and hides inside, shutting the door behind him.

As WALTER reaches the top of the stairs he notices that CHARLIE's room door has been opened, he runs quickly down the hall and into the room, he searches briefly for TOM before sitting down next to his deceased child's body.

WALTER

Well well CHARLIE, I have no idea where your baby sitter went, I hope you didn't scare him away you naughty boy! I'll need to find him  as he will have to be able to keep our little secret, won't he?  What?  You want a bedtime story before I go?  All right then, but I will have to be qquick. We don't want Tom to tell anyone do we?   

WALTER goes on to pick up a small pile of books from the side of the bed.

WALTER cont'd

So Charlie, what book will it be today! Ooo this one sounds good, I'll choose for you tonight, I'll let you choose tomorrow!

TOM is left inside the cupboard as he listens to WALTER read his dead child a bedtime story.