EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - EVENING
A slow breeze flows through the leafless branches of a hickory tree. The branches obscure the front of a brick apartment building.
INT. APARTMENT - EVENING
The orange glow of streetlamps barely shine through the closed blinds of an average-looking apartment living room. Average at first glance until you notice a spread of books on Satanism and witchery scattered on top of tables. Only the streetlights and the dim glow of lamps illuminate the space. Adjacent to the living room coffee table is a couch where MAEVE sits. A small girl with shortly cropped hair, MAEVE takes up only a fraction of the cushions, surrounded by pillows. Through large framed glasses, MAEVE reads one of the Satanism books.
The setting of the room comes better into focus: a large cork board rests near some of the books.
INSERT - CORK BOARD
where hastily taken Polaroids of graffiti pentagrams are tacked. Threads connect the Polaroids to one another. Dates and locations such as "10.01.18 | West Stairwell" are written on sticky notes under the images.
BACK TO SCENE
MAEVE takes a deep breath and closes the book. She removes her glasses and rests them on top of the book. With a puzzled expression on her face, she gets up to study the cork board.
She removes one of the Polaroids and holds it under the glow of the lamp.
MAEVE
But why here? What are they trying to-
The door to the apartment bursts open suddenly, slamming the wall. MAEVE jumps, clutching the photograph to her chest. In walks CHRIS excitedly. CHRIS stands with a similar stature to MAEVE, but MAEVE's brooding nature matures her. CHRIS radiates an air of childish wonder.
MAEVE takes a deep breath in and drops her arm.
CHRIS
Sorry!
CHRIS shuts the door gently behind him and approaches MAEVE.
CHRIS (CONTD.)
I have news.
MAEVE sits back down in her nook on the couch. CHRIS stands over her, bubbling with excitement.
CHRIS
So, I-
MAEVE cuts him off with a protest of her hand. She reaches to place her glasses on.
CHRIS
I was in-
MAEVE
(cutting him off)
Mm!
She gestures for him to sit on the couch beside her. She scoots back to make space for him, then gestures for him to continue.
CHRIS
I- okay. Woo. Breathe. Ah! Sorry this
is just so exciting.
MAEVE
Christian, please. I've been up all
night pouring over these books. There
is no correlation between any of this
nonsense.
MAEVE picks up the book she was reading earlier. She flips to a page in the middle where a red pentagram is drawn with the same hand as those in the pictures on the cork board.
CHRIS
Maevus. I've found them. I think.
MAEVE gasps with relief. CHRIS nods, taking the book from her hand. He spreads the book open between them.
CHRIS
I was walking home from class and
there was this glowing light coming
from the basement of some building.
Steam was literally coming out of the
ground near it.
MAEVE
Did you hear-
CHRIS
Incantations? Yes.
MAEVE takes her glasses off and tosses them onto the table. She jumps up with a devilish look on her face.
MAEVE
Well, let's go.
CHRIS
Now?
MAEVE
Is there a better time?
CHRIS glances hesitantly at the cork board.
EXT. SECRET BUILDING - LATER IN THE EVENING
The steam from a pipe comes up rapidly from the ground in front of a well-lit brick building. MAEVE and CHRIS walk hesitantly arm-in-arm, leaves crunching under their feet. They approach a side door of the building. CHRIS glances at MAEVE before pulling the door open.
INT. SECRET BUILDING
Stark white walls line a barren hallway. Directly inside, a steep staircase leads to a dark corridor. MAEVE and CHRIS walk down carefully. The faintest, nearly inaudible sounds of chanting come from the hallway beyond. They follow the sounds as the distorted chanting becomes louder.
They turn down a more narrow corridor.
WITCHES (O.S.)
...ut sit mihi et onmibus...
MAEVE and CHRIS stand in front of a large wooden door. MAEVE nods at CHRIS and he reaches to open the door. The handle is locked. A wave of terror comes over him. He turns to MAEVE for relief, but behind MAEVE's shoulder is a WITCH with long, stringy hair and a gown of black cloth. CHRIS screams and MAEVE turns to face the WITCH.
They both yell expletives and run back down the hallway.
The lights flicker as MAEVE and CHRIS try to navigate their way out of the basement. At every turn, a WITCH or WARLOCK stops them in their path.
They turn to a door and jingle it open. Relieved, they settle into their new surroundings.
INT. LAIR - NIGHT
MAEVE and CHRIS take a deep breath and turn around, looking around the room. They shine their flashlight revealing the two WITCHES. KYLE plays an eery melody on a large piano. GRACE reads from a heavy spell book. They look up nonchalantly at the young witch hunters. MAEVE and CHRIS gasp and rush to escape the lair.
The WITCHES approach slowly onto their victims. Just when they seem like they're about to attack MAEVE and CHRIS, the door opens quickly and the hunters escape.
KYLE and GRACE share a knowing smile.
CUT TO: EXT. SECRET BUILDING - NIGHT
MAEVE and CHRIS run from the building. They pass another building and the sound of their footsteps turns to scuffling and screams.
CUT TO BLACK:
TEXT: 6 MONTHS LATER
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Crickets and breaking branches play over the black screen. Shaky breathing gets louder as the screen fades into light. A flash makes the setting visible--a small dirt path in the middle of a wooded trail.
BRENNA (O.S.)
1:54 a.m. Topaz clearing. I'm only a
half hour walk from where my fellow
witch hunters--God rest their souls--
disappeared last winter. There's been
one consistent note from each witness:
they heard creepy singing from the
lair. Incantations.
The camera turns around to face BRENNA--a young, determined witch hunter.
BRENNA
They found the male, but not the
female. I haven't heard anything yet.
An owl hoots and a branch breaks loudly. BRENNA looks off toward the sounds. She looks back at the camera excitedly and smiles.
BRENNA
(whispering)
Getting closer.
The night sounds offset the silence as BRENNA walks further into the woods.
A soft singing grows louder. BRENNA stops abruptly then steps quietly towards the song. Through a clearing, GRACE paces around a cauldron.
GRACE chants lightly in an indeterminable language. BRENNA looks morbidly happy.
BRENNA
(whispering)
There she is.
BRENNA watches GRACE perform the ritual from behind a bush. Her flashlight flickers. She taps it to sustain the battery. The light cuts off.
BRENNA realizes the chanting has stopped. She looks up to the clearing. GRACE is gone.
BRENNA starts running back on the trail. The flashlight turns on quickly to reveal GRACE in the path.
BRENNA faces off to her. GRACE is concerned. Her tactics don't work on BRENNA.
BRENNA
Only me against you now.
BRENNA grabs a large stick, her eyes focused on GRACE.
BRENNA
(yelling)
This is for my friends!
BRENNA steadies her stance to charge. GRACE smiles. A thin hand rests gently on BRENNA'S shoulder.
The stick flies into GRACE'S hand. The camera pulls back to reveal MAEVE and CHRIS dressed in the dark garbs of the witches they once hunted.
BRENNA looks up in horror. Behind each of BRENNA'S shoulders, MAEVE and CHRIS look at each other and smile. BRENNA falls to her knees and pleads with the coven. GRACE joins them.
The witches sing a melodic incantation. BRENNA cries out.
CUT TO BLACK
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