17424196 Unbeatable

UNBEATABLE: "Save Money. Die Better." Or "Always...Until Now." by Mead McCormick

Mead McCormick 5300 #3 S. Greenwood Ave Chicago, IL 60615 [email protected] 757-561-1588

2.

FADE IN: INT. VALOIS CAFETERIA- 10:45 AT NIGHT A group of teenagers sit around a long rectangular table, eating pancakes and chatting. JENNY, 18, white, has long hair and is generally pretty. KAY, 18, is hispanic and wears glasses. CHRIS, 15, is Kay’s little brother. He also wears glasses, and plays his gameboy. MARTY, 18, tall, sits with DEBBIE, 18, with a similar haircut. They are one of those couples that look like they could be related. LUCY, 18, middle eastern, looks on at them intently. TED, 23, is scruffy-looking, with a ragged leather jacket. VINCE, 18, white, is handsome, preppy, and has a small mustache that he seems proud of. Ted is opening all the butter packets and spreading them around on his plate. Marty and Debbie are making a display of affection that Lucy watches. Her food is untouched. LUCY Marty? You need some sugar for your coffee? She holds the sugar in front of their locked faces. Kay takes it from her.

3.

KAY Of course he does. She pours some sugar in the coffee. KAY (CONT’D) I think they’re busy. Ted notices this interaction. He glances at Lucy for a moment and smiles. What?

LUCY

TED Nothing, you’re cute. Lucy gives him a a look of disgust. Vince begins to pull a bottle of wine out of his backpack, when the WAITRESS, walks up to the table. He stuffs it away. WAITRESS Can I refresh y’alls’ coffees? VINCE Oh, yes please, ma’am. She gives him a look. Ted holds his cup out without saying anything. JENNY No thank you. She fills the cups and walks away, looking disgruntled. Vince clears his throat and taps his water glass with his fork. VINCE Can I have everyone’s attention? Everyone stops what they’re doing (except Marty and Debbie) and looks at Vince. VINCE (CONT’D) As we all know, tonight is a very special night for Jenny, and in fact, for all of us. It is?

JENNY

4.

Everybody looks at Vince quizzically. VINCE It’s her first anniversary of moving here! And by default, the first anniversary of our jobs, and our dear Walmarts 1 year-old birthday. Happy Birthday Walmart! (to Jenny) And, congratulations on surviving a year in a place with nothing to do. They laugh and a couple of them clap. VINCE (CONT’D) Now, I brought a little something to celebrateHe checks to make sure the Waitress is nowhere in sight and then pulls the bottle of wine out of his bag and reveals it to them. Ooh!

CHRIS

JENNY Oh, no no no. We have to be at work in... She checks her watch. JENNY (CONT’D) Ten minutes! We can’t drink on the job. VINCE Aw, come on, it’s just tonight. No customers, just us in there... TED (TO KAY) The cons of knowing the manager’s daughter. KAY (TO TED) If it wasn’t for her you wouldn’t have a job. TED (TO KAY) If it wasn’t for Vince I wouldn’t have a job. KAY (TO TED) And where do you think Vince got it from?

5.

Vince makes a puppy face at Jenny. She grins but still shakes her head. TED Here, let me open it. He pulls a bottle opener from his jacket pocket and starts to open it. KAY That’s not sketch. TED I don’t see you contributing! Ted opens the bottle easily, and begins to pour it into one of the glasses on the table. The Waitress suddenly appears from the kitchen and stands at the table, staring at the wine bottle in Ted’s hands. Uh-oh.

LUCY

WAITRESS What is this? Out! Now! The group of teens grab their bags and leave money on the table, grumbling at Ted. TED Come on! It’s a holiday! WAITRESS No holiday I ever heard of. Nu-uh, not having it. Out, get out, get out! EXT. PARKING LOT- 11:00 PM The group of teens walk across a parking lot towards WALMART. Marty finds a shopping cart and Debbie climbs into it. Push me!

DEBBIE

They zoom down the lot towards the main entrance of the store, a wall of three sets of automatic doors. Lucy jogs along behind them, ignored.

6.

Oh well!

TED

He starts gulping down the wine. Vince sees him, laughs and then grabs the bottle from him, taking a gulp himself. He hands it to Chris but Kay intercepts and sips. She hands it over to Jenny, but Jenny shakes her head. Ted suddenly pretends to be drunk. He goes over to a semi truck parked nearby and starts banging on it. TED (CONT’D) (shouting) Hey! Anyone home? Hellooo! A small, stray dog wanders over to the remaining four of them from behind a car. He immediately approaches Jenny, and walks next to her. She kneels down and pets him. JENNY Aw, hi puppy! How are you? What are you doing out here? She picks up the dog, cradling him. VINCE Don’t do that, Jenny. It’s probably diseased. JENNY He is not. Look, he’s fine! Just a little skinny! (to DOG) Are you hungry? You like hash browns? Chris scratches the dog’s ear. KAY What- are you doing? CHRIS What? It’s a cute dog. JENNY We’ll just tie him up in the back and I’ll take him home when we get off our shift. VINCE Ok, but let’s go, we’re late. Ted continues his prank on the truck.

7.

TED Hello! Isn’t anybody in there? The passenger door with a beard and a back around to his the truck and then

of the truck opens and a very tall man John Deere cap, waits for Ted to walk side. Ted bangs around the front of notices him.

Oh. Uh. Hi.

TED (CONT’D)

Ted sprints away. JOHN DEERE (muttering) Kids is liable to get themselves killed. He slams the door shut. INT. CAR IN PARKING LOT- NIGHT A man in his forties, LUNCHBOX, wearing a Walmart shirt as well, sits in a run-down car parked at the far end of the lot. His fingers rap against something metal on the seat next to him. He watches the group of teens walk into the store. Then he gets out of the car, grabbing the metal lunch box beside him. The lunchbox is like that of a construction worker’s, metal with an arched top and a buckle fastener. It is painted in pastel colors with hearts on all sides. INT. WALMART- FRONT ENTRANCE The group walks in, and Vince sits on one of those ponies for little kids to ride. He pulls a quarter out of his pocket and slides it into the slot. A carnival tune plays and the pony goes up and down and back and forth; a ridiculous grin on its face. Vince imitates this ridiculous grin at Jenny, who blushes. JENNY Come on, get off. It’s for kids, you’re gonna break it! VINCE Nu-uh, I’m still a kid!

8.

The pony suddenly jerks, and Vince falls off of the front of it. Ow! Told you.

VINCE (CONT’D) JENNY

The pony keeps going back and forth. Vince rubs his head and looks at it curiously. VINCE (trailing off) But I didn’t break it... Ted goes around to the rest of the claw games, fortune tellers, scales, etc, checking to see if anyone’s left change in the bottom. He finds a quarter and sticks it in his pocket. They catch up with the rest of the gang, who are at ERNIE’s register. Late thirties, morbidly obese, with dark hair, a mustache, and a scrubby beard. He’s the only cashier there. ERNIE There’s my Jenny! Y’all are late. KAY She found a dog in the parking lotCHRIS She’s going to adopt it! ERNIE Oh yeah, look at him! He’s cute! JENNY Isn’t he? You think it would be okay if I tied him up in the back, just until the morning? ERNIE I won’t tell anybody. Just make sure he has water. I will!

JENNY

MARTY Oh yeah, We got you your favorite, Ernie-

9.

DEBBIE Denver omelette! They hand Ernie a styrofoam container and plastic fork. He digs in. ERNIE (mouth full) Delicious. Y’all better all get to the back and start restocking. We have a long night ahead of us if we want to get inventory finished. Ted, who has been stuffing his pockets with packs of cigarettes, joins back up with them. Lunchbox steps in and stops for a moment, looking at the group of them, chatting around the register. ERNIE (CONT’D) Evening, Lunchbox! How are you tonight? (to Chris) Go ahead and lock the doors. He tosses Chris a huge ring of keys. Chris goes to the wall of automatic doors at the front and begins to lock them. Lunchbox doesn’t answer him but walks towards the back. ERNIE (CONT’D) Come on, it can’t be that bad. Can I just have a smile? It would make my night that much easier! Lunchbox just shakes his head. ERNIE (CONT’D) Never met a man so bitter. So crazy-

So creepy!

LUCY DEBBIE AND MARTY (IN UNISON)

JENNY Aw, come on guys. We don’t know what his deal is. TED Maybe he’s retarded.

10.

ERNIE Whatever’s wrong with him, he’s at work and working, which is more than I can say for all of you. DEBBIE Ok, ok, we’re going. Chris returns Ernie’s keys to him. Thank ya.

ERNIE

INT. MAIN AISLE They walk down the main aisle of the store, towards the back. Ted takes a pack of the cigarettes he pilfered and hands it to Chris. Chris goes to take it, but Kay steps between them. KAY (to Chris) Don’t even think about it. Ted puts the cigarettes back in his pocket. TED What shouldn’t he be thinking about? Being friends with me? KAY He knows exactly what he shouldn’t be thinking about, Ted. Ted drags Chris over to one of those phone outposts on the end of an aisle and speaks into it with a nasally voice. While doing so, he slips a pack of cigarettes into Chris’s vest pocket. TED (P.A.) Customer assistance needed in aisle 52B. Customer Kay needs Motrin. Or was it tampons? Customer assistance neededKay grabs the phone and hangs it up. Ted and Chris laugh. KAY Shut up, dickwad.

11.

She hits Ted hard in the arm. TED Oww. See Chris, you should follow your sister’s example and react violently to your friends’ teasing. KAY You’re not my friend. Ted grabs where his heart is in fake grief. TED Let’s take a walk, Chris. What do you say? Um, sure? Um, no.

CHRIS KAY

She grabs Chris by the collar and pushes him ahead. Ted laughs at them lightly and grabs a pinwheel from a nearby display. INT. BACK ROOM Jenny ties up the stray dog to a shelf in the back with a spare bit of rope. She sets down her leftovers and opens the box for the dog to eat. She also sets down a bowl of water for him. After petting him for a moment, she goes to get boxes for her department. She gets a couple Blu-ray players but cannot lift a box of Xbox 360s. Vince grabs it easily. VINCE Let me take that for you. Hey, thanks.

JENNY

INT. AISLE They walk to the electronics department. VINCE So when do you think you’ll take your fifteen?

12.

JENNY I don’t know, I hadn’t thought about it. Why? VINCE I’m just trying to figure out when I should take mine. JENNY Oh yeah? You want to avoid me or something? VINCE No, the opposite, actually. JENNY I see. You want to stalk me. Vince gives her a look. She laughs. They’ve reached her department. He sets down the box. INT. ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT They look at each other for a moment, not saying anything. Vince looks around for something to do. He absentmindedly presses the button on the CD sample display for Roy Orbison hits. Some extremely romantic song begins to play. Vince bites his lip and quickly presses the big band button instead. It’s getting painfully awkward, when suddenly the lights flash off, row by row down the store. Everything is dark for a moment. Then the lights turn back on, all at once. Both of them blink to get used to the light again. JENNY That was weird. VINCE It’s probably Ted, fuckin’ around. He shouts towards the back room. VINCE (CONT’D) You’re not scaring us, Ted! Nice try!

13.

Jenny laughs at him. Vince smiles at her laughter. VINCE (CONT’D) Well, I have several bags of mulch with my name on them, so I’ll see you...at one? One? Okay. Right here? Right here.

JENNY VINCE JENNY

Vince suddenly leans over and kisses her on the cheek, and then jogs off. Hey!

JENNY (CONT’D)

She laughs, and unpacks the game consoles and put them on a locked shelf. She turns on each of the video game test monitors, and then goes to the back wall, where she turns on each of the Hi-Def flat screen televisions. A different movie plays on each, except for a few which show a view of the store somewhere near the electronics. She mutes them all with a universal remote, turns on a stereo to her favorite station, and twists the volume knob as far up as it will go. She dances in front of the digital camcorders. She appears on the row of flat-screen tvs as she lip syncs to the song that’s playing. Lunchbox stands in another aisle, watching her on the tvs. SERIES OF SHOTS A) Main aisles of the Wal-Mart, empty B) Row of registers. Ernie flips a switch. The blue, numbered lights switch off C) Cereal, cat toys, makeup, t-shirts with slogans D) Rollback signs above clearance bins E) Steaks, lawnmowers, bottles of pills, guns

14.

F) The automatic doors, with EXIT in big letters across them END SERIES OF SHOTS INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Lucy carries a number of deli meats and cheeses to the butcher counter. She stocks them inside the refrigerated case. There is a high-pitched squeal of laughter. Lucy comes out from behind the counter and looks down the main aisle. Marty and Debbie are chasing each other with pillows, giggling. Lucy growls. LUCY Get a hold of yourself. She goes back to the butcher counter and starts taking inventory of the different meats. More laughter. She can’t help it. She goes back to look at them. They stand in the middle of the aisle, kissing. Tears well up in her eyes. She stalks back behind the counter and resumes her work, leaning down under the glass case. LUCY (CONT’D) Obviously, he doesn’t give a fuck about you. Get over it. Who? Marty?

TED

Lucy looks through the glass and sees Ted staring at her. Startled, she jumps and hits her head on the case. She yanks a log of honey ham out of the meat slicer and throws it at Ted. Ted catches it, smells it, and frowning, puts it back on the counter. LUCY Go back to Toys, asshole. She starts up the meat slicer. It jams. LUCY (CONT’D) Shit. Look, you made me break the damn thing again.

15.

TED Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. I just want to help you. We’re good friends, right? No.

LUCY

TED Huh. I’ve been hearing that a lot tonight. LUCY Maybe there’s a reason. She struggles with the slicer. Then, unjamming, it slices her finger. Ouch, fuck!

LUCY (CONT’D)

She pinches her finger and watches blood ooze out of it. Suddenly, she begins to cry. Ted sees this and joins her behind the counter. He grabs a first aid kit from a cabinet, and takes out a tube of neosporin and a band-aid. Hey heyGet off!

TED LUCY

He grabs her wrist. She gives in. He fixes up her finger, and glances at her as she tries to wipe the tears off her face as nonchalantly as possible. TED You want me to break them up? What? No.

LUCY

He shrugs and wraps the band-aid carefully around her finger and checks the rest of her hand to make sure there are no other cuts. Lucy watches him do this. LUCY (CONT’D) How would you do that? Ted begins to massage her hand.

16.

TED Easy. I would seduce Debbie. Lucy grabs her hand away from him. LUCY Psht. Like you could ever. No thanks. TED Sure I could. She’ll jump in any dude’s pants. Lucy huffs. Ted leans back against the counter. TED (CONT’D) You enjoy being miserable. LUCY That’s not true! He starts up the slicer. It works fine. He throws the honey ham in the trash and puts away the first aid kit. TED Ok. I know what we could do to cheer you up. Lucy leans against the counter where he was before. Ted rests his hands on the counter, on either side of her. He looks her in the eye. LUCY Alright. What? TED We can pull a prank on Lunchbox. LUCY Oh come on, the last one didn’t work. TED No look, I saw him over in the Auto department just now. He won’t be back for a half hour at least. We can rearrange a bunch of boxes and see if he figures it out. Lucy makes a sort of half frown. TED (CONT’D) Aw, come on. The look on his face will be priceless.

17.

LUCY I guess so. I have to go back there to get fish sticks anyway. INT. BACK ROOM Lucy and Ted, perched on the arms of a forklift, manage to push a microwave to the back of a top shelf. They high five, jump down, and rearrange a bunch of smaller boxes. TED Who knows, maybe he’ll get fired. Then you can get Nancy a job here. LUCY Or we could get fired. I won’t get my hopes up too much. Lunchbox is clever. Lucy kneels down and pets the stray dog. He wags his tail. She refills his water bowl. TED Maybe. Hey, want to, uh, join me out back for a smoke? LUCY I don’t smoke. Ted grins. TED (pause) The other kind. LUCY Ohhh. Then yeah, sureChris shows up in the back and goes to get a car seat from a shelf. Ted winks at Lucy. TED Hey Chris, you’re not busy, are you? No,

CHRIS but I should finish th-

He pauses when he sees both of them smiling at him.

18.

CHRIS (CONT’D) What? Are you guys trying to get me in trouble? TED No way. We just want to make your sister angry. CHRIS My sister’s always angry. Ted puts an arm around Chris’s shoulder and steers him out the back door. Lucy follows them. EXT. BACK OF BUILDING Lucy, Ted and Chris lean against the brick wall of the building and take puffs from a joint. LUCY This is what I needed tonight. Ted puts his arm around her shoulder. TED If you need anything else, just let me know. LUCY Gross. You’re like twenty-five. TED (defensively) Twenty-three! Chris takes a puff and laughs, which turns into a violent cough. The other two laugh at him. Ted pats him on the back. INT. BACK ROOM Lunchbox comes in with a small, handheld computer scanner thing, and a clipboard. He goes to the furthest left shelf and begins to count the boxes of each product. He stops, confused by his count of microwaves along the bottom of the shelf. He goes back and counts them one more time. Still not right.

19.

Then he notices the forklift is still on, humming. Angrily, he looks up and sees the missing microwave on the top shelf. He climbs up on the forklift and tries to reach the microwave. He can barely get it. He stands on his tiptoes, and manages to get a hold of it pulling it towards the edge of the shelf. Lunchbox grabs both corners of the box and tries to lift it off of the shelf, but the forklift suddenly lurches up. He lets go of the box and falls fifteen feet to the concrete floor below. A moment later, the microwave falls off of the shelf. The corner of the box hits Lunchbox in the head. His vision goes black. INT. BACK ROOM Lunchbox wakes up on the floor, with the box next to him. He feels his head. He is bleeding. He gets a fierce grimace on his face and wipes the blood off with his blue vest. Then he gets up and walks out of the back room. The dog watches him throughout, and whines when Lunchbox leaves the back room. He tugs on the rope, and struggles against the shelf. Finally, he pulls himself free and follows Lunchbox out. INT. HOUSEWARES DEPARTMENT Debbie and Marty lean against a shelf, making out. MARTY Deb, I should really get to work. DEBBIE (pouty) No, you shouldn’t. You should stay here, and help me!

20.

MARTY Uh. Okay, why not. But after break, I’m going back to my section. DEBBIE Okay, finnnnne. They unwrap throw pillows and put them on the shelf. DEBBIE (CONT’D) You know, I could help you out after break. MARTY Oh yeah? How so? DEBBIE Well, actually, there’s this thing I’ve always wanted to do...in your department! She twists back and forth girlishly and smiles at Marty. What?

MARTY

INT. BACK ROOM Ted, Lucy, and Chris come back inside, Chris and Lucy are laughing at something Ted has just said. They stop laughing when they see that the dog is gone. CHRIS Where’d the dog go? TED He must have pulled himself out of the rope. Look, it’s still tied and everything. LUCY (laughing) Ernie’s gonna be pissed! INT. HOUSEWARES DEPARTMENT Marty has his hands over his eyes and grins, puzzled. DEBBIE (suggestively) Oh, Maaaaarty...

21.

Marty takes his hands away from his eyes. Maaaaarty!

DEBBIE (O.S.) (CONT’D)

Marty follows her voice, wandering through the aisles until he reaches a display with tents set up. INT. CAMPING/SPORTS DEPARTMENT Debbie is laying inside one of the tents, sprawled on her stomach, head and arms outside it. She smiles at him. DEBBIE Hey babe. Wanna go camping sometime? MARTY Very cute, Deb. DEBBIE The sign says it sets itself up. How does it do that? She pats the space next to her in the tent. He goes and sprawls beside her, head and arms also outside the tent. MARTY It’s like an aerobed. See the remote? You just spread it out, press a button and it sets itself up. Then when you’re done, you take out the stakes, press the button, and it breaks itself down again. DEBBIE Uh-huh. So I guess we can’t afford to buy one of these. MARTY No, I don’t think so. Debbie gets a mischievous look. DEBBIE Then...wanna make it? Marty laughs. MARTY Here? In Walmart? I don’t know...

22.

DEBBIE Nobody’s here. No customers. And we have a tent. It’s so private. She leans over and kisses him. He pulls the tent entrance closed and zips it up. They laugh and the tent quivers as they move around inside of it. INT. TENT Marty stops kissing Debbie for a moment and looks up. MARTY What was that? Debbie listens and shakes her head. DEBBIE I didn’t hear anything. (pause) Really, hon, it’s nobody. (pause, she laughs) You’re being paranoid! It’s probably Kay’s little brother peeping on us. MARTY If it is, I’m gonna kick his ass. Be right back. Marty goes to look outside. Nobody. INT. CAMPING/SPORTS DEPARTMENT Chris?

MARTY

No answer. MARTY (CONT’D) Lucy? ...guess not. DEBBIE What are you doing, roasting marshmallows? Come back inside! He goes back to the tent and zips it closed.

23.

INT. MAIN AISLE Ted, Lucy, and Chris are passing and see this. They all wear expressions of disgust. Ted covers Chris’s ears as Debbie starts to make noises, and they hurry away. INT. TENT Marty and Debbie are nude now, kissing passionately. POV MARTY Debbie smiles at him and kisses him. When she pulls away, she has stopped smiling. MARTY What is it Deb? Am I doing somethingDEBBIE No, you’re fine. But, I think, the tent is deflating. They stop for a moment and Marty looks up. The ceiling of the tent is falling toward them. MARTY (angry) You’re right. Someone’s messing with us. They pressed that button. He tries to unzip the tent, but the zipper won’t budge. What the-

MARTY (CONT’D)

The tent is completely down now, but it keeps drawing in towards them, as if a vacuum is sucking the air out of the tent. It wraps them tightly. Marty struggles with the zipper but it still won’t work. DEBBIE Marty! Get us out! MARTY I’m trying to! DEBBIE I- I can’t- breathe-

24.

He holds Debbie as the tent continues to wrap them up. The rods that give the tent shape start to press tightly against them. Marty and Debbie begin to shout. MARTY Stop! Let us out! Stop! Help! DEBBIE Help! Please help us! Please! The rods draw in even tighter and something of Marty’s, it sounds like a rib, breaks. Marty looks horrified. He looks down at himself. Debbie stares at Marty in desperation. The sound of another breaking bone. They gasp and scream.

SERIES OF SHOTS A) Ted presses the buttons on all of the toys he is restocking so that each of them cries, sings, laughs, dances, etc. B) Lucy is in the meat freezer with the door closed. C) Kay has her headphones in and bops to some tune while she folds cardigans. D) Vince is out in the greenhouse, whistling as he stacks bags of mulch. E) Chris is in the back room, playing with the forklift, trying to pick up the fallen microwave. F) Jenny stands directly in front of a large flat screen tv which blares the sound of the action movie playing on it. She watches absentmindedly. END SERIES OF SHOTS INT. FRONT ENTRANCE Ernie cocks his head to the side, listening. Nothing. He picks up the phone. ERNIE (P.A.) Chris, can you come up front fer a moment? Chris, up front please.

25.

He hangs up the phone and continues to work on the register. CUT TO: INT. BACK ROOM Chris hears Ernie’s announcement over the P.A., stops and turns off the forklift, and leaves the back room. The dog suddenly turns up at the door, wagging his tail and whining at him. INT. NEAR BACK ROOM CHRIS Hey, boy, there you are! He leans down and pets the dog. CHRIS (CONT’D) I have to go see Ernie, you want to come with me? The dog whines and barks. Chris whistles to him. Come on!

CHRIS (CONT’D)

They walk down the main aisle. A big, pink, plastic bouncy ball rolls out of one of the aisles, and comes to a stop in the middle of the path where they’re walking. Chris stops and stares at it. Ted?

CHRIS (CONT’D)

He goes to the ball, picks it up, and looks down the aisle. The dog growls at the ball. CHRIS (CONT’D) What? It’s just a ball. It must’vefallen out of the cage, I guess. He brings it back to the cage of balls like it in varied colors, and tosses it up into the cage.

26.

They take a different route to the front, avoiding the camping and housewares departments. INT. FRONT ENTRANCE Ernie comes into view, as does Lunchbox, who is sitting on the conveyor belt of the next register over, looking at himself in a mirror. ERNIE (to Chris) There you are. Do you know who’s responsible for this? The dog runs to Ernie and Lunchbox, sniffs them, and sits, whining restlessly. CHRIS No! He just got off of his rope, I found him just now when I wasERNIE I’m not talkin’ about the dog! I don’t give a rat’s ass if the feller runs around. I’m talkin’ about Lunchbox here. Chris is confused. Lunchbox lowers the mirror and reveals the cut on his head. CHRIS I, no, I’m sorry, Lunchbox. What happened? LUNCHBOX Fucking microwave happened. ERNIE You don’t know anythin’ about this? Chris stares at the dog. Lunchbox glowers at him. LUNCHBOX He knows something. Lunchbox uses a wet wipe to get the blood off, but the cut is too large for a band-aid. ERNIE You should go to the hospital for that.

27.

LUNCHBOX No need. I have work to do here. Don’t have the insurance, anyway. He puts three band-aids across the cut. It was Ted.

CHRIS

ERNIE Uh-huh. Surprise, surprise. Go get him and bring him up here. Sure.

CHRIS

ERNIE And while you’re at it-either of you hear a noise earlier? Like screaming, oreither of you hear screaming? Lunchbox and Chris share a glance. LUNCHBOX Can’t say I did. Uh- nnnnnno.

CHRIS

ERNIE Don’t use that tone with me Chris. Go make sure everybody’s alright. But first send Ted up here. Chris starts to walk away. The dog suddenly yelps, as if someone has stepped on him, and runs to the front entrance. He scratches at the crack between the doors and tries to sniff the outside. ERNIE (CONT’D) What’s got into him? Lunchbox stares at the dog. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Lucy opens the door to the freezer and comes back to the deli counter. On her way, she trips on something, and falls straight toward the meat slicer.

28.

She sees what’s happening and leans away just in time, falling on the floor. LUCY God, now you’re trying to kill yourself. She looks around at what she must have tripped on. It’s a huge piece of meat from the freezer she was just in. LUCY (CONT’D) How did that get here? Ugh, Ted. Lucy drags the slab of meat back into the freezer. The door shuts behind her. She manages to lift the meat onto one of the shelves. When she goes to open the door again, it is locked. LUCY (CONT’D) Oh, fuck no, you did not just lock yourself in. She takes her cell phone out of her pocket, clicks Ted’s contact number and waits. The phone beeps at her. She looks at it. It says, “CALL FAILED.” She flips it closed and open again. The screen says, “SEARCHING FOR SERVICE”. She types in a text message and sends it. It fails to send. She bangs the phone against the shelf and goes to all corners of the freezer, but it won’t work. LUCY (CONT’D) Ok, don’t panic, Lucy, they will definitely realize you aren’t there. Anyway, it’s not that cold in here. She sits in the corner and pulls her vest closer around her. The fans turn on, and icy air begins to blow in. Lucy exhales and can see her breath. LUCY (CONT’D) Oh no. No no no. Ted? Is this a joke? Ted open this door right now! It’s not funny! I’m freezing! Come on! The level of cold only increases. Lucy’s teeth chatter and she shakes uncontrollably.

29.

There is a thermometer on the wall, to adjust the level of cold. She presses the button to turn it off. Nothing happens. Then she manually turns the knob to make it warmer. The knob falls off in her hand. Shit!

LUCY (CONT’D)

She throws herself against the door and tries to open it, but to no avail. She bangs as hard as she can, kicks and shouts, but nothing happens. Finally, she sits back down in the corner and stares, blue-lipped, at the door. LUCY (CONT’D) They’ll be here. They’ll find you. It’s almost break time anyway, it’s fine. It’s...fine... INT. ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT Jenny is staring at the televisions and absentmindedly taking inventory. A hand reaches out and grabs her shoulder. Jenny jumps and turns around to see Vince standing there. Vince!

JENNY

VINCE (laughing) I got you. The look on your faceJENNY Not fair! Is it one already? Vince’s watch beeps. He turns it off. VINCE Now it is. All is fair, Jenny. He offers her his arm. She takes it. JENNY Let’s get Kay. She’ll be bored out of her mind.

30.

VINCE Aw, do we have to? Vince pouts at her. Yes, we do.

JENNY

They walk away, towards the clothing department. Behind them, one television shows a romantic scene from a movie. All the televisions suddenly turn to this scene. The musical theme of the scene follows them. After a moment, the televisions change back to varied displays. INT. TOY DEPARTMENT Ted keeps hitting one of the buttons on a singing toy and sings along with it. KAY Why do you have to do that? TED Cause I like to see you get mad. KAY You’re such a creep. TED Thanks! You’re such a bitch. Vince and Jenny turn the corner. They are holding hands, but Jenny pulls hers away as soon as they see Kay and Ted. Ted sees this, catches Vince’s eye, and grins. He makes a fist and gestures at his face, pressing his tongue repeatedly against the inside of his cheek. Vince laughs. Jenny turns to look at him, and Ted immediately puts on an innocent face. JENNY Kay, we were looking for you. Vince picks up a cabbage patch doll and presses its hand. It cries loudly.

31.

TED Aw, Jenny, look, Vince is real good with kids. He puts his chin on Jenny’s shoulder. Jenny shrugs him off. VINCE You remember that scandal years ago with the cabbage patch dolls? TED Yeah, I remember that! They started eating people’s fingers, right? KAY Worse than Chucky. She shivers at the thought. Ted grabs the doll from Vince and coos at it. TED (to the doll) Are you hungry? He brings it over to Kay and takes one of her fingers and puts it in front of the doll’s mouth. TED (CONT’D) There you go! Eat up! Kay pulls free of Ted’s grip and looks disgusted at the doll. KAY Fuck off, Ted. TED Didn’t you ever play with dolls? JENNY I bet she preferred dinosaurs and G.I. Joes. KAY So what if I did? I can’t play with soldiers cause they’re for boys? That’s like saying I shouldn’t have watched Ren and Stimpy. JENNY No one should have watched Ren and Stimpy.

32.

TED I love that show. I have the collection on DVD. VINCE Yeah, cause it was in the two for ten bin. Kay laughs. KAY I doubt he paid that for it, even. He lifted it, just like everything else he owns. Ted gets a rare, hurt look. TED Where’s everyone else? JENNY You mean Debbie and Marty? KAY Probably shacking up with one of the display camcorders. Jenny cringes. Eww.

JENNY

TED No, I mean Chris and Lucy. KAY Chris is supposed to be restocking car seats or something. TED When I left him he was dickin’ around on the forklift. Kay sighs in exasperation. VINCE Well let’s get Lucy anyway. She’s the least annoying of the four. Jenny makes a noise that suggest she might disagree.

33.

KAY Hey. You know my brother’s one of those four. VINCE You say he’s annoying all the time. KAY I’m his sister. I’m allowed. INT. CAMPING/SPORTS DEPARTMENT As Chris walks back towards the Toy department, he passes the camping section. There is a faint dripping sound coming from one of the aisles. Curious, Chris looks for the source of the sound. He stops at the tent display, where one of the tents is completely wrapped up in the center of the floor. At one end of the tent, a puddle forms. Droplets fall from the end of the zipper to the floor. Chris comes nearer. His eyes grow wide as he sees that the puddle is red. It’s blood. He looks afraid, but then gets a skeptical look. He kneels down next to the puddle, hesitantly dips a finger in it, and tastes it. He spits and throws himself back, terrified. For a moment, he doesn’t know what to do. He gets up, walks back toward the front of the store, then comes back, shaking his head. Finally, he goes to the tent, and pulls on the zipper. It jams for a second, but then gives. As he unzips, he reveals the dead and bloody bodies of Marty and Debbie, intertwined, barely recognizable. Chris shakes uncontrollably, still holding the zipper. Suddenly, he covers his mouth and runs to another aisle, where he vomits. Next to him is a number of sports goods, including a selection of baseball bats. He picks up the one that looks like it could do the most damage: metal with a black grip.

34.

The dog runs up the main aisle and joins him. Chris collapses and hugs the dog, staring at the tent. CHRIS (to dog) Who do you think did it? The dog whines and nuzzles into him. CHRIS (CONT’D) It’s okay. We’ll get the others. We’ll stick together. He gets up and goes to the telephone. CHRIS (P.A.) (CONT’D) Ah-ah-assist-assistance needed in aisle twenty. Vince? Ted? Can I get some help in a-a-aisle twenty? Chris hangs up the phone and hides in a side aisle, staking out the tent with the bat in his hand. The dog sits beside him, and somehow knows to be silent. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Ted opens a bag of oreos and starts to munch on them. He offers them to Vince and Jenny, who both decline, and to Kay, who accepts one. TED (imitating Desi) Luuuuccccyyyyyy! I’m hooooooommmmmmmme! KAY God, that gets old. Never.

TED

They go to the deli counter and look around. No sign of Lucy. Chris’s announcement comes on over the P.A. system. They listen. VINCE What is your brother up to? KAY I don’t know... he’s such a weirdo.

35.

JENNY Lucy’s not here, let’s go see what he wants. TED You guys can go. I’m gonna look for Lucy. JENNY What if she’s with Chris? TED Aisle twenty? That’s the camping department. She won’t be there. VINCE (puts on a silly voice) Ah, I see. Our assistance is probably needed to help Chris reveal the embarrassing love life of Debbie and Marty to the world, possibly through the medium of surprise photos? KAY Never do that again, Vince. Kay, Vince, and Jenny leave. Ted stays back and looks around for Lucy. TED Lucy? You okay? He walks around the frozen foods section, opening every few doors. TED (CONT’D) Nope, not in this one! He goes to the aisle with household cleaning products. He takes a mop down and pretends to mop the floor. He whistles and does a little dance back and forth down the aisle, as if to draw her out of hiding. Nothing. Finally, he takes out his cell phone and types a text message to her: “Where R u in the store???” He sends it, but it fails. He has no service either. Hm.

TED (CONT’D)

He goes back to the deli counter and eats another oreo. He grabs another, turns around, and looks towards the wall of the store.

36.

He notices on the floor, there is a smear from something being dragged. It leads to the meat freezer. The oreo, about to touch his lips, falls from his hand. TED (CONT’D) (laughing) Oh no. Lucy, you didn’tHe goes to the door and opens it. A cloud of white whooshes out, and when it clears he sees Lucy in the corner, not moving. Lucy?

TED (CONT’D)

He goes to her, picks her up in his arms, and takes her out of the freezer. He sets her on the counter, as if to sit, but she keeps falling on him. He pats her cheeks lightly, and rubs her arms. TED (CONT’D) You’re freezing. Come on Lucy, come on. She does not come around. He checks for any sign of breath, and then holds her wrist for a pulse. After a few moments, he drops her wrist. He lays her down on the counter and tries to do CPR. He is unsuccessful. TED (CONT’D) Lucy. Debbie and Marty definitely weren’t worth this. He puts his hands on her cheeks, to warm them, and then gives her a kiss. Then he picks her up in his arms again, and carries her towards the front of the store. INT. MAIN AISLE Jenny and Vince walk along the main aisle, picking up things from the shelves to examine along the way. Kay has her headphones on, and dances slightly as they walk. Vince picks up a fishing pole that someone has left leaning against a shelf.

37.

He walks ahead of Jenny and taps Kay on the shoulder. She takes off her headphones. He whispers something to her. She giggles. Jenny tries to hear what Vince and Kay are talking about, but is unsuccessful. VINCE Come on, it’ll be fun! KAY I don’t know, I’m not creative enough toVINCE I know you are! Come on. I’ll owe you one. Kay makes a hesitant growl. KAY Alright, fine... JENNY (interrupting) What are you two up to? Kay sprints off into the detergent aisle. Vince turns around and smiles at her. VINCE You scared her off. JENNY Hmm. I don’t know, I think it’d take a lot more to scare Kay. (pause) Do you think Ted is really looking for Lucy? VINCE What else would he be doing? JENNY Uh, stealing. What else does he do? VINCE Eh, give him a break. He needs to steal shit sometimes. We all choose our weaknesses. Jenny keeps walking. Vince keeps looking at her, walking backwards.

38.

JENNY And what’s your weakness? VINCE Apart from you? JENNY (blushing) Oh, ha ha. VINCE Seriously? Fishing. JENNY Ah, well it makes so much sense now, you carrying around a pole and all. VINCE Doesn’t it? Shall I catch something for you? JENNY Noooo... You’ll get it caught on something and I’ll be in trouble tomorrow. Vince stops in front of Jenny. She stops, blocked by him. VINCE Oh, Daddy cares about that stuff, does he? JENNY Not really. But someone needs to be the responsible one. Vince turns around and stands beside her. VINCE See, fishing is about loosening up, not being the responsible one. He casts the fishing line five aisles ahead of them. Jenny goes to start walking again, but Vince holds a hand out in front of her. Wait! What?

VINCE (CONT’D) JENNY

39.

VINCE We have to be patient- see if I get any bites. Jenny laughs at him. The fishing line goes taut. She stares. VINCE (CONT’D) (grinning) Looks like I caught something! He reels the line in. A white teddy bear holding a heart drags along the floor til it gets to them. Vince takes it off the hook and hands it to her. JENNY Oh, you’re a very good fisherman. They start walking again. VINCE Should I see what else I can get? JENNY Yes! As long as it’s for me. VINCE (staring at her) All of it’s for you. She grins and swings her hair in front of her eyes. He takes her hand. They walk for a moment, but Jenny pulls away and holds her bear with both hands. Vince stops and cast the line again. This time it brings back a bag of marshmallows. JENNY (calling after her) Hilarious, Kay. VINCE Hey! You’re letting Kay have the credit for my fishing skills?! JENNY Let’s try one more time. Marshmallow?

VINCE

40.

Vince tears open the bag, pops a marshmallow in his mouth, and tries to put one in Jenny’s mouth, but she purses her lips and crinkles her nose, refusing. She takes it from him. VINCE (CONT’D) Okay, one more for me thenShe gives him another marshmallow. He makes a chubby cheeked expression at her. She laughs. He casts the line, into the Camping Department. VINCE (CONT’D) Tho- whath yo- thavrite cowor? JENNY I can’t understand you! No? Aww-

VINCE

The line goes taut and they walk forward as he begins to reel it in. It won’t reel. It’s stuck. VINCE (CONT’D) Thomethin’ big! Kay wanders out of an aisle. KAY I can’t find anything else, I told you, Vince, I’m no good at this stuff. Vince swallows his marshmallows. Jenny laughs. JENNY Gave yourself away! Kay laughs, but her attention is caught by the Shoe Department, across the aisle. KAY (loudly) Oh my god. Jenny. Wait up a sec. Kay disappears into an aisle of platforms. Jenny looks down at her old sneakers. Kay emerges with a pair of thigh high lace-up pleather boots. She stares at Jenny with exuberance. Jenny smiles. Try ‘em on.

JENNY

41.

KAY I will! These are amazing... She drifts back into the aisle, slipping out of her clogs and putting her headphones back on. Vince is staring at the taut line. VINCE What did we catch, then? Let’s see!

JENNY

INT. CAMPING/SPORTS DEPARTMENT Chris grasps the bat and sweats profusely. He creeps closer to the aisle. The dog follows him. Vince passes by, reeling in the line, and in his surprise, Chris swings the bat out at him, hitting Vince in the small of the back. Vince falls forward. VINCE Chris! What the hell’d you do that for? CHRIS Sorry! I thought you might be, beHe grasps the bat tighter as Jenny comes into view, but then drops the bat and gives her a hug. He bursts into tears. JENNY Aw, Chris, what’s wrong? What is it? Chris can’t say anything, but he points, in the same direction as the fishing line goes. Vince and Jenny, an arm around Chris, follow the fishing line. It has become caught in the wrapped up tent. Chris pulls away from Jenny, but she continues to walk towards the tent with Vince. The dog whines at them. They stop and stare at the contents of the tent. Jenny curls herself against Vince, who instinctively wraps himself around her.

42.

JENNY (CONT’D) Oh my god. That’s- those areVINCE Marty and Debbie. He looks to Chris for confirmation. Chris doesn’t nod, but stares at them wide-eyed. He picks up his bat again. VINCE (CONT’D) What happened here, Chris? CHRIS I- I have no idea, I just, just found them like that. VINCE What the fuck. JENNY The doors are locked. Someone already in here must haveVINCE Murdered them. Jenny looks at Vince. JENNY Who? Who would do something like that? Vince looks at her for a moment.

Lunchbox.

VINCE, JENNY, AND CHRIS(IN UNISON)

The dog growls deeply. INT. SHOE DEPARTMENT Kay walks to the end of the aisle, examining herself in the mirror, humming. Her headphones are back on. The thigh high boots are laced all the way up. She poses in front of the mirror in time to whatever she’s listening to. She walks not down the main aisle but by one parallel to it, til she gets to the hair and makeup products. She opens one of the tubes of lip gloss and applies it with a compact mirror.

43.

She then continues on to the Clothing Department, and, familiar with it, picks up two dresses with short skirts. She holds them up to her figure in the three-way mirror. Shrugging, she takes both and walks towards the Fitting Rooms. INT. FRONT ENTRANCE Ted carries the body of Lucy to the front of the store. Lunchbox is no longer there, but Ernie is at one of the registers. Ernie stares. ERNIE It took Chris long enough. What are you-? Ted doesn’t say anything. ERNIE (CONT’D) Were you the one who put the microwave on the topHe stops talking and stares at Lucy. TED Lucy’s- I found her in the meat freezer. She’s- I think she’sHe lays her on the conveyor belt at Ernie’s register. The laser that reads barcodes illuminates Lucy’s face in red. Ernie is shocked. He feels her neck. He looks up at Ted. ERNIE She’s got no pulse. Ted’s hands shake as he gets a cigarette out of his pocket and tries to light it. TED She’s dead. She’s dead and frozen. Ernie picks up the phone and dials to get an outside line. They speak quickly and urgently. ERNIE How did she get in the freezer? TED I only found her. But, I have, a theory.

44.

ERNIE She locked herself in? Ted gives Ernie a look. ERNIE (CONT’D) How did she lock herself in? Was this a prank? TED No! It wasn’t a prank! I think- she might have locked herself in- on purpose. Ernie takes a second to absorb this. He listens to the phone. He hangs up, picks the phone up, and dials again, outside line and then 9-1-1. He listens for another second, and then hangs up. ERNIE I can’t get an outside line! TED What? But, we have to get her to the hospital! ERNIE You don’t think I know that? Take the keys and call outside from your cell phone! Okay. Okay!

TED

ERNIE And put out that cigarette! TED If I’m outside-? ERNIE Call already! You want to smoke, smoke! Ted goes to the register where keys usually hang on a hook. Ernie brushes Lucy’s hair away from her face and looks closely at her. TED The keys aren’t here! You have them?

45.

ERNIE No, they’re there! TED They’re not here! Ernie looks confused. TED (CONT’D) Did you give them to someone? Does Chris still have them? ERNIE No, he gave them back to me! I didn’t give em to anyone! Who would have taken them? TED Was anyone up here? ERNIE Yeah, Lunchbox, stitchin’ himself up after one-a-yer nasty tricks. TED I don’t think it’s the time to dwell on that. ERNIE (to himself) Why would Lunchbox have taken them? (to Ted) He’s the only one I can think of. There’s no time, use the emergency exit; it’s in the greenhouse. I’ll get the defribillator. Ted takes off toward the greenhouse. Ernie goes to a box at the end of the lines of registers and gets the defibrillator from it. He brings it back and sets it up, trying to figure out what to do from the instructions inside. ERNIE (CONT’D) “Do not operate unless trained professionally- well, no time to worry about that- bla bla bla, remove handles, bla bla, press green button to begin charge-” -O.K.He presses a button to “charge” it, holds the handles and while he waits for it to beep, he looks at Lucy.

46.

ERNIE (CONT’D) You know, I always knew somebody’d die while I was workin’ here. These things happen. It’s like sweepin’ trash from under a roller coaster... I had that job once. He looks at her as if waiting for a response. ERNIE (CONT’D) This probably idn’t much comfort to you. (pause) Least you weren’t the guy trampled on Black Friday. This’s a much better way to go. More dignity. The defibrillator beeps. He applies the charge to Lucy’s chest. She jumps. Ernie listens to her chest. Nothing. He charges the machine again. INT. SHOE DEPARTMENT Chris and Jenny stick close together. Chris clings to his bat and Jenny has a large frying pan. They pass a mirror in the aisle and Chris swings his bat into it. The mirror shatters. Vince shows up behind them, holding a golf club. Chris and Jenny jump. VINCE Jesus, Chris, you’re eager with that thing. Why don’t you just yell out what aisle we’re in? JENNY He already did, on the PA. She’s not here, Vince. What ifVINCE I’m sure Kay is fine. She’s just in another part of store. CHRIS Yeah, I think she would have let us know if she was being attacked. JENNY What if he knocked her out or something? VINCE It’s no good panicking about it, let’s find Ernie and tell him.

47.

Chris gasps. What?

VINCE AND JENNY

CHRIS He’s probably dead already. JENNY Why? What happened? CHRIS I was up there earlier, and Lunchbox was there, and he was really P.O.-ed cause Ted pulled another prank on him. It was bad. His head was all cut open. Vince stares into the fragments of mirror on the ground. VINCE Maybe it wasn’t Ted. Maybe he got that when he was killing Marty and Debbie. JENNY Let’s not go up there. I want to find Kay. Me too.

CHRIS

VINCE Okay, okay, let me think. The dog, several aisles away, starts barking viciously. He appears in their aisle, runs to them, and then runs away again. The three follow the dog, towards the grocery section, away from the toy section. INT. FITTING ROOM Kay wears a skimpy dress and looks at herself in the mirror. She puts her leg up on the seat and examines how the boots cling to her leg. She hums to her music. Then she takes the dress off, and examines herself in just her underwear and the boots. She cups her bra and looks at her chest, seemingly dissatisfied with it.

48.

Then she pulls another dress off the hanger and slips it on. It fits even better than the first. Ooh!

KAY

She examines the price tag. Shrugging, she tears it off the dress. She plays with her hair, trying different styles with the dress. INT. GREENHOUSE Ted, cigarettes in one hand, cell phone in the other, jogs toward the emergency exit at the far end of the building, but stops short. TED What- Vince, you are losing it, man. He looks ahead of him, where there is an enormous mound of mulch blocking his path. TED (CONT’D) Shit, of course this is the only exit I can actually get out of. Undaunted, he begins to climb the pile of mulch, slipping as he goes. TED (CONT’D) I’ll be asking a lot of questions when I come back in here. What the hell was he doing? Finally, he reaches the top, and can see the red emergency exit sign. There is a sudden jerk, and his right leg begins to sink into the mulch. He grabs the corner of a nearby shelf, and tries to pull himself out. TED (CONT’D) Vince?! You’re scaring the shit outta me, dude! The pile absorbs his box of cigarettes and his cell phone. His other foot gives way and sinks. He is waist-deep in the mulch.

49.

INT. CLOTHING DEPARTMENT Kay leaves the fitting room and looks through the racks, picking up anything that interests her. SERIES OF SHOTS A) Kay picks up a beret... B) A hoodie... C) Brightly colored leggings and a pair of fishnets D) A low-cut top, a skirt E) Earrings and an obnoxious plastic jewel necklace F) A number of lacy push-up bras END SERIES OF SHOTS INT. CLOTHING DEPARTMENT She brings these back to the fitting room, closes the door, and tosses her dress over the side of the door. INT. GREENHOUSE Ted reaches for a pair of hedge clippers hanging nearby. TED I need to help Lucy, she’s gonna die! After a moment of struggle, he manages to get them. TED (CONT’D) This isn’t funny! Let go or I’m gonna hurt you! He stabs at the pile of mulch violently. For a moment, he frees himself, and is almost to the emergency exit, when his ankle gets caught again. He slams into the window of the door, but cannot press the bar to release himself. Slowly, he is pulled back into the pile of mulch, up to his shoulders. TED (CONT’D) Fuck you, flowerbed!

50.

He whacks at the mulch with the hedge clippers, but then the hedge clippers are sucked in, too. Ted shouts and struggles, and then suddenly convulses, several times. Blood runs from his mouth. The top half of his body, hedge clippers stuck in it, rolls out of the mulch pile and rests against the emergency door; Ted’s face looks out at the parking lot. After a moment, his cigarette box and cell phone come flying out of the mulch pile as well, and land next to him. The cell phone beeps and reads “ONE NEW MESSAGE FROM LUCY”. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT The dog stops in an aisle with baking goods, panting. Jenny stops next to him and kneels down, petting him. JENNY What is it? What’s wrong? Vince looks around at the shelves. Chris gasps loudly and suddenly, pointing down the aisle. Vince puts a hand over his mouth and all three of them flatten themselves against the side of the aisle. In the main aisle, Lunchbox passes by. He does not notice them. They sneak up to the corner of the aisle and watch him pass by. He has the ring of keys. He heads toward the back room. Vince stares at the back of his vest, which reads, “How may I help you?” VINCE You can help us by dying, you son of a bitch. He brandishes his golf club, but Jenny holds him back. CHRIS What do you think he’s doing with the keys? JENNY Should we follow him?

51.

VINCE No, I have a better idea. But we need some fishing line. Chris and Jenny look at him in confusion. VINCE (CONT’D) Hear me out. Jenny, you get a bell. JENNY What kind of bell? VINCE Any kind. Just make sure it rings. Okay...

JENNY

VINCE And Chris, you get handcuffs. CHRIS What? I don’t know about this... JENNY Yeah, me eitherTrust me!

VINCE

CHRIS I don’t even know where to find handcuffs! VINCE I don’t know, try the toys section, or, uh, the lingerie section, or something. He blushes after saying it. Jenny and Chris both laugh. VINCE (CONT’D) Just meet me back here in... He looks at his watch and sets it. VINCE (CONT’D) Ten minutes. How does that sound? And if you see anyone else, Ted or Lucy, or Kay or any of them, bring them back with you. CHRIS Shouldn’t we stick together?

52.

VINCE We know where Lunchbox is right now. If any of us see him somewhere else in the store, go on the PA but don’t say anything. Just blow into it. That way, it will give us a heads up. They nod, and start in different directions. And-

VINCE (CONT’D)

They stop and listen. VINCE (CONT’D) In that case, forfeit the plan and come back here as fast as you can. Got it? Yes, sir. Got it.

JENNY CHRIS

They go, but Vince catches Jenny’s shoulder and pulls her back for a moment. Jenny... Yes?

VINCE JENNY

VINCE Are you- scared? JENNY I’m very scared. Are you? He pauses. VINCE No, we’ll be fine. But be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you. They gaze at each other. Same here.

JENNY

Vince leans in and kisses Jenny. She kisses back. They pull away, and look to the end of the aisle.

53.

Chris and the dog stand there, both staring at Vince and Jenny with the same slightly upset expression, their heads tilted to the side.

What?

VINCE (defensive)

CHRIS I just wanted to see if you guys were coming, that’s all. VINCE Get out of here! We’re down to eight and a half minutes. They jog off in different directions. INT. TOYS SECTION Chris examines three different pairs of handcuffs. They all look pretty shoddy. One is advertised as police cuffs, and comes with a small rubber baton and plastic gun. The handcuffs are neon orange and plastic. Another set is very small, and comes with a Chewbacca action figure. The third set looks metal, and looks big enough, but is also covered in pink feathers, and the key is in the shape of a heart. Chris lays them out on the floor, giving each plenty of space and stands back to look at them, thinking. The dog looks at them too, barely interested. CHRIS These are too small. He tosses the Star Wars ones away. CHRIS (CONT’D) (to the dog) What do you think? The ones we found on our way over, or the cops and robbers ones? The dog sniffs at the romantic ones.

54.

CHRIS (CONT’D) I know, but they look awful. No killer will take it seriously if we put him in those. He might even hit on us. Chris makes a grossed-out face. The dog looks up, perking his ears. There’s a jingle, a couple aisles away. CHRIS (CONT’D) The keys! That must beHis bat at the other end of the aisle, Chris picks up the object closest to him, a canister of silly string, and opens it. He points it at the aisle and pauses. Kay walks by in a ridiculous outfit, and Chris unloads the silly string on her. It covers her eyes. She lets out a yell. Kay wipes the string from her eyes and sees that it’s her brother. KAY Chris! You’re dead! She launches at him and he recoils, throwing the can of silly string away from him. CHRIS I didn’t mean to! I thought you wereNo excuses!

KAY

She takes a can of silly string, opens it, and sprays it at him. He stands there and takes it. She laughs. KAY (CONT’D) Okay bro, that was pretty good, but you have to admit, I got you. Chris hugs her. KAY (CONT’D) What are you doing?

55.

CHRIS (quickly) Kay I’m so glad you’re alright. We thought you were dead maybe. Vince said you were okay, but he was beingKAY Shut up for a second. What are you talking about? She hugs him back, completely mystified. CHRIS D-d-d, Debbie and Marty, th-th-they’re dead. KAY Chris, this isn’t funny. CHRIS I swear, I’m not being funny. They’re dead, Kay. We think Lunchbox did it. Kay pushes him away from her and looks at him. KAY Chris. Start from the beginning. INT. CRAFTS SECTION Jenny walks along a row of paper, paints, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. Finally she finds a couple of bells but they’re very small. She rings them. They’re hardly audible. She manages to find slightly bigger ones, and, satisfied with them, turns to go back to the grocery department. INT. MAIN AISLE Passing the camping and sporting goods department, she hears the sound of a motor. She quickly hides on a mostly empty bottom shelf of the aisle with the glass case of shotguns and rifles. Looking out from her hiding place, she sees the forklift slowly approach. It stops right at her aisle.

56.

Lunchbox takes the keys out of the forklift and gets out of it. He walks down the aisle to the gun case, and opens it with a key from the ring. Jenny holds a hand over her mouth, trying not to breathe too loudly. Lunchbox takes a shotgun from the case, looks at it, and then loads it. He drops the rest of the box of ammo into the pocket of his blue vest. He rests the gun on his shoulder, and goes back to the forklift. He turns the forklift down another aisle, away from Jenny. She stays in hiding for a moment, and then, convinced he’s gone, crawls out, and looks at the gun case. She thinks for a moment, and then gasps. JENNY (whispering) A hundred and nine ninety-five... top of the line, walnut stock, cobalt blue steel...he took the twelve gauge doublebarreled Remington! She runs to the nearest phone and picks it up, blowing into it. A loud buzzing sound comes over the P.A. system and permeates the store. INT. CAMPING DEPARTMENT Vince holds a spool of fishing line. He hears the buzzing sound over the P.A. system and jogs for the grocery department. He cuts through the detergent aisle, and before he can see what he’s doing, he slips and falls. Groaning, he looks up and around him. The entire top row of detergent containers are tipped over and a huge puddle of blue detergent surrounds him. He is soaked with the stuff. He spits it from his mouth and wipes it off his face.

57.

For a second, he looks around and smiles at the detergent. Then, carefully, he gets to his feet, holds onto the shelf, and slides across the puddle. He kicks his shoes off on the other side. He runs to the auto department, then runs back towards the grocery department a moment later, carrying several bottles of motor oil. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT The four and the dog meet up in the baking goods aisle. KAY (to Vince) What happened to you? JENNY Vince! Are you alright? She runs to him and stops right before she embraces him. He gives her a soapy peck on the lips. Kay looks at Chris. He nods at her. VINCE It’s okay, it’s just laundry detergent. But it gave me an idea. He’s fucking with us; we can give him a taste of his own medicine. He gestures to the motor oil. VINCE (CONT’D) Who gave the signal? I did.

JENNY

VINCE What happened? JENNY He’s driving the forklift around. He stopped at sporting goods and got a shotgun out from the case. It’s loaded. CHRIS We might need a better plan.

58.

KAY Shit. Why didn’t you grab guns for us, then? JENNY I don’t- like guns. KAY Yeah, that really matters right now. VINCE Hey, come on, we can’t do this, we have to work together. We don’t need guns. We’ll use our wits. Chris and Kay look at him in disbelief. Jenny smiles. SERIES OF SHOTS A) Chris and Vince stretch fishing line across the main aisle. B) Jenny ties the bells to the dog’s collar. C) The dog tries to shake them off, they jingle. D) Jenny shh’s him. E) Kay empties bottles of motor oil around the fishing line. F) Vince looks at the feathery handcuffs, then pockets them. END SERIES OF SHOTS INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Jenny, Kay, and Chris sit in the baking goods aisle. Kay eats chocolate chips out of a bag. Jenny throws dog treats into the main aisle. The dog runs out to the main aisle, eats the treat, runs back, and begs until she throws another one. Vince comes back with a box of Miller High Life. VINCE All we can do now is wait. Who wants one? They’re cold. Everyone takes one except Jenny.

59.

KAY (to Chris) This is an exception. Don’t expect me to let you drink all the time just because of this. Ok, ok, god.

CHRIS

Vince sips his beer thoughtfully, watching the dog run back and forth, his bells jingling joyfully. JENNY I like your outfit, Kay. KAY It was supposed to be a joke. She sighs. KAY (CONT’D) I’ve always had bad timing. CHRIS What if it doesn’t work? VINCE Don’t worry. It’ll work. CHRIS What if he drives the forklift through the fishing line? VINCE The oil will fuck up the wheels. And anyway, he’ll have to stop to get the dog. KAY (sarcastic) Or he could shoot the dog. With his gun. VINCE He didn’t kill Debbie and Marty with a gun. KAY How do we even know he killed them? The other three look at each other. JENNY Who else would have killed them?

60.

KAY Anyone else in this fucking store could have done it. Vince could have, you could have, I could have. CHRIS I could have! KAY No, you couldn’t. I mean, for all we know, it was Ernie. JENNY It wasn’t Ernie. He’sKAY I’m just putting it out there. It’s a possibility. That’s all I’m saying. Let’s just be real. She pops a handful of chocolate chips in her mouth. They go silent. Vince chugs his beer. INT. GREENHOUSE Lunchbox stops the forklift and gets out, looking at the mound of mulch. He draws closer to it, hesitantly. Nervous, he points the shotgun at the mound. A motor sound suddenly roars. Lunchbox shoots at the mound. Nothing happens. He goes right up to the mulch and picks up a handful of it. He feels it in his hand, smells it, and then throws it down. Nothing out of the ordinary. Sighing, he turns around to go back to the forklift, but it is gone. LUNCHBOX God-fucking-dammit, Ted. He leaves the greenhouse and looks around. Drips of oil lead towards the auto department. He leans the gun over his shoulder and walks towards the auto department. There is a clink in one aisle. Lunchbox stops and turns. He walks down the aisle.

61.

In the distance, the forklift crosses the main aisle quickly. Lunchbox pops back out of the aisle, frowning. LUNCHBOX (CONT’D) I know what’s going on here’s more than the usual mischief. (pause) Never thought these kids would be...so cold. He sniffs grumpily at the air. There’s a honk. Lunchbox hurries down the aisle towards the sound. He steps into an aisle in the auto department. Step by step, he carefully makes his way towards the wall of tires. LUNCHBOX (CONT’D) Must be the video games. Shit. Wiis never did anyone good. Just makes it more real, if you ask me. (puts on a high voice) Make a motion like you’re slicing him! Now shoot! Points for accuracy! POV FORKLIFT The engine hums quietly as two long metal rods protrude towards Lunchbox. It adjusts so that one of the metal rods is lined up with his back perfectly. He reaches the wall of tires, looks left, looks right, and turns around. He sees the forklift. His jaw drops. He lifts his gun and cocks it. The forklift speeds up, driving straight towards him. Lunchbox pulls the trigger right before the metal rod rams through him. He drops the gun. The forklift runs straight into the tires. The screen goes black. END POV

62.

INT. FRONT ENTRANCE Ernie listens, holding the handles of the defibrillator. There is a gunshot, and then a clatter. It seems to echo all around him. He turns off the defibrillator and stares at Lucy. ERNIE Sounds like somewhere near the back... (pause) Want somethin’ done right... (pause) I’ll be right back. Not that it’ll help. He closes Lucy’s eyes, takes a box cutter from his pocket and walks towards the back of the store. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT The four and the dog listen intently. VINCE That’s two gunshots. KAY We should investigate. CHRIS No, we shouldn’t! JENNY But what if it’s Ted, or Lucy? Or Ernie? CHRIS So what? I think we should stick together. This is always what happens. We’ll split up and Lunchbox will kill all of us. It’s a trap! I know it! No one’s dead, he’s just onto us, he wants to lure us away! KAY Stop whining, Chris, this is real life, things don’t really work like that. Yuh-huh!

CHRIS

63.

KAY You’ve had enough to drink. She reaches for his beer. He leans away from her. CHRIS Fine, let’s investigate. Vince laughs at him. KAY You’re not coming. Why not?

CHRIS

KAY Cause you can’t protect yourself. And you can?

CHRIS

VINCE Enough, guys. Kay and I will go see what the sound is, and you two will stay here and try to trap him if he comes by. JENNY Why don’t I get to come? VINCE I don’t want you to get hurt. JENNY Well, I don’t want you to get hurt either. That’s not fair. KAY Sure it is, Jenny. You’re a girl and he’s a misogynist. Jenny frowns. VINCE If I was, I would have enlisted Chris instead of you. CHRIS What’s a misogynist? They ignore him.

64.

KAY Let’s just go. JENNY (stubbornly) I’m coming. Kay and Vince sigh. CHRIS But then who will stay with me? VINCE The dog. Look, we’ll be right back. Just sit tight and drink your beer. The three leave Chris looking crestfallen. He takes a gulp of his beer and throws a treat for the dog. Energetically, the dog goes after it and eats it, then comes back, begs for a moment, and lays next to Chris. Whining, the dog sets his chin on Chris’s leg and stares at him in concern. Then he sniffs at Chris’s vest pocket. Chris, noticing this, pats his pocket, and pulls out a pack of cigarettes. Realizing, he smiles. CHRIS (to the dog) Ted gave me these! Maybe it’s a sign...that he’s okay. He unwraps them and opens the box. He takes out one out and smells it. CHRIS (CONT’D) This’ll teach Kay to bully me so much. He searches along the grocery aisles until he finds a pack of matches. He lights the end of the cigarette and takes a puff. He isn’t very graceful about it. He takes another sip of beer, a puff, and tries to look cool. Then he pours some beer on the floor for the dog to lap up.

65.

Cheers.

CHRIS (CONT’D)

INT. AUTO DEPARTMENT Jenny, Vince, and Kay walk along the aisles slowly, carefully. Vince’s socks squeak soggily with each step. KAY (whispering) You should really change. VINCE (whispering) So should you. Where did you find that beret? The sound of a running motor becomes audible. What’s that?

JENNY

They run to the end of the aisle. The forklift is facing a wall of tires, running idly. Kay and Vince go over to it. Jenny keeps her distance. There is a body pinned against the wall, face turned away from them. I’ll get it.

VINCE

He jumps into the forklift and backs it up, away from the wall. Impaled on an arm of the forklift is Lunchbox, tire groove impressions still on his face from being pressed against it. As his body is freed from the wall, copious amounts of blood and other things that should remain inside the body spill out onto the floor. Kay gets sprayed in blood. Ugh! Gross! Jenny runs over.

KAY

66.

JENNY It’s Lunchbox! That means-

VINCE

JENNY It wasn’t him! KAY What did I say? JENNY But then, who was it? KAY Oh shit, Chris is all by himself. Jenny goes to a phone at a nearby aisle, picks it up, and dials four digits. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT The phone at the end of the aisle rings. Chris looks at it, and then at the dog. He goes and picks up the phone. H-h-hello?

CHRIS (OVER PHONE)

INTERCUT GROCERY DEPARTMENT AND AUTO DEPARTMENT JENNY Chris? Are you okay? CHRIS Yeah, I’m fine! Why? He hides the cigarette behind his back, as if Jenny can see him through the phone. The cigarette is dangerously near the pool of oil on the floor. JENNY It wasn’t Lunchbox. Vince stands next to the forklift, looking at him. VINCE At least we can see what he keeps in the lunchbox now.

67.

Jenny gives him a disapproving look. Kay leaves the aisle, searching for something. CHRIS How do you know? JENNY He’s dead. Someone ran the forklift into him. CHRIS What?! How! He had a gun! JENNY We don’t know. Just- we don’t know who it is and they could be anywhere, so, just be really careful until we get back, okay? Duh.

CHRIS

Jenny sighs. JENNY You’re just like your sister. See you soon. Bye.

CHRIS

She hangs up. END INTERCUT INT. AUTO DEPARTMENT Where’s Kay?

JENNY

KAY (O.S.) He must have dropped the gun around here somewhe- here it is! Found it! She reappears with the shotgun. Dextrously, she opens it and sees that it has not been reloaded. KAY (CONT’D) Vince, check his vest, he must have some shells for this thing.

68.

VINCE I’m not going near him! He’s all- oozing. KAY So are you, just in a different color. VINCE Hey, at least my insides...are inside me. Kay goes over to Lunchbox and reaches up into his vest, grimacing. She pulls out six shells, loads the gun, and puts the rest in her pocket. She holds the gun at ready. JENNY Should we, do something with the body? VINCE What can we do with it? It’ll just weigh us down. I say we go back, get Chris, and get the hell out of this store. I second.

KAY

Jenny stares at Lunchbox. Yeah...

JENNY

INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Chris stands in the center of the main aisle, in front of the fishing line, looking around, holding his baseball bat with both hands, cigarette hanging from his lips. The dog paces back and forth, sniffing. INT. BACK ROOM Ernie goes to the door to the back of the building and presses the bar to get out. The door doesn’t budge. It’s locked. ERNIE What in the hell is goin’ on here? Who locked this?

69.

He gets out his wallet and pulls out a Walmart credit card. He tries to slide the lock open, but it doesn’t work. He leaves the back room, mumbling curses. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Chris paces along with the dog. CHRIS Not Lunchbox. He turns and goes back the other way. CHRIS (CONT’D) Not me. And not you. He puffs on his cigarette. CHRIS (CONT’D) Not Kay, not Vince, and not Jenny. Since they were all here when we heard it. He turns back again. CHRIS (CONT’D) That leaves- Ted or Lucy, but they were both with me right before Debbie and Marty were, well, you knowHe stops for a moment and looks down at the dog. The dog looks up, hoping for a treat. He throws one for him. The dog goes after it. CHRIS (CONT’D) -so I don’t think it could be them. That only leaves, but it couldn’t be-

Chris?

ERNIE (O.S.) (shouting)

Chris looks towards the back of the store. Way down the aisle from him, but approaching quickly, is Ernie, holding the box cutter. Chris’s jaw drops. Ernie?

CHRIS

He steps backward, toward the fishing line.

70.

CHRIS (CONT’D) (shouting) Don’t come any closer Ernie! ERNIE Chris, you alright? I heard gunshots. CHRIS I know it’s you Ernie, stop pretending to be innocent! I know you killed them! ERNIE Killed who? You talkin’ about Lucy? Cause that was an accidentStay back!

CHRIS

Chris gingerly steps backwards over the fishing line as Ernie comes towards him. He slips as soon as his sneaker touches the oil on the other side of the line. The cigarette flies out of his mouth and hits the oil as well, and the entire puddle blazes up in flame. Chris’s head hits the floor. For a moment, he has the wind knocked out of him. Then, realizing his jeans are on fire, he pulls himself away from the puddle and rolls around until he is extinguished. The dog, having leapt away in time, whines and runs away from the fire, to another part of the store. The fishing line that was stretched across snaps from the heat. Chris!

ERNIE

Chris gets to his feet and holds the bat out, as if nothing has happened. CHRIS Try to get to me now, boss! I know everything! Started with Debbie and Marty, and Lunchbox, and you just admitted to Lucy! You won’t get to me, or the rest of us! Ernie looks at him in bewilderment.

71.

The P.A. system starts buzzing loudly. Around them, several items fall off of shelves. Ernie and Chris look around, not understanding. INT. AISLE Kay with her shotgun, Jenny, and Vince walk down an aisle. Kay stops. KAY Do you guys smell something? JENNY Yeah, like something burning. The dog runs down the aisle to them. The P.A. system buzzes. KAY Dog! You were supposed to stay with Chris! JENNY (to dog) Did something happen to him? She tries to pick up the dog, but he growls and runs just far enough away from her that she can’t reach him. VINCE I don’t think the dog’s gonna tell us, let’s just go. They run down the aisle, but are suddenly blocked. Hundreds of toys and action figures are lined up across the aisle, staring at them. The dog growls and barks fiercely. A wind-up dinosaur walks towards them, runs into Vince’s leg, and falls over. At the front of the line of toys is a Bratz doll, with a complexion and outfit that matches Kay’s perfectly. It turns its head, and looks up at Kay. The rest of the dolls and action figures follow suit.

72.

KAY Was I the only one who just fucking saw that? Fuck no.

VINCE

JENNY (whimpering) I saw it too. Kay cocks the shotgun and shoots at the Bratz doll. Several of the dolls are blown away. Vince grabs Jenny’s arm and they dart down a side aisle. The dog follows them. Kay stands there for a moment, with the shotgun, waiting to see if anything happens. The toys walk toward her, at a brisk pace. KAY Ohhh shit,this is not happening. Time to wake up Kay! You’ve dozed off folding cardigans again! She backs up and shoots again. The toys gain on her. The T-Rex has gripped onto her boot laces with its sturdy plastic teeth. She tries to shake it off. She turns to run in the opposite direction, but a line of toys comes at her from there as well. She is completely surrounded. The toys make all sorts of noises. A cabbage patch dolls crawls toward her, mouth making a chewing motion. A Santa dances toward her. Some version of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” is being sung in a silly voice. BABY DOLL Ma-ma! Ma-ma! BARBIE Let’s go shopping! We’ll take my convertible to the mall!

73.

WOODY DOLL There’s a snake in my boots! Laughter from various toys becomes louder and louder. A repeating Tucan plays back the sound of Kay’s shotgun. Hearing this, Kay suddenly realizes, and loads the shotgun again. She fires two rounds on the toys, but they are undaunted. They climb up her boots and hang from the bottom of her skirt. She reaches to get her last two shells, but a toy snake bites her hand when she reaches into her pocket. Shrieking, she drops the gun, pulls the snake off of her, and throws it as far as she can. The toys engulf her and trip her. She falls backward. Several toys lift her back slightly off the ground, and hold her arms steady. The Bratz doll she shot at reappears. It is missing an arm and part of its body. It slowly climbs up her leg, then her torso, and then briefly looks her in the eye, before crawling into her mouth, and down her throat. Kay tries to scream, but can’t. She suffocates on the doll, struggles for a moment, and then becomes still. The toys fall silent and stare at her. INT. JEWELRY Vince, Jenny, and the dog run towards the grocery department. Jenny looks over her shoulder. JENNY Vince! Wait! Kay isn’t behind us! VINCE Maybe she went another way! JENNY No! We have to check to make sure she’s okay, we have to! They stop for a second. Vince nods. They jog back to the aisle they were in before, but just before they get there, Vince stops her and holds a finger to his mouth.

74.

They are next to the cage of bouncy balls. He climbs one of the shelves, and peeks over the top of it, down the aisle to where they were before. He sees the body of Kay lying limp among the toys. The toys, as if omniscient, look up at him, and turn away from Kay to walk towards him. Shit!

VINCE

He climbs back down, looks around, and sees the cage of bouncy balls. VINCE (CONT’D) Jenny, help me with this! JENNY What is it? Is she there? He grabs the side of the cage and tries to pull it over. VINCE She’s dead. Help, quick, they’re after us now! Jenny grabs the cage and helps pull. The toys?!

JENNY

VINCE Yes, the toys, the fucking toys! They tip over the cage, and the hundreds of big, plastic balls roll out into the aisle. They knock over the pursuing toys like bowling pins. Then, after a moment, the balls turn themselves around, and roll menacingly towards Vince and Jenny. The toys pick themselves up, and follow the bouncy balls. They run back to the grocery department as fast as they can. JENNY Vince, why is this happening! I don’t get it!

75.

VINCE Me either Jenny. Me either. Let’s justsurvive. INT. AISLE Kay’s body lies alone in the middle of the aisle. Her mouth is gaping. After a moment, something bursts from her abdomen. It is the doll that climbed down her throat, covered in Kay’s blood. It crawls away from her, picks itself up, and goes to join the other toys. INT. GROCERY DEPARTMENT Jenny, Vince, and the dog stop short at the sight of Ernie and Chris, separated by a wall of flame, and piles of things that have fallen from their shelves. CHRIS It was him! He did it! He’s the only one who could haveERNIE I don’t know what the hell he’s goin’ on about, but he’s set fire to the storeCHRIS He killed Lucy too! JENNY Lucy’s dead?! ERNIE I did not, you little brat! Ted found her in the freezer, she locked herself insideVince curses under his breath. Jenny gasps. VINCE Shut up! It wasn’t Ernie, Chris. CHRIS How do you know? Vince pauses and looks at Jenny. Jenny sets a hand on his back.

76.

VINCE Because- we think that- it’s the store. What?!

CHRIS AND ERNIE

VINCE A pack of toys just killedJenny makes a noise to stop Vince from saying it. He stops talking. CHRIS Killed who? (pause) Where’s Kay? Jenny and Vince look at each other. Neither wants to say it. He throws his baseball bat at them. CHRIS (CONT’D) Where’s my sister? VINCE She’s dead, Chris. For a moment, there’s silence. Ernie looks disbelieving of all this. D-d-dead?

CHRIS

He collapses to the floor. The dog, tail between his legs, goes to Chris and burrows his head in Chris’s lap. Chris just looks into the flames in shock. Jenny goes over to him as well, sits down, and hugs him. She looks around at the aisles of the store in fear. Ernie leaves for a moment. He comes back with a fire extinguisher, and douses the flames. Steam rises from the blackened floor. The P.A. system stops buzzing. Vince notices this. VINCE Wait a minute.

77.

ERNIE What? You wanted the fire there? VINCE Yes! Well, no, but, a thought just occurred to me. How did all this stuff fall off the shelf? ERNIE It- it just did. We were wonderin’ about that when you showed up. VINCE Before or after Chris started the fire? ERNIE Uh, after. Straight after. Vince snaps his fingers. VINCE I have an idea. ERNIE What sort of idea? VINCE The kind that’ll get us out of this possessed store. Alive. He looks at Jenny protectively. She grasps Chris tighter. INT. AISLE. Jenny and Ernie walk down an aisle, towards the auto department. ERNIE I don’t know about this plan. JENNY It makes sense to me! ERNIE Yeah, well, Vince could tell you fish heads taste delicious and you’d believe him. Jenny looks simultaneously disgusted and hurt.

78.

ERNIE (CONT’D) Ah, I don’t mean to be mean. I think it’s good you two have each other. Young. Able. Attractive things. Hopefully we’ll get out alive an’ it won’t be wasted. JENNY We will. I’m sure we will. They are in an aisle with flagpoles on display. Flags from different countries hang into the aisle and the tops of their heads brush against them as they walk by. Jenny stops for a moment and looks at them. ERNIE You hear somethin’? JENNY No...I, I left my frying pan in the grocery department. She slides a flagpole out of its holster, holds onto the flag, and waves around the other end of the pole like a spear. ERNIE We should get goin’ and get out. I’ve had enough of this spooky bullshit. JENNY Just a sec. I need something to defend myself. She puts it back and takes out the flagpole with the American flag. It is heavier and sturdier. Ernie leaves her. ERNIE We can’t waste time. I’m gonna get those keys! JENNY Okay, I’m coming! INT. AUTO DEPARTMENT They approach Lunchbox’s body, cautiously. The forklift, as if sensing them, reverses, straight towards them.

79.

Ernie puts an arm out and gets Jenny out of the way just in time, pressing her against a shelf. The forklift stops again, idling. Stay here. You got it.

ERNIE JENNY

Ernie goes towards the forklift, moving toward its side. The forklift suddenly turns direction and charges him. He jumps out of the way just as the forklift hits the wall, getting momentarily caught in the bicycles. Ernie regains his composure. Jenny takes the opportunity of entanglement to jump into the driver’s seat of the forklift. The bicycle wheels turn on the own, freeing the forklift’s arms. Lunchbox slips closer to the end of the arm. The forklift goes after Ernie again, but Jenny launches herself at the wheel and turns it in the opposite direction. The forklift quickly changes direction and zooms into another aisle. The structure of the shelf it has run into creaks for a moment, and shakes, before falling towards another shelf. A domino effect is created, as one by one, several aisles are pressed by the pressure of the other and fall over, spilling merchandise everywhere. Ernie and Jenny look dumbfounded at this. ERNIE I didn’t even know those things could topple like that! He continues to stare as the forklift changes its path and goes for him again. Whoa!

ERNIE (CONT’D)

JENNY No, you don’t!

80.

She grabs the wheel. But as if it has learned from her previous action, the steering wheel goes against her, holds its own, not turning the way she wants it to, but not quite going after Ernie either. The vehicle whines in struggle. Jenny loses the strength in her arms to fight it. Finally, she lets go of the steering wheel, grasps the keys, turns them and pulls them out very quickly. The engine dies, and there is silence for a moment. JENNY (CONT’D) (out of breath) Keys...are ours. She tosses the keys to Ernie, who has picked up a bottle of motor oil in the meantime. She picks up her flagpole again, and they begin to walk to the front of the store. The forklift starts up again, without its keys, and veers toward them. They run towards a bare concrete wall. The forklift, led by them, runs straight into the wall, totaling itself. ERNIE I don’t think we need to worry bout that anymore. JENNY Or about recognizing Lunchbox. Ooh. Yep.

ERNIE

They jog away, to the front of the store. Behind them, a thin trickle of blue laundry detergent follows them closely but they do not notice. INT. ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT Vince and Chris stalk down the aisle, Chris with his baseball bat and Vince with his golf club. CHRIS Wait, I don’t understand!

81.

VINCE What don’t you understand? CHRIS We’re trying to get out...why do we need a camera? A camcorder. Same thing!

VINCE CHRIS

Vince stops him, and puts a hand on his shoulder. VINCE Think of Debbie and Marty. Lucy. Lunchbox. Your sister. Once we get out of here, who do you think the police will go to, to arrest for the murders? The store? CHRIS Jenny will stick up for us! VINCE Jenny’s word won’t be good enough. CHRIS But her dad is the-! VINCE Her dad’s word, even if he believes Jenny, won’t be good enough either. This is big, Chris. This isn’t just the police. This concerns the entire international corporation. CHRIS So it’s for proof? I don’t want to video all of our friends...or Kay...dead. VINCE I’ll do it. Keep a look out while I get one of these things going. Chris plants himself along the wall of television monitors, looking out at the rest of the store. He holds out his bat menacingly. Nothing moves in his range of vision. He chills out a little.

82.

Vince appears in the line of televisions behind him. He looks at each screen for a moment, before approaching one. The screen goes blue. CUT TO: INT. ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT Vince tears the cord from one of the sample camcorders. He looks at it for a moment, and pops open the mini-dv deck. He goes to another aisle, grabs a four pack of dv tapes, and begins to unwrap one of them. CUT TO: INT. ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT The line of monitors suddenly switch from the live streaming of the camcorders, to an image of Lunchbox, standing in the center of the screen. He stares in the general direction of the store on most of them. On the largest screen of all of them, directly behind Chris, Lunchbox stares straight at him. Chris looks around unknowing. VINCE (O.S.) What the fuck-? CHRIS What? What is it? VINCE (O.S.) Lunchbox. But he’s dead, and he’s- he can’t be...here. CHRIS What? Lunchbox is alive? VINCE (O.S.) No, he’s notChris, made anxious by Vince, looks around frantically. The Lunchbox on the screens clears his throat. Chris turns around and screams, swinging his bat into the television full force.

83.

The televisions then change to security camera footage, showing Kay, surrounded by the toys, and the doll crawling into her mouth. Chris shouts indistinctly at the screens, and tries to pull the bat out of the tv, but it is stuck. Vince drops the camcorder and goes to help Chris. The screens change again and show Jenny and Ernie, jogging quickly away from the auto area and towards the front of the store, keys in hand. Chris finally manages to wrench the bat out of the screen, but drags the monitor with it. The monitor falls off the shelf onto him, nearly eclipsing him in size, and crushing him under its weight. He screams and then goes still. Vince runs to him and tries to lift the tv off, but to no avail; it is too heavy. The other screens change again, now showing Jenny and Ernie drawing towards the front door. JENNY (OVER TV) (out of breath) I wish Vince was here. ERNIE He will be. Just give him a couple minutes. He and Chris will be here. Vince looks up at the screens, encouraged by Jenny’s words. Behind Jenny and Ernie and approaching quickly are the toys and bouncy balls, looking eagerly at the two, who are ignorant of their presence. Vince scrambles to the nearest phone, picks it up and yells into it. VINCE (OVER P.A.) Jenny! Look behind you! I’ll be rightThe P.A. system switches to static, and his voice doesn’t go through. At the same time, a game console launches itself off the shelf at him. It hits him in the side of the head.

84.

Ow!

VINCE (CONT’D)

He turns around to see what the monitors display. Before he can see her reaction, the monitors go blue, as if they are all disconnected. VINCE (CONT’D) Shit. I’m coming, Jenny! Don’t worry! I’m coming. He runs down the main aisle of the store. A bicycle crosses the aisle, aiming for him. He narrowly avoids it. Then several tires roll towards him. He hits each hard with his golf club as they come near him. INT. FRONT ENTRANCE The P.A. comes on suddenly and Vince speaks through it, before it abruptly turns to static. Ernie stops and listens. Jenny turns around and sees the toys. Oh no!

JENNY

She grabs the bottle of motor oil from Ernie, trading for her flagpole. She empties the bottle onto the toys and balls. The toys begin to slip, covered in the dark brown, viscous liquid. Some gurgle through their sound effects. Jenny grabs a lighter from one of the registers, lights one of the toys, and watches as the fire spreads to the whole group of them. They watch, revolted, as the dolls and toys slowly melt. The bouncy balls pop and deflate. Faces slide off of creatures. The toys continue to make their sound effects as they die. Their voices warp and become off-pitch screams. DORA THE EXPLORER Siempre Amigos! ROBIN ACTION FIGURE Holy Warner Brothers, Batman!

85.

BRAIN WARP This game...is finished. Jenny and Ernie cover their noses as the strong smell of burning plastic reaches their noses. They watch silently, as if at a funeral, for the toys to burn completely. INT. MAIN AISLE Vince runs down the main aisle, holding his golf club tightly, knocking away plates that are flying at him. He notices ahead of him that the pool of laundry detergent has extended and completely covers the width of the main aisle. VINCE You think a little slipping through soap will stop me? Nice try, store. He goes to jog through it anyway, grinning smugly. As he jogs, his feet move slower and slower, until they are stuck in the puddle. A thin strand of detergent travels up Vince’s khakis, up his shirt, and winds around his arm, down his sleeve. More strands slide up his legs. Vince laughs for a moment as if he’s being tickled but then gets scared. He closes his mouth and eyes tightly and tries to pull his feet out of the puddle. One of his feet pulls out, and strings stick to the bottom of his socks, like super glue. A strand runs into his ear. He yells and covers his ear. He opens his eyes and shakes his head, trying to get the detergent out of his ear. He opens his mouth, flexing his jaw, as if that will help, like popping it or something. A strand goes into his other ear. VINCE (CONT’D) Son of a bitch! Ah! That feels weird... Detergent goes into his nostrils. He immediately sneezes. Droplets of blue fly through the air.

86.

VINCE (CONT’D) Jenny...I need, I need help. It’s...cleaning me, Jenny. I don’t want to be...clean. He stops speaking as the detergent runs into his mouth. He spits it out, but stops doing that even. He just stares ahead, towards the front of the store. The detergent slides over his eyes, covering them in blue. He continues to stare. Then he falls face forward into the puddle. Small bubbles issue from the sides of his mouth. INT. FRONT ENTRANCE Ernie tries the key in the front door, Jenny behind him, looking on. ERNIE Well, that’s weird. What?

JENNY

ERNIE The key, it’s not workin’. JENNY It’s not? But, that’s the right one, right? ERNIE This is it. Here, it’s okay, we’ll just try it in the other door. He goes to the other door. Out of nowhere, there’s barking. The dog shows up again, and goes to Jenny, nuzzling her and whining. JENNY Where did you come from?! Aw, puppy, I’m glad you’re okay. She hugs him and stops, looking at his nose. JENNY (CONT’D) What did you get into?

87.

She uses her sleeve to wipe a blue liquid from the dog’s nose. The dog sneezes briefly. JENNY (CONT’D) Is it working Ernie? ERNIE No, not on this one, neither. JENNY So the store’s not gonna let us off that easy. She goes to an aisle near the door with souvenirs on the shelf. She takes a very heavy paperweight, that says, “Virginia is for Lovers” and throws it as hard as she can at the door. Ernie gives up and tosses the keys away. The dog pays no attention to the two of them, but sniffs through the carnage of melted toys. Jenny throws the paperweight one more time. It makes a crack in the glass. JENNY (CONT’D) Yes! See Ernie, it’ll work! Help me! But Ernie is preoccupied. He has taken the flagpole and is beating a cash register with it. JENNY (CONT’D) Ernie! What are you doing? ERNIE I’m sick of this shit! A store can’t tell me what to do! All it’s here to do is make money, for us! For you and me, and your dad, and that’s it! It ain’t supposed to get self-righteous on us! It ain’t right! JENNY Ernie! Please, stop! We can get out! It’s okay! The cash register is completely destroyed, but Ernie doesn’t stop there. He goes on to another one and starts beating it too, but with the other end of the pole. The American flag unfurls as he beats the register, waving gloriously in its violence.

88.

Lucy’s body lays on the conveyor belt next to the register he is beating. Jenny approaches Lucy and places a hand on her cheek. She tears up, staring at Lucy. The belt starts up, and Lucy’s body moves backwards on it. She slides off the other end and lands in a sort of sitting position on the floor next to the checkout lane. Ernie doesn’t notice, but the corner of the flag he’s using to beat the cash register gets sucked into the conveyor belt. After a moment, he does notice it, and tries to pull it out, but the belt continues to eat the flag. ERNIE Gimme back my flag! He leans over the checkout to pull the flag back out. The register begins to beep, acknowledging there is a product to read on the counter. Ernie’s vest now gets sucked in. He yells and lets go of the flagpole. Both corners of his vest are now being sucked in. Jenny drops her paperweight and runs to try to pull him out. She puts all her weight into pulling his vest out, but it doesn’t work. ERNIE (CONT’D) Jenny! Help me! JENNY I’m trying! I can’t get it! ERNIE (choking) Jenny! Jenny! Please- HeHis chin is pressed against the belt and the collar of his vest, sucked in around his neck, presses against his skin. He struggles against it for a moment, trying to get a breath. Jenny continues to pull on him, even after she knows he is dead. She cries and hugs his still form.

89.

Then she slides down and sits in the small corner of a checkout, to cry and to be out of reach of the store. She takes her blue vest off and throws it as far away as she can, angrily. She looks at the paperweight, not far away, and bursts into tears again. Suddenly, the dog, starts barking. It taps over to the register where Jenny is hiding and barks at her. The dog has something disgusting in its mouth. Jenny doesn’t notice this. She gets up and looks around. JENNY Vince? Chris? She walks out from the register and looks around but does not see them. The dog barks again. She turns around. One pair of double doors are open, waiting for her to walk through them. The dog runs through them and comes back in. He sits next to Jenny and barks one more time. JENNY (CONT’D) I should wait for the others. The dog growls at her. JENNY (CONT’D) I know I know. There’s no telling. And once I’m outside, I can call the police. She takes a deep breath and goes to the door. JENNY (CONT’D) Happy Birthday, Walmart. She hesitates for a moment, and then goes to walk through. Just as she crosses the line, her foot slips on a toy that is lying there. She falls flat on her back. The double doors close suddenly on her as she screams. They cut off her head at the neck, quite cleanly.

90.

The doors pause for a moment, closed. Then they open again. The dog grabs the toy from under Jenny and scampers out into the parking lot. He excitedly wags his tail, barks, and flops around the toy he has. The sun is rising in the distance. The sky is turning from gray to pink. A large truck drives over, and the passenger side door opens. The truck driver from the previous night sits inside, leaning over and looking at the dog. TRUCK DRIVER There you are, Sam! Been lookin’ for you all night! Where ya been? The dog pauses playing with the toy to look up at the truck driver and bark. Then he grabs the toy and jumps into the truck. The truck driver closes the door and they drive off, towards the highway. TRUCK DRIVER (CONT’D) What’d you catch there, Sam? Did you go huntin’ last night? He laughs and pets the dog. TRUCK DRIVER (CONT’D) A long way to go today. A long way... The dog lays on the seat, with the toy in his mouth. The toy is charred and oily, with only one arm. The face is still intact. It is the Bratz doll that killed Kay. It turns its face towards the dog, and pets the dog’s snout with its one hand. FADE OUT. THE END.