a cloud of hot steam. the soothing rush of warm water running over tanned and naked skin.
julia stands underneath the shower, her body relaxing into paul's chest, his muscular arms encircling her body, his lips buried in her neck and shoulders. her eyes are shut. her expression is calm.
intercut -
the range rover heads off into the woods.
ext. cabin -
terry is sitting on the counter, twirling her hair and chatting on a cell phone. julia enters the kitchen.
terry
i'm not kidding, dana. there's no phone.
there's a jack and the phone line works, but there's no phone. uh-huh. paul was able to get on the internet. i'm using his cell.
julia
i need you to look at something.
terry nods.
terry hold on. julia here. julia holds out the picture. terry looks it over briefly. terry nice picture. she gets back to her phone conversation. terry i'm back. i don't know if he has any free minutes, but he definitely won't after this conversation. uh-huh. thank god for airtouch. frustrated, julia takes the picture and leaves the kitchen. ext. cabin -
the wind is picking up. trees rustle. int. cabin -
it's getting dark. moonshadows shift across the lawn. int. cabin -
julia enters the bathroom. paul is retching and coughing into the toilet. hair plastered to his forehead. pale as death. shaking badly. julia paul? what's wrong? paul sick. she goes to him. rubs his shoulders as he coughs again. julia oh baby . julia brushes the hair from his forehead. she freezes. just above his temple is a scab. no bigger than the head of an eraser. identical to the one on julia's finger. julia paul? where did this come from? paul what? julia this scab. julia runs her finger over the scab. paul immediately reels from her touch, pain shooting through his head, furious. paul jesus! fuck! julia is shocked by the severity of his reaction. julia i'm sorry. paul holds his head tight. almost near tears. fighting pain. paul just don't touch it. julia how long has it been there? paul ever since my head started to hurt. i think i'm hallucinating. julia what did you see? paul skin . like it was shed . and all of these metal pieces julia is terribly concerned now. his description frightens her, but she maintains a visage of calm. julia do you want to see a doctor? i know there's one in santa mira. paul i can see a doctor in los angeles. look, i want to get out of here, okay? let's go home. beat. julia okay. she squeezes his shoulder and walks into -- int. cabin -
the car starts going down. floor lights blink above the door. 8 . 7 . 6 . terry punches out 9-1-1 on the cell phone's keypad. nothing comes through the receiver. only static. terry come on . come on . she dials again. 4 . 3 . 2
a massive room where empty human skins are dangling from hooks, complete and preserved from head to toe. the skins sway and rock gently in the draft. thousands of them. julia moves towards the center of the room. a large operating table awaits. but the surface of the table is sunken like a water basin. next to the table is a pedestal littered with bloody instruments. cutting tools. knives. curved hooks. julia notices that paul's torn clothes are resting at the foot of the table. shirt shredded to a rag. sneakers orphaned nearby. jeans spattered with blood. her breathing quickens. her heart pounding. she reaches the foot of the table. paul is lying within the basin, completely naked and partially covered with littered body parts. organs and entrails. the basin is filled with water and blood. an immobile form is resting next to him. julia moves quickly. she tries to wake him up. julia paul. paul, wake up. he stirs. his nose crinkles slightly. julia wake up. she grabs him and lifts him up. he starts coughing. julia you've gotta hurry. here . julia grabs his jeans. she helps him slide down from the basin and he pulls them on. a skinned hand grabs hers. julia yelps a scream. the other form -- a thing in the basin -- rises and turns. slicked with blood. empty sockets where the eyes should be. mouth falling open. a horror that shouldn't be alive. julia screams again. her free hand grabs a hook from the pedestal and swings the blade into the thing's neck. blood fountains up. the thing begins shrieking. with paul leaning on her for support, julia rapidly heads for the door. int. main
6:
i'm your mother. julia steps out of the crowd. searches for the voice. a homeless woman is shadowing a college-age girl walking with her boyfriend. they're trying to ignore her. homeless
julia? julia turns around, searching, not immediately recognizing the figure that briskly approaches her -- it's terry. but her once perfect appearance has become harsh and drawn. her blonde hair has been colored dark brown. there are sagging circles under her eyes. her skin is colorless. she moves quickly. nervously. julia is shocked. julia terry? terry's hands tremble. terry i'm glad you came. you don't have any idea how scared i've been. julia why did you change your hair? terry is about to answer when a baby starts crying in the market. fear takes control of her face. terry we can't stay here. julia why? terry where are you parked? julia on the street. terry good. if we keep moving, they might have trouble tracking us. terry takes julia's arm and leads her out of the market. ext. san
they take away your identity. people stop remembering you. your place in society vanishes. int. range
he was paul's best friend -- flashback: int.
it's just a fantasy. flashback: int.
connor? he turns around and scans the crowd, locating a ragged figure that moves quickly towards him. with her dirty clothing and sunken eyes, it takes a moment to register. this is julia. her skin is pale. her hair is stringy and knotted. julia i've been looking for you. connor what? barry great. mike just ignore her. julia they tried to get me. several times. but i managed to get away. i've always managed to get away. a train rushes into the station. connor is speechless. connor i'm . sorry