

	FADE IN:

	A SPECK OF DUST

	Grains of sand dance in the wind.  As we glide over a VAST
	DESERT, the speck of dust becomes a HORSE AND RIDER. 
	CATHERINE YOUNG straddles the beautiful black animal, her
	mesmerizing eyes scanning the horizon.  A curious breeze
	blows across her exquisite face and she drinks it in, as if
	the wind itself were telling something to her...

	Catherine sees a FLICKERING LIGHT in the sand.  She pulls the
	reins and the horse stops moments before the dune drops into
	nothingness.  She dismounts, affectionately scratches the
	horse's neck, and follows the LIGHT.  When she looks over her
	shoulder, the Arabian is now a child's WOODEN HOBBY HORSE. 
	Not surprised, Catherine smiles and walks down a dune, sand
	sliding beneath her feet...

	She finds herself in a valley of dead trees whose decayed,
	gnarled limbs appear to form hands.  The light dances across
	her face.  She shades her eyes and pinpoints the source...

	A SMALL MIRROR reflecting rays of bright sun, housed within a
	locket and chain.  It's held by EDWARD, a haunted-looking boy
	of seven with a precocious grin and piercing eyes.  He sits
	on a fallen tree trunk, patiently waiting for her arrival.

				CATHERINE
		Thanks for the horse.

	He's a shy child, yet comfortable with Catherine.

				EDWARD
		You liked him?

				CATHERINE
		He's beautiful...

	Edward smiles, delighted he made her happy.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		But I thought we were going sailing.

	The boy frowns.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		You promised.

	A devilish glint in his eye, Edward redirects the mirror. 
	Catherine follows the flicker to a TOY BOAT in the sand.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		We can't fit into that!

	Edward shines light in her eyes, momentarily blinding her,
	then snaps the locket shut.  When her vision clears,
	Catherine sees a GIANT SHIP perched among the dunes.  A craft
	weighing hundreds of tons just sitting there in the desert.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		That'll do.

	She walks toward it, but Edward doesn't follow.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
			(coaxing him)
		Come on, Mister E.

	She extends her hand, but he adamantly shakes his head no.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		What now?

				EDWARD
			(nods at the ship)
		's broken.

	Undaunted, she... finds herself standing on the DECK.

				CATHERINE
			(calling to him)
		Who says?

				EDWARD
		Mocky-Lock.

				CATHERINE
		Oh no... No you don't.

				EDWARD
		"Mocky-Lock is the bogeyman.  Mocky-Lock
		wants me where I am."

				CATHERINE
		I bet we can fix it.

	She opens a rusted iron DOOR.  It makes an HORRIFIC
	SCREECHING SOUND.  Similar to metal-on-metal, but more
	piercing, more pained.  As if made by a living thing.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
			(familiar with the noise, a
			warning to him)
		Ed-ward...

	The boy's FACE CONTORTS, turning into something half-human,
	half-animal.  A monster.  Mocky-Lock.  He SCREECHES, trying
	to frighten Catherine, but she cocks her head...

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		We agreed.  No more Mocky-Lock.

	The creature sticks its tongue out and DIVES.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Edward!

	But it's too late!  Edward/Mocky Lock slithers into the sand
	and disappears.  Resigning herself to a failure, she opens
	the palm of her left hand, revealing a SMALL BUMP in the
	flesh between thumb and forefinger.  She presses hard and...

	PICTURE AND SOUND DISTORT AND CHANGE

	INT. LABORATORY - DAY

	We are looking at a large SCREEN showing an electronically
	generated three-dimensional view of a human brain featuring
	color-coded neurological activity.  In a specific section of
	the image, cells flash from yellow to red...

	PULL BACK TO REVEAL HENRY WEST surrounded by computers,
	monitors, electronics, and keyboards.  DR. MIRIAM KENT stands
	before a peculiar diagnostic machine scrutinizing data and
	images.  Both wear garb favored by surgeons or microchip
	assemblers.  The impressive, weird computer system HUMS as it
	shifts programs, the unusual brain image changing colors.  

	THROUGH A LARGE WINDOW, we see into an ADJOINING ROOM within
	which a HUMAN FIGURE hangs suspended in mid-air by a series
	of cables designed to simulate flotation.

	AT THE CONSOLE, Miriam uses a pen to hit specific areas of
	the touch-sensitive screen, changing the complex CHEMICAL
	SYMBOLS displayed there.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, a series of pharmaceuticals are
	injected into an intravenous tube feeding the sleeve/arm of
	the figure.  A featherweight cloth MASK electronically rises,
	revealing the sleeping face of Catherine.

	AT THE CONSOLE, Miriam hits a button and speaks into an
	intercom microphone.

				MIRIAM
		Sing a song of sixpence...

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, there is no reaction from Catherine.

				MIRIAM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Sing a song of sixpence...

				CATHERINE
			(hoarse, groggy)
		A pocketful of rye...

				MIRIAM (O.S.)
		Four-and-twenty blackbirds.

	Catherine's eyes open.

				CATHERINE
		Baked in a pie...

	IN THE CONTROL ROOM, Henry hits a switch and Catherine is
	lowered to the pedestal.  Miriam checks Monitors displaying
	Catherine's vital signs and continuing what must be a
	routine, presses numbers on a keypad to open the PRESSURIZED
	AIRTIGHT DOOR separating the two areas.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, lights come on and Miriam eases
	Catherine out of the apparatus.  She checks her pupil
	dilation, pulse, throat, and reflexes.  She pokes and prods
	with a familiarity that would seem rude to an outside
	observer, but is nothing to them.  Getting to her feet, we
	see that Catherine's BODYSUIT is made of an unusual dark
	fabric almost liquid in consistency.

	AT THE CONSOLE, Henry moves to another section and for the
	first time, we see there are two elaborate neural monitors. 
	And the "brain" pictured here is smaller.  Younger...

				HENRY
		"Mister E." is doing fine.

	REVEAL A SECOND FIGURE suspended from the ceiling in the
	PROCEDURE ROOM.  A SMALL BOY is lowered to the pedestal and
	as Miriam records data, Catherine removes the child's "mask,"
	displaying the haunted face of Edward.  Clearly, the boy is
	in some kind of catatonic state.

				MIRIAM
		Did we go sailing?

				CATHERINE
		Almost.  Mocky-Lock showed up.

				MIRIAM
		"Mocky-Lock is the bogeyman, Mocky-Lock
		wants me where I am."

				CATHERINE
		Mocky-Lock is a pain in the ass.

	Henry communicates with them via the intercom.

				HENRY
		Where did that come from again?

	Catherine looks annoyed - How could he forget?

				CATHERINE
		A nursery rhyme.

	Catherine detaches the cables and eases Edward's frail body
	into a waiting wheelchair.  Miriam takes a penlight and
	examines the boy's eyes... An emotionless void, oddly
	beautiful.

				MIRIAM
			(thinking aloud)
		Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, the
		bogeyman... All preparation for the
		horrors of the real world.

	Making certain the child is comfortable, Catherine covers him
	with a blanket, rests a teddy bear on his lap, and pushes him
	into the CONTROL ROOM, accompanied by Miriam.  Henry types in
	a command and moves to join them.

				HENRY
		Anybody hungry?  I'm hungry...

	A BUZZER sounds and ANOTHER DOOR HISSES OPEN... A constantly
	fretting administrator, BARRY COOPERMAN, is waiting for them
	in the corridor.

				COOPERMAN
		Edward's parents are here.

	We can see it in Catherine's face - this isn't good news.

	EXT. CAMPBELL CENTER - DAY

	Situated in a corporate/industrial area north of San Diego,
	California, a series of well-secured buildings form a mini
	compound.  A sign near the gate reads CAMPBELL CENTER - A
	DIVISION OF SUNERSET INDUSTRIES.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - EDWARD'S ROOM - DAY

	Although this is a hospital room filled with medical
	equipment, its sterility has been camouflaged with toys,
	posters, photographs, and drawings to make it more "homey." 
	(Some hint at aspects of Edward's fantasy world).  Every
	comfort has been provided and no expense spared.

	Henry, Miriam, and Catherine, now wearing funky/casual
	clothes under a lab coat, stand opposite Cooperman.  Sitting
	on the bed with Edward is ELLA BAINES, an elegantly dressed
	woman in her mid-40's.  There is a soulfulness to her, but
	the husband, LUCIEN BAINES, 60's, possesses the icy demeanor
	of a corporate tycoon.  One might write him off as cold, but
	we sense a genuine love for his wife and child.  Ella smiles
	and caresses Edward's hair.

				ELLA
		He needs a haircut.

				CATHERINE
		I'll tell the nurse.
			(sensing something in Edward)
		God, he loves when you visit.

				ELLA
		My husband wonders if that's true.
			(delivering bad news)
		He wants to place Edward in a hospital.

	Seeing an unfunded future, Henry's ready to disassociate
	himself from Miriam and Catherine...

				HENRY
		There are other applications for the
		scanner, Mr. Baines...

				LUCIEN
		I realize that, Henry...
			(to Miriam)
		And I know your work, Dr. Kent, is
		invaluable to this company...

				CATHERINE
		You don't know about me, though, do you?

				LUCIEN
		Catherine, we've waited eighteen months
		for signs of progress...

				CATHERINE
		There's been progress.

				LUCIEN
		Yes, but there is no proof the procedure
		works.  All I have is a belief that your
		interaction with my son is not a
		hallucination.

	Catherine is hurt and vulnerable due to exhaustion and the
	intensity of her experience with Edward, but feels she must
	defend herself.

				CATHERINE
			(to Cooperman, Miriam, Henry)
		You picked me, remember?  And I took the
		job.  Gladly.  This is the next wave and
		I want to be part of it...

				COOPERMAN
		No one is doubting your ability.

				CATHERINE
		Then what is it?

	Introspective and solemn-eyed, Lucien takes a moment, then:

				LUCIEN
		I've invested millions of dollars in
		this study... And I've convinced others
		to do the same.  I suppose I should feel
		responsible to them, but I don't.  I
		could care less if they see a profit. 
		I'm responsible to my boy, that's all
		that matters.
			(looks her in the eye)
		You tell me... Am I doing the right
		thing?

	OFF CATHERINE'S FACE...

	INT. WHITE ROOM - DAY

	At first, we're not sure where we are or what's happening. 
	It's too bright, the space confining.  As our eyes adjust, we
	seem to be in a bathroom or shower stall.  We HEAR a WOMAN
	CRYING and the camera finds ANNE VICKSEY.  Dark circles
	beneath eyes red and puffy from crying.  Hair wet and ratted. 
	Sweater and pants damp and stained.  Barefoot, she shivers
	from cold and fear...

	PULL BACK to show more of her surroundings.  The white-tiled
	10' x 8' room features a SHOWER HEAD, TOILET, and a push
	button SPIGOT for drinking water.  Two walls are SOLID, the
	other two MIRRORED, the glass covered by thick clear plastic.

	The floor is littered with empty food wrappers - candy bars,
	juice boxes.  In the center of the floor is a DRAIN and above
	her, on the ceiling, a FLUORESCENT LAMP, also encased in
	clear plastic.

	There is no door.

	A mechanism CLICKS. Then a RUMBLING... Anne seems to know
	what's coming.  She presses against the wall, removes her
	arms from the sleeves of the sweater, hunches down, and
	raises the garment over her head, forming a tent.

	WATER ERUPTS from the shower head.  There is no steam, so
	this water must be cold.  Shaking, Anne whispers a count to
	herself - "One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three..." and
	so on.  The spray hits everything in the room - mirror,
	toilet, floor - and a food wrapper drifts toward the drain.

				ANNE
		Thirty.

	She peeks up from the tent, but the water has not stopped,
	and that isn't what she expected.  We hear a soft SUCKING
	NOISE and a CLICK.  The wrapper rises on a puddle of water. 
	Anne POUNDS her fist on the wall.

				ANNE (CONT'D)
			(angry, scared)
		THIRTY!

	A puddle forms around her feet and she realizes the drain has
	somehow been sealed shut.  Her panic intensifies as we hear
	another CLICK and the water pressure increases.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY

	In the darkened procedure room, Miriam finds Catherine
	standing between the two suspension devices, alone.

				MIRIAM
		You okay?

	Catherine turns, nods, and tries to smile.  Has she been
	crying?  Miriam steps further into the room.

				CATHERINE
		He hates me.

				MIRIAM
		Lucien Baines?

	Catherine nods.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		I wouldn't say "hates."  Dislikes,
		distrusts, maybe.

	Catherine laughs.  Exactly what Miriam wanted.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		She adores you.

				CATHERINE
		She thinks I can bring Edward back.

				MIRIAM
		Someday you can.  We all believe that...

	Catherine halfheartedly nods, but her mind is elsewhere,
	focused on the two apparatuses.

				CATHERINE
		I want to try it.  Please.

	Miriam knows what this is about.

				MIRIAM
		We've been over this a dozen times.  No.

				CATHERINE
		Why not?  Just once.  A trial run.  What
		harm could it do?

				MIRIAM
		I don't want to find out.

	Ever the doctor, Miriam finds herself surreptitiously
	examining Catherine's eyes, flesh tone, a slight trembling in
	her fingertips.

				CATHERINE
		Why is it taking so long for us to reach
		him?  Because we've been reactive,
		that's why.  And we need to be active.

	Miriam reaches for Catherine's wrist and takes her pulse.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
			(annoyed)
		Miriam...

				MIRIAM
		Shush.

	As Miriam examines her, Catherine continues:

				CATHERINE
		He creates the obstacles, he decides
		which games to play.

				MIRIAM
		I've heard this argument before.  It's
		not happening.

				CATHERINE
			(frustrated)
		It could take years for me to get past
		the barriers he's created.

				MIRIAM
		If we reverse the feed and bring Edward
		into your mind, it could be devastating
		for him.  Imagine the shock of suddenly
		existing in a whole other world.

				CATHERINE
		I do it all the time!

				MIRIAM
		Yes, but, you're a willing participant. 
		Picture Edward in a strange place, lost,
		frightened...

				CATHERINE
		I'd be there for him.

				MIRIAM
		And he might blame you for terrifying
		him.  That one moment could erase all
		you've accomplished.  And if that
		happened, the trust he has in you is
		gone.

				CATHERINE
			(defeated)
		Okay, okay...

	Miriam takes a penlight and examines Catherine's eyes.

				MIRIAM
		Besides, I don't know what it might do
		to you.  You're already exhausted.
			(concerned)
		Have you been sleeping?

	Catherine nods.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		I can prescribe something...

	Catherine shakes her head no.  Miriam shuts off the penlight
	and looks at Catherine with professional and personal
	concern.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		You're sure?  Any more nightmares?

				CATHERINE
			(defensively)
		No.

				MIRIAM
		Good.  We need you healthy and relaxed. 
		You're going to eat well, meditate,
		exercise, and watch mindless television.

				CATHERINE
		Yes mother.

				MIRIAM
		I don't want you up all night reading
		Edward's case file of the nine millionth
		time.  Balance, dear girl, is the key. 
		Leave the work here.

	She taps Catherine's head.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		Don't bring it home in this.

				CATHERINE
		Okay.

	Miriam gathers her belongings.

				MIRIAM
		Henry wants me to try this Vietnamese
		place he's wild about.  Want to come?

				CATHERINE
			(declining)
		I've got to feed my cat.  Besides, I
		want to get to bed early.

				MIRIAM
		That's my girl.

	Miriam exits, but Catherine remains, still curious what could
	happen if things were reversed.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - HALLWAY - DAY

	The corridors are dark and most everyone has gone home.  At
	the NURSES STATION, a staff member observes the child on a
	closed-circuit monitor.  Further down the hall, Miriam and
	Henry exit.  Wearing a (chic) thrift store coat and lugging a
	worn book bag, Catherine stands outside Edward's room,
	watching him sleep.

				CATHERINE
		Pleasant dreams, Mister E.

	EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - DAY

	A GREEN FORD PICK-UP TRUCK cruises down this deserted stretch
	of two-lane blacktop, the driver carefully maintaining the
	speed limit.  He signals and exits...

	EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY

	The truck rumbles along a stretch of bumpy, unpaved road. 
	The area is desolate, depressing, and deserted.  It feels
	like no one's been anywhere near here for years.  The pick-up
	stops at a RUSTED GATE and the DRIVER, a tall, lean, sinewy
	fellow undoes a combination lock-and-chain.  We do not yet
	see his face.

	EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE - DAY

	The truck parks inside a charred barn, now hidden from view,
	and the driver steps out, followed by his DOG.

	A magnificent WHITE GERMAN SHEPHERD.  We notice a GLINT in
	its BLUE EYES - the animal's an albino.  The driver points
	and whistles.  Well-trained, the Shepard sprints to the gate
	and waits, keeping a watchful eye on the road.

	INT. THE CELL - OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY

	From the outside, a passerby would never know this sanctuary
	existed.  Within the foundation of a farm building never
	completed, we find a small room in the center of a much
	larger space.  The cell.  We hear the WHIR of ELECTRONIC
	EQUIPMENT and notice VIDEO CAMERAS mounted on tripods pointed
	at the two-way glass.  We follow CABLES to a massive VIDEO
	RECORDER - the type used in surveillance, able to record for
	days without maintenance, and an elaborate TIMING DEVICE
	connected to a series of VALVES and SWITCHES.

	As if in a beatific trance, the driver moves to the window
	and gently rests his palm on the glass.  ANNE MOVES!  Arms
	flailing, mouth gasping, eyes filled with dread.  The last
	spark of life... The driver JUMPS, startled and frightened.

	Almost shamefully, he turns and hides, unable to look at her. 
	Suddenly, his body tenses and writhes, as if seized by
	torturous pain.  He opens his mouth in a silent scream.

	And then, quickly as it came, the pain subsides.  Hidden in
	shadow, he breathes deeply, regaining self-control.  He
	waits, then moves back to the glass.  Anne's dead face floats
	past him.  Almost angelic.  He watches her and leans his head
	against the window, closer.  And the driver catches his own
	reflection in the mirror.

	Meet CARL STARGHER.

	EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

	Small and isolated, the nearest neighbor a block away.

	INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

	The place is a mess.  Computer print-outs, dirty dishes,
	unopened mail, videotapes, and notepads cover tables, chairs
	and floor.  On the crammed bookshelves, psychology texts sit
	next to volumes on mythology, religion, and the occult. 
	Totems, figurines and artifacts (Central and South American
	in origin) adorn the walls and tables.

	As Portishead plays on the stereo, we find Catherine
	suffering from insomnia, wearing goofy-yet-hip eyeglasses,
	sweatpants and a UCSD T-shirt, sharing a late-night snack
	with her pet CAT.  She shuts the refrigerator door and we
	linger on an odd POSTCARD taped to the surface.  A kitschy
	postcard of a warrior/goddess.

	INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

	We MOVE out of shadow, toward a bright focused light,
	following the albino German Shepherd - VALENTINE - as it
	enters a VAST SUBTERRANEAN ROOM.  Most of the walls have been
	knocked down, leaving only thick support posts.  Valentine
	finds Stargher in a DUGOUT PIT - about five feet deeper than
	the rest of the room - polishing a stainless steel table.  A
	bright tungsten work light hangs above, and near it is the
	chain, cables and hooks of a customized MECHANICAL HOIST.

	The dog picks up an unpleasant scent and follows it to a far
	corner where there are empty jugs of BLEACH sitting next to a
	long, deep cast iron TUB.  Stargher WHISTLES and Valentine
	obediently retreats to a KENNEL CAGE.  Stargher gives him a
	chew toy and locks the dog inside before moving to the tub.

	Soaking in the bleach is the nude corpse of Anne Vicksey. 
	The interior of the tub is glazed with gleaming porcelain and
	the whiteness of her flesh makes it appear as though she is
	floating in nothingness, but what hypnotizes and appalls are
	her eyes.  Wide open, transformed by the chlorine into
	something ghostly, they are unforgettable.

	As the bleach gurgles down the drain, Stargher lifts Anne
	from the tub and carries her to the table.  He places her
	face up and dries her with a clean white towel.  He moves her
	limbs, lips, hips, and hands into desired positions then
	retreats into shadow.  In the harsh light, against the shiny
	table, the bleached body has the quality of an apparition and
	we almost expect her to move...

	We HEAR Stargher remove his clothes and he steps into the
	pool of light.  Nude, we see that his lean, muscular frame is
	laced with some rough tatoos.  When he turns his back to us,
	we find EIGHT METAL RINGS, thick and strong, PIERCED through
	his flesh.  Two columns of four on either side of the spine,
	running from shoulder blade to just below the waist.  What in
	God's name are they for?

	Stargher shuts off the work light and moves to an area where
	he keeps TELEVISION MONITORS and VCRs.  He inserts a
	videocassette taken from the surveillance deck and watches
	the screen.

	In BLACK AND WHITE, we see Anne awaken in the cell.  Her
	first moments inside.  Disoriented, terrified, trapped, she
	examines her surroundings.

	Stargher is mesmerized by her fear.  Fast-forwarding to her
	death, he presses a remote and we get SOUND.  Anne screaming,
	begging for her life.  Aroused, stimulated, Stargher drinks
	it in like a symphony.  Valentine cowers in the back of his
	cage, hating this.

	INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

	Lying on her bed (a waterbed), Catherine sleepily stares at
	the ceiling, rolls onto her side, and feels herself drawn
	into the comforter.  The folds of the fabric become ripples. 
	Ripples become dunes.

	EXT. EDWARD'S WORLD - DAY

	And we find ourselves in the DESERT of EDWARD'S WORLD.

	We fly over dunes and come up behind Catherine as she
	struggles through waves of sand.  The tree trunk is up ahead
	and we glimpse someone hiding inside.

	Catherine reaches.  MOCKEY-LOCK ERUPTS FROM WITHIN THE TREE
	TRUNK!  SNARLING!  Catherine retreats, silently screaming.

	INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAWN

	IN HER OWN BED, Catherine's eyes are open.  In sharp contrast
	to a typical reaction to a nightmare, she remains calm.  No
	sweaty face, no gasp, no reaction at all, really.  She might
	as well have been dreaming of puppy dogs.  Wide awake, her
	eyes return their gaze to the ceiling.

				CATHERINE
		Go.  To.  Sleep.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT

	CHAINS attached to bizarre HOOKS dangle from the ceiling. 
	Admiring Anne's body, Stargher links the hooks to the rings
	in his back.  He presses a remote unit and up in the rafters,
	a series of GEARS click into motion.  The sound is torturous
	as the mechanical hoist LIFTS Stargher off the ground,
	pulling at the rings, strips of flesh rising.  Stargher
	grimaces, but clearly he wants the pain, needs it.  As the
	hoist clicks into another gear, it carries Stargher over the
	table until his body is perfectly positioned above Anne's.

	In the flickering weird light of the television screen,
	Stargher resembles something from the twisted imagination of
	William Blake - a levitating demon ready to debauch an
	innocent angel.  With his free hand, he touches himself,
	chains clinking and swaying.

	EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY

	A railroad bridge and highway span an almost-bone-dry creek
	bed.  Gathered beneath the overpass are the POLICE, CORONER,
	CRIMINIALISTS, AND A LOCAL FBI.  A SEDAN travels down a
	service road and stops nearby.  TWO MEN exit, identify
	themselves as FBI and move to the crime scene.

	Special Agent GORDON RAMSEY is well-groomed, prides himself
	on professionalism, and follows the Bureau party line. 
	Special Agent PETER NOVAK is rough around the edges,
	introspective, and intense.  A loner who marches to the tune
	of a peculiar drummer, he's unconventionally handsome with
	probing eyes.  He moves slowly, observing the scene - the
	world, for that matter - from a unique perspective.

	As Ramsey finds the FBI's local liaison - AGENT COLE - Novak
	oblivious to the people around him, touches dirt, smells the
	air, and examines road, river, bridge and sky.

				RAMSEY
		Who found her?

	Cole nods at a visibly shaken WORKMAN seated in a patrol car.

				COLE
		Surveyor for the railroad... 'Bout six
		this morning.

	Novak sees a FEMALE BODY wrapped in plastic and bound by
	wire.  Supervising the examination of the woman is FBI
	PATHOLOGIST DR. THEODORE "TEDDY" LEE, a polite, dapper
	southern gentleman.

				NOVAK
		Thanks for waiting, Teddy.

	Teddy gives Novak a friendly, respectful salute - "My
	pleasure."  Novak dons gloves, nods to an FBI PHOTOGRAPHER
	and assists Teddy Lee in snipping wire and peeling back thick
	clear plastic.  As the photographer reacts to a strong smell,
	Teddy comments.

				TEDDY LEE
		Bleach.

	As the man snaps pictures, Ramsey and Cole join them.  Sadly,
	Novak recognizes the face.

				NOVAK
		Anne Marie Vicksey.

	We recognize her, too.

				COLE
		She the one from Santa Cruz?

				NOVAK
		Just graduated law school.  Single mom. 
		Had a two-year-old daughter.

	He and Teddy expose the bleached flesh of her torso, neither
	man surprised.  Coldly thorough, Novak finds another of the
	killer's tell-tale signs.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
			(instructing the photographer)
		The semen on her legs and abdomen.

	FLASH! Photos are taken.

				TEDDY LEE
		Someone looking after her little girl?

				NOVAK
		Grandparents.  Live over in Davis.

	Novak looks into the dead white eyes of Anne Vicksey, trying
	to imagine the horrors she beheld.  He moves to the creek and
	sees only a few inches of water.  His eyes move from the drop
	site to the highway above.

				TEDDY LEE
		The poor thing.

	FLASH!  We're up there now, ON THE OVERPASS, with the
	photographer and Novak, examining TIRE TRACKS in the soft
	shoulder.  Novak peers over the edge at the crime scene,
	steps back, and focuses on the highway - imagining the
	killer's truck as it disappeared into the night.
	
	
	
	EXT. OFFICE PLAZA - DAY

	 A PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN, JULIA HICKSON, shares lunch with her
	fiancee, JOHN TRACY.  They talk, laugh and kiss, not a care
	in the world.

	INT. PICK-UP TRUCK - ACROSS THE STREET - DAY

	As TALK RADIO plays, Carl Stargher watches them, specifically
	Julia, his eyes never off her for too long as his hands work
	on something banal but unseen.

				TALK RADIO HOST
		...complaining about government
		subsidies for farmers...

	The voice on the radio becomes DISTORTED as we hear it
	through Stargher's ears...

				TALK RADIO HOST (CONT'D)
		...but without subsidies, families will
		starve, and I'm nodd
		exagggeerrrrr....ayding.  Iff id werrrr
		up tooooo meeeee.....

	The host's voice fades into a guttural, monstrous groan.

				TALK RADIO HOST (CONT'D)
		Meeeee gawwwwwdd Caaaarrrrlll.  Mee god
		cum...
			(returning to normal)
		Meeeee....wwuuuuuddunnnnttttt... be
		spending billions on other countries
		when we've got problems right here.

	He opens his eyes and watches John kiss Julia goodbye as she
	returns to work.  Stargher looks down and we see what he's
	been working on - A TOY DOLL.  Female.  Stripped of its
	clothes, a single metal ring stuck through its plastic neck.

	INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

	His lunch finished, Ramsey is on a cell-phone talking to his
	wife.  Chain-drinking coffee, Novak scrutinizes photos of the
	tire tracks.

				RAMSEY
		Well, honey, what's worse?  Doing it
		yourself or asking your mother for help?
			(gets his answer)
		Can it wait 'til I get back/
			(listens, answers)
		I have no idea, Jeannie.

	Novak checks his watch and the street.  Clearly waiting for
	someone or something.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
		Well all right.  Good luck with the
		Monster.  I love you too.  Bye-bye.

	Ramsey snaps shut the cell-phone.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
		We call Jeannie's mother "The Monster"
		because, well... she just is.

	Novak is oblivious, pouring over tire-related info.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
		I know you could care less about my
		personal life, Peter, but I do
		appreciate the occasional, "How's your
		wife, Gordon?"

	He waits.  Novak obliges:

				NOVAK
		How is she?

				RAMSEY
		Pregnant.  Thanks for asking.

	Novak is distracted by Teddy Lee entering the diner.

				NOVAK
		Here he is.

				RAMSEY
		Damn, man, I give up.  Your partner
		tells you his wife's gonna have a baby,
		and all you care about is a coroner's
		report!

	Ramsey assesses the exhausted, lonely, intense man sitting
	across from him.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
		I feel for those girls too, Pete.  And
		their families.  But it's just a job. 
		Someday it'll be over.  And then what'll
		you have?

	Much to Novak's appreciation, Teddy Lee's arrival provides an
	escape from answering the question.

				TEDDY LEE
		Hot off the presses.

	He gives them copies of the AUTOPSY REPORT and FORENSIC
	ANALYSIS of Anne Marie Vicksey.  The WAITRESS sees Teddy,
	approaches, and offers a menu.

				TEDDY LEE (CONT'D)
			(doesn't need it)
		Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes,
		garden salad with Thousand Island
		dressing and an iced-tea.  Thank you
		darlin'.

	She nods and moves to the kitchen.  Novak and Ramsey flip
	through the documents.

				TEDDY LEE (CONT'D)
		Water in her lungs.  Same brand of
		bleach.  Match on the semen.  Lots of
		hair.

				RAMSEY
			(unenthused)
		More hair.  I could knit this guy a
		toupee.

	Novak finds something in the report that catches him by
	surprise.  He double-checks and shows the item to Teddy.

				TEDDY LEE
			(reading)
		So?

				NOVAK
		Anne Vicksey didn't own a dog.

	Ramsey checks his copy.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		I need it.

				TEDDY LEE
		Now?

				NOVAK
		Now.

	INT. FORENSIC LABORATORY - DAY

	A MONITOR shows a SINGLE HAIR under a video microscope. 
	Teddy Lee plays with the dials and gets a spectral view.

				TEDDY LEE
		Complete absence of melanin.

	Novak and Ramsey stand over his shoulder.

				RAMSEY
		And that means?

	Teddy moves aside and takes another bite of his lunch
	(chicken fried steak now carry-out).

				NOVAK
		The dog's an albino.
			(pictures it)
		He'd love an animal like that.

				TEDDY LEE
		Gentlemen, I believe an albino dog is
		rare indeed.

	INT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT

	Exiting an elevator, Julia heads for her little Toyota. 
	Smart girl that she is, her eyes scan the area and her
	fingers hold a can of mace.

	INT. TOYOTA - NIGHT

	Julia climbs in, checks her mirror and backs up.  WHAM!  Did
	she hit something??  She brakes, puts the car in park, and
	checks her sideview mirror.

	Reflected there is a WOUNDED DOG.  A white German Shepherd. 
	She rolls down her window and can hear the poor thing
	whimpering.

				JULIA
		Oh no...

	INT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT

	Julia exits her car and kneels next to Valentine, who appears
	to be in terrible pain.

				JULIA
		God... I didn't see you.

	STARGHER'S HANDS COME AT HER FROM BEHIND!  One grabs her hair
	and the other covers her face with a chloroform-soaked towel. 
	He presses so hard, she cannot scream, cannot move.  After a
	brief struggle, he SHOVES her into her car and holds her
	until she passes out.  Stargher pushes Julia into the
	passenger seat and starts the car.  Pulls a dog treat from
	his pocket and WHISTLES.  The Shepherd instantly perks up. 
	Perfectly healthy.  And jumps into the car.

				STARGHER
			(feeds him a treat)
		Good boy.

	INT. RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF'S STATION - DAY

	In a BRIEFING ROOM we find Teddy Lee, Ramsey, Cole and local
	cops.  All in need of caffeine.  They complain, gossip, and
	shoot the shit.  Resembling a demanding professor, Novak
	enters and through presence alone, lacking any self
	consciousness about his dishevelled appearance, takes control
	of the room by holding up a PHOTOGRAPH of a young woman.

				NOVAK
		Donna Krozin.
			(a new picture every time)
		Helen Francis, Teresa Manicki...

	The chatter dies.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Antoinette Simms, Natalie Pagels, Grace
		Cassatt... Anne Vicksey.

	Every person is solemn and focused.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Smart, gentle, attractive young women. 
		Just starting out in life. 
		Embarking on careers, going to school,
		getting married...

	He's hooked them.  The victims, these women, now mean
	something to them.  With great effect, he holds up grisly
	post-mortem photos.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		They were killed.  Kidnapped, tortured,
		and murdered.  By a white male.  About
		30-years old.
			(significantly)
		Who owns an albino dog./

	Everyone knows this is a real clue and awareness is
	heightened.  Ramsey chimes in.

				RAMSEY
		A purebred German Shepherd.

	Novak shows them a picture of a WHITE GERMAN SHEPHERD taken
	from a resource on the Internet.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
		Breeders typically destroy albino pups,
		so this animal is truly unique.

				NOVAK
		Nicole Labetzki.  Victim seven. 
		Forensics found dog hair in her car, but
		they had a K-9 unit at the scene and
		never had it checked.

				TEDDY LEE
		The Phoenix office tested that hair
		thirty minutes ago.  And we got the
		match.

				NOVAK
		It's his dog.

	Ramsey holds up a thick list.

				RAMSEY
		Registered breeders of German Shepherds.

	The list is long and a few of the cops GROAN.  Novak silences
	them with a fierce look that says, "I will not rest until
	this man is found and neither should you."

				NOVAK
		Be thorough, but be fast.  This guy's
		accelerating. 
		He only waited six days this last time. 
		When he started, two months could pass.

	A DESK SEARGENT enters the room and hands a FAX to Ramsey. 
	Novak is curious about it, but continues.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		This can mean different things.  He
		thinks we're stupid and can't catch him. 
		He's having fun and needs more.  Or...
			(thinking it through)
		This dog hair thing is sloppy.  The body
		this morning was found in less than
		three inches of water.  He knew we'd
		find her.  He wants to be caught.  But
		if we can't stop him...

	Gravely concerned, Ramsey moves across the room.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
			(dreading what's on that fax)
		...he can't stop himself.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BATHROOM - DAY

	Stargher, the awful PAIN eating away at his skull.  He
	searches the medicine chest.

				DISTORTED VOICE
		Me god feed on pain.

	The VOICE echoing inside his skull.

				DISTORTED VOICE (CONT'D)
		Pain good.  Cumm home to meee...

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY

	Struggling to stay on his feet, he moves to the KITCHEN. 
	Valentine paces nervously, whimpering concern.  Stargher
	reaches for a bottle of vodka but falls to the floor. 
	Valentine BARKS, but gets no reaction from master.  We MOVE
	IN on Stargher's unblinking eyes.

				DISTORTED VOICE
		Go sleep Carl.  Me god wake up now.

	INT. THE CELL - DAY

	Julia Hickson finds the snack foods, drinking spigot, toilet,
	shower, and drain.  Her bare feet try to adjust to the tile
	floor, but it's fucking cold.  She glimpses herself in the
	mirror and is startled by what she sees - a terrified girl.

	INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY

	A TAN SEDAN sits in the driveway of this modest middle-class
	home.  A VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S CAR sits nearby, a deputy
	keeping watch.

	INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY

	A distraught middle-aged couple, MR. AND MRS. HICKSON, sit on
	the couch of their living room.  FAMILY PHOTOS show them with
	Julia, whose fiancee, John, does his best to comfort the
	mother.  Novak and Ramsey have the unfortunate task of
	interviewing them about their daughter's disappearance.

				RAMSEY
		She was still living at home?

				MR. HICKSON
		Yes, sir.

				JOHN
		We were looking at apartments.

				MR. HICKSON
			(important they know)
		But nobody was moving in together 'til
		after the wedding.

	Novak hasn't said much.  Instead, he looks at something in
	his hands - a plastic evidence bag containing the TOY DOLL.

				RAMSEY
		John, you came to pick her up when?

				JOHN
		Eight o'clock.  We were going out for my
		birthday.

				MR. HICKSON
		Maybe you made a mistake.  Maybe she...
		she...

	Novak hides the doll.

				RAMSEY
		No sir.  I'm sorry.

	Ramsey's cell-phone rings and he excuses himself to a corner
	of the room, leaving Novak alone to deal with this
	uncomfortable, sad situation, no one saying a word until an
	emotionally shattered Mrs. Hickson, fingering a rosary, feels
	compelled to tell him.

				NOVAK
		After three years she remembers what the
		guy drove?

				RAMSEY
		She remembers because it was her "dream
		truck."  Wanted one just like it.

	EXT. SMALL AIRPORT - DAY

	Ramsey and Novak exit a small jet and are met by FBI Agent
	STOCKWELL.

				STOCKWELL
		Ramsey, Novak?

	They nod and he directs them to a waiting GMC SUBURBAN.

				STOCKWELL (CONT'D)
		Agent Stockwell.

				NOVAK
		Where is he?

				STOCKWELL
		Edison.  Just east of Loma Park.  SWAT's
		had the house under surveillance for
		about twenty minutes.
			(info memorized)
		Suspect is Carl Rudolph Stargher.  No
		registered weapons, no priors.  Got a
		license for his dog, though.  Named him
		Valentine...

	INT. GMC SUBURBAN - DAY

	Stockwell is behind the wheel, racing down the highway. 
	Ramsey's in the passenger seat, Novak in back.  Shotguns and
	body armor line the cargo area.  Novak's eyes target the FAX,
	a copy of Stargher's license and registration, and the grainy
	dot-matrix image of the suspect's face.  And Novak knows he's
	found him.

				NOVAK
		You're the bad man, aren't you, Carl?

	EXT. STARGHER HOUSE/NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY

	A sparsely populated lower-middle class neighborhood.  A half
	dozen plain houses at the end of a cul-de-sac.  Bare trees. 
	Brown lawns.  Crows in the air.

	The house furthest from the main road has a white Ford F250
	pick-up in the driveway.  Green trim.

	THE SUBURBAN, hidden from Stargher's house, four-wheels it
	through a prairie and stops outside the backyard of a
	PRESCHOOL, where two more Suburbans and a van already wait.

	INT. PRESCHOOL - DAY

	Stockwell introduces Ramsey and Novak to BROCK, leader of the
	FBI Tactical Unit, a calm, confident ex-Marine wearing a
	black uniform and body armor.

				BROCK
		Glad you could make it.  We lose the sun
		in half an hour.

	Novak and Ramsey join him at the shaded window to observe
	Stargher's house.  Children's drawings fill the wall.  As
	Brock explains, Novak checks with binoculars.

				BROCK (CONT'D)
		Perimeter's two-hundred yards around the
		house.  Three men at the rear, two on
		each side, four up front.  I've got two
		marksmen on the roof.

				NOVAK
		Have they seen him?

				BROCK
		No.  There's been movement in the
		kitchen.  But it could be the dog.
			(important)
		You think she's in there?

	Novak is careful with his answer.

				NOVAK
		We proceed assuming she is.

				RAMSEY
		Let's give old Carl a call.  Tell him
		he's got company.

				NOVAK
		No.
			(to Brock)
		Can you get a man close?

	EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

	Quiet.  Calm.  And then we catch a glimpse of a FIGURE
	advancing, using any cover he can, until he is right outside
	the house.  The sneaky SWAT team member, ERICSON, whispers
	into his throat mic.

				ERICSON
		I'm at the back door.

				BROCK (V.O.)
			(in Ericson's earpiece)
		Check the kitchen.

	Ericson maneuvers his way to the kitchen window and uses a
	MIRROR to sneak a peek.  In the REFLECTION we see a
	motionless man lying on the floor.

				ERICSON
		I have a man down.  Repeat, man down.

				BROCK (V.O.)
		Stargher?

	Ericson chances a quick visual check and pops his head up
	before reporting.

				ERICSON
		Can't see his face.

	INT. PRESCHOOL - DAY

	Brock looks to Novak, urgency and tension mounting.  Novak
	knows how much is riding on this specific moment.  All the
	various outcomes.  And decides.

				NOVAK
		Go.

	EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

	The SWAT TEAM SWARMS towards the house.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

	ERICSON KICKS IN THE BACK DOOR.  GUN READY!

				ERICSON
		FBI!

	He and THREE OTHERS rush inside!

	BAM!  FOUR MEN KICK in and proceed through the FRONT DOOR!

				SWAT TEAM MEMBER
		FBI!

	An odd quiet is all they encounter.  IN THE BACK, Ericson
	moves through a LAUNDRY ROOM and finds VALENTINE hiding
	behind a pile of dirty clothes, frightened by these masked
	figures in black.

				ERICSON
			(into throat mic)
		I've got the dog!

	He points for someone to secure the animal and MOVES into the
	KITCHEN, aiming his gun at the man on the floor, finally
	getting a look at his face.

				ERICSON (CONT'D)
			(recognizing him)
		Carl Stargher!  Do not move!

	No problem there.  Stargher appears lifeless.  As various
	SWAT team members secure the house, Ericson removes his mask
	and CUFFS Stargher, startled at the sight of the horrible
	RINGS piercing his back.

				ERICSON (CONT'D)
		Jesus Christ...

	EXT. PRESCHOOL/STARGHER'S HOUSE - DAY

	As an AMBULANCE emerges from a hiding place behind another
	garage, we FOLLOW NOVAK and RAMSEY as they run from the
	preschool into the house.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE

	As a K-9 UNIT secures Valentine, Novak storms into the
	kitchen, checks Stargher for a pulse and barks at SWAT>

				NOVAK
		Paramedics.  NOW.

	Ramsey pushes through and Novak informs him.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		He's alive.

	EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY

	FBI AGENTS and local police cordon off the area.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY

	Valentine is muzzled and led away as the PARAMEDICS load
	Stargher onto a stretcher.  Agent Stockwell turns to a
	worried Novak.

				STOCKWELL
		They'll take him to County General. 
		Reid's already there.

				NOVAK
		Make sure he stays cuffed.  Two men on
		him at all times.  I don't want anyone
		treating him but Reid.  Not so much as a
		thermometer up his ass.  Understand?

	Stockwell nods and follows the stretcher outside.  A stoic
	Ramsey enters from the living room and Novak can see the
	disappointment in his eyes.

				RAMSEY
		She's not here.

	Novak would give anything for that not to be true.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
			(it gets worse)
		You should come downstairs.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY

	Ramsey leads Novak into Stargher's "workroom."  It's all
	here, the table, the piercing supplies, the bleach.  An odd,
	grisly collection of DOLLS fills cubby holes in a wooden
	storage/shelf unit.  Novak's eyes are like a camera,
	documenting and storing as much information as possible, but
	it's overwhelming.

	He moves through the basement.  Careful not to touch
	anything.  He stops and focuses on the hoist and eight hooks
	situated over the stainless steel table.  (NOTE: ON THE
	WINCH'S MOTOR IS A WORN PLAQUE READING "CARVER INDUSTRIAL
	EQUIPMENT" with a logo).

	Ramsey switches on the video monitor and the screen fills
	with images of Anne dying in the cell.

	Novak is painfully, tragically drawn to this.  Although he's
	seen his share of horrific things, Novak is truly disturbed
	by the sight of Anne, desperate to escape, drowning, slowly
	dying, and he knows: This is what will happen to Julia
	Hickson unless he finds her.

	INT. THE CELL - NIGHT

	CLICK.  WATER SPRAYS FROM THE SHOWER.  Caught by surprise,
	Julia blocks the spray with her hands and searches for a shut
	off valve.  Of course, there is none.  Thirty seconds later,
	the water stops.  Like an animal caught in a trap, Julia's
	eyes dart around her "cage."  What kind of hell is this? 
	Shivering, she catches herself in the mirror and looks deeply
	into it.  Something's odd about the glass.  Is someone
	watching her?  She bangs on it with her fist.

				JULIA
		Hey!

	POUND, POUND, POUND!

				JULIA (CONT'D)
		LET ME OUT!!!

	But there's no response.  Only her reflection.

	INT. KERN COUNTY HOSPITAL - EXAMINATION ROOM - NIGHT

	A HUMAN EYE.  No movement, no deviation of the iris.  A fixed
	stare.  The catatonic Stargher lies in a hospital bed, wrists
	cuffed to the frame.  An IV feeds him fluids and monitors
	report his vital signs.  As a nervous NURSE exits, we see TWO
	POLICEMEN standing guard in the outer hallway.  Novak, Ramsey
	and Teddy Lee stand by as the killer is examined by DR.
	MILTON REID, a brilliant forensic M.D. currently shining an
	opthalmoscope into Stargher's eyes.  He pulls away and checks
	the ELECTROENCENPHELOGRAM already on a lightbox.

				REID
		Minimal activity in the dorsolateral
		prefrontal cortex.  And here, the
		anterior cingulate cortex.
			(to Novak and Ramsey)
		It's what helps distinguish between
		external and internal stimuli.

				RAMSEY
		What the hell does that mean?

				TEDDY LEE
			(answering for Reid)
		He's schizophrenic.

	Novak doesn't like this.  Not one bit.

				RAMSEY
		What're you doing here, Reid?  Paving
		the way for his insanity defense?

				REID
		No need.  There won't be a trial.  This
		is no act.  The coma is real.

				RAMSEY
		Whoa.  Wait a minute.

				REID
		You ever hear of Whalen's Infraction?

	Clearly not.

				REID (CONT'D)
			(re: the EEG)
		In any schizophrenic, these areas would
		be affected.  But in someone with
		Whalen's, they're hit hard and hit fast.

	Novak's worry intensifies.

				REID (CONT'D)
		Stargher's neurological system was
		infected by a virus in utero.  It lay
		dormant.  In his case for about...
			(guesses at Stargher's age)
		...thirty years.  Most likely, he's
		exhibited symptoms for awhile now, but
		the infraction - the breach - didn't
		occur 'til today.  You never know when
		it'll happen, at what age, or why.  The
		triggers vary, but the results don't.
			(fascinated by Stargher)
		He has no ties to reality.  No awareness
		of this world or the people in it.

				TEDDY LEE
		What about Thorazine? Or... Desoxyn?

				REID
		The normal psychotropics don't work. 
		He's not just catatonic, he's...
		disappeared.  Like having a dream and
		never waking up.

				NOVAK
		This girl.  Julia Hickson.  Only he
		knows where she is.

				REID
		Then I'm sorry.  For her and for you.

	Novak is past angry.  He's bordering on devastation.  Ramsey
	attempts to placate him.

				RAMSEY
		We'll go back to his house, Pete. 
		There's still a lot to do.  Analyze the
		videos, track sales of the bleach, go
		through his records.  Maybe he owns
		property somewhere.

				NOVAK
		They're in that fucking thing for forty
		hours, Gordon.  Four-oh.  He got Julia
		at seven-thirty last night.  You know
		what time it is now...?!

	Ramsey backs off, knowing his partner is on the verge of
	really losing it.  Reid thinks perhaps he shouldn't, but
	sensitive to Novak's pain and anger, mentions it anyway - if
	only to keep his friend from true hopelessness.

				REID
		Peter?  This is a longshot.  I mean a
		real long shot.  You're gonna think I'm
		crazy...

	EXT. EDWARD'S WORLD - DAY

	The ship's engine ROARS TO LIFE and the PROPELLER spins
	through sand.

				CATHERINE (O.S.)
		It's fixed!

	AT THE TREE TRUNK, Catherine extends her hand and suddenly
	Edward is there, quite close, reaching out.  Catherine's hand
	trembles.  The boy is startled.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
			(surprised, to herself)
		I'm not signalling...

	Her hand tenses and shakes uncontrollably.

				VOICE (O.S.)
		Sing a song of sixpence...

				CATHERINE
			(angry, to the heavens)
		I'm not signalling!

	Edward is frightened by what's happening and runs away. 
	Catherine tries to call out, but her throat constricts,
	making speech difficult.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		I'm not...
			
			
			
			INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY

	Catherine's face is covered by a cloth floating down from the
	sky.  The sky is replaced by the ceiling and overhead lights
	of the LABORATORY, but Miriam's face remains constant.  Now
	conscious, Catherine finds herself in the lab at the Campbell
	Center, the suspension device lowering.

				MIRIAM
			(on intercom)
		Sing a song of sixpence.

				CATHERINE
			(hoarse)
		A pocketful of fucking rye.
			(worried)
		What's wrong?

				MIRIAM
			(cagey)
		Nothing.

				CATHERINE
			(disappointed)
		Why did we stop?

	Cooperman appears in the window and explains.

				COOPERMAN
			(on intercom)
		I asked them to.
			(with gravity)
		We have a situation.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

	A SMALL TV SCREEN shows footage of Anne drowning in the cell. 
	Catherine, Cooperman, Henry, and Miriam watch with curiosity,
	disgust, pity.  Novak and Ramsey flank the portable
	monitor/VCR, knowing this is a disturbing but powerful tool. 
	There's someone else in the room.  John Tracy.  He cannot
	watch the video, not again.  Catherine glances at him,
	uncomfortable with his presence.

				MIRIAM
		When did he lapse into the coma?

				NOVAK
		Sometime yesterday morning.

	John tries to keep his composure, but Novak's making this
	tough for him.  Novak wants the scientists to see, to
	understand the boy's pain.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Each tape is the same.  He provides
		food, drinking water, a toilet. 
		Periodically, a shower starts.  It's on
		some kind of timer - he's clever with
		machines, building things.  I think he
		wants them to believe this is a simple
		kidnapping.  That there's a possibility
		of rescue.  Of survival.  But it's just
		a form of torture.  At the end of the
		fortieth hour, the drain shuts.  The
		water starts and doesn't stop.
			(gravely)
		We've already lost more than a day.  If
		she isn't found tonight.  She dies like
		the rest.

				COOPERMAN
			(to Miriam, Henry and
			Catherine)
		John and Ella Baines - as well as the
		Sunerset Board of Directors - have given
		their approval, but the decision is
		yours.

				MIRIAM
		What about the legalities of this...?

				NOVAK
		Stargher is in custody.  The functional
		equivalent of being under arrest. 
		Normally, we'd Mirandize him, and if he
		didn't lawyer up, we'd interrogate him. 
		But because of his condition, he doesn't
		have the capacity to waive those rights.

				HENRY
		So what you're asking us to do is
		illegal?

				NOVAK
		No, not at all.
			(explains)
		We're dealing with exigent
		circumstances.  Somewhere there's a
		kidnapped woman still alive.  If we
		weigh the suspect's Constitutional
		Rights against the public safety. 
		The Law favors the victim and gives us a
		lot of leeway.  It's called the Public
		Safety Exception.

				COOPERMAN
		So what can you do?

				NOVAK
		Pretty much anything we want.  There's a
		chance to save a human life.  Because of
		that, Stargher has no reasonable
		expectation of privacy.

	Miriam, Henry and Cooperman appear to be onboard.  Novak's
	made a persuasive, heartfelt argument.  Only one person still
	remains uncertain.

				CATHERINE
		What if...?

	All eyes turn to her.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		What if he wasn't like this?  What if he
		was "normal?"  Conscious.  How far would
		you go?

				NOVAK
		As far as I needed.

	Catherine nods, analyzes Novak's eyes, gestures, body
	language, and "interrogates" him.

				CATHERINE
		Do you think he'd tell you what you need
		to know?

	John's discomfort is increasing and Novak is sensitive to it.

				NOVAK
		There's always a chance they'll confess.

				CATHERINE
		Really?  I don't work with violent
		cases, I work with children.  But even a
		kid lies.  They love it when they get
		you to believe something that isn't
		true.  Don't you think Stargher would do
		the same?

				NOVAK
		Sometimes... Once they've been caught
		they feel a need for disclosure.  They
		have so much they want to tell. 
		But they've never had a sympathetic ear. 
		They need someone to understand why.
			(focusing on Catherine)
		Stargher used to hide the bodies very
		carefully.  It was part of the ritual. 
		Some weren't found for weeks and any
		physical evidence had been meticulously
		wiped clean.  But these last three...
		They were still in water - always in
		water - but
			(clarifies)
		Listen, he wasn't just careless.  It
		went beyond that...

				CATHERINE
		Okay.  Let's assume he wanted you to
		find him, that some part of him hated
		what he was doing... Most likely, that
		part is dead.  Schizophrenics with
		Whalen's Infraction sever all ties with
		the real world.  I'm sorry, I really am.

				RAMSEY
		Is it possible?

				CATHERINE
		If he came to trust me, yes, but it
		takes months to build that kind of
		trust.  Someone like Stargher can't
		distinguish between fantasy and reality. 
		It's all the same.  He might tell me
		she's in Timbuktu and absolutely, one
		hundred percent believe it to be true,
		but she's...

				JOHN (O.S.)
		Julia.

	They turn to John Tracy.  His vulnerable, barely audible
	voice forcing everyone to listen.

				JOHN (CONT'D)
		Not "she."  Julia.  Not thing, or it, or
		her.  Do you know anything about her? 
		Do you know what we've been through? 
		Julia is everything to me.  Can you say
		that about anyone?  

	Catherine hangs her head.  And finds herself looking at
	photograph of the girl in question.  A smiling Julia Hickson
	looking right at her.

	WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP.  POUNDING REVERBERATIONS...

	EXT. CAMPBELL CENTER - DAY

	WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP.  A HELICOPTER descends onto the pad. 
	A stretcher is removed from the side door of the helicopter.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - VARIOUS/TRAVELLING - DAY

	The STAFF watches with a mixture of fear and curiosity as a
	stretcher bearing the catatonic Stargher is wheeled FAST
	through the corridors by an FBI escort team.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

	Hundreds of photographs, drawings, diagrams, maps,
	blueprints, and documents - Novak's case material - cover
	every inch of wallspace.  The table is littered with
	reference books, atlases, telephones, a fax machine, short
	wave radio, and computer/Internet terminal.  An FBI
	TECHNICIAN completes the electronics work and points out the
	"speed dial" functions to Novak and Ramsey.

				FBI TECH
			(listing them)
		Quantico.  San Diego Field Office. 
		S.D., L.A., and San Francisco P.D. 
		California, Arizona, Nevada State
		Police.  Nine and ten are open lines.
			(re: radio set up)
		Direct link to the chopper.
			(re: the computer)
		That gets you into the Bureau Database.

				NOVAK
		Thanks.

	Once he's gone, Ramsey takes this moment "alone" to question
	his partner.

				RAMSEY
		You sure you want to go through with
		this?

				NOVAK
		What else do we do?!

				RAMSEY
		I don't know, Pete, but for god's
		sake... This is nuts.  Do you really
		understand what they're going to do?

				NOVAK
		I don't have to.

				RAMSEY
		Why jeopardize what we've already done? 
		We caught the sonofabitch.  Carl
		Stargher.  That's going to be like
		Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer.  A case that makes
		careers.  But if we push our luck.  If
		this is all bullshit and we come out
		smelling like it.

				NOVAK
		Tell you what.  If this thing burns us,
		I take that heat.  I give you permission
		to point your finger at me and say "It
		was all his idea."

				RAMSEY
			(offended)
		That's not what I'm talking about, Pete. 
		I'm talking about waking up and
		realizing this girl's gonna die.

	The words are anathema to Novak.

				NOVAK
		That won't happen.

	Cooperman appears in the doorway and informs them...

				COOPERMAN
		They're ready.

	Ramsey looks to his partner, but Novak is already on
	Cooperman's heels.  Resignedly, Ramsey follows.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY

	Cooperman guides Novak and Ramsey into the lab.  The FBI men
	are impressed, but neither is quite sure what to make it all. 
	The FBI escort team leader gets Ramsey's signature and Novak
	undoes the cuffs from Stargher's wrists and ankles. 
	Following Miriam's direction, the escorts guide the gurney
	carrying Stargher into the procedure room.  As Cooperman
	shows them out, Henry seals shut the door.  Miriam assumes
	responsibility for Stargher's care and checks his pulse, IV,
	pupil dilation, and vital signs...

				HENRY
		Shouldn't we get a catheter in him?

				MIRIAM
		They took care of that, thank you,
		Henry.
			(getting him out of her hair)

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		Why don't you give our guests a little
		tour?

	Proud of his computer, but uncomfortable around strangers,
	Henry directs Novak and Ramsey to the console.

				HENRY
		Gentlemen, you stand before the one and
		only Neurological Cartography and
		Synaptic Transfer System.

	Although he's listening, Novak's eyes never really stray from
	his prisoner as Miriam uses safety scissors to cut away
	Stargher's clothes.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		It provides a highly detailed map of the
		human mind.  Not the brain - any MRI can
		do that.  The mind.
			(self-impressed)
		It reads and processes electronically
		allowing information to be transferred
		and interrupted.
			(for the laymen)
		Let's say your thoughts could be stored
		on DVD.  If someone had the right kind
		of player, they could watch and listen
		to what you're thinking.

	Novak observes Miriam as she "undresses" Stargher and Ramsey
	pokes around the lab.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		But we can't record or store the data. 
		The connections between nerve cells are
		constantly being modified.

	Miriam needs a moment to fully take in the scars.  Henry
	continues, eager to focus attention back to him, but even he
	is fascinated by Stargher's skin.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		It's like the early days of television. 
		The subject sends out a live feed and
		you receive it during time of broadcast. 
		Whatever happens, happens.  All you have
		to do is "tune in."

	Miriam gives Stargher an alcohol bath, the clinical procedure
	taking on the quality of ritual.  Her wash cloth moves under
	Stargher's chin and over his face.  She's careful around the
	eyes and finds herself unable to look at them for long.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		But you do more than tune in... You
		become part of the snow.

	Catherine enters from a dressing area wearing the bodysuit. 
	Filled with curiosity, Novak watches Miriam and Catherine fit
	Stargher into his suit.

				NOVAK
		I still don't understand why I can't do
		this... This isn't some "troubled kid"
		you're dealing with.

				CATHERINE
		I realize that...

				NOVAK
		How hard could it be...?

	Catherine and Miriam try to hide their laughter.

				CATHERINE
		The first... What?  Six or seven times I
		went in.   Remember what happened?

				MIRIAM
		Disorientation, nausea, migraines,
		hallucinations, insomnia, paranoia.

				CATHERINE
		Like a New Year's Day hangover.

				MIRIAM
		He needs to be turned over.

	Novak and Catherine roll Stargher onto his stomach.

				NOVAK
		This man is deeply disturbed, he...

				CATHERINE
		You don't know the procedure.

				NOVAK
		I know him.

				MIRIAM
		That may be true, but you don't have
		Catherine's gift.  She...
			(distracted by Stargher's back)
		What happened here?

	We see a series of EIGHT BANDAGES.

				RAMSEY
		We removed eight metal rings.

	Miriam peels away a bandage and examines the flesh.

				CATHERINE
		Then he should like this.

	Catherine connects Stargher to the SUSPENSION APPARATUS and
	it HOISTS him off the table.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		They're comforted by the feeling of
		weightlessness.  Like floating in water.

	Henry catches Ramsey poking his nose near a THIRD SUIT AND
	APPARATUS in the dressing area.

				HENRY
		Don't touch that, please.

				RAMSEY
		Sorry.

	Miriam prepares a series of CHEMICAL CARTRIDGES and loads
	them into a container connected to the IV-like tubes linked
	to the suspension device.

				MIRIAM
			(intimate, quiet)
		This isn't your responsibility. 
		Remember that.  Don't let them use guilt
		as a tool.  If you want to stop, say so.

				CATHERINE
		I'll be fine.

				MIRIAM
		She said convincingly.

	Catherine focuses on the procedure and makes the necessary
	connections.  Reluctantly, Miriam retreats to the monitoring
	station.  She "locks down" the procedure room and joins
	Henry, Novak, and Ramsey at the console.

				NOVAK
			(eyes on the chemical/drug
			monitors)
		That's the stuff?

				HENRY
		About twelve years of research, right
		Miriam?

				MIRIAM
		Don't remind me.

				RAMSEY
		What is it - are they - exactly?

	That's like asking her to explain the rules of cricket.

				MIRIAM
		Psychostimulants, serotonin,
		stabilizers, meprobamate, Neurontin,
		lithium carbonate.  And my baby.  It
		duplicates and expands upon the effects
		of a chemical called oxytocin, forcing a
		break in the neuron connections that
		hold experience.  So new experience can
		form.

	Ramsey is utterly lost and just sort of nods, but Novak is
	fascinated.  Catherine presses the bump on her hand.  A RED
	INDICATOR LIGHT flashes on.

				HENRY
		There's a touch-sensitive microchip
		implanted in her hand.  If she becomes
		frightened, disoriented, or simply wants
		to end the session, she signals us to
		abort.

	Catherine presses again and the red light shuts off.

				MIRIAM
		Although none of what she experiences is
		real, she can be tricked into thinking
		it is.  The mind is awfully gullible, so
		she needs to monitor herself.

	Catherine and Stargher are suspended from the ceiling.  Henry
	types and the lights dim to a more somber, tranquil level. 
	Various screens flicker to life, displaying the vital signs
	of both "feed" and receive."  Miriam initiates the injection
	program.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		Catherine?  I'm about to start.  If you
		want me to wait, or...

				CATHERINE
		No.  No.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, we see chemicals mix with her blood,
	then feed the IV.  AT THE CONSOLE, as Henry types furiously
	at the computer keyboard, Novak asks Miriam:

				NOVAK
		You said she has a "gift."

	Overhearing, Henry interrupts, pointing at a section of
	Catherine's "mind map."

				HENRY
		Not a gift.  A highly evolved area in
		her cerebral cortex, that's all.  A
		genetic fluke.

				MIRIAM
		Catherine has a tremendous capacity for
		empathy.
			(clarifies)
		When we started, there were a number of
		test subjects - other therapists - who
		acted as "receivers."  All they did was
		observe and report.  Nothing more.  But
		Catherine, she had the ability to feel
		what was happening.  She understood. 
		And the patient responded.  Edward
		engaged her in dialogue, took her
		places, showed her things.  He knew she
		cared.

	A hopeful, solemn Novak gazes through the window, watching
	Catherine's body as it becomes parallel to Stargher's...

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Catherine takes a deep breath and as
	the drugs take effect, feels herself losing consciousness. 
	She glances at Stargher, a man who tortures and kills women,
	then looks up as the CLOTH MASK descends from the ceiling.

				MIRIAM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Intravenous administration complete.

				HENRY (O.S.)
		Initiating connection.

	We follow fibrous wires running from Catherine's mask to
	Stargher's.  Their blood mixing with chemicals in the IV-like
	containers.  The computer system humming.

				HENRY (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Transfer begins 1100 hours, 34 minutes,
		12 seconds.

	Catherine's eye focuses on the mask.  As it comes closer, we
	see the lining is laced with thread-like wires and microchips
	forming hyper-miniature circuit boards.  Catherine's eye
	blinks.  The mask covers her face.  Catherine's eye shuts.

	Vision fades.  Darkness.  A faint light.  Microscopic veins
	in the eyelid become wires connected to chips.  And we're
	MOVING, into the circuitry.

	ENTRANCE ONE

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD

	The pattern of the electronics grows into something more
	organic, textured, concrete.  Evolving into a world.  Black
	and shadow-filled, it resembles a labyrinthine complex of
	vertical walls with cubicle like rooms carved deep into its
	core.

	Our journey into this bleak, grim place continues and we
	occasionally glimpse brief images of a boy's baptism.

	INTERCUT with this journey are sections of cloudy blackness
	and fragmented visions of CATHERINE connected to the
	apparatus, face masked, DESCENDING into this world.

	There is an abrupt SHIFT from still images to regular motion
	and we find ourselves gliding over a tidepool filled with
	tiny fish and tadpoles.  At water's edge, lying on rough,
	pebble-strewn ground, is a HAND.

	Catherine's hand.  We sense MOVEMENT, but she remains still. 
	From the darkness comes a DOG.  Black in color and
	featureless, it sniffs Catherine, dismisses her, and meanders
	into a cubicle opposite her, disappearing from view.  After a
	moment of odd quiet, a DROP OF BLOOD hits the mask and we
	follow Catherine's hand as it moves to the cloth and removes
	it from her own face.

	IN MACROSCOPIC SUPER SLOW-MOTIONS, another BLOOD DROPLET
	sails 64 into the air and comes crashing down, hitting a RED
	ANT, catapulting it onto what looks like a tree, but is just
	a TWIG.  As the insect scurries away, MORE DROPS pound the
	earth, splatter against "twig trees," and explode into pools
	of stagnant water...

	As we begin to realize that this miniature landscape is the
	world into which Catherine descended.

	She sits up, shivering, and breathes deeply, acclimating to
	her surroundings.  The "floor" is covered with filth, ash,
	pebbles, and insects.  Water is present in many forms,
	puddles, moisture, dripping ceilings.

	Eyes focusing, queasy, not fully "awake," Catherine notices
	the crimson stain on the cloth mask and the blood droplets
	showering the air.  She turns and finds the source.

	THE BLACK DOG stands in the opposite room next to a tub full
	of BLOOD, shaking himself dry after his "bath."  Satisfied,
	the animal stops and trots away.  Still adjusting to this
	nightmarish realm, Catherine at first doesn't hear it, but
	then realizes that somewhere, a child is CRYING.  She looks
	around, then through a crack in the "floor," briefly catches
	sight of a BOY beneath her, on a level lower than hers.  As
	he disappears into corridor ending in "nothing," we PULL BACK
	to show a MASSIVE LANDSCAPE of blocks, cubicles, crawlspace,
	walls, stairs, and ladders.  Leading everywhere and nowhere.

	Catherine spots the boy as he crawls into a specific "room." 
	Shortly after, a LIGHT comes on within the cubicle and she
	moves to it.  We feel as though we're looking at a series of
	interlocked tenement rooms, some walls of which have been
	torn away to expose rooms within, rooms with no windows or
	doors.  Following a path of fragile steps, Catherine makes
	her way to the LIGHTED ROOM and enters.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - LIGHTED ROOM

	A mottled HORSE stands with its head down, nose kissing the
	floor, allowing the BOY to caress its neck.  This sweet
	animal is an incrongruous vision in this hellish world and
	Catherine approaches with respect.

				CATHERINE
		Hello?

	The frightened child retreats into a corner of the
	claustrophobic room, but the horse does not startle. 
	Surprisingly - to the boy - the horse takes an affectionate
	step toward Catherine, inviting her to take over.  Catherine
	allows the mare to smell her, then vigorously scratches along
	the mane and shoulder, much to the horse's delight.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Yeah, you like that, don't you?

	She can see the boy hiding in the corner, stealing glances at
	her from the shadows.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Is your name Carl?

	The boy - YOUNG STARGHER - is startled and intrigued by the
	question - How did she know that?! - but says nothing.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Another little boy I know, he has a
		horse, too.

	The boy reacts to an unusual SOUND coming from the CEILING.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		His name's Edward.  The boy, not the
		horse...

	The boy takes a few steps toward her, out of the shadows, but
	he seems more concerned about something in the ceiling than
	"connecting" with Catherine.  Very anxiously, he looks at the
	wall behind Catherine and watches an old wind-up kitchen
	TIMER click down.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		What's the matter, Carl?

	Again, a sharp SOUND from the ceiling.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		What's wro---?

	Young Stargher RUNS at her and SHOVES her hard!  Catherine
	FALLS BACK just as EIGHT SHEETS OF GLASS drop from the
	ceiling!  Like oversize razor blades, they slice the horse
	into four clean sections.  They separate and compact the
	quadrants until four glass-contained sections of dissected
	horse stand within the room.  Catherine SCREAMS, but the mare
	barely acknowledged what happened.  Betraying no emotion, the
	boy runs.  The shaken Catherine takes a moment to collect
	herself, then gives chase.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE LABYRINTH

	Young Stargher knows his way around the landscape, but
	Catherine has difficulty simply keeping him in sight.  She
	runs, climbs and crawls.  Until she's utterly lost and
	disoriented.  Tired and having difficulty breathing, she
	drops to her knees and "cools down."  She hears a NOISE
	nearby, gets to her feet, and finds a GEARED MECHANISM
	connected to some kind of SHUTTERED DOOR composed of an
	almost metallic-looking glass.  Curious yet cautious, she
	examines the nearby walls, floor, and ceiling for any signs
	of "traps" akin to the glass blades.  Finding none, she pulls
	the mechanism and quickly steps back.

	The shutter opens and Catherine knows there's something alive
	in the tiny cubicle beyond.  She retreats into shadow,
	hiding.  Released from the chamber is a WOMAN.  As she moves
	out of a darkness, we see VICTIM ONE.

	Ghostly pale and adorned in eerie fetish garb, she appears to
	"sense" the presence of a stranger, targets Catherine in the
	shadows, and ATTACKS!

	Catherine's had enough and moves to press the implant, BUT
	THE VICTIM IS ALREADY THERE! 
	She brutally grabs Catherine, THROWS her against the wall and
	SMACKS her head against it.  Catherine drops to the floor
	like a rag doll.

	Victim One hefts Catherine onto her shoulder and with great
	purpose, carries her deep into the labyrinth, toward the
	core.  Passing in and out of consciousness, between darkness
	and light, a dazed Catherine is taken on a "tour" of
	Stargher's world.  Passing mausoleum-like chambers filled
	with IMAGES of unspeakable horror and/or disturbing
	intensity.  At one of the rooms, we think we see Young
	Stargher silently observing...

	Sitting of standing in individual cubicles are STARGHER'S
	OTHER VICTIMS (TWO thru SIX), each woman resembling the
	grotesque porcelain dolls glimpsed in the cubbyholes in
	Stargher's basement.  Dressed by a fetishistic sadist (Nine
	Inch Nails meets the Brides of Dracula), they resemble bored
	housewives, barely acknowledging the new member of the
	"harem."
	
	
	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE CORE

	VICTIM ONE drops Catherine in the center of the room and, job
	done, crawls away.

	Groggy, feeling sick, Catherine sits up.  Unbeknownst to her,
	she is sitting at the base of a pedestal with her back to the
	kind of THRONE.  And someone is there.  In the dim pool of
	light above the pedestal, we see a MAN rise from the throne. 
	The wall behind him is covered in BLOOD RED CLOTH, and as he
	descends, we realize it is a CAPE connected to EIGHT METAL
	RINGS pierced through the flesh of his back.  In a fluid
	motion, waves of red give way to harshly textured concrete as
	the man reaches the floor.  Catherine knows he is there. 
	Unable to stop herself, she turns.  And sees the terrifying
	face of STARGHER.  But no the same Stargher.

	This is STARGHER KING.

				STARGHER KING
			(primitive, guttural)
		Where you come from priddy thing?

	In a split second, Catherine presses the implant on her hand.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

	Apparently capable of staying awake if properly caffeinated,
	Novak sits cross-legged on the floor, shoes off, analyzing
	RECENT PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS sent to him via courier. 
	Ignoring a snoring Ramsey napping on a nearby cot, Novak
	looks at blow-ups from the videos, blueprints of Stargher's
	house, detailed shots of the basement, and a draftsman's
	conceptual drawing of the cell itself.

				HENRY (V.O.)
		Gentlemen?

	Novak looks at an INTERCOM SPEAKER.

				HENRY (V.O.) (CONT'D)
		She's back.

	Novak doesn't wait for his just-stirring partner and moves.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	As he enters, Novak sees a concerned Henry checking a print
	out of the procedure.

				NOVAK
		What happened?

				HENRY
		Must've been rather unusual.

	Noting Novak's confusion, Henry points to a CENTRAL MONITOR
	resembling a futuristic V.U. meter, gradiated in sections of
	white, yellow, orange, and red.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
			(re: white/yellow area)
		If her neural activity stays within this
		range, I know she's self-cognitive.
			(clarifies)
		As if she were having a dream, but she
		knows she's dreaming.  She can "wake up"
		any time she wants to...

	As Ramsey joins them, Novak nods, understanding, but his eyes
	are on Catherine, who's just coming back to consciousness.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
			(re: orange section)
		However, if her level of involvement is
		rather intense, as it was just now, she
		can perceive things as true.  It's
		difficult to keep perspective.

	As Novak lingers on that question, Ramsey gestures at the red
	section.

				RAMSEY
		What happens here?

				HENRY
		We don't talk about that.

				NOVAK
		What happens?

				HENRY
		Well, Theoretically, while she's inside. 
		If she came to believe that Stargher's
		world is her world, her mind has the
		power to convince the body that anything
		done to it is, um, actually done.

	Novak doesn't like the sound of that.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		That's why we monitor the use of the
		drugs so closely.  We don't want her
		getting to that degree of perceptual
		disorientation.

				MIRIAM
		Pump in two liters of pure oxygen,
		please Henry.

	Henry types a command and Novak speaks into the intercom.

				NOVAK
		Dr. Kent?

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam eases Catherine back to
	consciousness.

				MIRIAM
		Deep breaths.

	When she sees Stargher, Catherine's flesh crawls.

				CATHERINE
		Is it cold in here?

				MIRIAM
		What happened?

	No response.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		What's wrong?

	Incapable of being in the same room as him, Catherine tears
	out of the apparatus and anxiously exits.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		Catherine!

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM:

				NOVAK
		I'll get her...

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - DAY

	A worried Novak searches the halls of the Campbell Center. 
	He's about to ask the staff for help, but stops when he sees
	through the window to Edward's room.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - EDWARD'S ROOM

	Catherine sits next to the boy's bed, holding Edward's hand,
	softly singing a lullaby (to him, to herself).  Feeling that
	he must speak to her, Novak intervenes.

				NOVAK
		Edward Baines, I presume.
			(to the catatonic child)
		Hi, Ed.  I'm Pete.

				CATHERINE
		Do you think that's funny?

				NOVAK
		No.  Not at all.  From what I
		understand, he knows I"m here, isn't
		that right?

	Catherine nods.  Novak picks up Edward's fallen teddy bear
	and rests it in the crook of the child's arm.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		I read about a woman in TExas who was in
		a coma for seven years.  Every time her
		husband came to visit, her heart would
		beat faster.  Isn't that something?  I
		don't know what name scientists have for
		something like that...

				CATHERINE
		It doesn't have much to do with science.

				NOVAK
		What then?

				CATHERINE
		The soul.  The spirit.  Whatever you
		want to call it.

				NOVAK
		Ah, the part of us that can't be
		explained.

	She appreciates his understanding.  And finds herself
	comforted by his presence.  Catherine scrutinizes Novak, his
	intensity, his honesty, his complexity.  And asks:

				CATHERINE
		Agent Novak?

				NOVAK
		Peter, okay?

				CATHERINE
		Do you feel there's a side of yourself
		you don't show people?

	The question catches Novak off-guard, but he's willing to
	answer.  Anything to get her talking.

				NOVAK
		Absolutely.
			(realizing it's too personal)
		I suppose everyone does.

				CATHERINE
		Just like we all have fantasies, right? 
		Things only we know, that we don't
		share.

				NOVAK
		That's what therapists are for, right?

	Catherine laughs.  It helps her relax.  If only slightly.

				CATHERINE
		During the sessions.  When I'm inside. 
		I see those things.  What a person
		hides, what they despite, what they want
		to control.  With Stargher...

	This is difficult for her.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		With Stargher I saw things...

				NOVAK
		What did you see?

				CATHERINE
			(professionally)
		A kingdom.  His utopia. 
		Life without consequence or restriction. 
		He's not even Carl Stargher anymore. 
		He's this... idealized version of
		himself who can do anything he
		pleases... Without fear.  A horrible
		primitive ugly thing.
			(uncomfortable; re: Edward)
		I don't want to talk in here.

	She kisses Edward's forehead and exits.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM/COURTYARD - DAY

	Catherine and Novak sit on a bench in the center of the
	courtyard.  John Tracy is visible in the reception area,
	unable to sleep, desperately trying to fight frustration.

				CATHERINE
		Why'd you bring him here?

				NOVAK
		You're the shrink, you tell me.

				CATHERINE
			(already knows)
		As soon as I met him, you knew I'd say
		yes.  He makes Julia real for me.

	Novak nods.  Guilty.

				NOVAK
		It's an old lawyer trick.  Target the
		emotions.  Do it right, you get a
		reluctant witness to testify, a scared
		kid to confess.

	Catherine looks at him with disbelief.  "You?!"

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Before I was with the Bureau, I was an
		attorney, a prosecutor.  Mr. Law and
		Order.  And then... I had a murder case
		in North Carolina.  Charles Gish. 
		Butchered seventeen people in three
		days.  And because of one tiny piece of
		tainted evidence, he walked.
			(no regrets)
		That's when I quit the DA's office and
		joined the FBI.

	Catherine can see the pain and frustration in Novak's eyes. 
	She gives him a moment and asks:

				CATHERINE
		You thought Stargher wanted to be
		caught.

				NOVAK
		I did, yeah.

				CATHERINE
		You were right.  There's a part of him
		that knows the truth.  About what he
		did, about himself.

	Novak's curiosity is piqued.

				NOVAK
		What about Julia?

				CATHERINE
		This is going to sound terrible, but...
		I don't think she matters anymore.  Not
		to him.  He never finished her.  The
		others...he was able to make them his.

				NOVAK
		You think you can do this, don't you?

				CATHERINE
		He might tell me about Julia.  The part
		of him that wants to help, that feels
		shame and remorse.  Who wants to be
		redeemed.

				NOVAK
			(skeptically)
		This is Stargher we're talking about?

				CATHERINE
		Not Stargher, not really.  He's split
		himself right down the middle. 
		Good/evil, right/wrong, merciful/cruel. 
		A monster.  And an innocent child.  If I
		could reach the boy.

				NOVAK
		Whoa.  Hold on.  Aren't they the same
		guy?

				CATHERINE
		Don't you feel there are different sides
		to every personality?  Maybe even the
		worst of us is capable of one decent
		act.  We're all human.

				NOVAK
		It's hard for me to see Stargher as
		human, capable of something like
		"remorse."

				CATHERINE
		Then what is he?

				NOVAK
		Evil.

				CATHERINE
		If you believe that.

				NOVAK
		Maybe this is a big fucking waste of
		time.

				CATHERINE
			(sensing something)
		What happened to Charles Gish?

	Novak doesn't respond.  She prods him.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		What happened?

				NOVAK
		What difference does it make...?

				CATHERINE
		Tell me.

	God, he does not want to do this.

				NOVAK
		Right after the trial, the night after
		he was released.  Mr. and Mrs. Frank
		Simmons found Charlie sitting in their
		living room watching TV with their
		twelve-year old daughter Margaret.  He'd
		cut her right down the middle with a
		carving knife.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Found the girl's heart in the freezer -
		he thought they might want to keep it.
			(grim humor)
		Luckily, the next thing he did was slit
		his own throat.
			(bleakly)
		I am convinced of one thing. 
		Charles Gish could've been raised by
		Ozzie and Harriet and the same thing
		would've happened.

	He can see Catherine doesn't accept that.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		A child can experience abuse worse than
		Charlie's.  And grow up to be someone
		who would never, ever hurt another
		living thing.

				CATHERINE
		You're sure of that?

				NOVAK
		Yes.  I am.

	Catherine realizes that was a confession.

				RAMSEY (O.S.)
		Where the hell you been?

	They turn to see Ramsey.

				NOVAK
		Right here.

				RAMSEY
		Next time, tell me, okay?

				NOVAK
		But you looked so cute.  All sleepy...

	Ramsey shoots him a murderous look, then asks Catherine.

				RAMSEY
		Your colleagues want to know what to do
		with Stargher.

	Novak looks to Catherine for the answer.  Through the window
	blinds, she watches John Tracy lower his head.

				CATHERINE
		Tell them to prep him.  And that I'll be
		right there.

	Ramsey nods and heads back to the lab.

				NOVAK
		Thank you.

	Briefly, he touches her hand.  Catherine looks away from John
	to Novak's hand, to the photographs on the wall.  Stargher's
	house, Valentine, the pick-up truck.  Valentine...

				CATHERINE
		I need something.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CORRIDOR - DAY

	A K-9 UNIT FBI AGENT escorts VALENTINE to the lab.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY

	As the agent brings the frightened animal into the monitoring
	area, Catherine and Valentine share a moment of "connection." 
	Slowly, confidently, she approaches the Shepherd, kneels, and
	removes his leash and muzzle.  She strokes him and the dog
	instantly warms up to her.

				FBI K-9 AGENT
		Sure wasn't like that with me.

	Novak signs a document and the K-9 Agent exits.

				CATHERINE
		You're a good boy, aren't you,
		Valentine?

	The dog picks up a scent from the procedure room and moves
	it, Catherine and Novak following.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Stargher lies face down on a gurney. 
	Now taped to the wall near Stargher are PICTURES from the
	basement - his dolls, the hoist, etc.  Miriam (in surgical
	mask and gloves) carefully re-inserts the METAL RINGS (taken
	from an FBI EVIDENCE BAG) into the eight straps of flesh on
	his back.  When he sees this, Valentine whimpers and hides. 
	Catherine comforts him.  Miriam finishes her task and removes
	her mask.

				MIRIAM
		I hate to admit it, but there's
		something perversely satisfying about
		this.

				HENRY
		I think that's the whole point.

	Valentine runs to his "sleeping" master and barks at
	Catherine as if asking for help.  She encourages the animal
	to lick and sniff Stargher's face and hands.

				HENRY (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		That's interesting.

	IN THE CONTROL ROOM, he scrutinizes the monitor showing the
	detailed "map" of Stargher's brain.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		Increased neural activity in the frontal
		lobes.  Rising dopamine levels in the
		basal ganglia.  Ever since the dog
		walked in.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Catherine readies herself in the
	"receive" apparatus.  As Stargher is lifted off the pedestal,
	the doors HISS shut and Valentine curls up on the floor
	beneath his master.  As Catherine is lifted, she smiles at
	the animal, then looks to Stargher.

				NOVAK
			(comforting and coaching her)
		Remember, Julia Hickson is priority
		number one.  Nothing else matters.  Find
		out where she is.

				CATHERINE
		Okay, okay...

	LIGHTS FLICKER.  Catherine's eyes shut.  FADE TO BLACK...

				HENRY (O.S.)
		Uh-oh...

	LIGHTS FLICKER.  We hear an ELECTRICAL HUM rise and fall. 
	Catherine opens her eyes and the LIGHTS blink on and off in a
	weird pattern, making it difficult to see clearly.

				CATHERINE
		Don't kid around, Henry...

	Her suspension apparatus DESCENDS on the floor.

				HENRY (O.S.)
		I'm not.  It's a power problem.  I need
		you to go to the circuit breaker and
		check switches six through twelve.

	Catherine moves toward the electrical panel.

				HENRY (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Try to stay awake, okay?

				CATHERINE
		Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I'm not sleepy.

	As she moves toward the panel, everything becomes larger.  By
	the time Catherine reaches the circuit breaker, it is the
	size of a garage door.  Curiouser and curiouser...

	She turns around to see the LABORATORY IS EMPTY and DEAD
	QUIET.  And she sees herself - Catherine as small as a mouse
	trapped in a giant walled space.

	AT THE CONSOLE, Novak, Miriam and Henry observe the procedure
	room.  And Catherine.  Suspended in the apparatus. 
	Motionless...

	ENTRANCE TWO

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD

	Catherine turns to see... Catherine lying in the fetal
	position, locked in a BOX made of thick clean glass.  The
	electronic HUM becomes RHYTHMIC, AMBIENT NOISE.. INSIDE THE
	BOX, staying calm, she searches for and finds a TRAP DOOR on
	the floor.  She pushes out.  The camera executes a complete
	180-degree perspective change.

	Catherine plummets.  She tries to reach out, to stop her
	descent, but cannot.

	Catherine falls through a dark CAVERNOUS ROOM resembling a
	mammoth hollowed-out rib cage.  Below her is a DOME-LIKE
	STRUCTURE "growing" out of the floor, a HOLE in the center of
	its crest.  Dozens of other such domes are visible in the
	murky hell-hole, but Catherine has no choice.  She's dropping
	into this one.

	Once she passes through the hole, INSIDE THE DOME,
	Catherine's body looks as though it's moving through water,
	but there is no water.  Like an aerial artist, she reverses
	her position so she's "heads up."  Standing, stable, on the
	floor.  Sensing something with her.  And knows it is...

				CATHERINE
		Valentine?

	Out from the darkness, moving in normal motion, comes the
	white German Shepherd, but in the thick haze, his face is
	indistinct and ghostly.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Hi sweetie...

	And as she steps toward him, his face DISSOLVES into a STARK
	LANDSCAPE.  An ear becomes a hill, the nose a stone, mouth a
	path, and the eye a HOUSE. 
	YOUNG STARGHER retreats towards the bleak structure as
	CATHERINE ENTERS FRAME.  Seeing the invitation, she presses
	on.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BOYHOOD HOME - KITCHEN

	Young Stargher is at the sink WASHING DISHES, an anxious eye
	on the clock.

				CATHERINE
		Need some help?

	As Catherine enters the claustrophobic house, the boy
	hesitantly pushes a towel toward her, but doesn't look.  She
	reaches the counter and starts to dry, much to Young
	Stargher's relief.  As he washes, Catherine hands him a
	MIRROR LOCKET just like Edward's.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Carl, I want to give you a present.

	He's hypnotized by the thing, his eyes lighting up.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		If you need me, or if you feel that I'm
		around but can't find me, just shine it,
		like this.

	She shines reflected light onto the walls.  Carl hands
	Catherine the wet plate and takes the locket.  The dish slips
	from her fingers and SHATTERS on the floor.  The boy's eyes
	fill with dread.  The kitchen clock reads 5:30.  He PUSHES
	Catherine toward a broom closet and shoves her inside.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		What's wrong honey?

	With a finger to his lips, he pockets the locket and shuts
	the door.  FROM WITHIN THE CLOSET, she watches the terrified
	child through a CRACK in the door.  IN THE KITCHEN, Young
	Stargher desperately tries to hide the broken plate. 
	Startlingly, his father, Martin Stargher, is already in the
	room.  Cruel, imposing, manipulative man.

				MARTIN
		What did you do know?  You make a mess? 
		I hate a mess.

	Young Stargher backs into a corner, fearing what will come.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		Don't lie, now, Carl.

	IN THE CLOSET, Catherine pushes, but the door won't budge. 
	She POUNDS.  IN THE KITCHEN, we hear no sound.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		Remember what I said about liars?  Liars
		will be punished.

	INT. CLOSET - CONTINUOUS

	Catherine hears the child SCREAM.  But the scream comes from
	behind and she spins around.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - LIVING ROOM

	Young Stargher is forced to sit on the lap of an ugly MIDDLE
	AGED WOMAN barely wearing a man's robe.  On a nearby table
	are whisky, tumblers, and an ashtray filled with butts.

				WOMAN
		I got you a present, cutie-pie.

	She gives him a TOY DOLL.  Drunk, she hugs and kisses him. 
	Embarrassed, the boy tries to squirm away.

				WOMAN (CONT'D)
		Oh no.  You're not going anywhere.

	Martin enters and sneers at the boy.

				MARTIN
		Go back to bed, worm.

				WOMAN
		It's okay, we was just.

				MARTIN
		Shut up, cunt.

	The woman cowers, familiar with his violent moods.  The boy
	hurries to his room, but Martin grabs him by the collar.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		What is that?

	He pulls the doll from the child's hands, turns to the woman,
	and SMACKS her across the face with it, gashing her cheek.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		You give him nothing.  Whore.  Are you
		his mother?  ARE YOU?

	Terrified, she shakes her head "no."  Martin sees Young
	Stargher quietly crawling away, hoping to escape. 
	Martin lifts the boy off the floor with one hand and holds
	him in front of the woman.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		You see that?  SEE IT?  You slithered
		out one of them.  But where is she now,
		Carl?  As far from you as she could get,
		that's where.
			(shoves him at the woman)
		You want a mommy?  Is that what you
		want?

	The poor boy trembles with fear.  And Martin notices a puddle
	of urine on the floor.  He drops the boy and laughs.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		Little worm pissed his pants.

	Humiliated, Carl covers himself and hides in a corner. 
	Martin and the woman LAUGH AND LAUGH, delighting in the boy's
	humiliation.

	INT. CLOSET

	Feeling the boy's shame, Catherine turns and finds a FADED
	POSTCARD taped to the wall.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BEDROOM

	Martin has discovered his son's secret hiding place - a
	camouflaged corner of the attic.  Arranged in deliberate,
	artistic fashion are scavenged DOLLS.  Heads, limbs and
	torsos held together with twine, tape and wire.  Some wrapped
	in filthy plastic.  Faded photographs (including one of his
	MOTHER), mementos, and most disturbingly, the feathers and
	bones of dead birds, insect carcasses, and dissected,
	desiccated mice.  There's something peculiarly beautiful
	here, but Martin doesn't see it.  Not at all.

				MARTIN
		Only girls play with dolls...

	He turns and we see Carl is bound to a wooden support beam, a
	piece of tape covering his mouth.  The boy is stripped to the
	waste, barely conscious, face streaked with tears and sweat.

				MARTIN (CONT'D)
		What kind of thing are you?

	INT. CLOSET

	A WEIRD NOISE snaps Catherine back to "reality."  She turns
	just as a door opens behind her.  Responding to the
	"invitation," she moves through it.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BATHROOM

	The adult Carl Stargher sits at the edge of the tub, his back
	to us, smoking a cigarette.  A white German Shepherd PUPPY
	clicks across the tile floor and YIPS at Catherine.  She
	again hears the WEIRD NOISE.  A STAINLESS STEEL BOWL wobbles
	as Stargher's bloody rubber-gloved hands fill it with
	something.  Stargher knows she's there and isn't surprised by
	her presence, but he's not sure what to make of her.  What to
	do with her.  He rises and walks past her to the sink.  He
	pulls off the gloves and washes his hands, glancing at her in
	the mirror.

	Catherine cannot resist looking in the tub.  She sees a dead
	girl, her torso sliced open.  Disgusted and mortified, she
	pulls back.

				STARGHER (O.S.)
		She was the first...

	She turns, and Stargher is no longer at the sink.

				STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Didn't know what I was doing...

	She turns, where's this voice coming from?!  She steps back.

				STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Be careful...

	The bumps into the stainless steel bowl and it topples to the
	floor, spilling its contents of human organs.  Wobble-wobble
	wobble.  The bowl makes its now-familiar noise.

				STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		What did you do now?  You make a mess?

	And she can see him coming out of the shadows.  Catherine
	backs into a corner, fearing what will come.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		I hate a mess.

	Stargher steps into a pool of light, shooshes the puppy into
	the hall, shuts the bathroom door, and looks right at
	Catherine.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		Why are you here?

	God almighty, what does she say?  What does she tell him?!

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		Don't lie, now...

	SCRITCH-SCRITCH-SCRITCH.  The puppy scratches at the door and
	whimpers, but Stargher's not about to let him back in. 
	Moving slowly, carefully, he approaches Catherine.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		Liars will be punished.  

	Catherine makes a break for the door.  "Playfully," Stargher
	makes a half-hearted attempt to block her, but she evades him
	and reaches for the knob.  But the door's not there.  SCRITCH
	SCRITCH-SCRITCH.  She can still hear the dog, but there's no
	damn door.  She turns:

	No door.  No window.  The girl's body and bloody remains have
	vanished.  An OVERHEAD LIGHT flickers on, giving the room the
	look and feel of the cell.

				STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D)
		Where do you think you're going?

	Catherine turns, back to the wall, calm and intimidating,
	Stargher stands in the center regarding her with great
	curiosity.  Catherine's ready to press the sensor.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		Don't do that.

	She hesitates.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		If you go away, you'll never find her.

	How did he know?

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		If you never find her, she dies.  Like
		the rest.

	Catherine stops and listens.  She can't leave now.  The path
	to Julia has appeared.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		I mean, that's why you're here, right? 
		Why you came to my happy little home?

	He reaches for her and she flinches.  Expecting such
	behavior, Stargher grins.

				STARGHER (CONT'D)
		You're pretty.  A pretty, pretty thing.

	Catherine cannot show her fear, not now.  She composes
	herself and approaches him.

				CATHERINE
		I want to help you, Carl.

	His grin broadens to a smile and he almost laughs.

				STARGHER
		Help me?  That's good.  That's a good
		one.
			(malevolent)
		Liar.  Whore.  Cunt.

	Catherine stands her ground.

				CATHERINE
		You sound like your father.

	He gets close to her face and sneers.

				STARGHER
		I am not like him.

	Stargher retreats into the shadows, but Catherine persists.

				CATHERINE
		Then help me.  Where is Julia Hickson?

				STARGHER
		Why?

				CATHERINE
		Maybe, because you want to.

				STARGHER
		Is that right?  You think you know me?
			
			
			INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY

	Henry sees a rapid rise in Catherine's warning meter.

				HENRY
		Miriam...

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BATHROOM

	A wave of fear, of impending doom, overtakes Catherine.

				STARGHER (O.S.)
		You wanna know who I am?  You stupid
		bitch!

	And when he emerges from shadow, Stargher is STARGHER KING.

				STARGHER KING
		Now shud you mouth, priddy thing, or me
		god slice you from the kunt to the tits.

	Catherine moves to touch the sensor in her hand.  He GRABS,
	LIFTS and SLAMS her onto the floor, the back of her head
	HITTING HARD.  Her vision blurs.  Ears are ringing.

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		Me god want you stay.

	Stargher King straddles Catherine and pins her arms behind
	her back.  She's unable to touch the sensor.  With the tip of
	the TOOL he traces a line from her pelvis up the center of
	her suit.

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		Me god mek you beaudiful...

	He shoves the tool through her neck and presses the trigger.  
	A COLLAR CLAMPS SHUT around Catherine's neck and...

	She blacks out.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	A SENSOR ALARM SOUNDS on the computer.  Henry and Miriam
	express shock at the sight of the monitor peaking in the red
	and move to the "map" of Catherine's mind.  As it becomes
	"cool," Stargher's becomes "hot."

				MIRIAM
		Son of a bitch!

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, VALENTINE BARKS!  Startling everyone. 
	The dog GROWLS and backs away.  As if he senses something
	horribly wrong within his master.

	IN THE CONTROL ROOM, Novak questions the scientists.

				NOVAK
		When we got here, you just topped and
		pulled her out.

				MIRIAM
		That was with Edward.  She's accustomed
		to his world.  Stargher's mind is
		unfamiliar territory.  She's "lost."
			(looks at the third suit)
		Someone has to go in. 
		Remind her what's really happening.  And
		get her out.  Until then, she's at his
		mercy.

	Mercy.  Novak's mind reels.

				NOVAK
		Into Stargher.  Inside...

				MIRIAM
		Yes.

	Novak knows who that person will be.

	INT. CELL - DAY

	Fueling herself with candy and juice, Julia examines the cell
	for a way out, but finds tight seals everywhere.  THE SHOWER
	ERUPTS WITH WATER!   She counts until thirty, it stops. 
	Shivering, Julia stars at the drain as the water spirals
	down.

				JULIA
			(trying to remember the words)
		Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed
		be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will
		be done.

	ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS, we watch her through one-way
	glass from the video camera's point-of-view.  She looks right
	at "us," in the mirror, saddened by the dark circles under
	her bloodshot eyes.

				JULIA (CONT'D)
		...on Earth as it is in Heaven.

	We drift to the right and see the l.e.d. counters CLICKING
	AWAY.  01:44:54, 01:44:53, 01:44:52... Less than TWO HOURS to
	live and she has no idea.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Novak lies in a hastily-rigged THIRD
	APPARATUS/SUSPENSION DEVICE.  Miriam connects him to the IV
	cylinder and tubes.

				MIRIAM
		I have done this, you know.  Been
		inside.

				NOVAK
		No.

	Miriam nods, knowing he won't accept an opposing argument.

				MIRIAM
			(instructs him)
		Deep breaths.

	IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM, Henry adjusts monitors showing
	Novak's vital signs.

				HENRY
		Pulse is rapid, pressure's a little
		high...

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam asks:

				MIRIAM
		Nervous?

				NOVAK
		Absolutely.

	She loads a MICROCHIP SENSOR into a high-pressure injection
	gun and IMPLANTS it in NOVAK's HAND.  He winces from the
	brief pain as she loads the chemical cartridges.

				MIRIAM
		I have to ask you some things... Are you
		taking any prescription drugs?

				NOVAK
		Prevacid.  For my stomach.

				MIRIAM
		Any psychiatric medication?

				NOVAK
		No.  

				MIRIAM
		What about narcotics?

				NOVAK
		No.

				MIRIAM
		I know your partner's here, but it's
		very important that you're honest.

				NOVAK
		I am.  I'm a pretty boring guy.

				MIRIAM
		I doubt that.

	Henry checks the "maps,"  Catherine's vitals and reports.

				HENRY
		We should hurry.

	Miriam walks Novak through what's about to happen.

				MIRIAM
		The first five minutes will be
		disorienting.  Give yourself time.  Let
		the drugs do the work.  If you can see,
		smell, feel, hear, taste things - you're
		on the right track.  Once you've
		acclimated, try to get a feeling for
		Catherine.  Instinct plays a huge role
		in this.  Trust it.

	She gives him a supportive touch on the shoulder, exits and
	shuts the door.  IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM, Miriam continues
	via intercom.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		You can control how you see yourself -
		clothes, shoes, that kind of thing - but
		the rest of it is up to him.  Use only
		what he provides.  Don't try to change
		anything.  Or introduce something of
		your own.  It'll only upset him.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Novak flexes his fingers and sees the
	little bump beneath his flesh.

				HENRY (O.S.)
		Agent Novak?  Press the sensor.

	Novak does and the red light comes on.  As Novak is LIFTED,
	he looks at Catherine, then Stargher.  Valentine YIPS and
	settles beneath Novak.  The suspension device clicks into
	place and the MASK descends.

				MIRIAM (O.S.)
		No matter what happens, Peter, remember
		one thing: It's not real.

	Novak's eyes fix on the clear liquid contained in the IV-like
	cylinder.  A liquid cloud of his blood grows within. 
	Preparing the mixture for injection.

	The viscosity of the fluid starts to thicken and the CAMERA
	MOVES INTO THE MIXTURE.  As blood and chemical swirls take
	shape, we MOVE FAST.  Deeper into the fluid at a molecular
	level.  We feel like we're SOARING over some kind of liquid
	landscape.

	NOVAK HYPERVENTILATES.  He's having difficulty making the 98
	transition.

	Flying faster, faster, faster.  Through an entire universe.

	Novak is in the procedure room.  Alone.  His face contorted
	as if feeling the effects of tremendous G-FORCE.

	ENTRANCE THREE

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD

	CLOUDS hover above a dark, gloomy landscape dotted with
	hills.  THREE IDENTICAL WOMEN sit on black earth, their
	bodies positioned in a uniform pattern.  PULL BACK TO REVEAL
	NOVAK at their feet, in a kneeling fetal position, face down
	in the gritty soil, a piece of cloth draped over his head. 
	With difficulty, practically inhaling black grit, Novak
	breathes deeply and rises to his knees.  His hand moves to
	his face and he's briefly astounded by the texture of the
	gravel, the sharpness of it against his face.  Removing the
	shroud-like cloth, he looks at the soil, smells it, tastes
	it.

				MOTHER ONE (O.S.)
		Have you seen him?

	Novak finds the first of the three - VISIONS OF STARGHER'S
	MOTHER - addressing him.  She, like the other two, speaks in
	a ghostly monotone, nearly devoid of emotion.

				MOTHER ONE (CONT'D)
		My boy, my little one.  His father took
		him from me.  Have you seen him?

	As she continues, almost mantra-like, WOMAN TWO BEGINS:

				MOTHER TWO
			(similar monotone)
		My child is an abomination.  He is
		damned.  He has no soul.

	The women's repetitive "monologues" overlap.  Aurual layers
	now added by THREE.

				MOTHER THREE
		Me god me boy.  Me god good son.

	Novak takes a moment to absorb his surroundings.  The sights,
	sounds and feel of the place.  Like being within a dream.  As
	he backs away from the odd quartet, SHIMMERING LIGHT dances
	across his face.  Shading his eyes.  Novak searches for the
	source.

	Opposite him, across the valley, is a SHEER ROCK WALL.  A
	massive cliff face pockmarked with rough "windows."  Like a
	star, the LIGHT sparkles inside one of them, a fragment of
	MIRROR reflecting a beam away from Novak's face to a PATH
	cutting across the valley floor to the base of the wall.

	The light guiding him, Novak follows the path and starts to
	CLIMB, finding stairs or ladders, passing deep, seemingly
	infinite passages.  Like tombs, or the "drawers" of a
	mausoleum.  Deep within one of them, THE LIGHT FLICKERS. 
	Fades.  And Novak crawls into darkness.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE DEN

	Novak emerges in a cavernous room dripping with decadence. 
	The place reeks of sex, pain, lust, and cruelty.  As he moves
	deeper into the chamber, Novak sees YOUNG STARGHER perched
	atop some kind of pedestal, crouching, fingering his mirror
	LOCKET, bouncing sparkles of light into the dark corners of
	the room

	The FLICKERING LIGHT pinpoints a FIGURE emerging from the
	darkness.  It is Catherine.  Altered to an image of
	Stargher's victims.  Her skin, face, clothing, eyes, are just
	like the Victims'.  It's a shocking, strange image, made even
	more disturbing by the look of pleasure on her face.  Novak
	is staggered by the sight.  His vision and hearing become
	affected by blurred vision, sharp sounds - then focus to
	clarity as he reminds himself...

				NOVAK
		Not real...

	Like an ethereal queen of the damned, she strides toward him,
	narrowing her eyes.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Catherine.

	She exhibits no recognition of her name.  Catherine
	seductively moves closer to Novak, their bodies almost
	touching, her hands caressing his hair, lips, neck...

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Jesus.  Catherine.  Listen to me...

	She presses her finger to his lips and forces him down, onto
	the floor, his back to the pedestal.  Catherine straddles
	Novak, and when he tries to stand, she holds him down,
	forcing him to stay.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		LISTEN TO ME!

	She steals a glance over his shoulder and glimpses a MALE
	FIGURE coming toward them, coming into the light.  Novak is
	utterly unaware of what's happening.  Catherine is keeping
	him occupied.  Waiting for the arrival of...

	STARGHER KING

	Catherine LAUGHS.  Novak catches only a fleeting glimpse of
	the monster before Stargher King GRABS him by the throat and
	SMASHES his head against a pedestal.

	BLACKOUT.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE DEN

	Eyelids rise and flutter.  Novak becomes conscious.  And
	instantly realizes what's happened.

	He lies on the pedestal, face up, spread-eagle, his wrists
	and ankles bound to the cold stone surface with leathery
	cords.  Standing over him, in a pool of light, is Stargher
	King.  Wearing what could be seen as CEREMONIAL GARB, a
	silent, solemn Stargher King prepares himself for execution
	of a ritual by polishing and arranging an assortment of
	shiny, sharp, macabre TOOLS.

	Novak shuts his eyes and silently tells himself, Not real. 
	He opens them, breathes deeply and focuses on Catherine.

				NOVAK
		You're Catherine Young.  You majored in
		Psych at UC San Diego.  You work for
		Sunerset Industries.

	Stargher King's fingers pass over an array of horrific
	instruments - the throat piercer/collar mechanism, a cleaver
	knife, a misshapen hammer, a long slender needle...

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Your grandmother raised you after your
		parents died in a car crash...

	Stargher King lifts the blade-like NEEDLE.  So far, Catherine
	looks at Novak like he's speaking gibberish.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		When you were twenty-one, you were
		arrested for possession and got off with
		community service.

	Stargher King SLICES through Novak's clothes, exposing the
	flesh of his abdomen.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
			(reminding himself)
		Not real, Pete...This is not real...
			(urgency)
		You had to work at a center for abused
		kids for three months.  You stayed on
		two years for no pay.  You give half
		your fucking salary to the nursing home
		your grandmother stays at...

	Stargher King grabs his throat and traces the blade down the
	center of Novak's torso.  Novak struggles and pleads with
	Catherine.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		I know this because I work for the FBI. 
		Peter Novak, remember?!?!
			(a desperate request)
		Remember.  You are Cath-

	Stargher King cuts his flesh and INSERTS the needle into his
	stomach.  NOVAK SCREAMS!  This fucking hurts!

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		Help me!!!

	Stargher King wiggles the needle, pulls it out, and digs his
	finger into the wound.  NOVAK CRIES IN PAIN.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
			(tears forming, horrified)
		Fucking FEELS real!

	The intensity of Novak's cries hit Catherine like a
	thunderbolt.  There's a glimmer of life, of recognition in
	her eyes.

				STARGHER KING
			(finally speaking)
		Me god gut you like a dear.

	Although we don't see it, we HEAR something awful.  Like
	Stargher King fishing around inside the wound.  A pale,
	sweating Novak tries to stay conscious.  He will not go into
	shock...

				NOVAK
		Not real.  Not real.  Not real.

	A FEMALE HAND grabs the tool from the tray.

				STARGHER KING
			(mimicking Novak, laughing)
		Nod reel, nod reel, nod reel...

	STARGHER KING IS SLAMMED FROM BEHIND!  CATHERINE RAMS THE
	THING THROUGH HIS THROAT!   As Stargher King stumbles away
	gagging, blood pouring form his neck, we see that she has
	returned to normal.  The "bride" persona is gone.  As
	Stargher King emits animalistic growls, Catherine turns and
	sees an intact Novak standing next to her.  As if nothing had
	happened.

	Catherine and Novak RUN out of the den, into the tunnel from
	which Novak gained access.  He stops, ready to press the
	sensor, when a FLICKER OF LIGHT dances across Catherine's
	face.

				CATHERINE
		Wait...

				NOVAK
		Like hell "wait."

	But she won't listen and he's forced to play catch up as she
	moves further from the den toward the cliff face.  The
	FLICKER OF LIGHT shines on the entrance to a specific TUNNEL.

				CATHERINE
		He wants us to follow.  The little
		boy...

				NOVAK
		Little boy?!  That's him!

				CATHERINE
		He brought you to me, didn't he?  If you
		want Julia to live, trust me.  Trust
		him.

	INT. TUNNEL/CUBBYHOLE

	On her hands and knees, she enters the TUNNEL, not waiting
	for him to respond.  She knows what he'll do... Catherine and
	Novak crawl through the dark, grimy claustrophobic space,
	playing with his mirror locket.

				CATHERINE
		Carl...

	He so desperately wants her affection, but fear prevents him
	from reaching out to her.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		This is Peter.

	Scared, he shakes his head "no."

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Don't be scared.  You're my friend and I
		would never hurt you.

	She extends her hand.  Oh-so-hesitantly he takes it.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Will you take us to her?  To Julia?

	Shyly, hesitantly, he nods.  She smiles gratefully and
	affectionately touches the boy's face.  Clasping her hand,
	Young Stargher leads Catherine and Novak into utter darkness.

	INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE IDEALIZED CELL

	More stylized than the actual cell, it's bigger and ornately
	decorated, with the atmosphere of a church.  Individual
	IMAGES hang like SHRINES, each showing Julia Hickson from
	different angles.

	Central to the room is a WINDOW INTO THE CELL ITSELF.  Where
	we find a beautiful, mermaid-like JULIA HICKSON floating in
	water.  Peaceful, joyous.

	IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM, we find Novak and Catherine, she
	holding the hand of Young Stargher, he stunned at the sight
	of Julia.  The child looks at Catherine with beatific, sad
	eyes, regarding her as one would a saviour.

				NOVAK
		Where the hell are we?

				CATHERINE
		Carl, do you know?  Like on a map...

	He shakes his head and buries his face in her shoulder.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		It's okay, it's okay.  You helped so
		much already.  I'm proud of you.

	As a frustrated Novak searches for anything identifying,
	Catherine comforts the boy and looks deeply into his sad,
	haunted eyes.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Carl, I think I can help you.  Would you
		like that?  Even if Peter can't find
		Julia, I want to help you.

	The boy leans against her and she caresses his face.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		I promise.

	Novak finds himself standing in front of the idealized cell. 
	Mounted beneath the glass is a shiny, perfect metal plaque
	reading CARVER INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT, with a logo.  Novak
	recognizes it from the hoist in Stargher's basement.

				NOVAK
		Let's go.

	He pulls her to her feet.  Feeling betrayed and rejected, the
	child breaks away from her.  THE ROAR OF STARGHER KING shakes
	the cell.  Terrified, the boy searches for a place to hide.

				CATHERINE
		CARL!

	Novak feels what's coming.

				NOVAK
		COME ON!

				CATHERINE
		I can't leave him!

	STARGHER KING APPEARS!  His throat wounded, bloody mess, he
	descends out of dark nothingness, HOWLING with rage.  He
	reaches for Catherine, but Young Stargher runs in front of
	her.  

	STARGHER KING CLAMPS HIS MASSIVE ARMS AROUND THE CHILD! 
	Little Carl opens his mouth in a silent scream... Catherine's
	arms reach out to him, but Novak clasps her hand and presses. 
	And she is haunted by the sight of a frightened child in the
	arms of a monster...

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	Henry notices significant activity on the monitors.

				HENRY
		They're back.

	Everything happens fast.  He and Miriam frantically cease the
	procedure. 
	Novak and Catherine are lowered and Novak startles them by
	quickly regaining consciousness.  Miriam attempts to inject
	him with stabilizing drugs, but he's already trying to tear
	himself out of the apparatus.

				NOVAK
		Get me out!

	Miriam MOVES into the PROCEDURE ROOM.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		GET ME OUT!

	Miriam tries to follow protocol, but Novak is moving like a
	fish caught in a net, ripping and tearing his way out of the
	apparatus and suit.  He gets to his feet, but soon falls to
	his knees, dizzy and disoriented.

				MIRIAM
		Don't move!

	Novak is not listening.  Fighting off any after-effects- both
	physical and mental - he moves for the door.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		Agent Novak!

	Catherine is coming back and Miriam moves to her.  Novak
	pauses just for a moment.

				NOVAK
		Is she alright?

				MIRIAM
		Yes.  But you're going to sit down right
		now.  I have to...

	Novak is already gone.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM

	Novak speed-dials a number on speaker-phone, hurriedly
	dresses, and locates a photograph of Stargher's basement. 
	When he hears someone pick up the line, he barks:

				NOVAK
		This is Novak, who've I got?

	A confused Ramsey enters and listens.

	INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT

	A team of FBI AGENTS is meticulously going through every inch
	of Stargher's house. 
	Crisscrossed wooden beams have been laid across the pit
	allowing forensics experts to search without disturbing
	anything.  On the other end of the direct line is COLE...

				COLE
		Agent Cole.

	(INTERCUT WITH NOVAK AND RAMSEY)

				NOVAK
		I need you to find something in the
		basement...

				COLE
		Already there.

				NOVAK
		That hoist, with the winch...

	WE FOLLOW Cole as he moves to the machine.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		There's some kind of plaque, a metal
		plate, with a logo.  On the base.

	Cole locates it.

				COLE
			(reading)
		Carver Industrial Equipment.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM

	Novak instructs him...

				NOVAK
		Find out the history of that machine. 
		Who bought it, used it, sold it.  And
		check Stargher's pay stubs.  I want to
		know every contractor he worked for. 
		I'm calling you from the chopper in ten
		minutes.

	Dizziness and disorientation again hit Novak.  Pale and
	sweating, he winces as his stomach agonizingly cramps.

				RAMSEY
		Jesus Christ, man, you look like hell.

				NOVAK
		Considering where I've been...

	Fighting the pain, he gathers together MAPS, slips on his
	shoes and grabs gun and holster.  Ramsey is apoplectic.

				RAMSEY
		Whoa-whoa-whoa.  Mind telling me what
		the fuck is happening?

	 Novak points to the photo of Stargher's basement,
	specifically the hoist.

				RAMSEY (CONT'D)
		You're bettin' the farm on something you
		saw after they pumped you full of god
		knows-what kind of shit?

				NOVAK
		I saw her.  Julia.  Alive.  I saw
		everything.

				RAMSEY
		You might've seen Jimmy Hoffa dancing
		with Timothy Leary.  I don't care.

	Novak is not stopping...

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam shines the penlight into
	Catherine's eyes.

				CATHERINE
		...a pocketful of rye.

				MIRIAM
		Four and twenty blackbirds...

				CATHERINE
		Baked in a pie.

	AT THE CONSOLE, on a security monitor, Henry can see Novak
	and Ramsey exiting down the corridor.

				HENRY
		The FBI has left the building.

	IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam appears concerned.

				MIRIAM
		Damn him.

				CATHERINE
		What's wrong?

				MIRIAM
		Agent Novak.  I didn't get a chance to
		clear him.

	Catherine encourages her.

				CATHERINE
		Go.  I'm fine.  Go.

	As Miriam hurries to catch Novak, she tells Henry.

				MIRIAM
		Keep an eye on her.

	He nods, but isn't really paying attention.  Catherine turns
	to Stargher's motionless form, still suspended, still
	connected to the machinery.

	INT. THE CELL - DAY

				JULIA
		Do something, Julia.

	She looks around the room and runs her hands along the walls,
	the tile, looking for a weak spot.  She focuses on the
	CEILING PANEL and although it's painful because of swollen
	fingers, removes her ENGAGEMENT RING.

	EXT. CAMPBELL CENTER

	A ready-and-waiting HELICOPTER is on the pad.  Novak races
	out of the Center, Ramsey right behind him, SHOUTING at each
	other in order to hear above the chopper noise.

				RAMSEY
		Pete, listen to me.  What did you really
		learn in there?  Anything new?  You
		really think Stargher gave you a save
		the-day clue?  What if this is all some
		kind of trick your head is playing on
		you?

	He won't consider that.  Novak climbs into the helicopter and
	buckles himself in.  He looks to Ramsey - you coming? -
	Ramsey pats the side of the chopper and signals for the pilot
	to take off.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	Henry analyzes voluminous print-outs from the last procedure. 
	Although his eyes are on the data, he converses with
	Catherine in the PROCEDURE ROOM via intercom.

				HENRY
		...there was a moment when we thought
		we'd lost Agent Novak as well.

	We see chemicals flow and computer programs initiate the
	procedure, but Henry is oblivious.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		His post-procedure consciousness
		recovery was remarkably quick.  Never
		saw that before.  Hey, remember that one
		time...

	He JUMPS when the door to the procedure room SEALS SHUT and
	mechanisms HUM.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		Catherine?

	When he looks through the window, Catherine is again
	suspended, the procedure under way.

				HENRY (CONT'D)
		What are you doing?

	He types in a command, but nothing happens.  He tires again.
	On another keyboard, but gets no response.  When he looks at
	the "map" screens, he sees something odd.  It's a small
	change, but it makes all the difference in the world.
	
			INT. THE CELL - DAY

	Like a rock climber in a crevasse, Julia shimmies up the
	walls of the cell by bracing herself in a corner and using
	her hands and feet to push up.  The tile is slippery and each
	movement precarious.

	She uses strength and balance to reach a position just below
	the Plexiglass, the fluorescent light bathing her in an eerie
	intense glow.  She sees a gap between the glass and the wall
	and uses her ENGAGEMENT RING to dig into it, SCAPE, SCRAPE,
	SCRAPING with the diamond.

	THE SHOWER SPRAYS WATER!  Julia nearly loses her balance, but
	manages to stay pressed into the corner.  She kicks the
	shower head, sending the spray as far from her as possible,
	and continues to dig at the caulking around the light
	fixture.

	IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM, we see something unexpected.  The
	clock reads 00:00:00.  That water isn't going to stop.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - EDWARD'S ROOM

	Miriam and Ramsey return to the lab to find Henry anxiously
	observing from the console.

				HENRY
			(flustered)
		She changed the codes.

				MIRIAM
		What's wrong?

				HENRY
		It would take hours to re-route the
		system, and even if I did, I shouldn't.

				RAMSEY
		What are you talking about?

	Miriam analyzes the situation and regretfully, angrily,
	worriedly realizes what's happened.

				MIRIAM
		She's done it.  Stupid, stupid girl...

				RAMSEY
		Done what?

				HENRY
		Instead of going into his mind...

				MIRIAM
		She's bringing Stargher into hers.

	ENTRANCE FOUR

	INT. CATHERINE'S WORLD

	A bright, deliriously colorful realm visually reflective of
	things we saw in Catherine's home.  Unusual trees, rock
	formations, totems, statues, and a brilliant POOL OF WATER.

	The pond ripples.  Visible through the crystal-clear water is
	YOUNG STARGHER, rising to the surface like a drowning victim
	suddenly breaking through to air.  Panicked, he scrambles to
	shore and pulls himself to land.  Although the place is
	comforting and beautiful, he's in strange territory and it
	frightens him.  Shivering, he hunches down, eyes darting this
	way and that.

				CATHERINE (O.S.)
		You're all right, Carl.

	The boy turns toward the voice and finds CATHERINE, her hair
	waving in the wind, skin glowing, eyes bright, cutting a
	magnificent figure in clothes that make her a warrior
	goddess. 
	She opens her arms and the boy runs to her, basking in the
	comfort of her embrace.  He shivers and she holds him
	tightly.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		It's okay, honey, you're with me now. 
		You're safe here.

	She looks deeply into his eyes and reassuringly explains.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		I promised I would help you, and I
		always keep my promises.

				YOUNG STARGHER
		Can...

	Catherine is astonished and relieve to hear him speak.  A
	sad, trembling little voice.

				YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D)
		Can I stay here?

	She is touched that he would ask and strokes his face.

				CATHERINE
			(regretfully)
		Oh...no, honey, I'm sorry.  It's doesn't
		work that way.

	The boy breaks away from her, turning his back.  She gently
	takes his hand but he yanks it free.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		But what if I told you you could come
		visit?

	He slowly turns to her.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		I'll make sure it happens, Carl.  I'll
		get them to let me do it.  And maybe...
		maybe we can...

	Young Stargher's eyes open wide with silent terror.  Over his
	shoulder, she sees a SNAKE slither through the pool. 
	CENTIPEDES CRAWL over her legs and hair.  She stands and
	brushes them off.  The atmosphere grows darker and ominous.

				YOUNG STARGHER
		He found me...

	Catherine bristles as STARGHER KING RISES FROM THE POOL like
	a human serpent.  The brilliant colors of Catherine's world
	fade to GRIM TONES.

				YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D)
		He always finds me.

	Stargher King SCREECHES with anger and confusion.

				STARGHER KING
		Where thiisss att?!?!  Me god no like id
		here...

	He snarls when he sees Catherine.

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		You.  Priddy bish-hor-kund.  You big
		trubble-mekker...
			(sneers at the boy)
		And you.  You cumm home now, liddle
		cogsugger worm.  Or me god haffa punish
		you...

	Young Stargher tightens his embrace of Catherine.  She steps
	back, away from the pond, hugging the boy tightly.

				CATHERINE
		No.!

				STARGHER KING
		No?!??!?!?!?

	Stargher King laughs.

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		Hoo you thing you are?? Himm Muther?

	He comes close and reaches for the boy...

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		You gimme liddle worm.

	For a moment, Catherine appears frightened and intimidated. 
	Perhaps near an emotional breakdown.  But that is not the
	case.  She quietly lowers little Carl to the ground and
	whispers something in his ear.  As the boy nods, runs and
	hides, a ferocity grows within her.

				CATHERINE
		I said no.

	Like a vengeful Valkyrie, she emits what can only be called a
	BATTLE CRY!  STARGHER ATTACKS!  Arms reaching for her. 
	Catherine BLOCKS, PUNCHES, AND KICKS.  Stargher King doubles
	over.  Catherine grabs his ears and pulls his face into her
	bent KNEE, breaking his nose.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		Welcome to my world.

	As blood flows from his nostrils, Stargher King grins...

				STARGHER KING
		You funny.  You thing you stop me god?

	HE CHARGES.  At the right moment, Catherine sidesteps and
	SMASHES him in the ribs as he passes.  Stargher King crumples
	to the ground and she KICKS an uppercut to this chin.  Rising
	from the mud and muck, Stargher King lands a POWERFUL BLOW to
	her head, sending her flying.  He lifts the stunned Catherine
	with one hand and pulls her face to his...

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		You cum back wif me god.  You be good
		bish-hor-kund...

	Catherine looks into his soulless eyes.  Then SPITS in them
	and BITES his face!  She breaks free as he YOWLS with pain. 
	He steps toward her, but his feet don't move.  The earth
	itself appears to wrap around them and turn hard, like
	concrete.  Stargher King HOWLS with frustration.

				CATHERINE
		My world...

	A SHIMMERING KNIFE seems to enrage from within her forearm,
	out the flesh and into her hand.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		My rules.

	She SLASHES across his chest, drawing blood.

				YOUNG STARGHER (O.S.)
		No!

	Catherine stops.  And turns to see the distraught Young
	Stargher.

				YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D)
		Don't hurt him!

	She spins around and sees not Stargher King, but MARTIN.

				YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D)
		He didn't mean it.  I was bad.

	Disturbed by the transformation, Catherine backs away.  Her
	vision blurs, the sound distorts.  And the earth cracks
	around Stargher King's ankles.

				YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D)
		He teached me a lesson.  I deserved it.

	Fighting feelings of disorientation, she kneels before the
	child and rests the knife on the ground.

				CATHERINE
		No one deserves it, Carl.  No one.

	She reaches out to him, but the child is JERKED into the air
	by Stargher King.  In one hand, the monster holds little
	Carl.  In the other - a KNIFE.  His face and chest red with
	crimson, Stargher King fixes his eyes on Catherine with a
	predator's stare.

				STARGHER KING
		Yer world.  My knife.

	Stargher King raises the blade toward the boy's throat and -
	SNAP!  The strong arms of an adult Stargher breaks his arm at
	the elbow.  Both the knife and boy are dropped to the ground
	as Stargher King YOWLS like a stuck pig, the good arm
	cradling the other.

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
		Me god hurt!  Why you do that?  Why?!

				STARGHER
		Enough.

	Stargher King regards him with disgust.

				STARGHER KING
		Enuff?!?!

	MARTIN STARGHER'S VOICE comes from the belly of the beast.

				STARGHER
		I'll tell you what's enough...

	Stargher and Stargher King square off.  The boy stands
	between them with the knife at his feet.

				CATHERINE
		Carl!

				STARGHER KING
			(still speaking as Martin)
		Shut up cunt.
			(to the boy)
		Give it here, worm...

	the child picks up the blade and stands between them, looking
	to Catherine for guidance.

				STARGHER KING (CONT'D)
			(as Martin)
		You want a mommy?  Is that what you
		want?

	In an almost dream-like motion, the child hands the blade to
	adult Stargher.

				STARGHER
		Enough.

	And he DRIVES the thing into Stargher King's heart.  For a
	brief moment, Martin's face is superimposed over Stargher
	King's.  Stunned, he slumps and regards adult Stargher with
	sad, troubled eyes.

				MARTIN
			(as Stargher King)
		Why?  What'd I do?...

	Stargher TWISTS the handle of the blade and Martin/Stargher
	King drops dead.   Dead.  Young Stargher smiles and hugs
	Catherine.

				YOUNG STARGHER
		Time to go 'way.

				CATHERINE
		Carl...?

	The boy runs to adult Stargher who lifts the child into his
	arms and holds him close.

				YOUNG STARGHER
		Bye.

	She looks to adult Stargher and begins to understand.  He
	descends into the pool, the boy resting his head on his
	shoulder.

				STARGHER KING
		Thank you, Catherine.  You did help me. 
		More than you'll ever know.

	Man and boy disappear beneath the water's surface.  Catherine
	stands and sees that Stargher King's body has vanished. 
	She walks to the shore and sees, deep underwater, Stargher
	and little Carl floating lifelessly like women in the cell. 
	And FADE FROM VIEW.

				CATHERINE
		Goodbye Carl.

	She presses the sensor in her hand.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	IN THE CONTROL ROOM, Miriam is shocked by what she sees on
	the monitors and looks at Stargher.

				MIRIAM
		He's in full arrest.

	Catherine quietly returns to consciousness and is
	automatically lowered.  She pulls the mask from her face,
	rises and opens the door.  Miriam races inside and
	desperately attempts to revive Stargher.  But it's no use. 
	Angry and stunned, she demands of Catherine.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		Help me!

	But Catherine chooses not to.  She knows Carl Stargher will
	never return to the world of the living.

	INT. HELICOPTER - DAY

	The chopper roars across the sky.  As they head northeast,
	away from the urban and toward the rural, Novak gazes out the
	window, trying to stay focused, fighting any after-effects of
	the drugs.  The pilot communicates via headset.

				PILOT
		Agent Novak?  Go ahead.

				NOVAK
		Cole?

	EXT. STARGHER'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

	Cole and a handful of other agents pour into waiting
	Suburbans.  (INTERCUT WITH NOVAK IN HELICOPTER).

				COLE
		The hoist was manufactured by Carver
		Industrial Equipment in 1982.  Serial
		number 117-337J.  Purchased by a boat
		shop in Lake Havasu, but sold to
		Lattimer's industrial Supply in 1992...

	INT. THE CELL - DAY

	The water is near the ceiling.  Kicking her legs to keep
	afloat, Julia DIGS with the ring and we see she has created a
	gap between the light fixture housing and an unused PIPE
	leading to the surface.  She pushes, but can't get anything
	to move.  The opening will get no bigger.  Julia sucks the
	last bit of oxygen and swims to the bottom of the cell. 
	Searching for something, she finds a juice box and pulls out
	the drinking straw.

	INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY

	Shaken, but oddly transcendent, Catherine watches as
	Stargher's body is wheeled out of the lab on a gurney.  She
	comforts a whimpering Valentine and tells him...

				CATHERINE
		Everything's alright now, Valentine.  I
		promise.

	INT. HELICOPTER

	Novak scans the topography of FARMS below, listening to a new
	report.

	INT. SUBURBAN - DAY

	Cole is the passenger, on the radio to Novak, A DRIVER next
	to him, doing about a hundred down the Interstate, SIREN
	blaring.

				COLE
		Lattimer sold the hoist to a guy named
		Bainbridge who tired to build a machine
		works out near Delano.  Bainbridge ends
		up in bankruptcy court and the state
		winds up with the land - it's just
		sitting there.

	INTERCUT WITH NOVAK

				NOVAK
		Delano?

				COLE
		Yep.  And guess who they hired to seal
		up the place?

				NOVAK
		You're kidding me.

				COLE
		I never kid.  My wife hates it.  Says
		I'm too serious.

	Novak locates Delano on the map.

				NOVAK
		The exact location, Cole.  Give it to
		me.

	The pilot grins and pushes the copper to top speed.

	INT. THE CELL - DAY

	Julia is entirely underwater but alive.  She uses the straw
	to suck oxygen through the gap in the ceiling, but it's
	difficult to tread water and her lungs are aching.

	INT. HELICOPTER

	Novak uses binoculars to scan farmland.  He searches.  And
	there it is: The abandoned farmhouse!

				NOVAK
		TAKE IT DOWN!

	INT. THE CELL - DAY

	Julia tries to hold herself up by pressing her arms and legs
	against the walls, but as she does, the straw slips from her
	mouth.  She reaches for it, but only succeeds in pushing it
	away from her.  It heads for the drain.  And disappears.

	EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE

	The helicopter lands and Novak jumps out.  He knows this is
	the place.  He runs into the barn, but there's nothing, no
	sign of her.  The pilot looks at him with a true sense of
	loss.

	INT. THE CELL - CONTINUOUS

	As Julia desperately tires to find the straw through the tiny
	holes of the drain, we see for the first time an expression
	which tells us she's given up.  THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.  The cell
	starts to vibrate.  A repetitive noise WHUP-WHUP-WHUP - comes
	from above.  She swims to the top of the cell and POUNDS at
	the ceiling.

	EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE

	Fighting exhaustion and the side effects of the drugs, Novak
	pushes on.  Think, Peter, think... His eyes find the WATER
	TANKS and he SHOUTS at the helicopter.

				NOVAK
		Cut the engine!

	As the motor dies, Novak listens and listens.  There it is. 
	Water pipes beneath his feet.  And very faintly, a pounding. 
	He follows the sound, searching the earth.  It's clearer now,
	louder.  Novak tosses aside rusted junk and the pilot runs to
	assist him.  Together, they expose the entrance to the
	underground sanctuary.

	INT. THE CELL - OBSERVATION ROOM

	Novak drops to the floor below.  Instantly affected by the
	similarities and the differences to the idealized cell of
	Stargher's mind, he feels another wave of dizziness, but
	pushes on.

	And is hit hard by the sight of DROWNED JULIA, her motionless
	body floating past him.  HER EYES OPEN and bubbles drift from
	her nose and mouth.  Novak BANGS on the Plexiglas and calls
	to her.

				NOVAK
		JULIA!

	The thick Plexiglass still remains, but she now can see him. 
	Novak pulls his ID BADGE and smacks it against the glass. 

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		MOVE ASIDE!

	He pulls his gun and takes aim.  Julia swims to the top of
	the cell and presses herself against the ceiling.  BANG-BANG
	BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG.  Novak fires a circle of shots into the
	thick plastic.  Water slowly leaks, but the damn thing is
	still solid.  He lifts the industrial VCR and RAMS it at the
	bullet-damaged section.  CRACK! CRASH!  WATER POURS FROM THE
	CELL.  Julia's body descends on the torrent of water.  Novak
	reaches inside and pulls her to safety.  He's just about to
	give her CPR when she coughs, sputters, and thirstily drinks
	in oxygen.  Holding her tightly, Novak sinks to the floor,
	the water from the cell spilling everywhere.

	EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE

	Cole's Suburban leads a contingent of FBI vehicles and local
	police cars onto the property, sirens blaring.

	INT. THE CELL - DAY

	Hearing the sirens, Novak relaxes.  For the first time in god
	knows how long, he relaxes.  And holds Julia Hickson as if
	his life depended on it.

										 FADE OUT.

	FADE IN:

	EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - DAY

	Two cars parked outside.  An old, quirky Volvo and a Land
	Rover.

	INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - DAY

	As a television plays THE WIZARD OF OZ, we find Catherine
	watching the movie from the couch, sitting up, drinking a cup
	of tea.  She looks rested and quite cute in gym shorts and a
	T-shirt, her CAT sleeping next to her.  IN THE KITCHEN,
	Miriam packs up her stethoscope and blood pressure monitor,
	moves into the living room as Dorothy falls asleep in a field
	of poppies...

				MIRIAM
		I left the nutritional information on
		the fridge door.  Read it.

	Catherine nods, but she's more interested in the movie. 
	Miriam deposits prescription bottles onto a side table.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		I refilled the Zyprexa and Atavan...

				CATHERINE
		I don't need them anymore...

				MIRIAM
		I know.

	But she leaves them just the same.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		I'll come by tomorrow after work.  With
		dinner.

				CATHERINE
		Thanks Miriam.  Say hi to Henry and...

				MIRIAM
		...give a kiss to Edward.

				CATHERINE
			(overlapping)
		Give a kiss to Edward.

	The women exchange smiles and Miriam exits.

	EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE

	As Miriam walks to her Land Rover, she sees a government
	issue Suburban park on the street and Peter Novak exit.

				MIRIAM
		Agent Novak.

				NOVAK
		Dr. Kent.

				MIRIAM
		You're looking well.

				NOVAK
		Thanks you.  Six weeks off does a body
		good.
			(conspiratorially)
		I heard she got the approval to try the
		reversal with Edward.

				MIRIAM
		That's a secret.

				NOVAK
		Federal Bureau of Investigation, ma'am. 
		We know all, see all...

	Novak opens the rear compartment of the Suburban and we hear
	something moving inside.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		How's the patient.

				MIRIAM
		Awaiting his arrival.

				NOVAK
		What about the cat?

				MIRIAM
		Completely unaware.

	Miriam's pager BEEPS and she hurries to her car.

				MIRIAM (CONT'D)
		I've got to go.  Good luck.

	Novak smiles, waves goodbye, and reaches into the Suburban.

	INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE

	As Dorothy and her companions confront the Wizard, there's a
	KNOCK at the screen door and Catherine sees Novak waiting.

				NOVAK
		Ready?

	Catherine cradles her cat.

				CATHERINE
		Ready.

	He opens the door and escorts a leashed VALENTINE into the
	living room.  Catherine's cat squirms from her arms and hides
	under the couch.

				NOVAK
		That went well.

				CATHERINE
		Give her a minute.
			(smiles at the dog)
		Hello, Valentine.

	Novak unleashes the albino Shepherd and he runs to Catherine,
	licking her face, wagging his tail.

				NOVAK
		You sure about this?

				CATHERINE
		Absolutely.
			(calling for the cat)
		Abigail...

	Valentine picks up the cat's scent and sniffs around the base
	of the sofa.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		I heard Julia and John got married.

				NOVAK
		Yep.  Eloped.

				CATHERINE
		Good for them.

	Valentine settles on the floor.  Slowly, Abigail's curiosity
	gets the best of her and she creeps out, sniffing the dog's
	nose.  Patient and sweet, Valentine lies still, allowing the
	cat to reach an acceptable level of comfort.

				NOVAK
		Well look at that.

				CATHERINE
		I told you.  You have to be optimistic. 
		Believe in them...

				NOVAK
		So you say.

	Amazingly, Abigail brushes up against the dog and purrs.

				CATHERINE
		He's mine?

				NOVAK
		All yours.  My boss says it's one of the
		strangest requests the Bureau's ever
		had.

	Catherine laughs.  She likes that.

				NOVAK (CONT'D)
		He also says that until proven
		differently, Julia Hickson was found as
		a result of good old-fashioned detective
		work.

				CATHERINE
		It doesn't matter...

				NOVAK
		I don't know.  I think it does.
			(genuine concern)
		You know, Catherine... If you ever want
		to talk about it.  What happened to
		Stargher.  That last time.

	It's painfully clear the thought of it still troubles her.

				CATHERINE
		Not just yet.  Okay?

	Novak doesn't push it.  He just takes her hand and gives it a
	gentle squeeze.  The cat dashes into the kitchen and
	Valentine follows.

				CATHERINE (CONT'D)
		They're hungry.

				NOVAK
		I got it.

	He moves into the kitchen.  In a moment of quiet
	introspection, Catherine looks at the television screen, at
	Dorothy accidentally hitting the wicked Witch with a bucket
	of water, causing her to melt.  And she looks away, unable to
	watch, disturbed by the image.  She turns to the kitchen and
	sees Novak feeding an appreciative dog and cat.  He rises and
	returns to the living room.

				CATHERINE
		Thank you.

				NOVAK
		No problem.

				CATHERINE
		No.  Thank you.

	He smiles and nods, gently resting his hand on her shoulder. 
	Catherine shuts her eyes and leans toward him, comforted by
	simple human touch...

							 FADE TO BLACK.

