The Watched

A door opens and the shadow of a large MAN spills across the floor. Paintings of dolls, creepy porcelain dolls with bright blue eyes, rose pink cheeks and red lipstick, others with set-back sleepy eyes, and a variety of other dolls and clowns fill every space on the walls. A DARK FIGURE stands in the shadows with a camera in his hand. He watches as ANDIE MUNIER, 30s, with warm eyes and an inviting face tosses her phone onto her bed. Later that night, Connor FELLERS, 30s, with a muscular frame and kind eyes staggers in, tosses his keys on a nearby table and clumsily wobbles down the hall. He does not notice the door gradually being pushed open. Returning home for a long day at work, Andie enters to hear static from a record player. She sets her keys on a nearby table and advances forward. She hears a distant SOUND echo through the house. The sound, no more than a WHISPER, can be mistaken for a man's voice. Andie calls out for Connor. Andie approaches the end of the hall and carefully steps around the corner. She immediately SCREAMS at the sight of a large amount of blood at the bottom of the stairs. She pulls out her phone and dials. Andie is comforted by her friend SIDNEY, who invites her to spend a few days at her place. It's the middle of the night. Nothing but quiet and calm at Sidney’s apartment. Andie steps into the hallway and closes the bedroom door behind her. She hears the muted sounds of snores coming from Sidney's room. Andie turns and heads out but then stops as she senses something behind her. She advances closer and closer to the edge of the hall spilling into the FRONT ROOM. As Andie moves closer she sees a blood-soaked part of pants first and then out of the inky blackness comes Connor. His face is pale with sunken in cheekbones, hair which has mostly fallen out and a large cut across his throat. With a bloodied hand, Connor points to Andie and says in a raspy, dead hollow voice, “You weren’t there.” After several weeks and no updates from the police, Andie decided it is time to move back into her place. The same night as Andie lays in bed, she hears what sounds like a man’s voice, recorded and played backward. The sound ECHOES then fade into a WHISPER. An unseen man watches as Andie reclines on the sofa with a phone pressed to her ear. Andie tosses her phone on the sofa and heads up the stairs. The man heads for the front door and looks down toward the handle. A large gloved hand reaches for the doorknob and slowly opens it. The bedroom door gradually opens and as it does, the shadow of an unseen figure looms over the place. Andie rests peacefully under the blankets as a shadow spills across the bed. Andie opens her eyes and SCREAMS at the sight of ROBERT HORWOOD, 30s, with a strong face and a scar under his right eye, standing before her. She tries to YELL but a gloved hand holding a piece of cloth quickly covers her face. Andie's body goes limp. Andie wakes to find herself tied to a bed. She tries to break free of her restraints but to no avail. The broad shadow of a man fills the floor as a large pair of feet in steel-toe work boots advance toward Andie. She looks on as Robert bends down and smiles. He leads Andie to a room with lit candles spread across the floor of the floor. Photos cover every inch of the walls. Robert and Andie enter. Andie carefully looks over the many photos before her. Two wine glasses along with a humble platter of cheese and crackers take up the center of a meager table. Andie sits at the table with a tall glass of red wine in front of her. Andie looks on as Robert stands over a stove and tends to the frying pan in front of him. In an instant, Andie whips out her knife and holds it to Robert's throat. Before she can do any damage, Robert catches her wrist, but in a state of panic, Andie shoves the knife into Robert's shoulder and runs out of the kitchen. She turns the corner of a long hallway only to SCREAMS at the sight of Robert standing at the doorway. Robert advances toward Andie, she backs away with the knife steady in her hand. SMACK! Robert SLAPS Andie across the face. The blow drops her to the floor and sends the knife flying. Andie crawls backward desperately trying to locate the knife. Robert eyes the knife on the floor then looks back to Andie. Andie flings her body over to the knife. As Robert races to her -- THUD. Andie drives the knife into his stomach. Robert stumbles backward and collapses to the floor. Andie staggers around the corner and sees her freedom -- the front door only a few away. As she moves toward the door, without warning Robert, with the knife still in his gut, lunges at her and grabs Andie's arm. She SCREAMS. Out of pure desperation, Andie bites down on Robert's hand. Robert YELLS, Andie bites harder. Blood begins to leak from Robert's hand and he releases his grip. As Robert struggles to his feet, Andie YELLS and charges him. She drives the knife further into Robert's gut. Andie follows with a vicious punch to the face followed by a hard knee to the face. Robert collapses in a corner. In a dimly lit room, a man sits forward in a chair. His fist in a tight ball as he gazes into the TV monitor before him which shows Andie stumbling out of the house. The next day at the hospital, Andie alone in her bed, alone in her room with various tubes connected to her. The man opens the door to Andie's room and steps inside. He approaches Andie's bedside and sets the flowers down. He reaches in his pocket, pulls out a small card and sets it down next to the flowers. The man heads for the door. As he pulls the door open, the light from the hall spills onto his face, this is Connor. The card reads: 'SEE YOU SOON'