In the front seat Garet half turns.   

                                          GARET 
                         Pass that up here, man. 

          A joint passes up to the front seat where Cathy and Garet 
          sit as far apart as the car will allow.  Cathy shakes her 
          head but Garet grabs it. 

                                          CATHY 
                         What are you doing? 

                                          GARET 
                         Why, I'm getting high. 

                                          CATHY 
                         You're driving. 

                                          GARET 
                         I guess I'm one of those talented 
                         people who can do two things at once.   

          He takes a hit.  Cathy just glares. 

                                          CATHY 
                         It's dangerous. 

                                          GARET 
                         Well if I start to go to sleep you can 
                         reach over and wake me up.   

          He grabs her hand and pulls it toward his lap.  She 
          struggles against his grip. 


          OUT ON THE ROAD 

          The car sways across two lanes.   


          BACK IN THE CAR 

          Cathy tugs free. 

                                          CATHY 
                         Will you get serious?  You're going to 
                         get pulled over. 

                                          GARET 
                         Aww, I didn't know you cared. 

                                          CATHY 
                         I don't.  I just want to get to Los 
                         Angeles. 

                                          GARET 
                         Ah, yes.  Lance, the Internet Romeo. 

                                          CATHY 
                         His name is Larry. 

                                          GARET 
                         I like Lance better.  I can see the 
                         cover of the romance novel now.  Long, 
                         flowing hair.  Dark, mysterious eyes.  
                         You bent over in a flowing dress, your 
                         breasts half exposed.  Sounds like a 
                         best seller to me. 

                                          CATHY 
                         Go ahead.  Joke.  But he got to know me 
                         better in two months than you have in 
                         years.   

                                          GARET 
                         What's there to know?  Remove the stick 
                         up your ass and you would fall down off 
                         your high horse, just like any 
                         scarecrow.   

                                          CATHY 
                         You're such an asshole. 

                                          GARET 
                         Pompous ass, thank you very much.  Come 
                         on.  Admit it, Cath.  You had fun with 
                         me. 

                                          CATHY 
                         Yes.  Dumping you was lots of fun.   

          Giggles come from the back, and knock against Cathy's 
          seat.  Cathy sighs and reaches over to flip the radio.  
          She flips across a scratchy hip-hop channel. 

                                          GARET 
                         Hey. I like that song. 

                                          CATHY 
                         Too bad.  You're driving.  I'm the DJ. 

          She lands on a slow ballad.  Garet makes a face.  He 
          reaches for the tuner but she swats his hand away.   

          A beat passes.  Garet dives in again but Cathy's too 
          quick.  Instead he uses his free hand to tickle her.   

          She laughs and jumps. 

          THROUGH THE WINDOW - a huge blurry figure dashes across 
          the road. 

                                          GARET 
                         Holy shit! 


          OUT ON THE HIGHWAY 

          The car swerves way off to the right and kicks up dust.  
          Tires lose their traction on the graveled shoulder of the 
          road, then skid off of the shoulder and down a dirt road. 

          They finally slide to a stop in the middle of a dense 
          forest. 


          IN THE CAR 

          Garet slams the car into park and glances around at 
          everyone. 

                                          GARET 
                         Everyone okay? 

          Heads nod.   

                                          CATHY 
                         I told you you shouldn't have gotten 
                         high. 

                                          GARET 
                         I wasn't high.  There was something in 
                         the road.  Didn't you see it? 

          She shakes her head and looks around.  It's dark - many 
          trees.   

                                          CATHY 
                         Whatever.  Let's just get back to the 
                         highway. 

                                          GARET 
                         Yes.  Lance is waiting. 

                                          CATHY 
                         His name is Larry. 


          OUT ON THE DIRT ROAD 

          The car eases around on the narrow dirt road to face the 
          other direction.  Only what they see is an unending 
          stretch of dirt road. 


          IN THE CAR 

                                          GARET 
                         Where's the highway? 

*******************************************************

Sam slips off the stool and heads over to the guys. 

                                          SAM 
                         Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear.  
                         You folks lost someone? 

          Garet and Jarnell share a nervous glance, before Garet 
          nods. 

                                          GARET 
                         Yeah, like - I dunno - a half an hour 
                         from here.  Out in the woods. 

                                          SAM 
                         What were you doing in the woods? 

                                          GARET 
                         We skid out onto a dirt road that kept 
                         us lost in them all night long. 

                                          SAM 
                         You're pulling my leg, right? 

                                          GARET 
                         No.  Why? 

                                          SAM 
                         There ain't no road out there in those 
                         woods.   

**************************************************************

EXT. DIRT ROAD, DEPUTY CAR - CONTINUOUS 

          Ricks emerges from his car, gun drawn. 

                                          RICKS 
                         Hello? 

          His greeting is met with the rustling of leaves in the 
          wind.  Clouds roll overhead. 

                                          RICKS 
                         This is Chenoquah County Deputy Marty 
                         Ricks.  My weapon is drawn.  If you do 
                         not come forward, hands raised, I will 
                         have to respond with force. 


          INT. DEPUTY CAR, THROUGH THE DASH CAMERA - SAME 

          A grainy screen shows Ricks pass in front of the car, his 
          pistol raised.  He walks out of our view. 

                                          RICKS (OS) 
                         Fuckin' hell! 

          Sounds of gunfire blast through the country silence.   

          We pull out to view through the windshield.  Everything 
          is still. 

          With a loud SLAM, Ricks hits the windshield face first, 
          cracking the glass.  His eyes are open wide, his hair is 
          stark white, and he is clearly dead. 

          Blood smears down the windshield as he slides down onto 
          the hood and is ripped away out of sight. 

************************************************************

SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WOODS 

          Tina stands from her squatting position and adjusts her 
          underwear.  A hand with a class ring falls on her 
          shoulder.  She grabs it. 

                                          TINA
                         Oh thank God.  J.T.... 

          She pulls the arm and it tugs loose from the tree trunk, 
          a bloody stump, torn right at the shoulder.  Tina screams 
          and throws it down, then takes off in the other 
          direction. 

          Wind kicks up and stirs all the dust under her feet.   

          Beside her leaves on the trees rattle and flutter as if 
          something very big runs just parallel out of sight. 

                                          TINA
                         Jarnell! 


          BACK AT THE CAR 

          Jarnell sits in the backseat.  He sings to himself as he 
          rolls a joint. 

                                          JARNELL 
                         I was gonna go to L.A., but then I got 
                         high.  Didn't wanna be in the boonies 
                         all day, but then I got high.  Now 
                         we're all jacked up, and I know why... 
                         cuz we got high, cuz we got high, cuz 
                         we got high. 

********************************************************

IN ANOTHER PART OF THE WOODS 

          Garet steps cautiously over a big branch, then offers his 
          hand to Cathy to follow suit.  They hear the loon's 
          distant cry. 

                                          GARET 
                         You know, in Indian folklore loons used 
                         to represent spirits from the other 
                         side. 

                                          CATHY 
                         Is that so? 

                                          GARET 
                         I dunno.  But it sounds true, doesn't 
                         it?   

          She smiles at him, then glances down, where she notices 
          something on the ground.  

                                          CATHY 
                         Garet.  Look. 

          He does.  It's a red footprint.

************************************************************

IN CATHY'S PART OF THE FOREST 

          Cathy trips and lands stomach down, on the ground.  Her 
          hair now is streaked white.  

          Out of sight we hear a munching, growling, grunting sound 
          - amplified as if it were several animals in one. 

                                          CATHY 
                         God, no.... 

          Dirt jams up her fingernails as she claws at the ground, 
          through the red dirt, rocks and limbs. 

          Whatever is behind her then drags her through the mud by 
          her legs.   
**********************************************************

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT 

          He glances up again and the clouds have rolled to a stop.  
          He holds up his shaking gun backing away  

          A slow, crackling sound comes from the tree.  Garet 
          stares in disbelief.  Bark chips off, and blood oozes 
          from the bare pink underneath.   

                                          GARET 
                         What the... 

          He scrambles to his feet.  A root from the tree untangles 
          from the ground and snakes toward his bare foot.   

          He runs backward away from the root and backs himself up 
          against another tree. 

          The loon sounds again, this time so loud it shakes the 
          ground.   

**************************************************************

INSIDE THE CAR 

          Jarnell ambles back up into a sitting position.  He 
          glances into the  

          REAR VIEW MIRROR: A long pink face as though the skin is 
          worn inside out, and black, vacant eyes stare back. 

          Jarnell reaches up with a quick hand to cover the rear 
          view mirror. 

                                          JARNELL 
                         Tina. 

          Tina lays down in the back, her arm over her eyes. 

                                          TINA
                         Yeah. 

                                          JARNELL 
                         I want you to look out the back window 
                         and tell me what you see. 

          Tina sighs and pulls herself up into a sitting position.  
          She glances out the window.   

                                          TINA
                         I see a road, Jarnell. 

          Jarnell nods, his hand shaking as it drops from the 
          rearview.  Nothing is behind them.  He sighs and eases 
          back into the seat. 

          From his window we see the same face, closer and much 
          more frightening.   

          Close on Jarnell, whose eyes are closed.  Relief gives 
          way to worry, which gives way to terror.  He peers 
          through one eye.   

          The face is right in the frame of the window.  With a big 
          huff of breath, it fogs the window over. 

*********************************************************

Read Bloody Creek Road here.