SUNSET VALLEY
Season 2, Episode 4: "Doppelgängers"
FADE IN.
EXT. ALLEY – NIGHT
The world around them is in chaos. The buildings flicker like a broken television recording. The ground shakes, the air feels heavy.
ELLIOT, SYLVIA, MARGOT, JONAS, and SHERIFF HARLOW stand in the center of the alley, gasping for breath as "Other" Elliot stands before them, grinning with a mocking expression.
OTHER ELLIOT
(whispering)
When will you learn that you will not escape this place until it's said so. You cannot escape yourselves.
His voice echoes in the narrow space, its tone like a low growl.
JONAS
(stepping forward)
Can you stop pretending to be Elliot? 'Cause we ALL know you're not!
Other Elliot only smiles wider, stepping closer. Elliot tenses, his fists clenched.
OTHER ELLIOT
(softly, menacing)
How do you know what’s real anymore? How do you know who you are?
Other Elliot begins "changing". His appearance shifts and he transforms into... Sylvia... then Margot... then Harlow... then Jonas... and then, back to Elliot. Other Elliot grins.
MARGOT
(stepping back)
This is insane. Is it really trying to make us doubt ourselves? Does he think we didn't see him change forms in front of us?
SHERIFF HARLOW
(urgently)
Focus, Margot! We have to stick together!
Suddenly, the world around them begins shaking again, the alleyway begins twisting on itself, and the once-stable walls of the nearby buildings now bend and curve, as if the alley itself was alive. The ground beneath them splits into cracks.
JONAS
(panicking)
Where are we going now?
A loud thunder cracks at the end of the alleyway. Other Elliot extends his hand, and shadows begin to swirl around the group, and from the darkness, people begin to emerge.
At first, they appear to be familiar shapes, people they know. Then, more versions of themselves appear. Doppelgängers.
JONAS
(voice trembling)
No… no. This isn’t happening. Why is it using our faces?
The doppelgängers come closer, their eyes glowing with a bright light. They all mirror their movements in perfect synchronicity, standing in a circle around them.
MARGOT
(whispering)
They're all "copying" each other. I bet there's one of them who's "controlling" the rest of the group.
SYLVIA
Exactly. If we "destroy" the leader, they might all vanish.
OTHER ELLIOT
(rolling his eyes)
Do you think I'm THAT stupid? I'm a powerful being with infinite knowledge and you think I'd have the entity controlling these things here? AHAHAHAHAHA...
SHERIFF HARLOW
(stepping forward, voice hard)
Just stop with the charades and with all this messed up stuff and just tell us what do you want us...
As Harlow finishes talking, the distorted figures begin to move again, each one taking a step toward their real counterparts.
The doppelgänger of Sylvia reaches for her, her eyes wide with an unsettling intensity. Elliot’s doppelgänger mirrors his movements, almost too perfectly.
JONAS
(shouting)
Stay back!
MARGOT
(crying out)
We have to find a way to fight them!
Each of them is faced by their own twisted reflection. As the two versions of themselves stare at each other, the air becomes charged with a strange energy. The doppelgängers mirror every movement, making it nearly impossible to tell who is the real person.
ELLIOT
(quietly, to himself)
I am not you. I am not you.
But as Elliot faces his doppelgänger, he suddenly feels an overwhelming sense of loss. It’s like staring into a version of himself he doesn’t remember, yet somehow feels connected to.
Elliot smiles and the doppelgänger smiles back.
"DOPPELGÄNGER" ELLIOT
(softly)
Help me. Help us escape him.
In one fast movement, Other Elliot snaps his fingers. The doppelgängers disappear and the alleyway returns to normal.
OTHER ELLIOT
(with a worried look)
How... how did you do that?
SYLVIA
(whispering)
Do what?
ELLIOT
(voice cracking)
They weren't illusions, were they? They're actually versions of us. They're trapped here as we are.
MARGOT
How's that possible?
OTHER ELLIOT
(softly)
This shouldn't be possible. I'm going to be in so much trouble. No one has ever broke his "game".
SHERIFF HARLOW
Wait a damn minute... you're one of us, aren't you?
OTHER ELLIOT
(hopeful)
You might actually be the first ones that escape from this place... Listen to me very carefully: if you want to actually have a chance, play along with whatever it throws your way. Soon, you'll be somewhere where I might be able to help and we can try and end this once and for all.
ELLIOT
Thank you... other me? I don't know what to call you, sorry ahaha.
OTHER ELLIOT
Call me Prism. I've got to go. Time is running out and he'll notice something's wrong.
ELLIOT
Wait, who's he? Who's controlling this?
PRISM
That's something you're gonna have to figure out on your own... See you soon.
As Prism vanishes, a light shines at the end of the alleyway, revealing something that looks like a gate.
SYLVIA
Guess that's our way out...
But as they approach, the ground shakes, and a loud, monstrous sound echoes through the alley and suddenly, a figure steps through the archway.
It’s a mysterious figure, wearing a long and bright red cloak. The figure laughs.
THE CLOAKED MAN
(softly)
Impressive. What a formidable group we've got here. I'm VERY... curious to see what you do next. Let's see if you're as predictable as everyone who ever played my game... Oh wait, I don't think I'm gonna have to wait.
The gate behind it cracks open fully, revealing a blinding red light. The Cloaked Man steps toward them, and the rest of the group steps back in shock, realizing they’ve been led right into another trap.
JONAS
(pleading)
We have to stop him!
But the figure’s hand raises in a slow, deliberate motion, and the light intensifies.
THE CLOAKED MAN
I'm always infinite steps ahead of you.
As the red light grows, the group is pulled into the gate, and as they enter, The Cloaked Man says:
THE CLOAKED MAN
Game Over.
CUT TO BLACK.
TO BE CONTINUED...