SUNSET VALLEY
Season 2, Episode 5: "The Town That Dreaded Sundown"
FADE IN.
EXT. TOWN SQUARE – DUSK
The group finds themselves in a town square that is bathed in an orange glow, the sun hovering just above the horizon. The air is thick, heavy with tension. The gate where they had just came from vanishing into thin ain.
The group: Elliot, Sylvia, Jonas, Margot, and Sheriff Harlow; stand together in the square, unsure of what to do next.
SYLVIA
(skeptical, looking at the horizon)
Where are we now... that thing brought us here for a reason.
JONAS
I don't even care at this point. Why bother? We'll be sent somewhere again and all this repeats itself.
MARGOT
That's true. I don't know how we're supposed to win this thing.
SHERIFF HARLOW
(sharply)
Focus, everyone. There has to be a way to stop this. To stop this thing from trapping us.
As Sheriff Harlow speaks, they hear a sound in the distance, growing louder.
ELLIOT
(looking around nervously)
What’s that sound?
A noise echoes through the streets. A scream.
MARGOT
(alarmed)
Who's there?
Suddenly, the sky above them darkens. The sun vanishes into a bright white moon.
SYLVIA
(breathless)
I'm so tired of this.
JONAS
There has to be a way to stop it, something that we keep on missing. The gate, the mirror, those… doppelgängers.
SHERIFF HARLOW
The truth is, we know now who's behind all of this. That cloaked man and we know we aren't alone in this "game".
Suddenly, a loud bang from the edge of the square shakes them all. A figure appears in the distance, tall, cloaked, moving slowly. The figure is shadowed, its features hidden beneath its hood, but as it steps closer, the group can feel its presence: heavy, oppressive, like it belongs to this town.
SYLVIA
(firmly)
Oh, it's you again. What do you want this time?
THE CLOAKED MAN
(soft, mocking voice)
I don't know, to be honest. I'm starting to get bored of this group. Might be time to end this and just leave you here to die.
JONAS
(gritting his teeth)
What do you mean?
MARGOT
(quietly)
Then, let us leave!
The figure’s eyes glow, their intensity increasing.
SHERIFF HARLOW
(looking around frantically)
Let us prove to you we deserve to escape.
The figure steps forward: its movement sharp and calculated. Every step it takes seems to cause the town to tremble more. As the figure approaches, the very fabric of the town seems to flow around them, with shadows lengthening unnaturally and buildings bending in odd ways.
THE CLOAKED MAN
Maybe... maybe not. As I've said, I'm bored...
The ground cracks open beneath their feet, splitting wide like an enormous gash, and from the dark crevice, thick black smoke begins to pour out, filling the air. The smoke twists and writhes like a living thing, and the screams become deafening.
SYLVIA
(terrified)
What is that?
JONAS
Maybe, it's time to run?
But the figure raises its hand, and the black smoke freezes in midair, swirling around the group in a thick, impenetrable wall. The fog is suffocating, pressing in from all sides.
MARGOT
(grabbing at her throat)
We can’t breathe!
The air is thick, suffocating. They all try to move, but the shadows are closing in, blocking every exit, and the darkness spreads like ink, covering everything in its path.
THE CLOAKED MAN
(amused)
Disappointed with your group... I really thought you'd be the ones to make it.
SHERIFF HARLOW
(yelling)
This isn't over!
But before they can move, the figure disappears into the shadows, its laugh echoing in the distance. As the laughter fades, the ground begins to rumble violently. The dark smoke swarms tighter around the group.
JONAS
(urgently)
We need to find a way out. Maybe we can out for Pris...
Suddenly, the smoke recedes, and everything goes still.
SYLVIA
(screaming)
What have you done, Jonas!
ELLIOT
(terrified, trying to shield his eyes)
There! Something's coming!
In that moment, just as the light consumes them, everything freezes: the noise, the light, the world around them; frozen in time.
And they are consumed by the light.
TO BE CONTINUED…