"Almost Out of Reach" By Aaron Brehm

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT- AFTERNOON The apartment is small with connecting rooms. The living room is fairly large with red carpet. The walls are light blue with several paintings hanging up. A black couch is positioned between two leather chairs that all sit next to a coffee table. On the wall facing the furniture sits a large flat screen television. The kitchen is very clean and contains a refrigerator, microwave, oven, and counter top. The floor is covered in grayish blue tiles. In the middle of the living room stands MATTHEW RICHARDS, a man in his late 20s with blond hair and green eyes. Hes wearing a gray, v-neck T-shirt and blue jeans. His eyes have large bags underneath them. Hes looking blankly at his television. The television is off. Theres a knock on the apartment door. Matthew walks over, looks through the eye hole, unlocks the door, and opens it. In the doorway stands FATHER RICHARD BELLHORN, a man in his late 50s with gray hair and blue eyes. He is wearing his clerical clothing--a clergy shirt with a clerical collar. He is carrying a black suitcase. The two look at each other. MATTHEW Please come in, Father. Father Bellhorn walks in. He pauses and scans the room. Matthew closes the door and watches Father Bellhorn look around the room. Father Bellhorns eyes widen. MATTHEW Father? Father Bellhorn turns around. FATHER BELLHORN Yes. Would you mind getting my old self a cup of coffee? MATTHEW No. Not at all. CUT TO:

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INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Matthew walks into the kitchen. He reaches into a shelf and pulls out a coffee cup. He lifts the coffee pot out of the coffee machine and fills the coffee cup up three-fourths of the way. CUT TO: INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Father Bellhorn sits down on Matthews couch and places his suitcase on the table. He looks around the room again. FATHER BELLHORN (whisper, to himself) This is bad. Matthew walks back in the living room OS. He places the cup of coffee down by the Father. FATHER BELLHORN Thank you. Matthew sits down in his chair. The Father takes a drink of coffee. MATTHEW Youre welcome. Matthew sits forward with his hands together. MATTHEW What was that earlier? The Father looks directly at Matthew. FATHER BELLHORN What do you mean? MATTHEW When you walked in? You froze. What was that? The Father smiles nervously. FATHER BELLHORN Matthew, I-MATTHEW Please. Please just tell me the truth. I miss my wife. If you have (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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MATTHEW (contd) any idea about what happened, please dont hold back. The Father sighs. He looks down. He takes another drink of coffee. FATHER BELLHORN As soon as I walked in, I could feel it. Matthew leans forward more. MATTHEW Feel what? The Father looks at Matthew. FATHER BELLHORN The presence of a demon. Matthew pauses. He sits back in his chair. MATTHEW (scared) No. No. No. The Father turns away from Matthew. Matthew runs his hands through his hair. His eyes are teary. MATTHEW A demon? My wife was killed by a demon? The Father looks at Matthew, again. FATHER BELLHORN Not killed. She was most likely taken. Matthew stares blankly at Father Bellhorn. He leans forward. MATTHEW Taken? FATHER BELLHORN Her soul. Matthews face quivers. He runs his hands through his hair, again.

(CONTINUED)

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MATTHEW Why? Why her? FATHER BELLHORN Was your wife into anything weird? MATTHEW Weird how? The Father looks around room. Matthew watches him. FATHER BELLHORN Was your wife into witchcraft? Matthew is taken back by the question. He shakes his head. MATTHEW No. Nothing like that. The Father leans towards him. FATHER BELLHORN Are you sure? Matthew stares back at the Father. He begins to nod quickly. MATTHEW Yes. Yes. Shed never do anything like that. Why else would a demon take her? The Father leans back. FATHER BELLHORN Demons also take souls because souls can be easy to take, especially if the individual is depressed or vulnerable. Matthew looks down. MATTHEW Oh, God. The Father looks at Matthew. FATHER BELLHORN What? Matthew looks up. His eyes are teary.

(CONTINUED)

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MATTHEW Its my fault. We found out we couldnt have children, and we argued about it. I ended up blaming her. It was stupid. Matthew cups his face with his hands. The Father is silent. He takes another drink of his coffee. Matthew un-cups his face. Hes crying. MATTHEW How do we get her back? The Father looks down. FATHER BELLHORN Its not going to be easy. The Father unlocks his suitcase. FATHER BELLHORN (CONT) The first thing he have to do is summon the demon.