The Sunken City

By
John Grannan
EXT. DESERT CAMP - DAY
The sun blazes down on the sand. Waves of heat pummel five
HOSTAGES sitting next to a canvas tent. Their hands and feet
bound with rope.

Guards slowly pace back and forth, making sure no on escapes

into the endless sea of sand. Boxes full of explosives and
guns litter the make shift camp.
Inside the tent, the hostages hear the sound of a clenched
fist POUNDING on a helpless victim. They flinch every time
the horrifying sound escapes the tent flaps.

INT. TENT - DAY

A SHADOWY FIGURE sits in a wooden chair near the middle of

the room. His hands tied behind his back and feet strapped
to both legs of the chair. His head is bent down. A fedora
covers his face.
Across the tent, a MAN paces back and forth, rubbing his
crimson red knuckles in pain. he stares at the figure,
waiting for some sort of response.
The man begins to chuckle and points his finger. Almost
impressed.

MAN
You’re tough. I like that. Most
don’t make it this far.
The man moves quickly towards the figure. His face inches
away.
MAN
But what happens when I send you
out there, with those savages? Hm?

He points towards the exit of the tent.

MAN
See me, I’m civilized. This...
The Man rubs his knuckles again.

MAN
This is nothing compared to what
they will do to you. They’ll tear
you apart.

Silence.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.

The Man gets up and walks over to his desk covered in

ancient artifacts and maps.

MAN
Look kid, there’s absolutely
nothing stopping me from from
finding this key. I’ll have my men
search the desert until it’s flat!
I’ll get what I want. I always do.
But for the sake of their time and
mine, why don’t you just tell me
where it is.
The man snidely smiles.

The figure finally moves his head up. It’s MASON GRAHAM
(12). His face, beaten and bloody. He defiantly looks at the
man.
MASON
I’m not telling you a God. Damn.
Thing.
CUT TO:

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE - DAY

PRINCIPAL STEWART (40), an old militant looking man, sits
behind his desk, shocked.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Excuse me?
MASON
You heard me.
Silence.

Mason glares at Stewart. Startled by Mason’s intensity,

Stewart glares right back at him. A brief staring contest
ensues between the two.
Finally, Principal Stewart snaps out of Mason’s little game.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Listen Mason, I really have no
problem with keeping you after
School.

MASON
Ha. Stewart, we all know you don’t
want to be here any later than the
rest of us.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mason, nothing would make me
happier.
Silence.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Now, are you going to tell me where
the answer key is or not?
MASON
No.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mr. Graham, let me explain
something to you.

Principal Stewart gets up from his desk and walks over to

the window. He holds his hands behind his back and looks out
pensively before he speaks.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
This is no movie scenario. This is
real life. There is no reward for
sticking up to the man or telling
me off. The only thing you’ll
receive is a swift kick in the butt
from reality followed by a
detention slip from myself.

Principal Stewart turns back around and glares at Mason.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Now, I’ll ask you again. Where is
the key?
Mason sits in his chair. Defeated.
MASON
It’s... it’s in my locker.

A snide smile creeps on Principal Stewart’s face.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Thank you Mason.

He sits down behind his desk and opens a drawer.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Three days of detention should do I
think.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.

MASON
What!?
Principal Stewart snaps his face up at Mason.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mr. Graham. You need to learn that
all actions have repercussions.
It’s time you woke up from your day
dreams and grew up.

He hands out the slip.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Now, you are dismissed for the day.
Mason reaches out and snatches the small pink piece of
paper. He slowly gets up from his chair and drags himself
out the door.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - HALLWAYS - DAY

Mason walks past FIVE STUDENTS outside of the office. They

wait in anticipation for their name to be called.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Ryan! You can come in now.

A scrawny looking boy shakes with fear. He quivers has he

gets up from his chair and heads over to the door.
Mason continues down the hallway. Head hung low, shoulders
slumped over.

The school bell rings and students begin to flood the

hallway.
Mason begins to maneuver his way through the crowd. As he
does so, vines begin to creep along the lockers and the
students begin to form into large plants. Huge red blossoms
bloom through the cracks in the walls.
A couple of lanky looking kids grow immense amounts of hair,
their arms hanging in front of them. Soon, they are swinging
on the branches in the ceiling.

A girl with extremely large, blonde hair gradually grows a

long blonde tail. Her mane becomes absolutely beautiful and
she lets out an enormous ROAR.
 5.

EXT. RAIN FOREST - DAY

Mason is back in his fedora and running for his life. He
cuts through the dense shrubbery with a machete he must have
stolen.

WACK WACK WACK. Leaves fly in the air as he moves his arm in
a figure eight motion. Slashing at anything that his slowing
him down.
He turns around and not too far away, the Man chases with
his henchmen.
Mason quickly turns back around.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - HALLWAYS - DAY

Lockers. Rows and rows of lockers and students. He slowly

makes his way to a locker with a janitor rummaging through
it.
MASON
Excuse me.
The Janitor turns around and inches over for Mason.
Mason reaches up into a secret compartment and pulls out a
peice of paper.

MASON
It’s right here.
Mason hands over the answer key to the janitor and-

EXT. CARGO SHIP - DAY

clocks an OLD SAILOR in the face. He rubs his knuckles,
grabs the loose piece of paper before it flies over board
and runs to the bow of the ship.

Waves crash against the side of the boat. Mason slips and
slides, trying to keep his balance. He quickly turns the
corner and sees a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG LADY being held hostage by
THREE MEN.

Mason quickly removes his revolver and rapidly sends three

silver bullets through the air.
BANG BANG BANG. The men go down and Mason dashes over the
young lady. He unties the rope, dips her down and lays a big
fat kiss on her lips.
 6.

Waves crash again. Drops of the ocean water gentle pat their
faces.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - HALLWAYS - DAY

KATE STEVENS (12) walks along side Mason talking his ears
off. She is exremely cute. Brown hair, blue eyes but today
her cuteness is covered by anger.
KATE
Are you even listening to me?
MASON
What?
KATE
Uh. We were suppose to meet at the
water fountian, but guess who
wasn’t there?
MASON
Me.

KATE
You. You weren’t there Mason.
Listen, I’m going to give you one
last chance. Sit by me at lunch
tomorrow or we are done.

Kate sees some of her friends passing by in the hallway.

KATE
Gabby! Claire! Wait up! You won’t
believe who is going to sit by me
tomorrow at lunch.
MASON
But...

Mason looks down at the detention slip in his hand.

EXT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - SCHOOL GROUNDS - DAY

Mason opens the front door to the school. Hundreds of kids
run out after him. They jump down the stairs, chat with each
other and head over to their parent’s cars.
Mason looks around through the crowd of people for his ride.
He looks left and right and finally furrows his brows.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.

MASON
Come on. Again?
Mason turns around and heads towards the back of the school.
WHAM! Mason slams into a wall of a kid and falls over.
CLAUDE MCANDREWS (15) towers over him.
CLAUDE
Hey there Buddy. Where do you think
you’re going?

MASON
Claude! Hey! I was uh, you know,
just waiting for my dad. How are
you?

Claude glares at Mason. He picks him up from off the ground

and slams Mason against the wall.
CLAUDE
I don’t want to hear it, Mason!
Word has it you have to answers to
Ms. Kelsey’s test.
Mason sighs
CLAUDE
Where’s the key!?

MASON
Claude, I don’t have it. I promise.
CLAUDE
The key, Mason! Now!

MASON
Really! I don’t...
Claude socks Mason right in the stomach and rips his bag
from him. Book after book plop onto the ground. He kicks one
of the books away as Mason reaches to pick it up.
CLAUDE
Well, I guess you were right. Looks
like you were a waste of my time.

He walks over to his gang of friends.

DAVE KRUBLER (12), a short, fat, red head walks past the
gang. They all snicker and point as he passes.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.

CLAUDE
How’s it going there, tubster?
Dave laughs, shaking off the insult.
DAVE
Ooh it’s just going dandy Mr.
McAndrews!
(under his breath)
A-Hole.

Dave walks over to Mason and helps to pick up the dusty

books on the ground.
MASON
Thanks.

Mason picks up one of the books and begins to put them in

his bag. Dave joins in. He looks at all the various subjects
the books range from.
DAVE
Wow, you really will read anything
won’t you?
MASON
Hey, the more you know...
DAVE
Yeah yeah. History teaches us
stuff. Blah blah blah.
Dave tosses the book into Mason’s bag and searches around.
DAVE
But the one thing I do want to read
is no where in sight, bud.
Mason sighs again.

MASON
Stewart got them
DAVE
Seriously!? !?

MASON
But!
Mason smiles. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out
some papers.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 9.

MASON
It won’t be any good without these.
Dave snatches the papers from Mason’s hands and looks them
over.

DAVE
Well, well, well Mr. Graham. Looks
like you aren’t worthless after
all.

MASON
Yeah. Well tell Kate that.
Distracted from the wondrous answers that fill the paper.
DAVE
Hm?
MASON
I’m pretty sure Kate and I are
going to split tomorrow.

DAVE
Really? When?
MASON
At lunch.

DAVE
Oh, thank God!
MASON
Dude!

DAVE
Man! I hate Kate!
MASON
She’s your sister!

DAVE
Doesn’t mean I have to like her.

EXT. PLAINVIEW SIDEWALK - DAY

Mason and Dave continue their walk home down a suburban

sidewalk. Various kids pass by as they head home from school
as well.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.

DAVE
I’m just saying, for future
reference it’s probably best you
split.

MASON
That reason being?
Dave stops Mason in his tracks and pulls him aside.
DAVE
Look, I’ve been thinking about this
a lot. After middle school, you two
will move on to high school dating.
And we all know how that goes.
MASON
We do?
DAVE
Yes idiot! You can’t just pass by
in the hallway and say hi to each
other anymore. That doesn’t cut it.
You’ll have to start french kissing
and holding hands. Listen, my
brother was telling me about all
these jobs his ex-girlfriend use to
give him.

MASON
Jobs?
DAVE
Yeah! My brother just said that his
ex girlfriend was always giving him
jobs.
MASON
What kind of jobs?

DAVE
I don’t know! He seemed to like
them though... that still doesn’t
make any sense to me. Plus can you
imagine what college would be like?
You two would go to the same
school, study the same stuff and
then she’ll start saying things
like, "I want your babies." That’s
7 years of emotional crap you just
avoided. You dodged a bullet, man.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 11.

MASON
I don’t know, Dave.
DAVE
God, I forget you’re such a freak.
You don’t even live with her. I do!
Let me tell ya, sometimes Kate can
be such a bit...
A Mother with her young girl passes the two boys.

DAVE
...ter person. Trust me, you can do
better.
MASON
Whatever, man. You just have to
hate her.
DAVE
Yeah, well she’s out of your life
now. Which means you can start
spending more time with me. Whoa,
you’re really starting to get a
shiner there. You might want to
cover that up or something.
MASON
Yeah yeah. I doubt my dad will even
notice.
DAVE
I don’t know. That thing is really
showing.

MASON
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but
we’re walking home again. He
obviously has more important things
on his mind.

Dave is quiet.
Mason hands over the answer sheets.
DAVE
Your doing a great thing here,
Mason.
MASON
Glad you appreciate it. Well, I’ll
see you later OK!

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 12.

DAVE
Cool! See ya!
Dave heads up towards the front door to his house but stops
half way.

DAVE
Oh! And if you don’t do anything to
Claude next time you see him. I
swear to God I’ll kick his ass for
you!

Dave attempts to perform some ancient Chinese kung-fu moves,

but fails miserably.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - ENTRY - DAY

Mason slowly opens the door and kicks off his shoes.
MASON
Hello!

No response. Mason throws his backpack onto the ground and

walks down the hallway.
MASON
Dad!?

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - HALLWAY - DAY

Mason walks down the long corridor that leads to his
father’s study. Framed diplomas and pictures of exotic
locations fill the walls.

In the distance, two voices can be heard.

Mason slowly approaches his father’s study door and opens
the door

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - STUDY - DAY

JONATHAN GRAHAM (36) sits behind his desk with his head
down. His fingers run through his salt and pepper hair.

Papers and artifacts are strewn all over the place. His
office is a mess. Statues and globes fill the corners of the
room. An enormous bookshelf is off to the side.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 13.

In the center stands HARRISON ROCKFORD (40’s). Dressed in a

three piece suit, he obviously comes from the upper class.
Harrison struts back and forth, holding a cane in his hand
not for support, but for the look.

HARRISON
Jonathan, it’s time you get up and
start doing some work again.
MASON
I’m home!

Harrison quickly swivels around. Jonathan quickly looks up

from his work. His face is dark with circles underneath his
eyes and scruff from his beard. Both are clearly surprised
by their "guest’s" appearance.

JONATHAN
Not now Mason. We’re in the middle
of something.
MASON
Oh. I’ll just be over here.

Mason walks over to a large, burgundy leather chair close to

the book self.
Harrison looks over to Jonathan. He clears his throat and
motions his head towards Mason.

JONATHAN
Mason, do you mind. This really
isn’t something for you to be
sitting in on.

Mason sighs. Harrison glares at Mason, disapproving of his

intrusion.
JONATHAN
Just wait outside o.k. I’ll be out
in a minute.
Mason slowly turns around and closes the door.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - HALLWAY - DAY

Mason places his head against the door in order to get a

sense of the conversation going on inside.
HARRISON
Look Jonathan, we love all love
you, we really do, but if you don’t
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 14.

HARRISON (cont’d)
start showing a little work then I
really don’t know how much longer
we can keep you around.
JONATHAN
I just need a little more time,
Harry.

HARRISON
Time isn’t something that we have
Jonathan. I realize it’s been a
rough couple of months, but the
past is the past. It’s time to
forget about it.

This statement hits Mason hard.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - STUDY - DAY

Jonathan wears the same expression as Mason.

JONATHAN
Three months is not nearly far
enough in the past to "forget about
it".

HARRISON
Fine. Fine! You’re right. Then
maybe I could take a little look at
some of her work. You know, another
set of eyes could help.

JONATHAN
That research is done. The case is
closed.

HARRISON
Oh come on now...
JONATHAN
No.

HARRISION
Jesus Jonathan! Look I know it’s
been tough, I really do. But I need
to keep business in mind too and
right now I’ve invested too much to
come out empty handed. I know
Rachel was on to something.
Something big and just because she
died doesn’t mean that all of her
work is trash now!

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 15.

Jonathan glares at Harrison now. He has been pushed over the

limit.

JONATHAN
(under his breath)
Get out of my house.
HARRISON
Not until you give me some...

JONATHAN
Get out!
Jonathan is standing up behind his desk now. His face
glowing red with anger. He lifts his hand to show Harrison
the door.
Harrison takes the ’hint’ and makes his way to the door.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - HALLWAY - DAY

Mason sees the door knob twist and leans up against the wall
so the door wont hit him.
HARRISON (O.S.)
I do hope you change your mind
Jonathan.
The door swings open and covers Mason from Harrison’s
vision. He makes his way down the hall, grabs his hat and
exits through the front door.

Mason looks into his father’s study. Jonathan has a file out
in front of him and a drink in his hand now. Mason slowly
makes his way towards the desk.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - STUDY - DAY

As Mason continues to approach his father, he realizes that
he is not studying the file, but more reflecting upon it.
Jonathan smiles occasionally as he flips through the pages.

MASON
Who was that?
JONATHAN
No one, Mason.

MASON
Oh, well what’s that?
Mason points to the file in his father’s hands.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 16.

Jonathan looks up and quickly closes the file.

JONATHAN
It’s nothing, Mason. Just some
notes and research.

MASON
Your’s?
JONATHAN
No, Mason.

MASON
Mom’s?
Jonathan is silent. He taps the file on the desk to realign
the papers and then puts them back into the open bottom
drawer to his desk.
JONATHAN
It’s a dead end. That’s all.
MASON
So what did that guy want, huh? Is
he your friend?
JONATHAN
No, Mason. He is just someone I
work with ok. Look don’t you have
some work to do?
MASON
Just a little, but I...
JONATHAN
Well, maybe you should finish that
before dinner. I still have a lot
to finish up here.
Mason opens his mouth to argue back, but his father is
already at his work, not paying attention to him.
He turns around and leaves the study.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - DINING ROOM - DUSK

Mason sits the dinner table. His father sets down a

microwavable dinner in front of his son. He then sits across
from Mason with his own microwavable tray.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 17.

A lone chair sits between the two of them. They chew

silently. Mason looks up at Jonathan occasionally, but the
look is not returned. Jonathan simply pushes his food around
on the tray.

The silence is suddenly disturbed. Jonathan’s chair skids

across the floor. He picks up his tray and begins to walk
down the hall towards the study.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - MASON’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mason’s room is not like ordinary middle school bedrooms.

Instead of posters of bands or movie stars, Mason’s walls
are filled with pictures of figures such as Julius Caesar,
Abraham Lincoln and King Tut.

Rather than toys and action figures, various artifacts,

mostly from Jonathan’s trips, lay on his shelves.
Arrowheads, maps and coins from all over the world are
spread throughout the room.
Mason sits on his bed. He looks over a text book and
occasionally writes down some notes.
He looks over at the shelf directly next to his bed and
grabs a faded picture of a young couple off in the desert.
Three pyramids can be seen off into the distance. Both them
are wearing the traditional Egyptian clothes.

The woman in the picture laughs due to her long brown hair
blowing into Jonathan Graham’s face. Jonathan looks like the
happiest man in the world.

Down at the bottom of the picture is written: Giza, 1993.

Mason places the picture back up on the self and reaches
over to grab a small, gold, circular object with a matching
gold chain. He opens it up.

Inside, a small metal piece points towards an intricately

written letter W. Around in a circle are the letter N, E, S,
and W. It’s a compass. On the inside of the lid is an
engraved note.
It reads: So you can always find me.

Mason closes his eyes and holds back the tears. He takes a
deep breath and closes up the compass.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. Mason looks over towards the door.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 18.

JONATHAN (O.S.)
Mason?
MASON
Come in.

Jonathan slowly opens the door and walks towards Mason on

the bed. As he sits down, he brings up a manila folder and
places it on his lap.
JONATHAN
I’ve been doing some cleaning,
trying to get rid of some clutter.
Jonathan looks down at his lap.
JONATHAN
I just thought I would ask if you
wanted this or not before I threw
it out.
Jonathan picks up the folder and slowly hands it over to
Mason. Mason grabs it in return and quickly opens it up.

Notes upon notes fill the folder. Various symbols and

puzzles, some crossed out with red pen, others circled. Its
a cluster of information, but Mason doesn’t care.
He looks down towards the end of each page and sees his
mother’s signature, Rachel Graham, written with the date
right next to it.
Mason smiles at all of this. He looks up.
MASON
Thanks Da-
Jonathan has already left the room.

EXT. GRAHAM HOUSE - NIGHT

All the lights in the neighborhood are out. Everyone is fast
asleep in their homes. A slick, black car slowly approaches
the curb in front of the Graham’s house.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

All of the lights are off. TWO MEN sit in the front, they
analyze the house and make sure all of the lights are off.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 19.

A small puff of smoke emits for the back seat. The haze
fills the compartment of the car. The man behind the wheel
gives a small cough.

MAN IN BACK
Check the office. That’s probably
wear he keeps it. Do not disappoint
me.

The two men nod and exit the vehicle together.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - MASON’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

A soft glow shines beneath the covers of Mason’s bed.

UNDER COVERS
Mason’s eyes pour over the pages of research. Each piece
fascinates him even more. As he looks, he realizes that each
page contains the same word: Telos.

Mason continues to look through his mothers work. Suddenly

he turns to a map of the world. However, there is something
obviously different about this map. A large continent fills
most of the Pacific Ocean. Written boldly, the word Lemuria
is written across it.

Puzzled, Mason brings the map closer to his face.

THUMP
Mason jumps from his bed. He looks around searching for the
source of the sound.
The noises continue and Mason looks down towards the
floorboards, it’s coming from downstairs.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT

Mason creeps forward in the hallway. Through the crack in
the study door Mason can hear the intruders rummaging
through his father’s belongings.

Finally reaching the door, Mason quickly takes a peek

inside. The two men open up doors to Jonathan’s desk,
pulling out files and books.
MAN 1
(Whispering)
I’m not seeing anything close to
what we’re looking for.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 20.

MAN 2
Just keep at it. We don’t have much
time.

Mason slowly cracks the door a little more, just enough for
him to creep in.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - STUDY - NIGHT

Finally in, Mason gets into position. As quietly as

possible, Mason raises a sling shot and aims for Man 1’s
head.
Stretching the sling as far as he possibly can, Mason lets
his rock loose.
SMACK! The sharp piece of earth nails Man 1 right in the
forehead. He screams, clutching his head and stumbles
backwards.

MAN 2
God damnit!
Man 2 rushes over to his friend to help him up. Mason loads
up the sling shot again. Takes aim and fires.

CRACK! The projectile misses barely and shatters a window.

MAN 2
Come on! Get up! We got to go!
JONATHAN (O.S.)
Mason!?
The two men finally get their ground and exit through the
window they had sneaked in from. Jonathan finally reaches
the study and flips on the switch.

Light immediately fills the room, revealing Mason crouched

by the door.
JONATHAN
Mason! What the hell happened here.

Mason rushes over to his dad, proud as ever.

MASON
I got ’em dad! They’re gone!

JONATHAN
Whose gone?!
Mason points to the open window.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 21.

MASON
The thieves.
Jonathan dashes over to the window. He watches as the black
cars screeches out of the street and into the darkness of
the night.
JONATHAN
Mason, why didn’t you wake me up!?
You could have been seriously hurt!

MASON
Dad, I’m fin-
JONATHAN
I don’t want to hear it Mason!
We’ll talk about this tomorrow.

Mason slowly walks towards the door of the study.

MASON
I doubt it.

JONATHAN
What was that?
MASON
I said I doubt it. You can’t even
remember to pick me up from school.
I’m sure talking to your son is the
last thing your going to want to do
tomorrow.
Jonathan looks furious.

JONATHAN
You do not speak to your father
that way Mason!
MASON
I wouldn’t if you actually acted
like my dad for once.
JONATHAN
Go to your room Mason! Now!

Mason’s eye begin to gloss. His face slowly turns to red.

Holding back the tears, Mason books it out of the study.
Jonathan stands by his desk and rubs the brow of his face.
Slowly his looks around his study at all of the papers
scattered everywhere. Finally, he picks up the telephone and
dials.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 22.

JONATHAN
Hello, 911. I need to report a
break in.

INT. GRAHAM HOUSE - STUDY - DAY

Jonathan’s study is busy with activity. Police men survey
the area, looking for any evidence that may lead to a
suspect.

Jonathan stands in the center of the room speaking with the

chief of the force.
OFFICER
Have you noticed anything that may
have been taken at all?

JONATHAN
Not to my knowledge no, but it’s
tough to be sure with all of this
mess.

Mason looks through the door of the study. He has his back
pack on and ready to go.
MASON
Dad, I’m ready for school and we
need to pick up Dave.

JONATHAN
Can you ride you bike in today,
Mason. I kind of have my hands full
right now.

Mason just walks away.

MASON
Sure.

EXT. GRAHAM HOUSE - DAY

Mason grabs his bike from the garage. Attached to the side
is a little side cart obviously built by the two boys. While
it does look unsafe, it serves its purpose and Mason makes
his way to school.
AS Mason leaves the drive way, a black car parked across the
street shifts into gear and begins to follow him.
 23.

EXT. SIDEWALK - DAY

Mason peddles along the sidewalk and up to Dave’s house.
Dave waits at the edge of the driveway. He looks surprised
to see Mason with the bike and cart.

DAVE
I thought we retired this thing.
MASON
Well, it’s back in action now. Come
on well be late.
Dave climbs into the little cubby and Mason continues on to
school. weaving between pedestrians.
Mason continues down the street. He glances into his side
mirror and gets a glance of the black car.
MASON
Hey Dave, don’t make it obvious,
but is that car following us.

Dave quickly turns around to take a look.

MASON
I said don’t make it obvious... oh
forget it.

DAVE
Yeah Mason, because your so
important that someone would be
tailing you.
Dave laughs.

MASON
Shut up! Somebody broke into our
house last night.

Dave immediately stops laughing.

DAVE
Well what are you doing! Hit the
pedal man!

Mason thrusts his legs down and begins to pedal even faster.
 24.

EXT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - SCHOOL GROUNDS - DAY

Mason rides as fast as he can towards the school.

DAVE
Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down man!
Mason takes the curb full force. Dave almost flies out of
the cart.

DAVE
Ow! God man! I think we’ll be safe
by the school.
Mason skids up to the bike rack and doesn’t bother to lock
it up.
He turns around again. No black car.
DAVE
See! No car. We’re fine.

Mason shakes his head. The two of them walk up the steps to
the school and open the front door.
Just as the door closes, the black car slowly creeps around
the corner and parks across the street from the building.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - LIBRARY - DAY

Mason sits among the book selves in the Plainview library.
Stacks of books surround him. Many are labeled: Mystic
Cities or Forgotten Civilizations.
Thumbing through one of the books Mason comes across a map.
He pulls out his mothers research and compares her map to
the one in the book. They are almost identical. He looks to
the side and begins reading the book.
MASON
A sunken continent residing on the
floor of the Pacific...

He tabs the page and moves on to the next book in the pile.
Above him, a crackle emits from the intercom.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Attention, will Mason Graham please
report to the principal’s office.
Immediately.
Mason shuts the book and throws everything into his
backpack.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 25.

MASON
Crap.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - HALLWAYS - DAY

Mason approaches the door to the principal’s office. Outside

two men in gray suits and black fedoras sit in the small
chairs specifically made for smaller children.
As Mason approaches, the two of them turn and stare. Above
the right eye brow of one of the men sticks a large white
bandage with a red spot of blood in the center.
Mason can’t help but smirk at his handy work.
MASON
Really guys? The principal? Come
on.
Mason opens the door to the office.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE - DAY

Mason walks into the all to familiar principal’s office and
looks at Principal Stewart behind his desk.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Please have a seat Mason.
Mason walks over to the chair right in front of Stewart and
takes a seat.
MASON
What did I do now?
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mason, did you happen to notice the
two men outside of my office.

MASON
Yeah sure.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Do they look familiar to you at
all?
MASON
Yeah, they tried to steal my dad’s
stuff. You should really call the
police because-

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 26.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Enough with the games Mason. Those
two men came in hear today
explaining that some little hoodlum
that looks just like you took
something that belongs to them.
Now, we all know you and your
habits with stealing things don’t
we.
Mason is shocked by the lie fed to Principal Stewart.

MASON
Principal Stewart, I’m telling you
the truth. Get the police on the
phone now. They’re lying to you.

Principal Stewart stands up from behind his desk and makes

his way towards the door.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
This is ridiculous Mason. I’m going
to invite these two gentlemen in
and you will give them back what is
rightfully theirs.
Principal Stewart opens the door and leans his head out.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mr. Connors and Price. You can come
in now.
Principal Stewart walks back towards his desk as the two men
make their way into the office.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Gentlemen, is this the boy you were
talking about.
Mr. Price, the man with the bandage, walks up to Mason and
looks at him closely.
MR. PRICE
Yup. That’s him.
Principal Stewart smiles, proud of his handy work.

PRINCIPAL STEWART
Excellent. Mason I do believe you
have something these two men.
Mason looks at Mr. Price and glares.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 27.

MASON
I really hope that hurt.
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mason!

Mr. Connors quickly approaches Mason and grabs him by the

collar of the shirt.
MR. CONNORS
Look here kid, gives us that file
and this will all be over with!
PRINCIPAL STEWART
Mr. Connors! These are my students
and you may not treat them that-

MR. PRICE
Shut up!
Principal Stewart immediately closes his mouth.
MR. PRICE
Now tell us where it is!
Mason gets a good clutch of his backpack.
MASON
I’m not telling you a god. Damn.
Thing.
Mason swings his backpack full of books at Mr. Connors face
with all his might.
WHAM! The bag makes perfect contact and throws Mr. Connors
over to the side. Mr. Price attempts to grab Mason, but he
is too quick and makes it out the door.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - HALLWAYS - DAY

ZOOM! Mason blazes out the principals office and down the
hall.
A school bell rings. Mason freezes. He looks down the
hallway. It looks like miles of doors and lockers.

WHAM! The doors to every classroom simultaneously burst

open. Students flood out of their classrooms creating a maze
of children. Their bodies smashing Mason left and right.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 28.

Mason bobs and weaves through the crowd. He turns around and
sees the two men making their way through the crowd as well.
Turning back around, Mason accidentally slams into a
NERDY STUDENT holding a stack of paper.

WHOOSH! Tests and quizzes fly into the air.

NERDY STUDENT
Hey!
Mason continues running down the hall. The Nerdy student
begins to take chase along with the other two men.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - GYM - DAY

Mason thrusts open the doors to the middle school gym.
Groups of students play pick up games of basketball, others
toss a football around. The room is full of physical
activity.
Mason rushes towards the door opposite of the room. He
interrupts multiple games of basketball, intercepting the
passes and chucking the balls towards the two men and nerdy
kid in hot pursuit.
Furious with their interrupted games, the groups of boys and
girls join the three individuals already chasing Mason.

Finally reaching the door, Mason opens it quickly only to

reveal Principal Stewart on the other side.
MASON
Really?

He slams the door in Principal Stewart’s face. Turning

around to see that a small mob is now chasing him, Mason
makes his way towards another exit.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - PROP SHOP - DAY

Students work diligently at creating a set for an up coming
musical. Set pieces are being built, back drops being
painted and props being built.

An ART STUDENT makes the final touches to beautiful sun set

back drop.
ART STUDENT
(To himself)
And the winner for best set design
goes to...

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 29.

Mason wizzes by nearly knocking the Art Student into the

still wet back drop.
ART STUDENT
Hey watch it buddy!

He looks back at his masterpiece.

ART STUDENT
Andy...

WHAM! The small mob pushes through the room knocking the Art
Student right into the back drop.

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - HALLWAYS - DAY

Fifty plus students chase Mason now. Including the football

team, actors in Shakespearean outfits, cheerleaders and of
course Mr. Connors and Price.
Mason passes by an open area full of kids sitting down and
eating lunch. The cafeteria!

INT. PLAINVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL - CAFETERIA

Mason slides into the enormous room and quickly looks for a
place to hide.

KATE
Mason!
Mason turns around and sees Kate standing up, waving her
arms and motioning to an open seat right next to her.

MASON
Thank god!
Mason runs over to the seat and sits down.

KATE
You actually came Mason! Oh, we’re
like officially dating now. How
exciting.

Mason nods his head, faking a smile on his face.

KATE
So what should we talk about.

(CONTINUED)