SURROUNDED

BY EMILY JAMES
SCENE 1

INT: MIDDAY – SAM’S LIVING ROOM

SAM is lying on his sofa looking up at the ceiling,

emotionless. He is still and pale and looks almost dead.

SAM(VOICEOVER)
True! -nervous-very, very dreadfully
nervous I had been and am; but why will you
say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened
my senses-not destroyed-not dulled them.
Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard
all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard
many things in hell.

SCENE 2

EXT: LATE EVENING – CAR PARK

SAM is walking to his car. His steps are slow and light, he is
clearly very tired. He walks to his car and unlocks it, then
opens the boot. He throws his bag in the boot and leans with
one hand on the car yawning.

OLIVIA
(shouting from a distance)
Hey! Sam!

Sam turns to look at the person, his manager OLIVIA. He has a

cold and hate filled look on his face. Olivia walks angrily
towards him.

OLIVIA
Hey! Are you kidding me, that storage room
is a mess, I told you to clean that
hours ago. What the hell of you been
doing for the whole shift.

SAM
(clearly fed up and tired)
You never told me to clean the
storage.

OLIVIA
Wow, look who grew a back bone.
I am your boss, do not talk to be like
that or you will have no job.
 Now you’re coming in early to clean
that room tomorrow.
God your so useless.
FLASHBACK Sam’s mother is seen grabbing his wrist and pulling
him POV ANGLE FROM SAM’S PERSPECTIVE.

SAM’S MOTHER
(angrily)
You useless boy.

FLASHBACK OVER.
Sam turns to is boot, takes out a crowbar and whacks Olivia
around the head. She falls to the ground and Sam drops the
bloody crowbar in the boot of his car. He then picks Oliva up
from the ground and puts her in the boots of his car.

SCENE 3

INT: LATE EVENING – ATTIC

Olivia starts to wake up, the realises she is chained up and

starts to panic. Sam then emerges from the shadows in the
corner of the room.

OLIVIA
(slightly slurred)
Sam? What- what did you do to me?

SAM
Nothing. Yet.

OLIVIA
(screams)
Help!
Someone!
(defeated)
Anyone.

SAM
(screams)
You can scream as loud as you want.
No one can hear you.

OLIVIA
What do you want from me.

SAM
Oh nothing. I don’t want anything from you.
 OLIVIA
Why am I here then?

SAM
Because your rude, and disrespectful.
And now you’re going to die.

Sam takes out a cloth and covers his mouth while smoke appears
in the room and watches intently, with no emotion as Olivia
begs for her life and slowing asphyxiates.

OLIVIA
(while coughing and choking)
Sam… Sam please.
I’ll be better.
Just please… please don’t let me die.

Olivia coughs one final time and falls to the floor.

SCENE 4

EXT. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT – THE WOODS

Sam is seen dragging a body wrapped in a blanket into the

woods. Then Sam is seen digging up mud in the woods. The body
is thrown into a whole and mud is thrown on top of it. Sam in
then seen walking out of the woods, dragging the shovel behind
him.

SCENE 5

INT. MIDDAY – GROUP THERAPY SESSION

Sam looks emotionless as he sits in his therapy session.

SAM
Hi, my name is Sam.
And I have borderline personality disorder.

SURROUNDING PEOPLE
(monotone)
Hi Sam.

Camera shows close up of Sam’s therapist DR WILSON.

DR WILSON
How are you feeling Sam.
 SAM
(slightly sarcastically)
I feel really good.

DR WILSON
Sam, I can’t help you, if you
aren’t honest with me.

SAM
And what if I don’t want your help.
I don’t want or need your help.
You are just some washed up
psychologist that tries to fix all of our problems
because you don’t know how to fix your own.

Dr Wilson looks at Sam for a moment before standing up and

looking around the room.

DR WILSON
Well, I think that’s enough for one day.
I’ll see you all next session.

Commotion can be heard, and Sam gets up to leave.

DR WILSON
Oh Sam, could I actually borrow you for
a moment.

Sam walks over to her.

DR WILSON
Look Sam, I think we might need to
Start taking your treatment in a different direction.

Sam stares at her while she takes a card out of her pocket.

DR WILSON
I think you might benefit more from
private care.
Here’s a card for a great therapist I know.
(she hands him the card)
I just don’t think your really benefitting from
group therapy.

Sam looks at the card for a moment and then looks up at Dr

Wilson with a shocked look on his face.

SAM
So… you’re leaving me?
 DR WILSON
No Sam, I just don’t think I can
help you anymore.

Sam turns to the side and leans on the table in front of a

laptop, he looks down at it for a second.

SAM
Why don’t everyone always (picks up the
laptop, turns to Dr Wilson and hits
her with it) LEAVE!

Dr Wilson falls to the ground, unconscious. Sam then looks

around and kneels to pick her up.

SCENE 6

INT: LATE EVENING – ATTIC

Dr Wilson is seen chained up in the attic. She slowly wakes up

and looks around. She then sees Sam and tries to wiggle free.

DR WILSON
Sam? Where are we?

SAM
Well, I’m not stupid enough to take you to
my house. But, luckily my dead grandfather decided
to leave his only grandson this creepy old mansion and
nothing else. No money, nothing actually useful
because realistically this old crap box
would never sell on a market today.

DR WILSON
Sam? Why are you doing this?

SAM
Because you… are just like everyone else.
You are selfish and you don’t care enough to
stick around when it actually gets rough.
So, I’m going to kill you, before you can damage
other people too.

Sam takes the cloth out of his pocket again and holds it over
his face as the smoke starts to appear, just like before.

DR WILSON
(between coughs)
Sam… please… I’m sorry.
Dr Wilson falls to the floor as the smoke starts to clear. Sam
takes the cloth off his face and stares at Dr Wilson’s corpse
emotionlessly. Suddenly Sam’s head jolts up as he hears a
noise. A dark crumbling coming from the forest. He runs to the
front of the house and as he looks at the forest, he notices
the trees have moved closer to him, surrounding him. He turns
and runs back to the house.

SCENE 7

INT: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT – SAM’S LIVING ROOM

Sam is on his sofa, asleep. He begins tossing and turning in

his sleep as all he can hear are the whispers of the people he
killed. Suddenly his eyes open wide. He sits up in shock and
is confronted with the ghost of Olivia.

GHOST OLIVIA
You killed me. And now your
stuck with me… forever.

Sam is too shocked to speak and tries to turn away from

Olivia, but is then confronted with the ghost of Dr Wilson.

GHOST DR WILSON
How could you? I only ever
tried to help you.

SAM
No! No, you tried to leave me.

GHOST DR WILSON
So you ended my life?

Sam begins to get frantic, and starts to stutter.

SAM
N-n-no y-you gave m-me no c-c-choice.

GHOST DR WILSON
There’s always a choice.

Sam looks at both of the ghosts of his victims and runs out of
the house, not looking where he’s going, he just runs. As he
runs he bumps into someone, knocking them down. It’s a woman,
she gets up very angrily and starts shouting at him.

WOMAN
Hey! Wanna watch where your going
you useless freak.
Sam just stands there and looks at her. She waves her hand in
front of his face.

WOMAN
Heelloo. Are you slow or something?
Jesus, just watch where you’re going next
time freak, okay?

Sam gives her no responses so she just rolls her eyes and
turns to walk away. Sam then grabs her hair and pulls her to
the ground. He climbs on top of her and repeatedly smashes her
head into the floor until she’s no longer moving. He stands up
slowly, watching in shock as the blood pools from the back of
her head onto the floor. He looks up in the distance and sees
the ghosts of his victims coming towards him. He runs into the
woods completely blinded by fear and guilt. The ghosts chase
after him from the sky. Flying through the trees until they
finally catch him.

THE END.