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In the Dark
By
Aspen Kesler
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EXT. STREETS OF SALT LAKE CITY / NIGHT

It is a calm night on the streets of Salt Lake City. There are
very few cars racing up and down the streets and the sidewalk is
dimly lit by streetlamps. A man walks into frame heading down
the street away from the camera.
The atmosphere is undisturbed as the man continues to walk,
heading towards a bench located off to the right. He slows down
as he approaches the bench and takes note of an object sitting
on the bench. He questions what it is.
The mood shifts in a suspicious way as he picks up the object
and sits down on the bench. The object appears to be a notebook,
but the cover is badly worn, the spine is cracked, and it looks
like parts of the book have been burned. Out of curiosity, he
flips to the first page. His face shifts in confusion.
MAN
This is so odd; he thinks to himself.
The first page is filled with chaotic scribbles made with a
black pen. The markings differ from any form of language
characters, but symbols can be identified. As the man flips
through the pages and gets deeper into the book, the markings on
the pages get darker and more frantic. A shadowy figure starts
to make an appearance on the pages. The air turns sour.
PHONE
*ping*
The man’s phone goes off with a text message from his friend. He
was on his way to meet up with up with them before the odd
notebook stole his attention. His friend is wondering what is
taking so long. The man replies with an apology and explains
that he got slightly delayed, but he will be right there.
The man stands up with the notebook still in hand, open on a
page with a vivid image of the shadowy figure found multiple
times throughout the book at this point. The picture leaves a
sickening feeling in his stomach. He looks over his shoulder,
almost expecting someone to be near looking to claim their lost
notebook.
The man flips one more page of the notebook as he goes to set it
back down on the bench. Suddenly, the notebook falls from his
hands onto the bench face up and he begins running down the
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street he originally started down. We do not see the page the

notebook is on at first. The man keeps running and disappears
around the corner, shielded from view by the surrounding
buildings.
The camera pans down to the notebook open on the bench. On the
pages, this time written in red and black ink, are the same
markings and symbols found in the earlier pages with the
addition of a word written at the top of the page in bolded,
capital letters. The word, “NEXT” is furiously engraved in the
paper, and accompanying it is a picture of the man, taped onto
the page. The picture almost looks normal if it was not
surrounded by such an ominous message.
UNKNOWN
*scuff*
A shoe scuffing the sidewalk is heard to the right of the
camera. The screen rapidly turns towards the noise, only to find
a pitch-black alleyway unoccupied. The screen fades to black.