ELEVATION 404 By Kiril Maksimoski

Kiril Maksimoski

kmaksimoski@gmail.com

INSCRIPTION: From which one died, from it he fears DARKNESS: SOUNDS OF NATURE; BIRD CRIES, RUSTLINGS OF VARIOUS INSECTS, RUSTLINGS OF THE BRANCHES AND BUSHES, A LOT OF LIFE WHICH CANNOT BE HEARD ALL AT ONCE. SLOWLY IT ALL FADES AWAY BIT BY BIT BY BIT. A COUPLE OF MOMENTS IN SILENCE. FADE IN: A FEW FRAMES CONTAINING VARIOUS SIGHTS OF NATURE. THIS TIME ITS A PICTURE WITHOUT TONE. - BRANCHES FULL OF GREEN LEAFS SWINGING ON THE BREEZE. - ABOVE THE PEAKS OF TREES A SKY CAN BE SEEN MEETING A FIRST COMING DUSK. - DARKNESS SLOWLY APPROACHES AMONG THE TREES ONE NEXT TO ANOTHER BY THE EMPTY ROAD. ALL OF IT REMINDS OF SOME NATURE DOCUMENTARY SEEN ON DISCOVERY UNTIL... - A FRAME OF A FLASHLIGHT HELD IN SOMEONES HAND. IT TURNS ON AND OFF REPEATEDLY. EXT-ROAD,FORREST-DUSK Its a tight road, barely wide to put two cars one next to another on it. Anyway its a asphalt road intended for a motor vehicle use only.It is surrounded by a thick forest from both sides making it look like a forgotten road in some God forsaken mountain. Travelers by foot never use it. But thats not the case with the character inside this story. A YOUNG HITCHHIKER (it shall be called that way all through he doesnt hitchhike,about 25) walks alone by the road . He has a black rucksack on his back and a battery flashlight in his hand. Hes blinking with it as hes giving an SOS signal to someone, but it is clear that hes all alone on this road. CAMERA follows him at angle for a while, then lets him go down the road. As he parishes from the frame the dusk gets slowly turned to night EXT-ROAD-NIGHT/CONTINUES

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After the hitchhikers gone from the site, CAMERA slowly PANS a 180 degree all across the trees by the road until it reaches the opposite of the road. As soon as it zeros on the road.. A CAR RUSHES STRAIGHT FORWARD THE ROAD. IT GOES INTO THE FRAME NEARLY HITTING THE CAMERA AND SUDDENLY STOPS The sound of braking fulfills the forest silence. EXT-ROAD,CAR-NIGHT/CONTINUES The car halts in silence. A couple of moments its like a freeze frame. Nothing happens. The engine still works. A drivers side door opens. An OLDER MAN (later called driver, 45) comes out. He seems confused and even little startled. He slowly goes away from the car looking both sides of the road. Like hes searching for something lost. Theres nothing there. Just darkness. The man realizes it must have been something he imagined. Nothings there He goes back to the car. Door closes. EXT-ROAD,CAR-NIGHT/CONTINUES The car moves. Quickly its out of the frame. INT-CAR/MOVING-NIGHT CAMERSS P.O.V. showing the driver from the back. He drives not to fast, not too slow. At this point hes seems like a experienced driver and a someone whos taken this road many times before. He has a complete visibility through the windshield. The headlight beams are adjusted at various points. Nothing but an empty road ahead and then... A HITCHHIKER APPEARS AS FROM NOWHERE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD WALKING AS BEFORE. The driver spots him, but too late. Hes already passed him by. The driver continues turning his head back. He stops. He goes in reverse.

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All the way back and hes next to the hitchhiker who also stops his walk. The driver leans over the passengers seat. He cant see hitchhikers face. Only a part of his jacket. DRIVER Hey! You need a ride? The hitchhiker lens down to face the driver, but his faces still in the shade. HITCHHIKER No. (beat) Thanks. DRIVER Youre in my direction anyway. Wherever you go cant make no problem for me. The hitchhiker does not reply. He doesnt move either. DRIVER (contd) I wanted to say its a two way road.(beat) Cmon, all you can do is get faster to wherever is that youre going to. (waiting for a reaction) Its already dark. Its not quite time to be walking alone around here, you know. HITCHHIKER (sounding forcibly convinced) All right. He enters the car and takes the passengers seat. The car moves forward. INT-CAR/MOVING-NIGHT CAMERAS P.O.V. from the backseat shows only their heads and parts of their faces. Theres a longer moment of silence between them. The headlight beams measure the road ahead.Then, all of the sudden. DRIVER (cheerful voice) Where you heddin?

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HITCHHIKER (dead calm, low tone) You know this road? DRIVER Like a back of my hand. (smiles) Bin passin here since eternity. HITCHHIKER Then youll drop me at the elevation four-o-four. The driver examines this answer. Not what he expected to hear. DRIVER (making an offer) Ill take you to the village. Theres a place to eat and theres a place to sleep. You can go back tomorrow morning. HITCHHIKER You just take me to the elevation.(beat) Ill be fine. DRIVER (unsatisfied, hes voice more serious now) Suite yourself... And thats the end of this part of conversation. Silence breaks again. Nothing but light buzzing of the engine for some time. DRIVER (contd) (out of nowhere, cheerful again) Youre not from around here? (beat, waiting for the answer) But its like I know you somehow. As I have seen you before. Youve been coming around here before? HITCHHIKER (low, kinda buzz off tone) No. (beat) Youve probably mixed me with someone else. DRIVER So, what brought you here? (checks hitchhikers outfit) (MORE)

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DRIVER (contd) You daredevil of some kind? HITCHHIKER Something like that. DRIVER (finally getting it) Im annoyin you to hell. HITCHHIKER (tries to do it politely but ends up short) No. That sums it up. Silence again. DRIVERS ANGLE He takes a quick peaks at his guest, but strongly minding the road ahead. Who is this guy? Back to the CAMERAS P.O. V. DRIVER (narrates in more serious ton) You know, Ive bin passing this road back and forth for years (smiles) Centuries. (beat) You know whats the worst thing about it? No answer. DRIVER (contd) Its the routine. Man looses sense of worth. Even time. Days seem years, years seem centuries. HITCHHIKER (finally engaged) Its all relative. DRIVER (stunned, he didnt expect a conversation out of it) Come again? HITCHHIKER I said its all relative.(beat) Thats the only constant thing.

6. DRIVER (smiles, repeating as an conclusion) Its all relative.You put it so nice. I see youre a bit of philosopher too. Well did I just find my match.(beat, he has a topic on his mind) Youre in college? HITCHHIKER (coldly) I did my time. A longer beat. DRIVER (serious) Look, Im sorry if Im a bit of pesky, you know. (beat) Im a bit of an talker, and always alone in this god damned car. I get carried away sometimes. HITCHHIKER (gives driver a glance for the first time he entered his car) Dont your radio work? DRIVER (disappointing) Its dead. It broke down a couple of months back and I never get it fixed.(beat) Thats what Im telling you about. A freaking routine. Makes man forget things too. He picks on the RADIO which is obviously dead as disco. DRIVER (contd) See? (beat) Since then its just the engine and me (beat) And today we include you. DRIVERS ANGLE He takes another peak at the hitchhiker. This time more longer and more sinister. Who is this guy driving the car? DRIVER (contd) (dark voice, honest question) You dont like my company very much, do you?

7. HITCHHIKER (looking ahead) I dont like driving. DRIVER Why? HITCHHIKER Dont know. Some kind of phobia I guess. DRIVER Well, well be at the elevation in a minute or two. (beat) You sure you dont want me take you the the village? Ill be kinda awkward leaving you here. HITCHHIKER Ill manage. DRIVER No fear? Alone in the woods at night? I would think twice if you ask me. HITCHHIKER Everyone fears something. Beat. DRIVER (tone more serious than ever) Do you wanna know what Im really afraid of? HITCHHIKER (calmly) What? DRIVER Of the thing coming next. WITHOUT A SPLIT SECOND OF HESITATION THE DRIVER PULLS A GUN OUT OF NOWHERE PLACING IT AT THE HITCHHIKERS SIDE HEAD. The hitchhikers surprised but reacts quick, maybe too quick for just an adventurist college boy and reverses the gun back to the driver. The driver is taken by this. He expected a victim not a villain. He starts loosing control of the wheel. The car starts taking twists all over the road.

8. The fight over the gun continues a couple of seconds longer and then suddenly the gun BLASTS right into the drivers head splitting a part of it almost on the cameras lens. The driver drops dead immediately leaving the control of the vehicle to itself. HITCHHIKERS ANGLE He has no time to get his thoughts together. He grabs the wheel trying to control the car, but then. A HEADLIGHTS FLASH THE WINDSHIELD COMING STRAIGHT TOWARD HIM. It is an enormous speed. He has no chance to avoid this. He turns around to his side. Bangs the door open and just in a last second before everything comes bright he jumps out. EXT-ROAD-NIGHT BAM!!! Like fallen from the sky the hitchhiker drops on the ground by the road. He automatically covers his head with his arms expecting a large crash from the two vehicles colliding. He waits. Strange. Nothing happens. Not even a sound except those of the nature around him. He slowly raises his head. Then he turns around. HITCHHIKERS P.O.V. The road is empty. Its dark but its clear there are no cars on the road, no scattered parts, no nothing. A clean empty road. FULL SHOT Hitchhiker slowly stands up. Hes confused. What the hell just happened to him? He looks around him searching for clue, anything. It all seems perfectly alright minus the car he just jumped off. He snaps back from the daze. He starts searching for his rucksack and his flashlight. He had them with him when he jumped. Its not gonna be an easy task. Its black hole dark all around him.

9. He kneels down practically walking on all four. They are here somewhere. He touches something. A bright beam snaps tearing through darkness. Its a flashlight. He stands back again. Now its gonna be a lot easier. He walks slowly zig-zaging the light. Rucksacks not there. He enters a bit deeper into the woods. Even now it gets clear this is one spooky place. He looks around. Another step and he hits something hard with his leg. He jerks back enlightening it with the flashlight. Its a stone. A modeled stone very similar to a gravestone. It stands there alone on the edge of the wood. The hitchhiker sees its back side which is blank. Hes puzzled. He turns around the stone facing its front side. He tenses his eyes trying to read whats written on it. He freezes with his mouth half open. SHOT AT THE STONE Small picture framed inside a round metal frame. Below it a few words engraved. Warm words. A farewell to a lost child by his parents. He was killed in a CAR CRASH at this location. CAMERA PANS through the lines and then goes up focusing on the picture. The face on it looks familiar. Maybe too much. Maybe too incredible. ITS THE HITCHHIKERS OWN PICTURE. Hes not a day older then on it. FULL SHOT on the hitchhiker backing away from the stone. He doesnt believe what he sees. HITCHHIKER What the...no, no, NO! He turns around and starts running. Its hard to tell whether hes scared or angry or whatever. He just dont except what he just saw. He slips over something in the dark a falls down. Like a scared animal he quickly scans the surrounding trying to locate what stumbled him.

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Its his RUCKSACK. A brief moment of relief on his face. He grabs it, stands up and starts running. Get as far as he can from that place. EXT-ROAD-DAWN The darkness is already dropped to half revealing a orange sky. The branches of the trees more visible swing in a light breeze. The road quiet and empty. The hitchhiker enters the frame still running but with a much slower pace. After few more meters, he quits replacing his run with a walk. Hes more calm now. Got his rucksack on his back, his lamp in his hand. It all must have been a bad dream. Whatever it was its gone and forgotten. Its a new day. CAMERAS P.O.V. at his back as hes walking. From his left a CAR passes by. Nothing unusual except its the SAME CAR THAT CRASHED THE OTHER NIGHT. The hitchhiker doesnt react. He just keeps on walking. Moments after the car loses itself on the horizon, it comes back in reverse. Stopping exactly opposite to the hitchhiker. A familiar voice comes from inside DRIVER (O.S.) Hey! You need a ride? The hitchhiker stops. He slowly turns his head toward the car. The expression on his face asks could it be such a bad idea? FADE OUT TO BLACK; END