NOTE: Sister Brookes is a horror/drama television series I am writing. I have uploaded here the cold open and first scene of the pilot episode, "Angels". Sister Brookes is a complex mystery set in various time periods (1944, 1953 and 2017) dealing with the a group of Catholic nuns that help run a cathedral in England in the 1940s during WW2. Little did they know that when Sister Christine Brookes is hired on to fill a vacancy, their worst nightmares will come to life in this thrilling television series.
This pilot episode will be rated MA for mature language and violence.
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Cold Open
LOCATION: ST. AVERY’S ASSISTED LIVING CENTER,
LOBBY
YEAR: 2017
MERRILL (OFF CAMERA):
Mr. Barker? Mr. Barker, can you hear me?
FADE IN:
Camera opens on an
uncomfortable close-up of PAUL BARKER’S (91) eye. Throughout the next few
moments, the camera will zoom back to reveal PAUL, an elderly, frail man in a
wheelchair with an oxygen tube looped around his ears and under his nose. His
gaze is distant and glossed over. He is dressed in an open-collared shirt with
food stains near the top. The camera, though mounted on a tripod, will be
obviously a homemade quality footage. PAUL has staggered breathing, as if every
breath might be his last. There is a MALE NURSE standing to the side of him,
his hand resting upon the handle of PAUL’s wheelchair.
MERRILL (CONT’D, OFF CAMERA)
Mr. Barker, my name is Merrill Jones. We
spoke on the phone a few days ago. It’s our pleasure to finally meet you.
By this point, the
camera has zoomed out enough to include MERRILL JONES (34) in the shot. MERRILL
is a handsome man, wearing jeans and a white shirt and tie. He has a
distinctive New England accent and a friendly voice. He is trying to gauge how
much PAUL is understanding.
MERRILL (CONT’D)
As I told you over the phone, I am a film
maker. In specific, I direct documentaries. I’ve arranged this interview to see
if I can get some more insight on someone from your past, Mr. Barker, someone
you worked with at St. Magnus Cathedral in England for just over a year and a
half in the 40s.
PAUL’s eyes widen at
the mention of St. Magnus and he instantly seems more awake and cognitive.
MERRILL (CONT’D)
I am looking for anything you might be able
to tell me about a woman named Christine Brookes.
PAUL
No.
PAUL’s voice is
gruff and curt for someone as frail as he is. MERRILL seems momentarily stunned
at the utterance and looks at his CREW off-camera. MERRILL turns back to PAUL.
MERRILL
No? You mean you don’t want to continue with
the interview?
PAUL
I mean I don’t want to talk about that woman.
MERRILL
And why is that?
PAUL is silent for a
few moments and plays with a piece of fabric from his shirt in his hands while
he mulls this question over.
PAUL
I have not heard that woman’s name in half a
century. And the world is all the more better for it.
MERRILL
Sir, I know that you worked with Christine
Brookes at the cathedral from 1953 to 1954. I know that in that time—
PAUL
You don’t know anything her.
MERRILL seems taken
aback.
MERRILL
I—I don’t?
PAUL
The devil himself could not even kill that
woman. The more you think about her, the faster she comes. The more you speak
about her, she will hear you.
MERRILL looks back
at his crew, holding a hint of a smile back.
MERRILL
Mr. Barker, Christine Brookes has been dead
for over sixty years.
PAUL
That’s exactly what she wanted you to think.
The camera now cuts
to show the entirety of MERRILL’S CREW, which consists of MERRILL, CHAD, WILEY
and SHAUN. Each of them are focused on Paul unflinchingly. We now see the scene
through Paul’s point of view.
In the back of the
lobby, one of the overheard lights flicker once, twice and then burns out. None
of the CREW take any notice, neither any of the STAFF. But PAUL notices and he
grips onto his armrest tighter.
MERRILL
Who was Ms. Brookes to you? A friend? A
co-worker? A lover?
PAUL
No. No. No!
PAUL begins to sweat
and he shakes his head to either side, avoiding looking past the CREW. More
lights begin to flicker and turn out. The STAFF and CREW are still oblivious.
PAUL (CONT’D)
That woman was not human. She was not a
living soul. She had none. She was the devil in every way possible. She—
PAUL makes the
mistake of looking up and SISTER CHRISTINE BROOKES is standing at the back of
the room. She is terrifying. Her face is pale, she is clothed in black robes
from the Church and her eyes are bloodshot. Her hands are caked in dried blood.
She slowly, one step at a time, approaches PAUL and the CREW, her eyes locked
with PAUL’s. Her presence is horrifying.
PAUL (CON’D, DIRECTED TO CHRISTINE)
You get AWAY FROM ME!
PAUL’s sudden
exclamation frightens the CREW and all of them swivel around in their seats to
see at whom PAUL is yelling. The MALE NURSE attempts to calm the old man, but
Paul is inconsolable.
PAUL
That bitch, that murdering bitch! I know what
you’ve done! I know EXACTLY what you are!
SISTER BROOKES
continues to approach the group, who still cannot see her. She seems to exist
only in PAUL’s mind. A sudden smile crosses her lips and she stops right behind
MERRILL. PAUL goes berserk and begins to exhibit signs of a seizure, his
muscles spasming and veins in his head and neck enlarged. The MALE NURSE tries
to calm him down, but there is no controlling him now.
MERRILL
I—Mr. Barker, are you alright? What… what’s
going on? Is it—
MERILL looks behind
him, right at Sister Brookes, but he still cannot see her. He has no idea what
has triggered this seizure. PAUL continues to mumble incoherent words and the
MALE NURSE turns to the CREW.
MALE NURSE
This interview is over. I need you all to leave.
Now!
PAUL is rushed out of
the lobby and down the hall, out of sight. When the doors close once again, the
camera turns to the CREW and the lights which had been previously burnt out were
now on, and SISTER BROOKES has vanished. The CREW, MERRILL included, looks completely
dumbfounded at each other. After a moment,
CHAD
Holy shit.
Act One
LOCATION: Saint Peter’s Sanctuary of Sisters
YEAR: 1953
FADE IN:
CHRISTINE BROOKES is
introduced as a young, very pretty nun of the Catholic Church. She has pale
skin and smoky gray eyes. She is young, no more than 20 or 21, but no one
really knows how old she is exactly. It is an overcast day, uncomfortably cold.
She walks down a cobblestone path, gripping a very used Bible in her hands. She
walks with a purpose, directly towards a dark grove of trees right outside of
the convent. When she finds herself alone, away from the other sisters, she
sits down on a rock bench and stares into the forest. There is a very
unsettling air about the forest and the way Sister Brookes is sitting makes it
seem like there is something extremely troubling on her mind. She opens the
Bible and begins to read aloud to herself.
SISTER BROOKES
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither
let it be afraid.
She stops for a
moment and places her hand on the page in the Bible. She hears some movement in
the woods and instantly tenses up. The camera pans over the forest, which is
dark and dense, impossible to see through. Sister Brookes slowly reaches for
the cross necklace hanging around her neck and grips it in a white knuckle
grip. A beat and then SISTER MARCY, a young and impulsive nun just like SISTER BROOKES,
scares SISTER BROOKES by placing her hand on her shoulder and shaking her. SISTER
MARCY is 19 and has long blonde hair, pointed-rim glasses and a toothy smile.
SISTER MARCY
Boo! Did I scare you?
SISTER BROOKES
Oh my--Sister, are you serious? Don't do
that! Why did you follow me out here?
SISTER BROOKES has
dropped her Bible out of fright. She picks it up off the ground and brushes off
the pages.
SISTER MARCY
(laughing)
I saw you come out here all by yourself. I
thought, I'd better make sure you aren't planning on running away before
leaving tomorrow!
SISTER BROOKES
I'm not running away. I was trying to read.
Now if you don't mind…
SISTER MARCY
What? Are you scared to leave all this?
SISTER BROOKES
Now, why would I be scared?
SISTER MARCY
Oh, I don't know. (jokingly) The war? Nazis
trying to invade. (a beat, she sees that Sister Brookes doesn't find it very
funny) Oh, come on! A new environment, new people, a new job. There's always
plenty to be afraid of.
A beat
SISTER MARCY
What about ghosts? Everyone says it's
haunted.
SISTER BROOKES
You're a liar, Sister Marcy. I'm not afraid.
I'm not afraid of anything. Now please can I finish my readings in peace? Alone?
SISTER MARCY
Look, I was only trying to see if you were
okay. The other sisters have been talking about you. They're worried. I'm
worried. I mean, we all know what happened last time you tried to leave and how
well that went. You don't have to be so standoffish, you know. We want to help.
That's all any of us ever want to do us help you.
A beat of silence as
SISTER BROOKES stares at SISTER MARCY. She slams her Bible closed.
SISTER BROOKES
Excuse me? Standoffish?You know that I came out here to be alone,
right, yet you followed me. You saw me trying to read, yet you interrupted me.
I'm not the one that's being rude here, Sister. I don't need your help. I don't
need anyone's goddamn help.
SISTER MARCY
Sister! Watch your language! Fine. Whatever.
Enjoy your last afternoon here alone. Don't bother coming to find me later when
you realize you are too afraid to leave.
SISTER BROOKES
I won't plan on it.
SISTER BROOKES
watches SISTER MARCY storm off back to the east wing of the convent. She closes
her Bible and hunches over, covering her eyes with her fingers. There is
silence for a moment and then she begins to weep. She takes off her cross
necklace and looks at it, rubbing it between her fingers. She glances back up
at the forest and closes her eyes.
SISTER BROOKES
(whispers a prayer, crossing her forehead)
In the name of the
Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost, please Lord God above, protect me
Points: 11482
Reviews: 351
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