SHADOWS ON THE WALL CHAPTER 16: Falling Down That Hill (Josette Collins Sees The Future) by CollinsKid TITLE CARD: little fish, big fish swimming in the water come back here man give me my daughter. - PJ Harvey, "Down By The Water" TITLE CARD: You'll never have me. - "Lost Highway" FADE IN ON: EXT. COLLINWOOD -- NIGHT The house stands vigil. We've seen this before and will again. ALEXANDRA MOLTKE (V.O.) "My name is Victoria Winters, and on this desperate, fateful night in the year 1796, one woman is locked in a past and a tragedy not her own. Propelled into this world by forces unseen, she is a pawn in a greater, more sinister game and must simply do her best to play her part written, with no deviations from the script brooked." DISSOLVE TO: EXT. WOODS -- SAME Moving like a shadow on the leaves, BARNABAS COLLINS slinks through the darkness. ALEXANDRA MOLTKE (V.O., cont'd) "For on this night, a dead man will make a desperate pilgrimage to try to regain all he has lost in the grave...and in the process, seal certain doom." Barnabas stares out into the night. BLACK SCREEN. TITLE CARD: aunt natalie (the fates) CUT TO: A BLINDING WHITE SCREEN. ...Fading to incandescent crystal-blue, then sunrise-orange, then pink. From this light, DR. JULIA HOFFMAN'S FACE emerges. NATALIE DU PRES (V.O.) ...And the cards said, 'there will be black clouds, and the stars will rip the sky.' Blood will be drawn, and then, then the worst of it comes. There will be an intruder running down that hill, and he will murder all sleep. DISSOLVE TO: TINTED FLASHBACK; Julia in 1967, sitting in the drawing room of the Old House, reading Natalie's words from a tattered little tome. She turns a page. FLASH OUT TO: THE EYES OF JOSETTE COLLINS. Shut and slumbering. PULL BACK as Josette moans softly, squirming under the covers. INT. JOSETTE'S ROOM -- NIGHT ANGLE on Julia, across the room, standing by an easy chair. She watches Josette with unmasked apprehension and fear. CLOSE ON JULIA Mouthing the words. JULIA (remembrance) "The stars will rip the sky..." Julia stops short, and goes to the window. Looks out through the curtains. POV -- JULIA The storm-swept sky over the woods; black, forbidding, and roiling with gathering thunder and lightning. BACK TO JULIA Queasy realization. JULIA (to herself) Black clouds... Just then, Josette cries out in bed, writhing furiously. Julia rushes to her side and begins shaking her. JULIA Josette. Josette! JOSETTE (hazy) No...no... JULIA Josette, it is just a dream. You must wake up! Josette rouses, bathed in sweat. Stares up at Julia, breathing hard. JOSETTE A-Aunt Natalie. JULIA You were having a nightmare, ma chere. JOSETTE I certainly was... JULIA But it is over now. You're safe, here, in Collinwood. JOSETTE Yes...yes. (weak smile) Oh, Aunt Natalie, you are so good to stay here with me and mind me. It is an arduous chore. JULIA (firm) There is no chore involved. Your mother left you in my hands when she went to God. I am and have been enthusiastically up to the task. This is a constant, Josette. JOSETTE What time is it? JULIA You needn't trouble yourself with that right now. You must continue to try and get some rest -- JOSETTE (sitting up in bed) I cannot. That much at least is obvious and forthright. Something burrowed away in the tiniest pockets of my mind insists on murdering my sleep. JULIA (galvanized) W-W-WHAT did you say? JOSETTE (stopping short) Why, I said...Aunt Natalie, what on Earth is wrong? You look so very pale and trembling! I knew that fall had done you harm. Here you are, standing guard over me like a hawk when you are ill yourself! (standing) I shall get Riggs immediately. JULIA (stopping her) That is not necessary, ma petite. JOSETTE You said so before and look at you now. JULIA I am made of more iron than you give me credit for. And I *am* fine. My one focus now is you. JOSETTE (giving up) Must you martyr yourself endlessly, Aunt Natalie? JULIA (flippant) It is my saintly nature. When the rest of Martinique has gone to the dogs of the "Queen" and her British Isles, I will remain at the edge of that sand, in the garden house. You will find me there, grappling with those swordsmen over the very last bit of jasmine. I promise you that. (crossing to dresser) Come. I shall make you some tea to pass these dreary American hours. Is it true that the rain in fact a sentient being capable of thought here in this new world? JOSETTE (sitting down in the easy chair) You judge it all so harsh, Aunt. JULIA I am forced to. We are representatives of France, after all. JOSETTE Of *Martinique,* Aunt Natalie. JULIA Hmmph. The women drink their tea. JULIA (cont'd; careful) You have, I trust, put all notions of a rendezvous with Barnabas Collins from your mind, haven't you, dear? JOSETTE (steadfast) What I saw in that dream was real, Aunt Natalie. I shall not discuss it with you further. JULIA Your man is in the ground, ma chere. You must believe that! It is a royal tragedy, but we must go on -- JOSETTE (gripping her teacup hard) He would not go on without me! If Barnabas thought I could come back, he would search to the ends of the Earth and he would wait until the end of time and he would sit and he would wait for me! I shall allow him the same consideration. You are a woman of mysticism, Aunt Natalie. You believe in your cards, and you too have had many prophetic dreams. How can you call my dream fantasy? JULIA Because, I have learned the hard way where prophecy stops and fantasy begins, Josette -- JOSETTE (raging) You do not know! The teacup shatters into a thousand shards in Josette's claw-hand. Josette shrieks as the porcelain shards burrow into her flesh...and draw blood. Julia reacts with horror. JOSETTE (mortified) Aunt Natalie! Julia quickly snaps out of it and rushes to Josette's aid, clucking over her. JULIA Oh, ma petite...(dabbing at the cuts with a hankerchief) Here, here. (eyeing the trembling Josette) You must try and calm down. JOSETTE (sobbing) I cannot. I shall never be calm again. My fate is binded to his. Without him, it is aimless and orphaned. JULIA Life *continues,* Josette -- JOSETTE But *I* do not continue! Unequivocally and inexorably, I fade, Aunt; it is all over every inch of my body. Even now, whiling away the days in this room, it has begun. JULIA Do not talk like this, Josette. You must lie down, lie down and try to rest -- Just then, a shower of lights flicker in the window. Julia and Josette rush to the glass. POV -- JULIA/JOSETTE A series of brilliant lights in the sky, glowing orbs, are crackling and burning in the tempest above. Multi-colored and radiant, we (and Julia) recognize them as passing meteors. BACK TO JULIA Aghast. JULIA (inner voice) "Stars will rip the sky..." CLOSE ON JOSETTE Spotting something, crying out with joy. POV -- JOSETTE Down there, amidst the trees, far below -- Barnabas stares up to her window. JOSETTE (V.O.) It is him! BACK TO THE ROOM Josette rushes to the door, grabbing her cloak, as Julia tries desperately to bypass her. JULIA Josette, Josette, *please* -- But Josette rushes out the door as it swings closed behind her -- with a KLIK. Julia is locked in. Julia spins around, desperate. She looks to the dresser mirror. POV -- JULIA Cassandra (with Angelique's head superimposed) smirks through the glass in her place, laughing hysterically. CUT TO: EXT. WOODS -- SAME Josette races down the path through the rainstorm and rushes headlong into Barnabas' arms. The two kiss, hard and passionately, as thunder sounds. BLACK SCREEN. TITLE CARD: "the woods (i'm all around you) " TITLE CARD: you'll be given love you'll be taken care of you'll be given love you have to trust it maybe not from the sources you have turned towards maybe not from the direction you are staring at all is full of love it's all around you. -Bjork, "All Is Full Of Love" FADE IN: EXT. WOODS -- SAME Josette and Barnabas are still wrapped in each other's arms, kissing passionately. Thunder rolls and the earth continues to spasm as the rain batters the trees. They disconnect and stare into each other's eyes -- mortal angel and damned prince. BARNABAS You. JOSETTE Us. She buries her head on his shoulder. JOSETTE I knew my mind. I knew it was not deceiving me. I felt your force in everything - I - *touched.* BARNABAS It is the same for me. JOSETTE How did you survive? BARNABAS A spell. A cruel -- trick. I am the denouement of a grand black joke. JOSETTE You speak in riddles. BARNABAS Perhaps I prefer them to the harsh reality. (pause) I would not wish this place I have gone to on you. JOSETTE But I seek it. BARNABAS You will want no part of this. What you seek is still in that ground. JOSETTE I do not believe that. Not when I can still feel you. BARNABAS What you feel is a dream. Josette turns away. JOSETTE You call to me and then you ask me to throw you away. You ask me the impossible. (turning to him) Without you, my world is compact. My heart goes through the motions, nothing more. (pause) If you are a ghost, then I will go with a ghost. But you are my one absolute. BARNABAS (grabbing her) Josette -- JOSETTE (grabbing his hands) Get me away from here. CUT TO: THE NEARBY BUSHES -- SAME A dark, murky POV watches the pair from the shrubbery, accompanied by heavy breathing. CUT TO: ANGLE ON THE BUSHES We see that it's none other than Lieutenant Nathan Forbes. CUT TO: TITLE CARD: "come back" i'll let you catch me. - Lori Carson/Graeme Revell, "Fall In The Light" SMASH CUT TO: INT. JOSETTE'S ROOM -- NIGHT Julia is still banging on that blasted door. JULIA Josette! Josette! Anyone! Please! (sighs; voice drops back to 'normal' tones) Oh, for God's *sake*... Julia rushes over to the dresser and grabs a heavy-looking, ornamental statue of the Countess'. She wields it like a rock, and proceeds to use it to bash away at the door handle. After six or seven solid blows, the door knob gives way. Julia slams her frame against the door, and it gives, too. Julia races out the door and down the hall. FLASH TO: EXT. WIDOWS HILL -- NIGHT The famous cliff is razed by wind and rain as the storm takes up residence in the sky directly above. INT. THE WOODS -- SAME Josette and Barnabas make their way through the forest, hand in hand, and arrive atop the Hill. EXT. WIDOWS HILL -- SAME Josette and Barnabas stand at the edge of the forest and nuzzle, safe in each other's arms, ignoring the storm. BARNABAS (softly) I'll take you away from here. From everything. Ben Stokes has helped me arrange things. We can go wherever you want. JOSETTE I believe it. I believe every word. BARNABAS (gentle kiss) Wait for my return. Barnabas turns and starts down the path into the woods. Josette takes refuge under a large tree and sits down on a rock. SMASH CUT TO: INT. WOODS -- NIGHT Julia, racing through the bushes and brambles and thunder and rain. Horror in motion. CUT TO: INT. WOODS -- NIGHT (ELSEWHERE) Forbes, still creeping down the path, retracing Barnabas and Josette's steps. CUT TO: EXT. WIDOWS HILL -- SAME Josette still sits on the rock, awaiting Barnabas' return. Just then, A RINGING NOISE fills the air -- a siren. Josette's brow furrows, and she stands hesitantly. The NOISE grows to drown out the sounds of the storm. Confused, Josette looks up. POV -- JOSETTE The stormy sky, slowly fading...giving way to a simple, pitch-black calm sky. The earth's shaking quells; the lightning and rain are gone. It's a black horizon. Below Josette, beyond the cliff, the sea is an opaque mass of darkness. Only the ringing sound and an EERIE WIND can be heard whistling through this sudden still calm. GHOSTLY VOICE (V.O.) Mademoiselle. We recognize the voice as Angelique's. Josette reacts instantly, shocked. JOSETTE Who - Who is out there? Where are you? ANGELIQUE (V.O.) You know who this is. JOSETTE (petrified) *angelique!* What do you want of me? ANGELIQUE (V.O.) I bring you truth. Since no one would do it for you, I was obliged to come. JOSETTE What are you *talking* about? ANGELIQUE (V.O.) You. You and Barnabas. Don't you know? Haven't you guessed? JOSETTE (shaking her head violently) You can do nothing to hurt us anymore! ANGELIQUE (V.O.) My hand is absolved. You will do it all yourselves. You called me a witch, Josette. They blamed it all on me. They were right. Do you want one last magic gift from me, Josette? Do you want to see your magnificent future as the *BRIDE OF DEATH?* JOSETTE You lie! ANGELIQUE (V.O.) He was put in the ground, and from the ground he rose...to take you back with him. JOSETTE That is *not true!* ANGELIQUE (V.O.) You know it is. Watch; see. JOSETTE (turning away) I will not! ANGELIQUE (V.O.; laughing) You will. This is the way it all happens. Suddenly, the world around Josette SHIMMERS, as if some strange, misty field had been erected around her immediate surroundings. Everything is gauzy, prismatic, slightly out of focus. Everything seems to move in slow-motion. Josette turns, and looks out onto the abyss-sky beyond the cliff. A DARK FIGURE stands there, floating in the darkness, watching her. Fascinated, Josette steps closer and closer to the edge. The figure mimics her, drawing closer, and closer...until the light finally falls over the figure's features. CLOSE ON JOSETTE'S EYES Wide and full of primal terror. SUBLIMINAL JUMP CUTS: - Angelique, smirking evilly into the camera. - Barnabas' funeral; a dreary fall day. - Barnabas and Josette, long ago and happy, kissing passionately. - A grinning skull. - Dr. Julia Hoffman, back in 1968, loading a syringe. - Cassandra, smirking evilly into the camera. BACK TO THE CLIFF The world spins as Josette stares into the eyes of the figure next to her -- it is JOSETTE HERSELF. A thousand bloody stake-wounds in her abdomen and chest below a tattered nightdress; her hair tangled and ripped, and her face white and blue-lipped, her eyes opaque white -- with huge, monstrous fangs protruding from her mouth and slicing into her lower lips, blood dripping down her chin. CLOSE ON THE EVIL JOSETTE The creature smiles into the camera, and its animal incisors rip its lips open. BACK TO JOSETTE She screams in mortal horror, as the storm, the wind, and the rain all return. CUT TO: INT. WOODS -- NIGHT Barnabas turns mid-stride, hearing the scream, and rushes back down towards the hill. CUT TO: INT. WOODS -- NIGHT (ELSEWHERE) Julia hears the screams, too, and picks up her pace. CUT TO: EXT. WIDOWS HILL -- SAME Josette continues to scream wildly, terrified by what she's seen. When Barnabas rushes onto the scene, she backs up further against the cliff, shrieking. JOSETTE My God! My *GOD!* What are you? BARNABAS Josette, what's happened -- you must listen to me -- JOSETTE (yelling over the storm) *NO!* I -- I saw -- our future -- *there is no future!* BARNABAS Josette, come away from there -- Julia creeps onto the scene, watching from the shrubbery. Horrified. JOSETTE (yelling) Stay away from me! Don't touch me! *WHAT ARE YOU?* BARNABAS (anguished) You don't understand -- please, just listen to me -- Barnabas reaches out to her, and Josette lashes his arm away, leaping back. BARNABAS (softly) I'm begging you. They stare into each other's eyes. A long moment. The wind howls as Josette stares into Barnabas' eyes with blank horror -- and sinking realization. Barnabas is confused. Then, he looks down. Josette's feet are wavering on the lip of the cliff. Barely balancing. Barnabas' eyes widen. He reaches out to her and -- as it has always happened and will again -- SHE FALLS. Josette hurtles off the hill, screaming wildly, through the air. Barnabas howls with insane grief. BARNABAS (mad with grief) *COME BACK!* In the corner of the scene, crouching amidst the shrubs, Angelique is there. Laughing silently. Then, she's gone. CUT TO: JOSETTE FALLING. And falling. SUBLIMINAL JUMP CUTS: - A beating heart. - Josette's portrait. - The chained coffin. - Barnabas, spotting Nathan Forbes in the woods. - Julia, in 1968, smiling up at a near-human Barnabas. - Cassandra, twirling her engagement ring around on her hand. - Victoria Winters, smiling. - Barnabas, snapping a screaming Forbes' neck deep in the dark woods, his face a mask of insane grief. FLASH TO: Julia, watching from the woods -- her face a rictus of frozen horror and sadness. Her head weighted down with the full understanding of Barnabas' years of pain. Just then, a WHITE LIGHT ENVELOPES THE SCREEN. ANGELIQUE'S LAUGHTER floods the audio, and we FLASH to: - Julia, turning around in 1968. - Cassandra, smirking at the camera once again. - Cassandra and Julia, in a black room. Cassandra sticks something into Julia's chest with a shredding noise, and Julia recoils. - Cassandra, leering at Julia with maniacal, opaque white eyes and a black-lipped mouth with jagged teeth. SMASH CUT TO: INT. COLLINWOOD DRAWING ROOM -- 1968 We're back, and -- CASSANDRA IS GASPING FOR BREATH. ROGER, sitting on the couch, rises instantly, as do CAROLYN and DAVID, also sitting around. ROGER Darling! My God, what's wrong?! Roger and Carolyn rush to Cassandra's side, who is swaying on her feet and dizzied. Roger instantly grabs Cassandra and sits her down, tending to her, while Carolyn keeps a slight distance while expressing slight concern. David just stays where he is, watching the tableau with unreadabable intensity. Then, he walks out of the room. ROGER (to Carolyn) Kitten, call the doctor at once. (Carolyn exits) Cassandra, can you hear me? Are you having trouble breathing? Darling, please! Cassandra takes a series of shallow, ragged breaths, then blinks a number of times, and stares at Roger. For once, she's shellshocked. CUT TO: INT. THE OLD HOUSE -- NIGHT A FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT FLOODS THE ROOM, and a noise like a SONIC BOOM erupts, and suddenly -- Julia is back in her seat, in her old clothes. Julia starts, blinks, and rouses from her daze. A clatter of noise off-screen, and then BARNABAS is rushing into the room from the basement door. BARNABAS What on Earth was that noise? JULIA (dazed) B-Barnabas... Barnabas moves to her side, perplexed and concerned. BARNABAS Doctor...Julia, are you quite all right? Should I summon Woodard? JULIA (shakes her head rapidly) No; no. I'm all right, really. I just need -- need a minute to catch my breath... (pause) I guess I must have dozed off. I had the strangest dream... BARNABAS (smiling) Dream? Here I was so sure you were immune to such night flights of fancy, Doctor. Your brilliant work seems to have caught up with you; are you aware it is eight o'clock in the evening? JULIA (blinking) Already? Why, I was just reading in the afternoon. BARNABAS Would you like to share the dream with me? JULIA No, please. It was rather unpleasant, and just the -- the product of an overcooked brain, I'm sure. BARNABAS You've worked so already, Julia. Perhaps you should take a few days' respite. JULIA (shaking her head vigorously) Your treatment is the most important thing, Barnabas. BARNABAS Well, at least allow me to get you some tea. JULIA That would be lovely, Barnabas. Unexpectedly, she takes his hand, gently. Their eyes lock. JULIA (smiling) Thank you. Barnabas clears his throat and withdraws his hand slowly. He smiles at her awkwardly. BARNABAS I shall find Willie and get that tea. He exits. Julia stays seated, and sighs, oddly wistful. After a few moments, she stands. Circles the room, pacing. Cocks her head; cracks her neck. Then, Julia slowly runs a hand across one of her hands...and then the other. Then, she runs a hand across her face. She blinks her eyes, once, then twice. CUT TO: INT. JOSETTE'S ROOM -- NIGHT The door opens, and Julia slowly enters. She crosses to face the portrait of Josette. POV -- JULIA The painted face of Josette, frozen in time. BACK TO JULIA An uncharacteristically sinister smirk crosses Julia's face as she stares up at the portrait. ANGLE ON THE ROOM Julia, staring up at the portrait. A shadow floats through the room, and the candelabra blow out. BLACK OUT. TO BE CONTINUED...