INT/EXT. HALLWAY/DOORSTEP – DAY 1

A KNOCK at the front door.

CHARLOTTE CHESTER answers to –

DETECTIVE LAKE RUTHERFORD.

LAKE

Mrs Chester?

CHARLOTTE

Yes, Charlotte Chester. Um… who are you? I wasn’t expecting —

LAKE

My name’s Lake. Lake Rutherford. I’m… a detective.

He squeezes past. Charlotte doesn’t move, bewildered. Closes the door.

CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY 1

LAKE scans the ornament on the fireplace with a beeping device..

CHARLOTTE returns with a cup of tea.

CHARLOTTE

Here you are.

The door slams in the hallway.

WILL CHESTER (16) stops in the doorway. Headphones on, music playing.

CHARLOTTE

You alright, Will?

WILL nods back.

LAKE leans into view.

LAKE

Hi.

WILL

Who’s this?

CHARLOTTE

This is Detective Lake Rutherford. Lake, this is my son, Will.

WILL

A detective –?

LAKE

I’m here to make sure the police didn’t miss anything. Great choice of music, by the way. Is that hip-hop? I love hip-hop.

WILL

(he scoffs)

Some detective. It’s electro.

Will heads upstairs.

WILL (O.S.)

Prick.

CHARLOTTE

Sorry. He’s still very upset about his father.

LAKE

Speaking of which —

CUT TO:

EXT. GARDEN – FLASHBACK – DAY X

CHARLOTTE puts out the washing.

Electro music blares from an opened window upstairs.

CHARLOTTE (V.O.)

It was just a normal Saturday afternoon.

Charlotte looks up at the window.

CHARLOTTE

For god’s sake, Will!

A beat. The music is lowered.

Charlotte looks into the kitchen window.

MARK washes up at the sink. They exchange a look, roll their eyes, amused.

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN – DAY 1

LAKE looks at a stop on the floor by the kitchen sink.

CHARLOTTE leans in the doorway, staring past him. Same spot.

CHARLOTTE

And then, my husband was murdered.

CUT TO:

EXT. GARDEN – FLASHBACK – DAY X

CHARLOTTE glances at the kitchen window.

A FIGURE in black stands behind MARK. SLASHES HIS THROAT —

CHARLOTTE

MARK!

Mark falls. The figure doesn’t move.

Charlotte runs into the house —

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN – FLASHBACK – DAY X

CHARLOTTE bursts into the kitchen. Drops to her knees, wails —

MARK’s body lies on the floor, face streaked with blood.

WILL rushes in, halts. He stares, horrified. Starts to cry.

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN – DAY 1

CHARLOTTE

As I was running inside, my son was coming down the stairs. How did the killer just disappear and-and neither of us saw him?

Lake scratches his chin. Looks past Charlotte.

LAKE

May I speak to your son?

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY/STAIRWAY – CONTINUOUS – DAY 1

CHARLOTTE listens from the bottom of the stairs.

WILL (O.S.)

What do you want?

LAKE (O.S.)

Just to talk.

CUT TO:

INT. WILL’S BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS – DAY 1

WILL sits on the edge of his bed, headphones around his neck.

LAKE scans the room with his device. It beeps quietly.

WILL

What’s that thing?

LAKE

You should’ve seen the killer making their escape, but you didn’t.

Lake pockets the device.

Will stands.

WILL

Look, I’ve already told the police — I was here and then I hear mum screaming. I rush down — she’s in the kitchen, and dad’s… dead.

LAKE

Do you believe she’s telling the truth?

WILL

Why would she lie?

CHARLOTTE enters.

CHARLOTTE

Why are you questionning my son, Lake?

Lake holds up the device.

LAKE

I needed to verify the results on my scanner. Your husband’s killer did not vanish into thin air. In fact… they never left.

Charlotte and Will exchange a look.

LAKE

I’m not really a detective. Not in the conventional sense anyway. I actually worked with your father.

CHARLOTTE

He never mentioned you —

LAKE

And I’m sure he rarely mentioned anything to do with his job. We’re part of a secret organisation that hunts alien sleeper agents.

WILL

Alien sleeper — what?

LAKE

Aliens, yes, just like… your mother.

Lake aims a plastic gun at her —

WILL

Mum, what’s he talking about?

(to Lake)

What are you doing? Why do you have a toy gun?

LAKE

It’s not a toy gun, it’s just disguised as one. Sometimes I have to go through customs. They ask less questions this way. I’m sorry, Will, but I suspect your mother discovered your father’s occupation and activated.

WILL

Activated?

LAKE

She’s an alien sleeper agent and she has been for at least ten months — learning everything about Mark and what he does. Her mission is to integrate, then destroy.

CHARLOTTE

(she scoffs)

What are you talking about?!

LAKE

The real Charlotte Chester is dead. This is just her shell, taken over by an alien life form in her brain.

Charlotte shakes her head, as if overcome by a headache.

LAKE

And now we know, the alien is reawakening.

CHARLOTTE

No!

LAKE

Mark was dead long before you realised, Will —

CUT TO:

EXT. GARDEN – FLASHBACK – DAY X

CHARLOTTE drops the washing basket. Her head dips.

She looks up, robot-like. MARK, at the kitchen window.

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN – FLASHBACK – DAY X

CHARLOTTE enters the kitchen, quiet, calculated.

MARK doesn’t move.

Charlotte pulls a kitchen knife from the wooden block.

She walks up behind Mark —

MARK

Should be done anytime now —

Charlotte slashes his throat.

Thud! Mark hits the floor.

Charlotte turns to her side, swallows the knife whole! Then heads outside —

CUT TO:

INT. WILL’S BEDROOM – DAY 1

LAKE

She then went back outside and the alien created a fake scenario in her head, so she’d make a scene – loud enough for you and the neighbours to hear.

Will stands in front of CHARLOTTE – she convulses, struggles.

LAKE

Will, you need to trust me. The alien knows we know now… she’s gonna reactivate. Please step aside.

WILL

No. You’re lying —

Charlotte stands straight, awakened.

Will turns —

Charlotte shoved Will — he flies into Lake —

They tumble — Lake bangs his wrist on the edge of a desk, he cries out in pain —

Charlotte darts out of the room, robotic-like —

WILL

Mum?!

Will runs after her —

CUT TO:

INT. STAIRSWAY/HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS – DAY 1

CHARLOTTE runs for the stairs, jumps —

She lands on the hallway floor. Runs into the kitchen.

At the top of the stairs, WILL halts in shock.

LAKE stumbles behind clutching his injured wrist.

LAKE

Will, you need to take this.

He hands the weapon to Will. They descend.

CUT TO:

EXT. GARDEN – DAY 1

CHARLOTTE approaches the shed, tapping her watch. She speaks into it —

CHARLOTTE

(in an alien language)

I have been compromised. Send an evacuation ship.

A voice from the watch:

WATCH AI (V.O.)

(in an alien language)

Signal sending. Ten percent.

Charlotte lowers her arm, turns —

WILL and LAKE rush outside. Lake holds his circular device in his uninjured hand.

LAKE

Shoot her, Will. If she sends that message —

Charlotte coughs up the knife! Points it at Will.

He looks on, horrified!

CHARLOTTE

You wouldn’t shoot your mummy, would you?

LAKE

She’s not your mum, Will. The real Charlotte died months ago.

Will raises the weapon.

WATCH AI (V.O.)

Signal sending. Thirty per cent.

Charlotte steps forward.

CHARLOTTE

Will… listen to me, baby, I am still your mother.

LAKE

No – she isn’t. Shoot her in the head!

CHARLOTTE

Don’t listen to him. He’s a fraud!

WILL

Did you kill dad?

WATCH AI (V.O)

Signal sending. Forty per cent.

Charlotte edges closer —

CHARLOTTE

Oh. You were ever such a disappointment.

She raises the knife, ready to slashes down —

LAKE

Will!

Will pulls the trigger! BLAM!!

Blood splatters Will’s face —

Charlotte’s body hits the ground.

Will drops to his knees, devastated.

LAKE dashes toward Charlotte, removes her watch.

WATCH AI (V.O.)

Signal sending. Seventy per cent —

He crushes it underfoot. The watch groans, sparks.

Lake turns to Will.

LAKE

Great job, Will!

He sees the look on Will’s face, gives him an awkward pat on the shoulder.

LAKE

Trust me, I’ve been in your position before. One day, you’ll realise you made the right decision.

Will glances up, offended.

Lake takes a handkerchief out of his coat, swaps it with the gun from Will.

LAKE

You’ve got a little… something on you there. Just —

(a beat)

I’ll leave you to… grieve. Lovely to meet you!

He darts off, exits out of the gate. Sirens in the distance.

Will runs after him. He stops. Police car lights flash across his face…

CUT TO BLACK.

THE END

---

Written as part of a filmmaking challenge for Sutton Coldfield Moviemakers. The challenge was to make a film with three lines from a comedy film. My chosen film was Shaun of the Dead (2004) dir. Edgar Wright. The lines chosen are: “It’s not hip-hip, it’s electro. Prick.”; “Well, I think we’re all agreed that you did the right thing there.”; and “You’ve got red on you.”

This script was shot in February 2023. Watch The Vanishing Killer below!