Trick or Treat

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET. NIGHT.

Houses caked in store bought horror alight by lamps and pumpkins, groups of young children shift from door to door, dressed as nightmares, gathering candy.

A LITTLE GIRL dressed as skeleton, on a door step, lovingly picks a single piece candy from the bucket the adult holds out to her. She smiles sweetly, turns and skips away down the garden path.

INT. NEIGHBORING HOUSE LIVING-ROOM. NIGHT.

Among the sweet wrappers that cover the floor AMY (14) snuggles up to a horror film, her eyes glaze over; the gore on screen doesn’t faze her. Her hand finds a new piece of candy from the bucket next to her. She unwraps it and throws the rubbish away.

The door bell rings. Amy rolls her eyes, pops the sweet in her mouth, and presses the pause button. She gets up and walks out the room.

INT. HALLWAY. NIGHT.

Amy opens the door. The Skeleton Girl is the other side. She holds her bag out optimistically and smiles sweetly.

SKELETON GIRL: Trick or treat, smell my feet or give me something good to eat.

AMY: Sorry girl, but we're out of sweets.

And Amy shuts the door on her.

EXT. DOOR STEP. NIGHT.

The other side of the door. The Skeleton Girl still stands, still smiling.

SKELETON GIRL: If you don’t I wont be sad (Her face hardens) I'll just make you wish you had.

FADE TO BLACK.

Horror DVD menu music plays.

FADE IN:

INT. LIVING-ROOM. NIGHT.

Amy’s eyes blink open, with every blink her vision gets sharper. A young child’s foot becomes reconcilable in the forefront of her vision. She scrapers back.

AMY: What the F...? How the hell did you get in here?

The Skeleton Girl slowly puts her foot down, to sit crossed legged on the floor. She doesn’t answer.

AMY (Takes a deep breath): You seem a bit... er lost. Maybe we should call your mum and dad?

No answer, she just sits crossed legged on the floor, staring.

AMY: Do you know their number?

(Beat)

AMY : No, OK.

She stays silent.

AMY: Well I’m Amy, What’s your name? (Beat) Come on, I bet it's pretty.

The Skeleton Girl just stares at her.

AMY: You're not going to speak to me? You break into my house and you're not going to speak to me. (takes another deep breath) How about, you just wait here and I will be right back. I just have a call to make? OK?

Amy gets up, trying not to turn her back on the Skeleton Girl; who watches her every move, her head turning. Amy picks up the phone and leaves the room.

Moments later Amy re-enters, closing the door behind her. She looks at the floor and the Skeleton Girl has gone.

Amy’s eyes scan the living room frantically.

AMY: Hello.

Amy slowly puts the phone back on the receiver.

AMY: Are you still here? There’s going to be some very nice people to come and take you home shortly.

Amy curiously checks the ...

INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT.

Looking for the Skeleton Girl, calling for her. It’s empty.

INT. LIVING-ROOM. NIGHT.

Amy goes back to the sofa, and takes a seat, her eyes still darting backwards and forwards.

Suddenly a knife nicks her ankle, cutting a blood vessel, her feet jump forward.

She bends over the edge of the sofa. Slowly, reluctantly, she moves her hand to the bottom of the hanging material, she gabs hold and...

pulls it up quick. Eyes glare out from the darkens. Amy rockets off the sofa, her bleeding foot buckles under her weight and she falls to the floor.

Amy watches the sofa. The Skeleton Girl pears out from underneath. She crawls forward, knife held in her mouth.

AMY: What do you want?

The Skeleton Girl just crawls ever closer, over the scattered sweet wrappers.

Amy scuttles back into a corner.

AMY: What did I ever do to you?

Amy eyes glint with tears. The Skeleton Girls mouth glints with metal. Closer she crawls, Amy can’t get any further back. Inches apart.

The Skeleton Girl stops, she looks down at her hand, she picks something up and looks at it intensely. She rocks back onto her shines; kneeling in front of Amy.

The Skeleton Girl spins the wrapped lollipop in her hand. Amy looks on confused as the Skeleton Girl, lovingly, opens it. She takes the knife out of her mouth and pops the lolly in.

The Skeleton Girl smiles, jumps up and leaves the room.

Amy watches her leave, not moving from her huddle on the floor. Her eyes flicker to the knife and the dried slither of blood upon it. The front door bangs shut.

EXT. STREET. NIGHT.

The Skeleton Girl skips down the garden path and onto the street, the lolly in her mouth, a smile on her face and the sun rising in the distance.