By: Joshua McAlanis
INT. MUSEUM BACKROOM – NIGHT
A group of workers unloads a truck and places the boxes on shelves. A worker, DEVIN, grabs a particularly large painting and struggles with it. A friend of his, SCOTT, comes to help.
SCOTT
Hey, watch out there, Devin. Can’t damage the pieces.
DEVIN
Thanks, man. How are the kids?
SCOTT
You know how they are. At least my son started football, he’s the quarterback.
DEVIN
Nice.
Devin and Scott put the painting down.
DEVIN
Where’s this go?
SCOTT
Boss said in the Renaissance section. Need a hand?
DEVIN
Yes, please.
INT. RENAISSANCE SECTION – NIGHT
The two walk the painting over to a blank space on the wall and hang it.
DEVIN
All right, let’s see what this one looks like.
Devin removes the casing around the painting, revealing the image of a distorted man with a big smile on his face. From ear to ear.
SCOTT
Oh.
DEVIN
Are you sure this wasn’t supposed to stay in storage?
SCOTT
Yeah, it said on the list.
DEVIN
Alright. I feel bad for the kids that come to the museum tomorrow.
SCOTT
Well, that’s not our problem. Ready to clock out?
DEVIN
For sure, man.
Scott and Devin begin to walk towards the backroom when the lights shut off.
SCOTT
What was that?
DEVIN
Probably the breaker, the wiring here is awful.
EXT. STREET – NIGHT
CAPTAIN SHEPARD, a muscular man with a bushy mustache, dressed in tactical gear approaches a white van. He opens the door and enters.
INT. WHITE VAN – NIGHT
Captain Shepard closes the door behind him and in the van are a row of computers, soldiers watching cameras inside the museum.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
What is the mission?
SOLDIER
A monster from the Renaissance, research from HQ suggests around 1504. The monster manages to live inside paintings. It’s currently in the museum.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Is there anyone inside?
SOLDIER
A whole crew of night-shift workers.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Alright. Tell the others to gear up, we enter the building in five minutes.
INT. MUSEUM BACKROOM – NIGHT
Scott and Devin stumble back into the museum backroom.
DEVIN
Where’d everyone go?
A noise from behind startles the two. Turning around they see it’s another WORKER by the breaker.
WORKER
Over here, guys. By the breaker.
SCOTT
Oh, thank god.
DEVIN
Did everyone leave early or what?
WORKER
I don’t know. I was in the bathroom when the power went out.
A series of cracks is heard from the roof, Scott and Devin turn around. Scott pulls out his phone flashlight and shines it at the roof.
Suspending from the roof is the rest of the workers, mouth gaping in a frown, distorting their bodies.
DEVIN
Holy–
SCOTT
What the–
Another crack echoes from behind. Scott points the flashlight towards the breaker. The worker they were talking to is slumped on the floor.
DEVIN
Scott, we gotta get out of here.
SCOTT
The door!
DEVIN
Is that safe?
SCOTT
Who cares! Run!
They run towards the door. Scott violently shakes it. It’s locked.
DEVIN
Open it!
SCOTT
It’s locked.
DEVIN
Damn. What are we going to do?
SCOTT
I don’t know.
DEVIN
Scott!?
SCOTT
I said I don’t know!
A gust of wind zooms past the two, knocking the flashlight out of Scott’s hand. It’s completely dark now. From the darkness the voice of SMILE MAN reverberates through the air.
SMILE MAN (OS)
Extinguish the candles. You’ll wreck the mood.
DEVIN
Leave us alone, please. We got families.
SMILE MAN (OS)
Lovely. I’ll go for them next.
SCOTT
I’ll kill you for what you did.
SMILE MAN (OS)
How?
Devin falls to the floor, Smile Man pulls his feet deeper into darkness as he claws at the ground. Scott tries to reach out to him but is too late.
SMILE MAN (OS)(CONT’D)
Like this?
SCOTT
Please, don’t do it.
SMILE MAN
Don’t have such fragile bones.
Crack.
SCOTT
NOOO!
SMILE MAN (OS)
The only thing worse than none is one.
SCOTT
How could you?
SMILE MAN (OS)
There’s no time to complain. Come here so you can join your friend.
SCOTT
I’m not doing anything for you.
Scott pulls a lighter out of his pocket, lights it, and tosses it at the shelves of stored paintings. They ignite in a blaze. Smile Man gets basked in light. Scott and Smile Man stare at each other and Smile Man’s grin widens.
SMILE MAN
All your precious paintings are gone. Well, at least mines safe. In the Renaissance section.
SCOTT
You. That painting.
SMILE MAN
Yes, me.
SCOTT
How in the world–
SMILE MAN
Shhhh. Don’t ruin the magic of it all.
Smile Man suddenly lunges at Scott. Scott, lucky, turns his body and only gets pushed into a crate. Looking up Scott sees a crowbar sticking out from the crate’s lid. He grabs it, stands up, and holds it out in front of him like a samurai.
SCOTT
You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.
Smile Man starts lunging about the room like a pinball, barely visible. With every movement Scott gets hit before he can react. Scott steadies himself and with a powerful blow hits Smile Man, sending him tumbling across the floor.
SCOTT
That was for Devin, and this is for me!
Scott jumps with the crowbar over head intending to hit Smile Man. Smile Man regains consciousness and grabs Scott by the throat midair.
SMILE MAN
I could snap you so easily. Should I do it? (giggles) No, you’re too much fun.
Smile Man throws Scott through the storage room doors.
INT. RENAISSANCE SECTION – NIGHT
Through the doors Scott lands in the hallway of the Renaissance section. He picks himself back up. Scott hears the sound of movement in the dark and swings the crowbar, he lands a hit. Smile Man’s hands swipe at Scott’s head, but he ducks and lands another blow. Smile Man falls back into a glass barrier containing a marble statue, shattering it. He lifts his arms from out of the glass and looks at his now broken arms. Sirens start blaring and the room is filled with a red glow as the alarms make their rotations.
SCOTT
The police are their way. It’s over.
SMILE MAN
Why are you so eager to leave? Are you tired?
SCOTT
You aren’t one to talk.
Smile Man looks at the wall where there’s a blank canvas, the spot where his painting was hung up. Scott looks at it too.
SCOTT
What’re you doing?
SMILE MAN
Nothing. I’m just a painting afterall.
SCOTT
No. No, no, no!
They both start sprinting in a race to get to the painting first. They shove each other causing Scott to trip, on his way down he takes Smile Man with him. They violently wrestle each other on the floor. Each time one of them gets too close to the painting the other drags them back down. All of sudden the alarm cuts off, the lights and the sprinklers turn on putting out the fire in the background.
SCOTT
What the?
Scott looks up and sees that the room is filled with special forces soldiers, guns fixed on Smile Man. Captain Shepard steps forward from the crowd.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Code blue, omega class. You know the drill men.
The soldiers shoot Smile Man with tasers, and in his struggle they pick him up and throw him into the painting where Smile Man disappears. The painting returns to looking like how Scott and Devin found it.
SCOTT
Stop! You can’t do that!
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Trust me, sir, it’s all under control now.
SCOTT
Are you not going to react to that… monster?
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
No, it’s just another Tuesday.
SCOTT
You guys aren’t the police are you?
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
No, sir. We’re the SCE Organization, a special forces unit dedicated to terminating monsters.
SCOTT
I’ve never heard of that.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Good, that means we’re doing our job.
A soldier removes the painting from the wall and places it in a black bag. He carries it out of the room.
SCOTT
Where are you taking that thing?
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Probably to the incinerator.
SCOTT
Thank god.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
That was a hell of a fight you put up, sir. Good work.
Another soldier gives Captain Shepard a thumbs up.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Ok, we’re done here. Sorry for your loss, sir. Another crew will come to clean up.
SCOTT
Okay.
Captain Shepard puts his hand to his earpiece and nods.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Change of plans. You’re going to have to come with us.
SCOTT
What for?
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
For a…a mental evaluation.
SCOTT
My goodness, it’s been a long day.
CAPTAIN SHEPARD
Sorry, sir. This will be brief.
Captain Shepard directs Scott out of the Renaissance section and seconds later the sound of a car driving off is heard. The museum lingers in silence for a bit, before a portrait on the wall shakes and the eyes move about. The lights turn off.
THE END
Art Piece by Ana Gonzalez