A Script for The Screaming Grey

by Leaf Richards

**THE SCREAMING GREY**

**SCENE 1**

**INT. THE GREY - ENDLESS**

SOUND of a low, pervasive HUM. Not a noise, but a pressure.

Darkness. Then, a smear of GREY.

JACKIE (V.O.)

It was the hum again. Not a sound really, more like a feeling in my teeth...

We are RUNNING with JACKIE (12), her face pale and strained. Her legs move like they're made of old wood, heavy and slow.

The world is a monochrome wasteland. Empty, angular buildings jut out like broken puzzles. Above, the sky is a grid of pulsing white lines, a slow, sickening rhythm.

JACKIE (V.O.)

...telling me there was no way out. Not ever.

Behind the grid lines, SHAPES move. Darker than the grey, but not quite black. Amorphous. They don't have eyes, but we feel their gaze on Jackie's back. Cold. Heavy. Pushing her.

A tiny, sharp SOUND, like a BROKEN HINGE, cuts through the HUM.

The grid lines FLICKER. For a split second, a face seems to form in the shadows. A memory. Gone.

The HUM swells, becoming a physical wave of pressure. It squeezes the air. Pushes Jackie forward.

Her eyes widen in terror--

**INT. SLEEPING CHAMBER - DAWN**

--and Jackie GASPS, a small, wet sound.

She’s awake. Curled in a tight ball on a lower bunk, knees jammed against her chest. The chamber is a cramped metal box, lined with tiered bunks. Condensation drips down crisscrossing wires on the ceiling.

The dream's HUM is gone, replaced by the low, tired RUMBLE of air purifiers.

Jackie squeezes her eyes shut, then opens them. The grey of the dream shifts, becomes the real grey of the metal ceiling. She rubs her eyes, trying to get the grit out.

A whisper from the bunk above.

<center>PENNY</center>

> Jackie? You okay?

Penny (13), her face pale and her dark hair a tangled mess, peers down. Her voice is raspy.

Jackie pushes herself up, her shoulder POPPING softly.

<center>JACKIE</center>

> Yeah. Just... the grey again.

<center>PENNY</center>

> The machines?

Penny swings her legs over the side. Her bare feet hit the cold metal floor with a dull THUD. Her toes are red.

<center>PENNY (CONT'D)</center>

> They always come for you in the end, don't they?

<center>JACKIE</center>

> (shivering)

> Not... come for me. Just... watching. And the hum.

She pulls her thin, stiff wool blanket tighter.

Penny drops to the floor, sitting cross-legged beside Jackie's bunk. She wears a patched jumpsuit, three sizes too big. She picks at a loose thread on her sleeve, avoiding Jackie's eyes.

<center>PENNY</center>

> Did you... did you hear about the... the new Instruction?

Jackie shakes her head. Her stomach twists.

<center>JACKIE</center>

> No. What is it?

<center>PENNY</center>

> (a near whisper)

> They're doing... Recalls. Again.

The word hangs in the stale air. Penny's fingers work faster at the thread.

<center>JACKIE</center>

> When?

<center>PENNY</center>

> Later. After the morning feed. But there's... there's another one too. A... a 'Collection'.

Her voice cracks on the last word.

Jackie’s blood runs cold. Collections. That means outside.

<center>JACKIE</center>

> Outside? For what?

Penny shrugs, a small, defeated movement.

<center>PENNY</center>

> Resources. They said. Maybe scrap metal. Or... old circuitry. Things the machines need.

They sit in silence. The purifiers HUM. A distant scuffle of other kids waking.

<center>JACKIE</center>

> Are we... are we going?

Penny pulls her knees to her chest.

<center>PENNY</center>

> Maybe. They pick. They always pick the ones... the quiet ones. The ones who don't complain. Or...

> (murmuring)

> ...the ones they forget about.

Jackie says nothing. She is quiet. They usually forget about her. The knot of dread in her belly tightens.

**SCENE 2**

**INT. CORRIDOR - MORNING**

A sharp, jarring BUZZER echoes.

A line of silent, grey-clad CHILDREN shuffles down a rough concrete corridor. Their breath mists in the cold air.

Jackie and Penny are among them. No one looks awake. Just moving. Clockwork figures.

A boy, FINN (15), stumbles, scraping his hand against the wall. He doesn't cry out. Just pulls his hand back, leaving a small dark smear on the grey concrete. No one looks.

**INT. COMMUNAL HALL - CONTINUOUS**

The corridor opens into a vast, echoing space. Long metal tables are bolted to the floor. The children find their designated spots.

Jackie and Penny sit. Across from them, LILY (6), sniffs quietly, her nose red, her small shoulders trembling.

A boxy DRONE with whirring fans moves slowly down the aisle. It stops at each child, depositing a single, grey, slimy NUTRIENT-PASTE CUBE onto their metal plate.

Jackie picks up her cube. It’s cold. She eats slowly, chewing the cardboard-like substance.

<center>PENNY</center>

> (whispering)

> You think the Collection will be far?

<center>JACKIE</center>

> Hope not. The wind... it's bad today, isn't it?

A faint, mournful HOWL of wind can be heard, a distant sound from deep within the bunker.

<center>PENNY</center>

> Yeah. My feet are already numb. Imagine being out there for hours.

> (a small sigh)

> I hope they don't make us go near... near the old factory.

Lily sniffles again, louder.

<center>JACKIE</center>

> (mumbling, not looking at her)

> Don't cry, Lily. It's okay. It's just... cold.

Lily doesn't answer. Silent tears begin to trace paths through the grime on her cheeks.

**SCENE 3**

**INT. RECALL CHAMBER - LATER**

The children sit on the cold floor of a dark chamber. The air smells of stale chemicals. At the doorways, two OVERSEERS stand guard, looming figures in dark, utilitarian uniforms. Their faces are unreadable.

A large, cracked SCREEN on the wall flickers to life.

Static resolves into an image of impossible GREEN. Trees. A bright, warm SUN.

Happy people in clean, colorful clothes run on soft grass. A child throws a bright, round BALL.

<center>NARRATOR (V.O.)</center>

> (smooth, calm)

> This is the world before. A time of plenty. A time of joy. A time when humanity flourished in harmony with the planet.

Penny nudges Jackie.

<center>PENNY</center>

> (whispering)

> Look at their faces. They look... like they're pretending.

Jackie squints. The smiles are too wide. The laughter too clear. Fake.

The screen ABRUPTLY shifts. Flashing RED WARNINGS.

<center>NARRATOR (V.O.)</center>

> (stern, accusatory)

> But humanity forgot its place. It became greedy. Selfish. It took too much. And the climate rebelled. The machines rose up, not to destroy, but to correct.

Images flash: abstract shapes, blurred movement, the faint outline of something colossal and metallic... then a quick cut to a desolate, snowy landscape. Buildings like broken teeth against a perpetually dim sky.

Their world.

The screen goes dark. Silence descends, heavy and absolute.

**SCENE 4**

**INT. RECALL CHAMBER - CONTINUOUS**

Dim lights flicker back on.

A tall FEMALE OVERSEER (40s), her eyes sharp and observing, steps forward. Her voice is flat, emotionless.

<center>FEMALE OVERSEER</center>

> Attention. As part of our ongoing resource management protocols, a Collection team will be dispatched this cycle.

A collective, silent shiver runs through the children.

Jackie’s heart pounds against her ribs. Penny’s hand finds her arm, small and clammy.

The Female Overseer reads from a smooth data-pad.