“The Grotto”
By Marc Neesam
INT. Kitchen
The screen fades into a kitchen table scene and the sound of sizzling bacon can be heard. On the table is a bowl of cereal and a jug of orange juice. A milk carton stands on the table. A kid, RORY GRANT, is sitting at the table dipping his spoon into the cereal bowl slowly, playing with it. The sizzling stops and his father GEORGE comes into frame carrying a frying pan and putting some of the bacon, sausage and egg onto a plate. After he puts the pan in the sink, he sits down and smiles at RORY.

GEORGE
Hey chin up, don’t look so unhappy today

RORY
I’m tired dad

GEORGE
Yeah yeah…
(eats a sausage)
Well what you want to do today then?
(Takes a glass of orange juice and drinks)

RORY
(His eyes brighten up)
Can we go to the mall and see Santa?

GEORGE
Thought you were tired?
(Smiles at RORY, as RORY looks sullen)
If you eat up, then sure we can go to the mall

RORY
(Looks uncomfortable)
I’m not hungry

GEORGE
Eat
(Cuts a slice of bacon)

RORY
(Looks dejected)
Daaaaad

GEORGE
(Puts his knife and fork down and looks at RORY, crossing his arm)
Well I suppose we can skip breakfast..... I did kinda burn mine

RORY
(Smiles)
I’ll go get my shoes!

RORY jumps down from his chair and runs out the door, GEORGE shakes his head and starts to collect the plates. The camera zooms into the milk carton, on the side in large letters is ‘MISSING’ and a picture of a girl is on the side with a straight face. The screen fades out.

EX. Shopping Center
Fade back in to see a parking lot full with a variety of cars, most family cars, and people walking their way towards the large building the lot is in front of, above the building the sign ‘Burnsville Shopping Mall’. Into the parking lot a light blue car comes in, and proceeds to drive down the aisles as it hunts for a free spot. Once it pulls into a vacant spot, the engine stops and out hops RORY, in a black and orange coat, and GEORGE in a grey coat. They walk towards the entrance of the building.

INT. Shopping Center
GEORGE and RORY are now in a cue of people curling round a display of a Christmas scene in the mall, specifically animatronics reindeer ‘eating’ fairy lights over their antlers. RORY pulls his fathers coat 
RORY
Dad, how long

GEORGE
(Sighs and looks down at RORY)
Until we get there

RORY
(After a few seconds)
Dad?

GEORGE
Yes

RORY
Can we go to the front?

GEORGE
Now Rory be patient, you do want to go to the Grotto?

RORY
Yes

GEORGE
Then wait
(Reaches into his pocket and pulls out his mobile phone)
Here play with this... just don’t dial anything

RORY takes the phone off GEORGE and starts to play with it, then looks up as a man approaches dressed in a bright green elf suit with yellow stockings and a bell hat, with white fur trimming, a name tag on his chest says ‘BOBBY’

RORY
Look dad an elf.... not like the ones on TV though

BOBBY THE ELF slows down on hearing this and approaches GEORGE

BOBBY THE ELF
Hello.... I am Bobby....
(A short silence)
...the elf. Sorry for the delay

GEORGE
That’s ok... you work here at the grotto then?

BOBBY THE ELF
(Expression darkening)
Yes I am one of Santa’s helpers this year

RORY
Hello Mr. Elf

BOBBY THE ELF
(Crouches down and looks at RORY)
Hello.... little boy. If you just wait a while longer Santa will see you shortly

RORY
(Smiles)
O.K
(Starts to play with the phone again)

BOBBY THE ELF stands up looking annoyed that he has been dismissed by a child. 

GEORGE
(Shrugs)
Kids, eh?

BOBBY THE ELF ignores this and moves away going down the que of people, apologizing. GEORGE pays attention to the que and notices a small gap has formed so he and RORY move a few steps forward.

INT. Santa’s Grotto
The screen cuts to the inside of Santa’s Grotto. Christmas decorations fill the room, tinsel hangs between the fiberglass struts, a Christmas tree complete with presents sits in one corner, in the center of the room on a raised platform is a large chair next to it a large brown sack and standing to each side is an ‘elf’. There is a small exit door on the other side of the room where a mother is leading her daughter out, who is clutching a box. On the chair, in red with white fur trimming is SANTA CLAUS). Who looks at the camera and waves forward. Into frame comes RORY and walks over to SANTA. RORY gets lifted up onto SANTA’S knee by an ‘elf’ and GEORGE enters the room a bit, within hearing distance of Santa.

SANTA CLAUS
(Looks at RORY smiling)
Well hello there little boy, what is your name?

RORY
Rory Grant

SANTA CLAUS
Well hello Rory, and do you know who I am? 

RORY
Yeah your Santa Clause

SANTA CLAUS
Well Rory what can I get you this year for Christmas?

RORY
Well, I would like a dog but my dad won’t let me have one

SANTA CLAUS
(Chuckles and glances at GEORGE)
Oh is that your father?
(Points to GEORGE)

RORY
(Looks over at GEORGE)
Yeah

SANTA CLAUS
Why don’t you ask your mother? I am sure she couldn’t resist you

RORY
I don’t have a mom

SANTA CLAUS
(Raises his eyebrows)
Well you must have one, or else you wouldn’t be here

RORY
I mean I do have one she is just gone

SANTA CLAUS
(Nods sagely)
Well Rory do you like chocolate?

RORY
(Nods)
Yes

GEORGE
Rory

RORY
Yes, sir

SANTA CLAUS
(Chuckles)
Well it’s not quite a dog but....
(rummages in his sack and pulls out a boxed chocolate dog)
...there is always Christmas day

RORY
Thank you.
(looks at GEORGE)
Sir.

SANTA CLAUS
(Smiles)
Your welcome, Rory. Before you go do you like other foods? Like Christmas pudding? Crisps? Sweeties?

RORY
(Looks at the bag expectantly)
Yes

SANTA CLAUS
(He gazes at RORY hungrily)
I can tell.
(A short silence)
You better be off now before your father gets impatient
(RORY hops off his lap with the help of an elf)
oh what a big boy you are. Now off. Bye… bye Rory... see you soon

RORY
Bye

RORY and GEORGE head for the exit before they go RORY turns around and waves at SANTA CLAUS, who waves back. Once they exit BOBBY THE ELF leads the next child up to SANTA CLAUS. SANTA smiles at BOBBY THE ELF

INT. Car
The screen cuts to an image of the windscreen from inside the Grant’s car. GEORGE can be seen driving the car, his eyes in the rear view mirror. In the rear view mirror RORY can also be seen with some bags near him and he is looking out of the window. There is only a little traffic on the road and the sun is beginning to set on the horizon. 
GEORGE
Had a good day, son?

RORY
(turns to look toward the front of the car)
Yeah thanks dad

GEORGE
Remember you’re not to tell your aunt what you got her for Christmas right

RORY
(Sits back)
I know

GEORGE
(smiles)
I know you know

RORY
I know you know I know

GEORGE
Well...

GEORGE falls quiet as he looks in his the rear view mirror, following the car is another car and BOBBY THE ELF is in it. 

GEORGE
Fancy taking a shortcut today?

RORY
A shortcut?

GEORGE
Back home, it will be an adventure

RORY
(Shrugs)
Sure

GEORGE moves lane and BOBBY THE ELF follows him. GEORGE continues to drive taking rights and lefts

RORY
Dad, home’s the other way

GEORGE
I said it was a shortcut

RORY
But...

GEORGE ignores his some briefly and continues to make turns, BOBBY THE ELF still following. Eventually though GEORGE makes a left and through the rear view mirror BOBBY THE ELF can be seen going straight on, GEORGE sighs and glances at the shops, seeing a pizza take-a-way

GEORGE
Want a Christmas pizza?

RORY
OK
GEORGE pulls into a small car park and stops the car and he and RORY climb out and walk over to the take-a-way. BOBBY THE ELF drives past just as they enter the take-a-way shop.

INT. Sitting Room
The scene cuts to the sitting room at the Grant’s house. It is decorated for Christmas with a tree in one corner and a gas fire is on. Tinsel line the frames of pictures and cards are on the mantle piece. It is late evening outside and RORY is watching the TV, ‘The Grinch’ is on. GEORGE is reading a book and glances at the clock on the wall. 
Snapping his book shut he turns to RORY
GEORGE
Rory, it’s late. You can watch the rest of the film tomorrow

RORY
Awww

GEORGE
No come on, bed time

RORY
(starts to get up)
O.K

GEORGE gets up and goes to turn the TV and lights on the tree off, while doing so he glances out the window past the curtains. Outside with the headlights off is BOBBY THE ELF’s car, but no one is inside. GEORGE looks worried and then sees someone else come along and open the door get in and drive off. GEORGE relieved pulls the curtain too and switches off the lights and then leaves the room turning off the room lights as he does so he hears a thump from upstairs. 

GEORGE
(In an anxious tone)
Rory? You O.K?

RORY
(From upstairs)
Yes dad.

GEORGE starts to climb the stairs and notices 3 regular scratches in the wood of the banister that look like claw marks. With a puzzled expression he stares at them and  then walks up the stairs and to his bedroom door on the landing. Before he goes in...

GEORGE
Nite son

RORY
(From his room)
Nite dad... can I please have a dog?

GEORGE
No

GEORGE enters the bedroom the door clicking shut and the screen goes black

INT. Bedroom
The screen cuts on sharply the room is black and grey a bed and bedside tables can be made out. Moon light is coming in through the window, the curtains blocking most of it. GEORGE is in the bed and he jerks upright and looks around in fright. Seeing all is ok he looks around and sees the alarm clock next to the bed, the numbers illuminated yellow. The time is 2.34 am. GEORGE sighs and slips out of be in just boxer shorts and grabs a dressing gown and pads to the door, opening it to a dark landing. Shadows filling the corners. He walks quietly over to the bedroom door of RORY, noticing again 3 regular scratch marks near the handle visible by the difference in black. GEORGE opens the door and walks in and freezes. 

The mattress is ripped to pieces, the pillows and duvet scattered over the room. The window looking down to the front lawn is wide open, the air cold and the wind blowing the curtains in. Moonlight illuminates the scene. You can hear the beat of GEORGE’S heart as he looks around his breathe crystalising as he exhales. He runs over to the window and looks out his hands rush to his head, the panic on his face. He sees some white hair or fur caught on a bracket of a window and picks it up, groping it. His eyes fill with tears as he looks down at the garden and sees lying on the garden a hat with fur trimming. GEORGE stares at it and rushes out of the room, the camera stays focused on the room and then focuses on six deep groves in the window sill, inside the room. 

INT. Car
GEORGE is in his car, the camera this time sitting on the front passenger seat looking at him. The street lights zoom by, buildings are a blur. The speedometer in the car can be seen to read 90. GEORGE, looking disheveled, is on his mobile phone.

GEORGE
(In an exasperated tone)
I tell you one of the elves took my kid
(A pause)
I don’t know his name, except on his name tag it said Bobby
(Another pause. GEORGE speaks in an angry tone)
For Christ’s sake my son has been kidnapped by someone are you going to fucking help?
(Another pause)
No I have not been drinking... well maybe one. It is a Saturday night
(Another pause, the GEORGE speaks in a very angry tone)
No I will not fucking go to bed. You are the police! This is what you do. No I am not drunk and yes I am fucking emotional. My child is gone, taken from my home 2 weeks before Christmas what do you mother fuckers expect?
(Another Pause)
Oh fuck you!

GEORGE presses a button and throws it behind him to the back seats and moves his arm to wipe his eyes. The camera cuts to the outside of the car as it breaks around a corner as it turns left. In the glare of a streetlight white fur can be seen sticking out of the boot.  

INT. Shopping Center
Inside the shopping center everything is dark moonlight streams in from the moonlight lighting the mannequins in the shop front eerily. There is a crash and some of the glass of the main door falls in, and an leg kicks more out making a hole. A body slips through the hole and GEORGE stands up, all is quiet the alarm didn’t go off. GEORGE starts to move forward down the isle the mannequins watching him. 

INT. Santa’s Grotto
The entrance to the Grotto squeaks open slowly and GEORGE cautiously comes inside looking around. All is dark in the room, no lights are on and no moonlight shines in. GEORGE quickly turns his head to look behind him. There is nothing. 

Turning it back quickly the Grotto is still empty. Just as GEORGE starts to leave he glances back in and sees outlined by the little light coming through the door a small wooden door behind Santa’s chair. George creeps forward in the dark, the door closing behind him turning the room pitch black. His breathing echoes in the room, his footsteps thud loudly and his hands can be heard running over the wood in the door. Ever so quietly a soft sound, like a hand rubbing a rug can be heard. 

Light pours into the room, GEORGE has opened the door and in the back room to the Grotto an automatic light has kicked in, GEORGE peers in and then behind nothing is in the Grotto. 

INT. Back Room
The back room is full of boxes and sacks, a table nestles in one corner and chairs are nearby. A pack of cards and a coffee machine plus mugs are sitting on the table. GEORGE looks around the door staying open behind him the large chair in the Grotto can be seen through the doorway. GEORGE walks over to the center of the room and turns in circles his face grim his eyes red from tears. He suddenly collapses on the ground and puts his hands on his head as he moves his hands and raises his head he stares straight ahead. Under a pile of boxes a hatch can be seen in the floor. GEORGE scrambles forwards on his hands and knees and moves some of the boxes and looks at the hatch, it looks as if it had been cut away and this put in its place. He gets onto his knees and moves all of the boxes, while doing so he stops suddenly and looks towards the open door into the Grotto. After a few seconds of silence, he turns back to the hatch and pulls it up. Echoes can be heard coming out it, strange noises. GEORGE gingerly enters the tunnel below the hatch, leaving it open as he goes. 

INT. Service Duct
GEORGE is walking through a concrete tunnel that appears to be a service duct running under the mall, small lights embedded in the wall mark the duct. As he is walking he is looking around nervously and the sounds that can be heard are getting louder. As he walks he stops as he spots in the wall a gapping hole, soil spewing from it. He leans into the tunnel entrance and sees a tunnel dug into the ground below the mall, light and sound can be heard coming up from it. George steps in and walks down, his hand resting against the concrete wall as he enters the new tunnel, when it leaves 3 deep cuts are in the concrete. 

INT. Dug Tunnel/Large Chamber
GEORGE is walking inside the tunnel dug into the ground, his shoes getting covered in dirt. Ahead of him the sounds get louder and light enters the tunnel illuminating his face. As he reaches a turn he can distinctly hear the noises now, animal like sounds he reaches the turn and looks inside. 

A large chamber is carved out of the ground bones strew the floor. Other tunnels lead out of the chamber in all directions. In the center a large stone tablet is placed. In the center of the tablet the dark red of raw flesh can be seen. Around the tablet white furred creatures the size of children make animal noises. The crunching of bone can be heard. 

GEORGE looks repulsed and then suddenly his face turns pale.

One of the creatures has shifted and the color of Rory’s bed clothes can be seen torn and red from blood.

GEORGE suddenly looks ill and a tear starts to form. 

Suddenly all the creatures turn to stare at him, they look like rabbits or Ferrell dogs but walk on two legs. They tilt their heads and stare ate GEORGE

GEORGE stands frozen and then runs back up the tunnel, soil slipping under his feet. Howls chasing him as he flees.

INT. Service Duct
GEORGE is running through the service duct looking back over his shoulder to see if anything is chasing him, shadows lollop down the walls on two legs and on four. George skids to a stop and glances up and jumps. Grasping an edge pulling himself up and through the hatch, slamming it shut behind him. The sound of the coffee machine smashing on the floor, with the mugs, can be heard and the rough sound as a table is dragged. A large thump is heard over the hatch. 

INT. Santa’s Grotto
GEORGE bounds into the Grotto but it is not black anymore lights are on all over the room. The tinsel illuminated and the tree lit up. GEORGE cautiously slides around, sitting in the chair is SANTA CLAUS still in his uniform of red and white fur trimming. SANTA CLAUS beams at GEORGE

SANTA CLAUS
Well hello there. I wasn’t expecting anyone, what are you doing here?

GEORGE
I left something urgent behind earlier today when I brought my son

SANTA CLAUS
Ah. It is so easy to misplace things isn’t it? Myself, I forgot my reading glasses...
(pats the chair arm)
I keep them in a draw built into this chair, handy if you can remember they are there

GEORGE
(Ignores this and looks at the door)
Do you have a phone? There are these.... things

SANTA CLAUS
Things?
(Gets up out of the chair and walks over putting a hand on GEORGE’S shoulder)
Have you been drinking? I saw the broken glass

GEORGE
(Panic in his eyes and voice)
My son has just been devou... kidnapped by some mad men. I need the police they have a... den below the mall

SANTA CLAUS
Now, now there are no gangs under the mall I have worked here for years
(Looks at the man)
But lets go to a pay phone and get the police anyway. It won’t do any harm

Suddenly the lights go off in the grotto, the light from the back room shines under the door in. The noise of scrabbling at the hatch can be heard as well as animal sounds.

GEORGE
Can you hear that?
(No reply)
Hello

A black figure can be seen near the outline of the chair)

SANTA CLAUS
Now that you mention it yes....
(A slight ripping can be heard and the voice is turning slowly into a growl)
...yes I can

GEORGE
(His hand can be heard fumbling for the handle to the exit)
Are you ok?... Will you still help me?

SANTA CLAUS
(Growls)
Yessss

The sound of claws can be heard clicking on the floor, and as the sound starts to advance GEORGE pushes the door and falls out of the Grotto, getting up he slams the door shut and runs to the exit of the mall.

EX. CAR PARK
GEORGE is running to his car, the only one in the car park, the moon now hidden behind clouds but still shining down faintly. He reaches into his pocket as he approaches the car and drops his keys. 
GEORGE
Fuck!

As he bends down to pick them up he stops as other footsteps can be heard and he turns around to find BOBBY THE ELF facing him, this time in a long coat and jeans with a black tshirt on. 
GEORGE
(Moving backwards, falling onto his back as he moves)
God no! Please!

BOBBY THE ELF
I am not one of them

GEORGE
(Panic and fear in his eyes, and in a hopeful tone...)
Then you will help me?

BOBBY THE ELF
Yes I will
(Raises a baseball bat from under his coat)

GEORGE
Wha... what are you doing?

BOBBY THE ELF
I have to. If I don’t help them, they will kill me... so I will give them you
(Raises his baseball bat)
It is better to be unconscious

The bat comes down towards the screen and the screen goes black.

INT. LARGE CHAMBER
GEORGE groggily wakes up his head is lying on a stone slab and as he looks around his face turns to ash and terror. 
A flash of the creature appears on screen its face diving towards the camera, eyes red, mouth gaping saliva stringing between its fangs. The screen goes black.