Chapter 6

(They all drive into the driveway. It is eerily silent, there is no parked car and nobody is home. They stop in front of the house. They all get out of the car, Ellie first.)

Ellie: Something is really strange here. Where are the dogs?

(She looks over to the doghouse. Ellie cries out, seeing that there are two dead dogs and one very sick one.)

Ellie: What’s happened??!!

(Ellie runs over to them, with Kevin not far behind.)

Ellie: Kevin, take care of them… I’m going to check the house.

(Ellie and Carrie are in the house first, and the others [except Kevin] come in shortly)

Carrie: Jesus, what’s happened?

(Everyone is silent for a moment, dumbfounded to see a completely normal house abandoned. Everything is neat and tidy.)

Phil: What was wrong with the dogs?

Ellie: They’re all dead except Millie, and she’s nearly dead.

Amy: Let’s try to call someone. I’ll try my parents.

Ellie: No, let’s try Phil’s parents. They’re closest. They’ll know.

(Amy hands Ellie the phone. She begins to press numbers, but realizes that there’s no dial tone.)

Ellie: There’s nothing.

Carrie: (worried look, voice shaky) Oh, Jesus.

(Kevin comes in carrying the dog.)

Ellie: She needs food. It’s in the closet.

Phil: I can get it.

Ellie: (to Kevin, talking quickly and acting unnerved) We tried calling Phil’s parents, since no one was home and they’re the closest and I picked up the phone and it wasn’t working and… we’ve got to do something.

(Phil comes back to the kitchen with a bowl of food and a bowl of water.)

Phil: The power’s off in the closet. And something smells terrible.

Ellie: (absent mindedly) Terribly… it smells terribly.

(Phil just looks at her)

(Robin tries the TV, but its dead, as Amy says…)

Amy: Didn’t they say they were going away?

Carrie: If your grandmother got sick or…

Ellie: Why’d they cut off the power, then?

Kevin: Some big electrical problem? Maybe the power’s been off for days and they had to move somewhere.

Ellie: (snappy) They would’ve left a note… they wouldn’t have let the dogs die.

(Silence)

Kevin: It’s like… like all of that UFO stuff. Like aliens have taken them away.

(Ellie gives him a look)

Kevin: I’m not trying to make a joke of it, Ellie. I know something bad has happened. I just don’t know what it could possibly be.

Ellie: Let’s go back to the [car]. We’ll try Phil’s.

Lee: Wait. Don’t you have a transistor radio? A battery one?

Ellie: Umm, yes, I don’t know where… why?

Robin: There’s a radio in the car.

Lee: Have you heard any news since we’ve been away?

Robin: No. I tried a few times, but they didn’t come in. I think we were too cut off to get them.

Lee: Ellie, can you look for the radio?

(Ellie disappears, showing shots of her wildly looking around the room for it. She finds it and returns to the kitchen. On the way back turns on the radio. When she gets to the kitchen there’s only static. Everyone looks frightened.)

Lee: I dunno… lets just go to Phil’s.

(They leave the house, go to the car, and dive to Phil’s. Ellie is driving, and when she arrives at Phil’s she stops suddenly, skidding on the gravel. Phil whips the door open and runs to the house.)

Phil: (yelling) MOM! DAD!

(Everyone else gets out, except Lee, who turns the [car] back on and drives it into the shade. Kevin and Carrie walk after him, but Ellie watches Lee as Robin stays behind with her. Lee stops the [car], gets out of the [car], and walks towards the door.)

Ellie: (screaming) Lee! You’re wrong! Stop doing this! Stop thinking that! You’re wrong!

Robin: (calmly) He probably is. But the radio…hold yourself together, Ellie. Just ‘til we know.

(Shot to Robin and Ellie entering the house. Phil comes running to them.)

Phil: (urgently) Ellie, do you know how to milk cows?

Ellie: No, sorry Phil, I never learned.

Carrie: I know how.

(Phil grabs Carrie and runs to the back door. Ellie walks into the kitchen and finds Lee. Lee just gets done putting the phone down as she enters. Lee shakes his head. Phil comes in just then.)

Phil: There’s a good radio in the office.

(Amy and Robin enter.)

Amy: Would that be safe?

Phil: I don’t know… who knows anything?

Ellie: This is ridiculous. I know what you’re thinking, and it is completely… absolutely… impossible. Just not possible. These things don’t happen, not here, not in this country.

Robin: (suddenly remembering something) Those fires! They would be out fighting those fires. There were some bad ones, so bad they couldn’t get back.

Phil: But they weren’t that kind of fire. You know that… you know what a bad fire looks like.

Lee: I don’t know much about these things, but shouldn’t there be a lot of talking on the radio if there’s all those fires?

Phil: Yes!

(Phil runs into office where radio is.)

Amy: But there’s no power.

Ellie: It has back up batteries.

(Amy, Ellie, and Phil go into the office, which is small, and everyone is crowded.)

Phil: Should we send out a call on the radio, Ellie?

Ellie: We could, but everyone else will be in the same boat as our parents. The authorities must know about this, so it wouldn’t help if we tried to call… we are desperate to find out what’s going on, though….we’d create danger for ourselves… (voice getting unsteady) if something bad’s happened… if people are out there…

Lee: So…

Ellie: Let’s not call.

Phil: I agree.

Lee: Me too.

(The four go into the kitchen, where Carrie and Kevin are.)

Kevin: (to Phil) You mind if we go to our places? We could go by ourselves with [car]… or [other car].

Robin: Wait, we’ve got to think, guys. We can’t just rush off, there’s a lot at stake here. Maybe lives, even. We’ve got to assume something really bad has happened.

Ellie: (angry and yelling) Of coarse its bad!! Do you think my dad would leave the dogs to die?

(Brief silence, then everyone loses control. Robin starts crying, Kevin runs his hands through his hair, Amy has her hand in her mouth and is white in the face. Everyone is talking at once.)

Robin: I didn’t mean to make you mad, Ellie! You know I didn’t!

Carrie: Shut up! Everyone just shut up!

Kevin: Oh God, oh God, what the hell’s going on?

Phil: (suddenly, not in an angry voice) Amy, I’ve heard of biting your nails, but that’s ridiculous!

(Everyone is silent again and looks at Amy. Suddenly everyone bursts into hysterics. After a few moments, Lee speaks.)

Lee: (wiping tears off his face) I think we should listen to Robin.

Robin: I’m sorry everyone… I didn’t choose the best words to say. (Robin takes a deep, calming breath.) Look, all I wanted to say is that we have to be careful. It might not be very smart to drive around going to everyone’s houses. We should try and decide some things, like if we should stick together or break into smaller groups. Or whether we should use the cars. And should we wait until dark?…I think we should, and not use any lights.

Ellie: What do you think really happened? Do you think Lee is right?

Robin: There’s no sign of anyone leaving in a hurry. They left awhile ago, and it looks like they expected to come back.

Carrie: They must have gone to the 4th Celebration, to the show.

Phil: (Looking to the table, as if something was there before) Hey! Mom’s sewing project is gone. She was working on it for the contest they have there. She must have taken it.

Robin: So they went to the 4th of July thing, and they didn’t come back. The power has been cut off and there are lots of fires. Nobody has returned home. What would all of this mean?

Lee: You forgot something- the hundreds of planes for the Show, and they were flying low without their lights on.

Amy: (Looking angry) And let’s assume that all you guys are saying is nuts. There are LOTS of things that could have happened! You have to consider those, too.

Kevin: Like what?

Amy: They could be sick, from food poisoning at the show or something. They’re in the hospital.

Phil: What about the fires and the planes? Radio stations?

Amy: Well, the Air Force might have needed to help.

Robin: Without their lights?

Amy: (shouting) We don’t know for sure. Ellie might not have seen those planes well. It was night and she could have been half asleep. She didn’t know for sure.

Ellie: Amy, I saw them, I know I did. Robin, Lee, didn’t you see them, too?

Robin: (snappy) I just heard them.

Phil: Everyone calm down. For chrissakes if we keep fighting we won’t get anywhere. Amy, what else do you think?

Amy: They could’ve went to help somewhere, like maybe there was a tornado somewhere.

Kevin: And they didn’t leave any notes? The radio and power?

Lee: Amy, they might be valid theories. I’m not saying you’re wrong, and these things could be coincidences. But the thing is, there is an answer that fits everything so well. Our conversation in Hell, remember, where we said the 4th of July would be the perfect day to do it?

(Amy nods, and tears are streaming down her face)

Lee: If we’re wrong, we can all laugh about this tomorrow or next week or whatever. But for now, let’s say its true. That we’ve been invaded. That I think there might be a war.