Short story, The Grotto

The Grotto (Work In Progress)

Screen Note:
The southern part of the Balkan peninsula (Greece) is often faces the attack of the creatures and monstrous sized animals. People have seen these things coming out of a cave which is known as The Grotto. (A grotto is often a cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide. The mystery and perceived danger of these underground sites easily led to the formation of myths and gods.) Whosoever enters in the Grotto have to face the death. It was believed that the cave is cursed & monsters own it. Who kills everyone who enters in. Many times brave men tried to enter but they never returned. But someone needs to take risk in order to make all live. After two years one more brave man came in to make a difference.

Loud lighting sounds, some visuals flickering.

A man standing with a torch ( a sharp wood stick) in an entrance of cave. Heavy rain outside.

Lighting sound. Black out, close up.

A man having fair beard with mustache fully wet, determined, darting here and there with caution.

Dissolve to a wall of rocks in side the cave. A lizard is camouflaged (because of dust on it body) in to the wall. Slight movement in its body shows that it being there for a long time. Come the edge of the wall and spies on an insect fleeing around the wall.

Sudden after a little pause it opens his mouth and swallows that insect in. The man arrived in and inserts himself from behind the wall in to the cave.

The man looks focused, little scared and in search of something. He makes steps further in to the grotto. He wipes the torch around to make his way from the nets of spiders. Which were spread all around the cave.

He forwards himself. He starts feeling the cold. He notices that walls are wet in side. He suspects something but keeps moving.

He detects some unclear drawing inside on the wall. He carefully watches them but unable to get the idea out of it. Slowly moves his leg and feels something below it.

Sound “crack”.

He discovers that bones are spread there all around in the cave. Head bones, hand and leg bone etc. The bean of fear dropped inside him, but his courage foreshadows it. He tightens his grip on the stick of fire and squint his eye brow. Moves ahead.

Suddenly wind blows the fire off from his torch. He tries to light the stick with fire again but fails to do so. But surprisingly he is able to see further in the cave. A blue pale light is coming from inside makes it possible to see further in the cave. He then holds torch like the torch to protect himself in case of danger.

Looks here and there and moves ahead following blue light.

(Entry of another character.)

We see close up of eyes. (Fade in fade out.)

Smoke coming out from mouth because of cold (fade in fade out)

A monster like creature looks up, coming out of his sitting pose, making a roar.

The Man stops. He looks here and there with little fear but still able to maintain his stability & moves ahead.

The Monster hears footsteps & stands up suspecting something. He becomes hyper at something and shows little disappointment like he didn’t want to get disturbed.

Man comes in front of the Monster from behind the cave wall. Monster looks at him throwing blank expression. Man saw him and got ready to charge like he was expecting this kind of creature only in the cave.

He runs forward making his first move towards the monster with the sharp torch in hand. Shouting and attacking. Monster just dodges him like he is not interested in fight, showing pity towards the Man.

The Man hits himself on the cave wall. Without any pause or further thoughts he just goes for second attack. He is moving speedily to hit him hard. Man reaches near monster. Monster hits on the hand of the Man and torch falls dawn. Man founds himself empty handed at the other corner of the wall.

Monster is not seems to be aggressive but irritated. He is just trying to avoid the fight. Looks like he is giving chance to move out & go back.

But Man is not quitting. He is getting more aggressive with every move. He thinks if he quits it will be difficult for him to survive and move out of the cave alive. Fear causes him to attack constantly and with full power. In those heavy attacks he is able to hit monster with the torch.

Monster has lost his patience and he hits Man hard in agony. Man slides back hitting himself with a wall corner with force. He understood the power of this creature. He realizes that now there is no chance to escape because he made monster angry and now he’ll kill him.

Monster is showing unexpected expression. He feels sorry for what he has just done but not able to communicate his thought properly. He moves ahead to help the Man.

On other side Man is scared to death now after getting this hit from monster. He is thoughtless fail to understand anything he just looks for his torch here and there and able to get it.

Monster is moving forward showing disgrace and when he is just try to tell him something with his gesture… The Man makes an unexpected move towards him. Runs on the wall & attacks on the monster. Jumps in the air & inserts the torch in to the chest of Monster.

Monster’s tong stuck inside the mouth only. His eyes got wet he looks toward the Man and falls dawn. Monster’s eye showing tears with absolute innocence like he was trying to convince something but got failed. Man is breathing heavily. Standing still having no idea of what just happened. All seems sudden for him.

He looks deep in to the cave & he found the source of light and decided to move ahead. Monster not dead yet he in his full pain, shows a gesture to stop here only and not to move ahead. But Man was bewildered & fails to understand what just happened. This is very perplexed moment for him. He moves ahead with his confused state of mind. Man moves in the direction of light and vanishes.

He comes in to the picture again from the other side of that light and this side looks like all together new place hidden inside this small looking cave. A big dome covered mostly with the ice. The Man is looking like an ant in-front of this huge monstrous cave. It’s a closed dome there is no way further. This dome is surrounded by lots of water. There is a very little place to walk in between.

Man moves ahead, he is still confused. He is just seeing things & not getting any idea of it. He feels little cold. He is moving forward and comes to a pause.

Water is showing some movements behind the Man. Man looks back as he senses someone’s presence in the place, then suddenly a wind with some smoke blows on to his face. This wind blow makes him imbalance. He is finding difficult in viewing things. Suddenly a hand comes out of water with a scream. Man looks back towards it. A man who looks like drowning, he is asking for help. It seems he is stuck inside the water. Begging the Man to help him & make him move out.

Man tries to focus but not able to view it clearly, but he does understood that someone is stuck inside. Man looks towards the door & wondering how this one entered & when. The man inside the water cries for help very badly. For Man it is a very perplexed moment. He is not able to understand what is happening. He moves ahead to help him. He offers his hand for help. The man holds it quickly, grabs the hand hard & by pulling him the man makes his move out quickly.

Suddenly another hand came out near Man in same manner asking for help. Man in his confusing state gives him hand too. Both the man transforms in to the water shaped creatures & moves upward on to the Man. Another hand comes out of water. Man quits as he gets the idea that something undesirable is happening. He dodges his hand. Another hand from inside of water tries to hold Man’s feet. Man moves back speedily but other two creature are unstoppable. They attacked and captured Man from both the sides. (One by one lot of hands came out of water. Environment became chaotic. All were shouting, crying towards Man.)

One creature is on the neck & another on the other side biting & hurting the Man. Man starts feeling the pain of it. He removes the torch & mange to wipe around. Both the creatures fall dawn like the water splash.

Everything becomes silent suddenly. Water became still as before, all the creatures splashed & merged in to the water. Man is out of his own control feeling terrible pain because of that attack. He looks wounded mentally as well as physically. The torch drops from his hand.

Man is feeling too constrained like he will fall. His body is getting stiffer. He looks upwards, towards left and right for help. Hoping someone to come out from somewhere and help him somehow. The scars of those attacks are clearly seen on his body. Something happened which was not expected. His hands and legs started transforming.

His is getting darker. Skin started deforming. He is not able to maintain the balance. He is falling but trying to hold him with little forward steps. His shadow falls on the ground & his transformation is clearly seen in those.

He shouts in his unbearable pain. Lastly his shadow shows the transformation of his face in to the something ugly. In long shot a huge, ugly looking thing is visible. Black out with a roar sound.

Fade in… to a monster’s face, innocent eyes. Cloths were same as the Man who entered in the grotto. Fade out…fade in…

Full view of the monster, was actually that Man who transformed in to the one dangerous looking thing.

He goes near the dead body of the old monster and cried out laud realizing his mistake.

==X==