THE WILL
By MARC ADRIAN REYES
Chapter 1, Episode 4: "THE TRUTH INSIDE"
---
INT. LAB CORRIDOR - NIGHT
YNA moves cautiously through the dim corridor, separated from her team. Every step deliberate, rifle raised.
She touches her belly.
YNA
(whispering, fierce)
Marc says... if there's a light, even a small, tiny light... there's a door. Okay... I got this.
She begins walking slowly, rifle raised, muttering to herself as she steadies her nerves.
YNA
If there's a light... there's a door...
If there's a light... there's a door...
If there's a light... there's a door...
A distant GUNSHOT cracks through the corridor. Yna flinches, pressing herself against the wall.
YNA
(terrified, whispering)
What the hell?! A gunshot?!
A faint scraping sound echoes somewhere ahead. Yna freezes.
YNA
(whispering, tense)
Okay... breathe. Focus...
She forces herself forward, knuckles white on her rifle. Up ahead, a faint red light glows. Yna approaches cautiously. A small keypad sits on the wall.
YNA
A passcode... maybe there's a door behind this.
(beat)
Only one way to find out.
She checks beneath the panel for a fuse box, as Marc instructed. Nothing.
YNA
No fuse box... then... open the whole damn thing.
She rips the panel open. Wires spill out, tangled and confusing.
YNA
Green opens... red closes... blue for the keys...
(beat, frustrated)
Damn it... why are they all black?
She rests a hand on her belly, taking a deep breath.
YNA
Don't worry, baby... Mommy's got an idea.
She pulls a few wires together, testing combinations. Sparks fly, but nothing happens. Another faint scraping sound echoes.
YNA
(whispering, shaky)
Okay... keep it together...
Then, a DOOR CREAKS OPEN behind her. Relief floods her face.
YNA
Yes! If there's a light... there's a door!
(smiling, whispering to herself)
Thank you, Marc, babe... I'm so damn glad I married you.
She steps into the room. Her flashlight beam lands on a cage-but the contents remain obscured in shadows.
YNA
(cautious, confused)
Okay... what is this...?
---
EXT. UNDERGROUND TUNNEL - NIGHT
MARC, JEFF, and ELLA sprint through the dark tunnel, weapons ready.
MARC
Move! Faster! Ella-check the blueprint! Tell me if-
He stops. Ella doesn't respond. He grabs her shoulder.
MARC
Ella!!!
Ella jerks, firing her rifle by accident. Marc shoves it aside, barely dodging.
MARC
Ella!! Are you okay?!
Jeff dives for cover.
JEFF
WHAT THE HELL, ELLA?!
ELLA
(confused, trembling)
Sir?!
MARC
(urgent, firm)
Ella-what's going on?!
ELLA
I... I don't know...
Marc grips her shoulders, steadying her.
MARC
Listen to me. I know you're scared. We all are. But you can't lose focus. Not now.
Ella nods, still shaking.
MARC
Where's the blueprint? Do you have it?
ELLA
(voice shaking)
N-negative, sir... Ma'am Yna-I think she has it.
Marc nods, tapping her shoulder twice.
MARC
That's okay. But next time-keep your damn finger off the trigger.
ELLA
(whispering)
Y-yes, sir.
MARC
Good. Now let's move. We don't have time to waste.
Scene - Corridor / Lab - Night
Marc's team moves down the corridor. Jeff stops, eyes fixed on something pinned to the wall.
JEFF
Sir - there's a map here.
(he steps forward, studying it)
MARC
(glances at the map)
Nice spot, Jeff. Good eye. Alright - I want you to-
(the corridor lights snap on. Marc freezes, confused)
ELLA
(smiling, almost too bright in the sudden light)
We got lights now.
JEFF
But who-?
MARC
It doesn't matter who. What matters is we're not blind anymore. Stay sharp - and-
(a metallic clatter echoes: something slamming against a cage)
JEFF & ELLA
(stunned, exchanging looks)
---
YNA POV
Yna's breath quickens as she scans the room. The animals thrash in their cages, eyes locked on her, teeth gnashing against the bars.
YNA
(horrified whisper)
Oh my God... there's so many of you.
Her gaze shifts to photos pinned on a whiteboard - animals, markings, experiments, cruelty documented.
YNA
What kind of psycho would do this?
A snarl cuts through the air. Yna turns - a dog steps into view, its eyes milky white.
YNA
(nervous laugh, trying to calm herself)
Hey... hey, easy. You're not gonna hurt a pregnant woman, are you?
She takes a shaky step back. The dog lunges.
Yna falls to the floor hard, the animal snapping inches from her face. She shoves against its neck with both hands, muscles straining, teeth bared in terror. Her gun is just out of reach - she knows if she lets go, she's done.
YNA
(screaming)
Ahhh! Get off me!!
Her thoughts spiral: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, MARC?!
Her voice rips through the air: MARC! MARC!!!
---
MARC POV
ELLA
(alarmed, whispering)
That's-someone's screaming!
MARC
(urgent, low)
Yna!
He bolts toward the noise, boots pounding the floor. Bursting into the room, he sees Yna on the ground wrestling the dog.
Marc raises his rifle - five shots crack through the air. The dog jerks back, stunned.
Yna scrambles to her feet, her face pale but defiant.
YNA
(breathless, half-smile through the fear)
What took you so damn long?!
She rushes to Marc's side, raising her rifle.
Suddenly, the dog leaps at Ella, knocking her down. She rolls to the side, scrambling to get up as the beast lunges toward her again.
JEFF
Sir!
(points - the dog is getting up again)
MARC
(in disbelief, firing another burst)
How the hell are you still alive?!
The dog lunges toward Yna again, relentless.
MARC
(furious, barking orders)
Shoot it! SHOOT THE DAMN DOG!
Gunfire erupts - Yna, Jeff, Marc, and Ella firing in unison. The dog snaps and charges, but suddenly a single, deafening shot hits the animal squarely in the head.
The dog collapses, twitching, then goes still. No one speaks. Dust and smoke fill the air. The shooter is unknown.
INT. LAB CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Everyone looked at the shooter and froze, shocked.
MARC
Sophia?
(Looks at the dog, then back to Sophia)
Good job.
JEFF & ELLA
look at the dog, astonished
JEFF
(looking at the dog, impressed)
What a beast...
ELLA
(gasping, voice trembling)
Y-thank you... Sophia...
YNA
Yeah, thank you. We owe you one.
SOPHIA
(nervously, forcing a small smile)
No worries.
MARC
(glances at her, frustrated but relieved)
Didn't I tell you to stay with Jerome?
SOPHIA
Y-yeah...
(voice shaky)
MARC
Then how did you even get here?
SOPHIA
(nervously, stammering)
I-I heard someone screaming... I just followed the noise.
MARC
(confused, fiddling with the radio)
JEFF
How'd you know a headshot would shut up that thing?
ELLA
(amazed, trying to smile)
Yeah... how'd you know that?
SOPHIA
Just... a lucky guess, I guess...
MARC
(frustrated, trying the radio again)
What the hell is wrong with this thing?
YNA
(walking to Marc)
What's the matter?
MARC
The radio won't... I'm trying to reach Alvin. Can you try yours?
YNA
Okay.
(tries the radio)
It's not working either...
(Marc and Yna exchange frustrated, anxious looks)
ELLA
(looking at the animals in the cages, whispering in pity)
Poor things...
JEFF
(spots a door with a square glass window, peers inside, eyes wide)
Sir?
MARC
What?
JEFF
There's a room... I mean, multiple rooms...
MARC
(walks to Jeff, looks through the door window)
Yeah, you're right.
(opens the door, voice low and serious)
Yeah... there are doors here.
The team enters the room and sees dozens of doors.
YNA
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
(counting slowly, voice trembling)
ELLA
(terrified, stepping carefully, eyes darting)
Someone suddenly bangs through one of the doors. Ella jumps, heart racing, and accidentally hits a switch-lights snap on inside all the rooms.
Everyone freezes, staring as the rooms are suddenly illuminated, revealing rows of doors and shadowy figures behind them.
YNA
Thirty doors...
(spots pictures and notes pinned to a whiteboard, voice tight)
ELLA
(looking through a door window, horrified, voice shaking)
SIR!!!
MARC
(stops fixing the radio, tense)
What?
ELLA
There's a person inside...
MARC
What?!
(rushes to the door window, urgent)
Go! We have to rescue them now!!
ELLA & JEFF
Sir, yes sir!!
(Move forward, but Yna stops them, tense and insistent)
YNA
Wait! I wouldn't do that if I were you.
(holds up a picture and notes reading "the bite is the way," eyes wide with fear)
MARC
Why?
YNA
Those inside... they're not people.
MARC
(confused, voice rising)
What do you mean they're not people?
YNA
(reading from the notes, voice trembling slightly)
"Those patients who get bitten by the samples become deceased."
MARC
Bite? Deceased?
YNA
(shows the pictures, voice firm but shaken)
Yes. Whatever is inside... it's no longer a person, based on these notes.
MARC
(confused, heart racing, studying the pictures)
What are they doing?
YNA
They're not experimenting on animals only, but humans too.
MARC
(into radio, tense)
Jerome? You there?
JEROME (V.O.)
Sir? Go ahead, sir.
MARC
Come here.
(explains their location, urgency in his tone)
JEROME (V.O.)
Sir, yes sir.
(Sophia speaks in the background, faint but nervous)
MARC
Is that Sophia?
(glances at the person in front of him, confused, heart pounding)
JEROME (V.O.)
Yes, sir. She wants to ask who turned on the lights...
MARC
(voice low, confused)
If Sophia was there... then who the hell are we with?
(moves toward the group, tense)
JEROME (V.O.)
Sir? What do you mean? Sophia's been with us since you rushed to find Ma'am Yna.