Screams echoed through the dimly lit hallway as Ruby, Tasha, and Maya sprinted, their frantic footsteps slapping against the cold floor. The clown's laughter—the twisted, mechanical kind that crawls under the skin—followed close behind, reverberating through the walls like a haunting siren.
They turned a corner. Then another. Then another. Each one felt more like a maze designed to trap them than an actual school hallway.
Maya nearly bolted down another turn, but Ruby yanked her back just in time.
"Hide!" Ruby whispered, voice trembling.
They pressed themselves against a shadowed wall, breath hitching in their throats. Every inhale was a gamble; even the sound of their lungs working felt too loud.
Ruby risked a glance around the corner.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
A demon—hideously tall, grotesquely deformed—knelt over a mutilated corpse. Its hands were slick with blood, its face smeared crimson as it dug greedily into the open body, yanking out organs and devouring intestines like a feast. The sound of chewing—wet and brutal—turned Ruby's stomach.
Maya's whisper cut through the tension. "What is that thing?"
"Shh," Ruby hushed, her hand trembling as she clutched Maya's arm.
Then—
"I can't take this," Tasha whispered, shaking uncontrollably. "We need to go, now—"
But just as she stepped forward, Ruby pulled her back again.
A deafening crash shattered the silence.
From the end of the hall, a massive beast burst through, rage embodied. Hulking, mutated, its flesh sagged in places while bones jutted out like jagged weapons. Without hesitation, it slammed into the demon, sending it flying into a pile of lockers before snatching up the corpse and tearing it apart mid-air like paper.
The girls could only watch, frozen in horror.
Teeth chattered. Breath quickened. The air was thick with blood and fear.
Then—an eerie, spine-chilling whisper:
"Ma...ya..."
They turned.
The clown was there.
Closer than before. Grinning wider. Its chainsaw revving, the blade gleaming with fresh intent.
Before anyone could move—
The blade tore into Maya's side.
Her scream ripped through the air like a dying siren. Blood sprayed, soaking the floor and their faces, while the clown laughed—ecstatic, rabid, drool pouring down its chin.
"No! Maya!!" Ruby and Tasha cried out.
The beast roared again—a guttural, earth-shaking sound—and crashed through the wall, sending shockwaves that hurled everyone off their feet. Debris rained down. The clown's chainsaw clattered away.
Maya lay coughing, blood bubbling at her lips.
Tasha ripped off her jacket, pressing it against Maya's side, trying to stop the impossible bleeding. Ruby held her hand, eyes wide with tears and terror.
The clown began to rise again—slow, jerky, unnatural. The beast loomed, its eyes fixed on the girls, its claws ready to strike.
Then—
A voice.
Loud, commanding, echoing through the carnage like thunder:
"CUT!"
And everything stopped.
The clown froze mid-laugh. The beast halted mid-charge. Even the blood dripping from Maya's wound seemed to pause mid-air.
A silence followed.
Unreal. Cold.
And somehow, far more terrifying.
The silence was deafening. The only sounds now were the ragged, terrified breaths of Ruby and Tasha—sharp, uneven, and laced with dread.
Ruby cradled Maya in her arms, kneeling on the cold, blood-slick floor. Maya's breathing was faint—so faint it was almost nonexistent.
"Maya…" Ruby whispered, her voice cracking. "Can you hear me? Please…"
Tasha stood beside them, her eyes wide with panic. A single tear slid down her cheek before others followed in a steady stream.
"Ruby… what's happening?" she asked, her voice trembling, fragile as glass.
Ruby didn't answer immediately. She only shook her head, eyes flickering to the clown and the beast—both frozen in unnatural stillness, like paused puppets.
"They stopped moving… the moment that voice said 'Cut,'" she murmured, pressing Tasha's blood-soaked jacket harder against Maya's wound. "But I don't know how long this pause will last."
"Is Maya going to… die?" Tasha asked, her voice breaking into a sob.
"I don't know," Ruby replied, her hands trembling. "But we need to get out of here—before they start moving again."
She tried to lift Maya, struggling with her weight. Tasha moved to help.
Then—a sound.
A low thud. Footsteps.
Tasha froze. "No… please, no…"
Their hearts pounded as the footsteps approached. Then, around the corner, a figure appeared—panting, disheveled, but human. A teenage boy with tousled brown hair and piercing blue eyes skidded to a stop. A second boy followed close behind—taller, darker-skinned, with neatly braided cornrows and a quiet intensity in his eyes. Both looked worn, like they'd been running for days.
"Don't come any closer!" Ruby yelled, tightening her grip on Maya.
"It's okay," the first boy said calmly, his voice soft and steady. "You're safe. I swear. We're not like them."
"I'm Mason," he added. "And this is Asher."
Tasha, still shaken, looked at them with tear-stained cheeks. "Our friend… she's hurt. Bad."
Asher's eyes flicked to the frozen monsters, then to the girls. He unslung an axe from his back—just in case—and held it firmly.
Mason crouched down, examining Maya's wound with a grim expression. "We know someone who can help. But we need to move. Now."
Ruby narrowed her eyes, still protective. "How do we know we can trust you? For all we know, you could be part of this nightmare too."
Mason met her gaze. "I get it. You don't know us. But here's the thing—you can either stay here with them," he gestured toward the clown and beast, "or you can come with us and maybe survive."
"Your choice," Asher said bluntly, scanning the hallway with sharp eyes.
Ruby and Tasha exchanged a long, silent look—fear, uncertainty, and the tiniest flicker of hope swimming between them.
They nodded.
Mason gave a brief nod in return. "Good. Help me lift her. We don't have much time."
---
EXT. OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL – 12:30 PM
A sinister, smoke-like figure lingers in the shadows of the hallway. Its body dissolves into black mist, but two glowing red eyes burn through the darkness—watching.
EXT. SCHOOL COURTYARD – MOMENTS LATER
Mason gently lifts Maya into his arms, cradling her like a bride. Her skin is pale, lips trembling as she lets out a weak groan. Blood stains his shirt as he carefully places her in the backseat of a worn-out Jeep.
"We're running out of time," Mason says tensely, hurrying to the driver's seat. "She's losing too much blood."
Asher remains on high alert, scanning the area, weapon gripped tightly.
Ruby lingers for a moment. She glances up at the sky—gray, swollen with sorrow. Clouds twist like bruises in the atmosphere, and the air feels heavier by the second.
She turns to Tasha, already in the backseat beside Maya.
Just as Ruby's about to climb in, something catches her eye.
Shapes—human, but not alive—begin staggering toward them. Dozens. Maybe more.
"Oh my god…" she whispers, her breath caught in her throat. "What are those things… running at us?"
The others whip their heads around.
"GET IN THE CAR!" Asher barks.
Ruby dives into the Jeep and slams the door shut. Asher leaps in, and Mason slams his foot on the gas. Tires squeal, rubber burns—and the chase begins.
Zombies shriek behind them, spreading like wildfire, their numbers multiplying with every second.
Mason swerves expertly, dodging the lunging creatures as some slam into the sides of the Jeep, leaving bloody handprints and shattered bones in their wake.
"Where the hell did these things come from?!" Tasha cries.
"They're after Maya," Asher replies coldly, reaching under the seat and pulling out a firearm. He loads it in one smooth motion.
"What? Why?" Ruby gasps, glancing down at Maya—still unconscious, her head resting on Tasha's lap.
"She's still breathing," Asher says, raising the weapon and locking the window in place. "And whatever it is, it doesn't want her to stay that way."
He leans out the window—and unleashes a hail of gunfire at the pursuing horde.
Mason growls as he jerks the wheel, narrowly avoiding a zombie lunging at the windshield.
"Who is it?" Ruby demands. "What's coming after her?"
Mason's voice turns grim. "It goes by one name… Red Rehearsal."
Suddenly—
KABOOM!
A massive shockwave slams into the Jeep. Time stutters. Sound disappears.
And then—like a beast from a nightmare—a black tornado erupts from the earth, spiraling with screams and distorted fragments of scenery. It devours everything in its path.
"It's happening!" Mason shouts, fumbling with his seatbelt.
"What's happening?!" Ruby screams.
"Listen to me!" Mason yells. "You're not going to remember any of this! When it resets—just follow the script!"
"What script?!" Ruby demands.
Mason looks at her with calm, almost tragic eyes.
"The Red Rehearsal."
Then—
A thunderous voice booms across the sky like a divine command:
"ACTION!"
The tornado hits.
The world explodes.
---
INT. CLASSROOM – DAY
Ruby gasps—sits up suddenly, eyes wide, drenched in sweat. Her heart pounds in her chest.
She's seated at her desk. The classroom is silent. The teacher looks up from the board, concerned.
"Um… Ruby? Are you okay?"
Dozens of eyes are fixed on her. Among them—Maya and Tasha.
Both alive. Both unharmed.
Ruby stares back at them, completely disoriented.