Chapter 1
BLACK.
We fade to:
INT. DR. HAMILTON’S OFFICE - MORNING
A man in his mid-30s, wearing flannel and jeans with tennis shoes, sits in his chair shaking intensely.
Like he’d seen a dead man.
Another man in glasses and a coat sits at his own desk across the clearly disturbed man.
MAN IN GLASSES
How are you feeling?
DISTURBED MAN
... C... Cold...
MAN IN GLASSES
Should I have a nurse bring up a blanket?
DISTURBED MAN
No!!! No... Please...
MAN IN GLASSES
Leonard, this is the fifth time you’ve come in here with the shakes.
(beat)
It’s like you’ve seen a ghost.
The disturbed man, Leonard Conroy, stops shaking now and begins breathing calmly.
We pan over the doctor’s nametag on his coat --
-- Dr. Jeremiah Hamilton, PhD Neurologist and Pediatrician.
HAMILTON
You suffer from a form of paranoid schizophrenia; you have for a number of years.
(beat)
Like a handful of adults your age, you invented a fantasy world in your younger years
to deal with the trauma you endured...
(beat)
Leonard... You have to come back to reality. Your memories are your own.
Don’t let them manipulate and control you.
LEONARD
I can’t keep up with anything in my life anymore... I don’t even know what things to
remember or keep up with...
Hamilton sighs in dismay, before reaching for his desk phone.
HAMILTON
I know someone who may be able to help...
INT. SMALL HOUSE - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
We see a messy bed piled with clothes, gears and wires, mechanical parts galore.
The floor piled with it as well and in the center of it all, a 22-year-old longhaired man, Frank Lucas, sits with a pistol his hand.
He loads the gun, his eyes locked onto a pile of Polaroid photographs.
Frank picks up the one in the center, a beautiful smiling woman in a grassy field.
After a long moment of silence, he cocks the pistol and aims it at his temple.
He is trying to push himself to pull the trigger but hesitates.
Before he can rethink the situation, his cell phone rings.
Frank uncocks the gun and tosses it onto the bed.
FRANK
Hello?
HAMILTON (PHONE)
Hey, Frank. Long time, no see.
Frank cracks a small smile at the sound of his old professor’s voice.
FRANK
Oh, I’ll be damned. I wasn’t expecting to hear your voice today.
HAMILTON (PHONE)
Likewise, kiddo. Listen, I need a favor.
FRANK
A favor? You’re not the type to ask for help, teach.
HAMILTON (PHONE)
It’s a matter of... hands on expertise.
Franks hands begin to shake, his mind turning and racing.
Knowing what Hamilton is getting at even though we don’t.
FRANK
You know I don’t do that anymore.
HAMILTON
The world needs it. Now more than ever.
FRANK
And what did the world ever do for me?
HAMILTON
Gave you a gift. Come to my office sometime, we’ll talk more on it when you’re here.
The phone call ends and Frank finds himself looking at his junk spiraled across the room.
INT. SMALL HOUSE - KITCHEN – LATER
Frank has his phone between his ear and shoulder as he washes a plate at his kitchen sink with a soapy rag.
His friend, Trevor, answers the call.
TREVOR (PHONE)
You still have the same number.
FRANKSo do you, jerkoff.
TREVOR (PHONE)
All these years of silence and now it seems you’re lively again.
What’s got you calling me up? Rent troubles? Lemme guess, came out of the closet?
Honestly, it’s about time.
Frank silently chuckles as he rinses out a mug.
FRANK
You little shit, no, nothing like that.
Frank’s tone goes from friendly to serious in the matter of a breath.
FRANK (CONT’D)
Well, remember what we used to do?
TREVOR (PHONE)
Yeah. Why?
FRANK
I’m, uh...
Frank uses a washrag to dry his hands, then grabs his phone, still holding it to his shoulder.
FRANK
I’m doing something that sort of involves that.
TREVOR (PHONE)
You want me to get the gang back together, don’t you?
Frank steps into the Dining room.
Frank grabs a plate from the Dining Room then begins to walk back to the Kitchen.
FRANK
Well, I can’t really contact the other guys. I was hoping that....
Frank puts the plate in the sink water, then leans against the counter.
FRANK
.... Maybe you were still in contact with them. They were more your friends than they were mine, you know that.
TREVOR (PHONE)
I don’t know, man. That was years ago.
FRANK
I know but-
TREVOR (PHONE)
What the hell? I’ll call around, see if I can’t work my silver tongue.
FRANK
That’d be great, Trevor. Thank you. I’ll see you soon.
TREVOR
Still live in that old house?
FRANK
Yeah.
TREVOR
Awesome, I’ll see you too, man.
Frank takes the phone away from his ear, and hangs up.
EXT. HOSPITAL PARKING LOT – DAY
Frank steps away from his car and walks to Hamilton, who is walking toward him.
FRANK
Jeremiah!
HAMILTON
Hello, Frank. It’s so good to see you again.
They embrace tightly, teacher reuniting with the student.
FRANK
The years have been kind.
HAMILTON
You look like you haven’t aged a day.
(beat)
Are you ready to meet the man of the hour?
FRANK
Certainly.
HAMILTON
Then follow me.
INT. DR. HAMILTON’S OFFICE -DAY
Frank sits in a chair in front of Hamilton’s desk, reading papers similar to the one Hamilton was earlier.
Hamilton sits at his desk.
Beside Frank, we see Conroy sitting in the other chair.
CONROY
Is this the guy you told me about, Doctor?
Frank stands up, solemnly.
HAMILTON
Yes. This is Frank Lucas, an old student of mine.
Frank steps over to shake Conroy’s hand.
FRANK
Hello, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Conroy.
They shake hands.
CONROY
Just call me Leonard, sir.
Frank smiles.
FRANK
As long as you call me Frank. How’ve you been holding up?
Conroy looks at his pale, shaky hands, unable to give a positive answer.
HAMILTON
Frank is here to explain what his treatment consists of, allowing you to make your final decision.
CONROY
Final decision? On what?
HAMILTON
On whether you believe this treatment will be for you or not.
CONROY
What is it?
Hamilton turns to Frank, gesturing for Frank to speak.
FRANK
You see, Leonard, you have a very rare form of schizophrenia that we call the “Memory Complex.” All the mental disorders you suffer from are causing you to replace your memories with other memories that either didn’t happen at all or happened a tad differently. This disorder that started popping up in younger children back in 2012. Only a select few experience it, often found in kids. Given their brains haven’t fully developed, the disorder doesn’t seem to do as much harm as it does when found in adults. There’s no official medical way to treat it.
CONROY
Then, how are you supposed to help?
FRANK
I have a specific, unique treatment. But, it’s dangerous, not necessarily known by the public. Truthfully, I don’t even know how this procedure would hold up in court.
CONROY
What procedure?
Frank looks at Hamilton, then at Conroy.
FRANK
Well, I call it Mind Jumping.
Conroy looks at him, gesturing for explanation.
FRANK (CONT’D
Me and four other people transfer our minds into your subconscious. We search your mind for what’s causing your unstable conditions and we destroy it.
CONROY
That sounds impossible.
FRANK
It isn’t. Our brain is always sending electrical waves through the body, this procedure simply manipulates those electric waves and bends them to our will.
CONROY
Could you really be able find what’s wrong with me?
FRANK
That’s the harder question to ask. Since you’re an adult, your mind is fully developed to where many parts of your subconscious will try to hurt us, believing we are a virus. Kinda like a white blood cell. Nevertheless, I have to dig deep to find whatever’s causing it. Moreover, if me or my other four companions don’t handle this right, there’s a good chance the majority of us could die.
Conroy looks at his feet, surprised and concerned.
FRANK
It is a very delicate and dangerous operation.
Conroy breaths deeply.
FRANK
Again, you don’t have to do this.
CONROY
There are many times, over the last few years, where I’ve had violent out bursts I couldn’t control. These little flashes of outburst keep getting stronger and stronger. I’ve hurt people I love, I said things I never would say...
Conroy looks at Frank.
CONROY
I’m losing myself... Please if you can help me, I’ll do anything.
