Lost In The Rain (Script)

FADE IN:

INT. FOREST. A RAINY NIGHT.

It is a dark, haunting atmosphere. The rain pours heavily, thunder crashes and lightning flashes. With one flash of lightning, the title appears:

OPENING TITLE: “LOST IN THE RAIN”

THUNDER FLASH.

CUT TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

EXT. MEADOW. A WARM SUMMER’S DAY.

A butterfly flutters past, and this leads us to a small path in the meadow. In walk Sybil, Luke, Resus, Cleo, their pets Dig and Lulu and all their parents, who are going on a walk this fine Summer’s day. Sybil looks around and sees all the beautiful sights: the flowers growing in the meadow and butterflies fluttering around. It is very sweet and peaceful.

SYBIL

It’s such a nice day. You could smell the fresh perfume in the air!

CLEO

I quite agree. It is the perfect day to be outside in the clean air.

SYBIL

It’s also a time to be around the flowers!

(to her offscreen mum)

Mum! Mum! Can we play amongst the flowers for a while?

SYBIL’S MUM

(O.S.)

Well…

SYBIL/LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

(altogether, innocently)

Pleeez?

MIKE WATSON

Well, they do have a point. They’ve been in nature before.

MUM

(O.S.)

Alright then, you kids run off and play.

LUKE/SYBIL/RESUS/CLEO

(in unison)

YEAH!

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil run out of frame.

EXT. MEADOW - CONTINUOUS. DAY.

BEGIN MEADOW PLAYTIME MONTAGE:

A). Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil run into the meadow and begin throwing petals up into the air in joy.

B). They race across the meadow playing tag. Luke tags Sybil first, then Cleo and Resus tackle them to the ground. They lie in a heap, laughing.

C). Sybil and Luke prowl across the grass towards Cleo, who is making a flower crown. As they leap onto Cleo, she throws her flower crown high into the air, causing a shower of purple petals. Luke and Sybil tickle Cleo, who screams with laughter.

D). Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil roll down a green, grassy hill together.

E). Sybil makes a flower crown and places it atop Luke’s head. REVEAL: Resus and Cleo, wearing flower crowns too.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MEADOW - SUNSET. A FEW MINUTES LATER.

END MONTAGE.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil lie head to head in a circle on the grass, and gaze up at the tangerine sky. It is a peaceful moment.

SYBIL

We’ve had such fun today, haven’t we?

LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

Yeah right./For sure.

RESUS

There’s nothing I like better on a warm Summer’s day than to lie back and watch the sky change its lovely colours.

SYBIL

I quite agree.

LUKE

Where have all the clouds gone?

SYBIL

I guess they fade away by the time night falls. It’s a shame we lose our clouds, then we’d have no shapes to look at.

CLEO

But clouds form shapes in our minds.

LUKE
They’re called thoughts, Cleo.

CLEO

Oh! Yeah, right. Thoughts.

Sybil sits up and looks at the sun setting in the distance. She motions for her siblings to get up:

SYBIl

The sun’s going down. We must get back to our parents. They might be wondering where the heck we are.

LUKE

Race you back!

CLEO

(laughs)

Ha-ha, never catch me!

Sybil, Luke, Resus and Cleo race across the meadow back to the path they went from, laughing.

FULL SCREEN - SKY

Grey clouds slowly begin to cover the darkening sky, signalising it’s about to rain.

EXT. MEADOW - PATH. EVENING.

Sybil and her siblings make it back onto the path they went from before, cheering and high-fiving. Sybil calls:

SYBIL

Mum! I won, I wooooon!!

(suddenly worried)

Mum?

Sybil’s mum isn’t there. Neither are Luke, Resus and Cleo’s own parents. Desperate and worried, Sybil begins to call:

SYBIL

Mum? Mum?! Muuuuuuum!!

The worry spreads to Luke, Resus and Cleo, and they too start to call for their parents:

LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

(worried)

Mum!/Dad!/Where are you?

Suddenly, lightning flashes and thunder crashes. Sybil runs to hide behind her big brother Luke, screaming in fright. It begins to rain heavily. Sybil slowly emerges from behind her brother’s legs, and looks up at the sky.

SYBIL

Oh great. Now it’s raining.

RESUS

And we’ve been left behind.

CLEO

What are we going to do? I wish we’d never gone on this walk.

SYBIL

Save it for when we find a solution to the problem, Cleo. All that matters for us is sticking together. When I reached the age I am at now, I swore to always have your back. Now, we search for our way home.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil trudge through the heavy rains of the meadow to find their way home. We have a MONTAGE of Sybil, Luke, Resus and Cleo trying to find the path back home, but as they progress, they get sicker and sicker, until their noses begin to dribble with snot and they start coughing and sneezing.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. FOREST. THE SAME RAINY NIGHT.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil trudge through the forest, feeling really sick and sneezing and coughing. Sybil is the most upset of all.

SYBIL

That’s what comes of being out in the rain for too long.

RESUS

Yeah, you get so wet and cold and miserable that-

(sneezes)

AAAATCHOOO!! You get a cold. Now I’ll really have something to say to Dr Skulley.

LUKE

Talk about all the times you got sick, Resus. When was the last time you faked sick?

RESUS

Never! I never did!

CLEO

You’re certainly not-

(sniffs)

-faking it.

SYBIL

Now how are we going to get home? We’re going to have to stay here forever!

LUKE

And it’ll be so cool! We’ll build a camp and wear animal skins and play together in the forest all day.

HUNTSTRIKE

(O.S.)

I don’t think that’ll be possible.

Luke, Resus and Cleo look in the direction of who’s speaking.

ZIP TO:

Huntstrike and Shystalk, two lionesses who Sybil and her friends first met on their camping trip. Shystalk is a shy grey lioness, while Huntstrike is a tannish-brown, mysterious lioness with no eye pupils. Sybil is delighted to see her old lion friends.

SYBIL

Huntstrike! Shystalk!

Sybil runs up to Shystalk and gives her a hug.

SHYSTALK

Hey now, hey, hey, you’re getting germs all over my fur.

HUNTSTRIKE

It’s okay, Shystalk, they’re suffering from a simple illness.

SHYSTALK

Suffering? I didn’t know that.

HUNTSTRIKE
It’s about time you knew.

(to Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil)

You can’t stay in the forest forever. Should you get sick, you die.

LUKE/RESUS/CLEO/SYBIL

(shocked)

Oh no!/We can’t die!

SYBIL

We need to find a way home. How do we know where the path home is?

HUNTSTRIKE

Now you mention it, I know of a place somewhere in this forest. It’s home to the tallest tree, and shining down on it is a special beam of sunlight. It’ll create a path that’ll guide you and your friends back home.

CLEO

Oh, thank you, Huntstrike, we definitely needed your advice. Our illnesses are getting worse.

HUNTSTRIKE

Think nothing of it.

(backs away into the darkness)

And remember, to look for the light, search for the tallest tree…

Huntstrike backs further and further away into the darkness of the forest, until her eyes are shown. Her mysterious eyes begin to close, and Shystalk just scampers away into the bushes. Sybil coughs loudly.

SYBIL

Shame we haven’t got any tissues. But there’ll be time for that later. We have to find the tallest tree in the forest.

Sybil leads Luke, Resus and Cleo across the forest. We have another MONTAGE of Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil trying to look for the tallest tree, only to end up in wrong paths. The MONTAGE finishes and we see Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil in the middle of the forest, calling for help.

SYBIL/LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

(calling)

Help!/Help, somebody!/Can somebody hear us?!

DISSOLVE TO:

FULL SHOT - FOREST. NIGHT.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil are tiny dots in the distance, calling for help.