CRYPTIC Season 1
Written by Adam Hoffman
Episode Two: “The Serpent Mound pt. 1”
CHARACTERS:
Cole Kurtz
Julie Kurtz
Chuck
Ruthie Platz
Introduction
Narrator:
Adams County--a patchwork of history and culture. You know you want to come. And why not?
You dreamed about it last night. You felt the draw. The cold, sweat poured from your face as
you looked out the window, knowing you would come here, be compelled to be here, be forced
to see what you saw in your visions….and the Outlet Mall has a shiny train for the kids! Plus
an IHOP. Adams County-----what did the dreams tell you?
You’re listening to Cryptic
We transition from intro music to the studio, Cole, Julie, and Chuck are meeting to discuss the next episode of The Cryptic:
COLE:
Okay, so what do we have, Chuck?
CHUCK:
Um, not a heck of a lot. A UFO was seen over Alliance….
JULIE:
Military jet.
CHUCK:
Bigfoot sighting in Dayton…
JULIE:
Bear with mange.
CHUCK:
Right. I don’t know guys. There’s not much here. I mean, not enough to make a show
out of…
JULIE:
Well, that’s a relief.
COLE:
What’s that mean?
JULIE:
We can have a little break. Some down time.
COLE:
You just came from two years of down time.
JULIE:
I mean dealing with Dad. Geez, processing grief, you’ve heard of it…
COLE:
Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.
JULIE:
Yeah, well, some time for real life stuff would be nice.
CHUCK:
Or we could try to make a show.
COLE:
Chuck?
CHUCK:
I’m just saying….I get paid by the show, you know.
JULIE:
Ah, Chuckles, always coming down to dollars and sense.
CHUCK:
I’ve got a mortgage
COLE:
Don’t we all?
JULIE:
Do we? Do you even know what one is?
CHUCK:
So, maybe see if we can piece together some sort of….a montage episode?
COLE:
Ah, that’s terrible!
JULIE:
Lame.
COLE:
I’m just thinking out loud here. It might be nice to remind people who you are, Julie. For our new viewers.
JULIE:
Do you think they could forget…(super smokey voice) this?
COLE:
No comment.
JULIE:
Okay, okay. Nothing to use?
CHUCK:
Nothing. Nada. Well, we did get a message from an old fan of the show down by the Serpent Mound.
JULIE and COLE: (excited)
Serpent Mound!
(Together they recite what their father must have repeated to them endlessly as children)
An ancient funerary earthwork possibly made by the Adena people, thousands of years ago.
COLE:
Ah, man it’s crazy that I can still remember that.
JULIE:
Well, it’s super crazy for me because I slept through most of those boring lectures Dad gave.
COLE:
If only you had paid attention….kidding. Total snoozefest.
JULIE:
How many times did we go there?
COLE:
What, like twelve? Dad loved that place.
JULIE:
I liked more than most of the places he dragged us to. It was...nice.
COLE:
Nice? The largest effigy mound in North America is only nice?
JULIE:
You sound just like him. “Effigy mound”. Calm down, Beavis.
COLE:
Just sayin’. “Effigy mound.” It’s a fancy way of saying we have no idea why they built it.
CHUCK:
Well, this Ruthie Platz lady says that she’s been experiencing “temporal distortions and
electromagnetic manifestations”.
COLE and JULIE:
Oh ho!
JULIE:
Those are the right buzzwords.
COLE:
And it’s Ruthie huh? We’ve heard from her a bunch of times. Sometimes his tips even pan out.
CHUCK:
So, whatcha think? Whatcha think?
COLE:
Couldn’t hurt to check it out.
JULIE:
No day time trips though. I’m having a hard times in the morning.
COLE:
You’re going to make this a night time gig?
JULIE:
Yup.
CHUCK:
What’s wrong with that?
COLE:
She gets cold.
JULIE:
No I don’t.
COLE:
Do to.
JULIE:
So do not.
Scene 2
Music and we transition. It’s nighttime in Southern Ohio, near the Serpent
Mound. Sounds of crickets, nighttime sounds. COLE and JULIE are walking.
JULIE:
I’m freezing, Cole.
COLE:
You should have brought a jacket. You gotta be prepared. Backpack, water,
flashlights….
JULIE:
Hole..
COLE:
What?
(Cole stumbles in the hole Julie just pointed out).
Ow. Stupid...ow!
JULIE:
I’m impressed. It’s like you’re trying to break your ankle...
COLE:
Well, you’re not having the best night either
(Cole trips again, this time over a log).
Ow! Stupid log!
JULIE:
That’s right, show that log who’s boss.
COLE:
Ha ha.
JULIE:
And will you keep it down? Honestly, it’s like you want us to get caught.
COLE:
Caught by who? They don’t have armed patrols here. It’s not a secure site.
JULIE:
It doesn’t have to be a “secure site”, Rambo. The Serpent Mound is a national park.
They have rangers or something…
COLE:
Not a National Park, a historical site, it’s a historical site…
JULIE:
It doesn’t matter what it is, Cole! No points for being specific.
COLE:( sotto voce)
Now who’s being loud.
JULIE:( mimicking him)
“Now whos’ being loud.”
COLE:
And I missed you being in Chicago why….?
JULIE:
My inner glow. Which is better than my outer decrepitude.
COLE:
Your words, not mine.
JULIE:
But you were thinking it. Classy.
COLE:
Yeah, well….
(Cole’s foot meets yet another log, and he stumbles… again)
COLE:
What’s with the logs here?!?
“Let’s go in the day” he said. “We can see things that will break our legs” he said.
JULIE:
I’m not a day person, Cole.
COLE:
Since when?
JULIE:
Since mind your own business. Are we near it yet? I’m antsy all exposed like this.
I’m not quite ready to spend another night in rural lock-up.
COLE:
Third time’s the charm, right?
JULIE:
I think the thing I miss the most is the meth heads. Not that it matters. It’s always in and
out in an hour or two...
COLE:
Speaking of meth--- Julie, you look tired. Are you sleeping?
JULIE:
Of course I’m sleeping. Too much sleep. Chicago was just...never mind. Let’s just not
get caught this time? Okay?
COLE:
I just don’t know how you’re dealing with Dad….
JULIE:
I’m dealing fine.
COLE:
You could talk if you want to.
JULIE:
Does it look like I want to talk?
COLE:
You know, you could always stay at my place. My... wife…um...my...
JULIE:
Erin.
COLE:
Who?
JULIE:
Your wife.
COLE:
Yeah, well, she would love to have you. You wouldn’t have to spend your time in that
run-down house in the Falls.
JULIE:
I’ll think about it.
COLE:
I wish you would. We been worrying about you. The kids want to see you.
JULIE:
Suuuure. ….Let’s concentrate on the now, okay?
COLE:
Ok, ok.
(Cole. Once again. Trips on a log…)
COLE:
OW! Oh, my God! Stop it logs!!
THEY stop moving.
COLE:
We’re here.
JULIE:
The pride of the Adena.
COLE:
It’s smaller than I remember.
JULIE:
We were smaller then.
COLE:
Dad always said this was a good place to see things. Right here by the mouth. “An
active zone” he would say.
JULIE:
Active, huh? Too active these days, I gather? Can you feel it?
COLE:
Yeah. That’s what this Ruthie is suggesting---”temporal distortions and electromagnetic
manifestations”.
JULIE:
Great. Lost memories and static electricity. Hardly earth shaking. I guess things have changed in the last two years….
COLE:
Dad would have checked it out. Anyways, Ruthie’s a fan, Jules. Calls in all the the
time. Leave messages. Some have panned out. You gotta take care of the callers.
You know that. That hasn’t changed.
A pause. Nighttime sounds.
COLE:
The stars are out tonight.
JULIE:
Yup. Stargazing from the head of the serpent. Poetic.
COLE:
Dad would have said something profound right now….
A brief pause.
JULIE:
So, where’s our gal?
COLE:
Around, supposedly. It’s time. She should be signaling us with a flashlight to show us...
RUTHIE: (in the distance)
Hey!
COLE:
Hey, I thought I heard something over there…
JULIE:
We might as well check it out.
JULIE and COLE: (as if from a distance)
Look over here!
COLE:
What did you say?
JULIE:
Nothing. I thought that was you.
COLE:
Nope. Huh. Weird.
(A thick fog rolls in, quite rapidly, and seemingly out of nowhere.)
JULIE:
God, now there’s fog. Perfect.COLE:
I guess we should get looking…
JULIE:
You don’t sound enthusiastic.
COLE:
Do you think there will be more logs?
JULIE:
There’s always more logs, Cole. Come on...
COLE:
Stay on the path. Less chance of...
(Something nearby -or far away?- rumbles, hisses and maybe growls)
JULIE:
What was that? Did you hear that?
COLE:
It’s an owl.
JULIE:
Hell of an owl.
COLE:
You don’t think it could be….
JULIE:
What?
COLE:
You know.
JULIE:
It’s cold and creepy out. Stop with the guessing games.
COLE:
I don’t want to say it…
JULIE:
No. Not this again, Cole.
COLE:
It’s a valid fear.
JULIE:
This isn’t Mothman territory. No Mothmans. Mothmen. Get over it.
COLE: (under his breath)
You weren’t there.
JULIE:
Calm down.
COLE:
Okay, okay, calm down…
JULIE:
Where was all that energy with that thing in Geauga?
COLE:
What’s that supposed to mean?
JULIE:
Your little fainting spell up by the maples….
COLE:
Look, I told you I don’t know what happened. It was like an overwhelming surge of….
JULIE:
Oh, sure. “Overwhelming”. Always an excuse. And then I get left with the mess…
COLE:
You get the mess? That’s not true. You know that’s not true….
JULIE:
I was practically the flippin’ maid, cleaning up your mistakes...
COLE:
Oh, here we go again, always whining about who has to do more...
JULIE:
Yeah, well your memory is part of the problem..
The rumbling, hissing, growling sound is back
COLE:
Shhhhhh….
COLE:
You hear that?
JULIE:
Yeah, I heard that.
COLE:
Let’s just….let’s just check this out, see what’s happening.
JULIE:
Sure, run toward the devil-noise. I’ve missed this.
COLE:
And I’ve missed your …..positive attitude.
JULIE:
Excellent retort.
COLE and JULIE: (as if from a distance)
Look over here!
JULIE:
There we go again.
COLE:
Yeah….so...keep on going? Not too crazy, right?
JULIE:
Not yet.
COLE:
Hey. Are you there? Ruthie Platz? You there?
JULIE:
This is so idiotic. Who does this anyway?
COLE:
What?
JULIE:
Secret messages. Tip-offs. Clandestine meetings. Meeting people at National Parks…..
COLE:
Historic sites.
JULIE:
...In the middle of the night. There’s gotta be a better way to run a business.
COLE:
We’ve always run the business like this. Anyhow, it worked for dad.
JULIE:
Yeah, look where that got him.
COLE:
He was doing what he thought was right. “Finishing…
JULIE:
What he started.” Finish what you start. He said that to us a thousand times.
COLE:
He was usually right.
JULIE:
Up until it killed him.
THEY walk for a few moments in silence. Cole chokes back some choice words for his sister…
JULIE:
The silent treatment. Touched a nerve I see….
COLE: (sharply)
You weren’t here. You didn’t see him at the end. He changed when you left.
JULIE:
Did he? Great, that’s great. I’m glad he did. Change, that is. I can only hope he changed on a fundamental level.
COLE:
He wanted you back. To be with him ….
JULIE:
After all he did?
COLE:
What? What did he do that was so horrible?
JULIE:
Are you kidding me? Are you listened to yourself Cole? Do you even just hear the words coming from your mouth?
COLE:
He missed you. We both missed you.
JULIE:
Yeah, well, only one of you counts now.
WE hear the rumbling, hissing, growling sound again (that can’t be good)
Again?
COLE:
This is getting ridiculous. Ruthie Platz! Ruthie Platz?
JULIE:
For God’s sake. She was probably pulling our leg. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. Coming to the Serpent Mound at nigh…. I bet she’s filming us right now.
COLE:
In this mist? No. She said she had something to show us. Something about the mound itself.
JULIE:
At the equinox? Here? This was a mortuary site, you know? Most likely thousands of human remains are under our feet at this moment. It’s a regular graveyard.
COLE:
Don’t be dramatic.
JULIE:
“Don’t be dramatic.” It’s a charged, mortuary site at the equinox in the shape of a giant snake. What part of that isn’t dramatic?
COLE:
There’s a meteorite impact crater here, too. It was…
WE hear Ruthie but she sounds off, like she is everywhere, and nowhere at the same time
Ruthie:
Hey! Over here. Over here.
COLE:
Hey, that must be her.
JULIE:
About time. Ruthie! We’re here!
COLE:
She was probably turned around in the fog.
JULIE:
Sure, sure. Wait up!
WE hear Ruthie again, still unsure of where she is
Ruthie:
Over here! It’s coming. It’s hungry!
JULIE:
What’s coming? What’s hungry?
THEME MUSIC SWELLS
“Narrator:
Cryptic is presented by Crooked Path Productions
And is produced and directed by Jeremiah Isley
Written by Adam Hoffman
Starring
Kristin Larsen as Julie Kurtz
Joshua Isley as Cole Kurtz
DJ Remark as Chuck
Becky DeHart as Ruthie Platz
Sound design, Foley and editing by Jeremiah Isley
Additional Foley by Benjamin Payne, and Sarah Isley
Music by Corey Heddleston and Benjamin Payne
Executive Producer Jeremy Sneed
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