INT. BOYS ROOM- JUST BEFORE SUNRISE

WILL(9) awakes to a light being switched on and off. Will

lies with a book on his chest, in his bed. He looks to the

door of his bedroom and sees the figure of a man standing in

the doorway. The lights are switched on and off several

times. GREG(39, a bit scruffy), standing in the doorway,

tries to give Will a smile but he can’t seem to make one.

Greg walks away. Will sits up and gets out of bed. He

sleepily walks out of his room.

INT. KITCHEN- JUST BEFORE SUNRISE

Will sits at the dinning table as Greg fixes him a bowl of

cereal. Greg holds up a cereal box and shakes it for him to

see. Will shakes his head. Greg lifts up another box and

shakes it. Will nods his head in approval. Greg places the

bowl in front of Will, who digs in.

INT. BATHROOM- SUNRISE

Greg is looking at himself in the mirror while shaving. Will

can barely see over the counter but is watching the

reflection of Greg in the mirror.

INT. GREG’S BED ROOM- JUST AFTER DAY BREAK

Will and Greg are putting on two piece suits at the same

time. Will is watching as Greg makes a tie around his own

neck. Will struggles with his clip on tie. Greg smiles and

helps him fix it.

INT. CAR- MORNING

Will is sitting in the back seat of Greg’s car. The trees on

the outside are running across the his face as he stares out

the window. He follows the the row of trees as they go by.

EXT. CEMETERY- MORNING

Will opens the car door and gently slides out of the car. He

waits patiently till Greg comes around the side of the car

and takes his hand. Greg leads him to a rectangular hole,

that people in black have gathered around.

Will stands at the edge of the hole and stares down at a

coffin. He looks up at Greg questioningly. Greg is looking

into the hole. Greg looks lost in his eyes.

EXT. BACKYARD- NOON

Will, still in his suit, is swinging on a play set. He

watches as adults gather round in groups and talk. Some of

them laugh, some cry. Some of them even come up to him to

1

pat his shoulder or ruffle his hair like a little dog.

Will notices a toddler who can barely even lift his own

legs, let alone a shovel. The toddler is trying its hardest

to dig. Will watches with mild interest.

EXT. BOYS ROOM (NEXT DAY)- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Will is asleep in his bed. A book is left on his chest. He

sluggishly gets up and puts on his clothes. He tries to put

on his socks while standing up but has trouble.

INT. KITCHEN- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Will struggles to make himself a bowl of cereal but makes

more of mess.

INT. THE TOOL SHED- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Will enters shed, flips on switch, and grabs a shovel.

EXT. OUTDOOR TRAIL- DAY BREAK

Will walks along a path. He’s holding a lunch box and a

shovel while walking among some flowers, and small hills

with scattered trees.

EXT. FOREST ENTRANCE- DAY BREAK

Will pauses to peer in. He hesitantly enters the forest

slowly.

EXT. FOREST- MORNING

Will walks for a while on a path that’s over grown. He finds

a nice clearing off the path and down a ridge. He throws

down his shovel next to a big tree and starts to roll up his

sleeves.

Will starts to dig and after the third time he breaks

ground, he has a sharp pain and immediately puts his finger

to his mouth. He takes a look at his finger. There is a

splinter. He tries to get it out but can’t. He continues

digging, regardless.

EXT. FOREST- MID DAY

Will has stopped digging and is sitting on a log. He pulls

out his lunch box and starts to enjoy the PBJ and juice box

he packed. He pulls out a thing of string cheese and has fun

pulling pieces apart. Will sees a slug on the lug and places

a piece of cheese int front of it. It slowly moves around

the cheese.

2

EXT. FOREST- SUNSET

Will is digging but is struggling. He notices that the sun

is about to go down. He packs up things for the day and

starts his walk home.

INT. KITCHEN- EVENING

Greg is making dinner when Will walks in. Greg looks at Will

like he wants something. Will looks down at himself and

realizes he has tracked mud inside. He gives Greg a smile.

Greg not amused. Will goes back outside and takes off muddy

shoes. He removes his jacket and enters again.

Will goes to the sink and washes his hands. He sets the

plates as Greg brings the food to the table. They eat a

silent dinner.

Will finishes and uses a small stepping stool to put his

dishes in the sink. He runs some water on them. He turns off

the water and walks out of the kitchen.

EXT. THE TOOL SHED- EVENING

Greg is walking with a bag of trash in hand. He notices

small, very muddy, tacks leading from the shed to the house.

INT. THE TOOL SHED- EVENING

Greg enters the tool shed. He stuffs a garbage bag inside

the trash can. He looks at the muddy shovel.

INT. WILLS ROOM- EVENING

Will is in his bed reading. The light starts flashing off

and on. Will looks up to the door where Greg is standing.

The Greg pauses as if deciding whether or not to enter the

room. He turns of the light and cracks the door closed

instead.

FADE TO BLACK

INT. WILL ROOM- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Will wakes up. He’s moving a little slower than usual. He

sits up and stops. Every second is a fight against laying

back down.

INT. KITCHEN- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Greg is wearing a cooking apron when Will enters the

kitchen. With an oven mitt, Greg motions for Will to sit at

the table. There is already a plate and glass of OJ so he

sits in front of it. Greg slides two eggs, 2 slices of

3

bacon, and 2 slices of toast on the plate. Will digs in.

Greg drinks coffee and reads the newspaper as Will eats.

Will flinches when he picks up his fork. Greg notices sets

his coffee down to grabs the boys hand. Greg inspects the

finger and tries to push the splinter out. Will withdraws

his hand in pain and shakes his head at Greg. Greg gives him

a look but it doesn’t work. Greg gives up and leaves.

Will puts his plate in the sink and starts to rinse it off.

Greg in and shoos him away. Will starts to leave but Greg

grabs his shoulder and points at something. Will looks over

and sees his lunch box with a pair of gloves next to them.

He struggles to grab it off the counter, that is almost too

high for him. He runs out the door.

EXT. OUTDOOR TRAIL- DAY BREAK

Will is moving a little faster than the day before, as if he

has more energy.

EXT. THE FOREST ENTRANCE- DAY BREAK

Will enters the forest, this time without hesitation.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MORNING

Will has returned to the spot where he started digging. He

sets his lunchbox down and gets right back to work with an

over-sized pair of gloves. They look like female gloves.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MID DAY

Will takes his lunch break inside the hole. He tries to use

the shovel in one hand and eat his sandwich with his other

hand. Will realizes the shovel is useless with one hand so

he throws the shovel down. He pulls his hand out of his

glove and looks at the splinter. He takes bites from his

sandwich as he stares at the splinter. The boy grabs dirt

with his empty hand and casually scoops handfuls and tosses

them to the side.

EXT. FOREST- AFTERNOON

The hole is getting deeper. Only the top of the boys head is

seen bobbing up and down.

EXT. FOREST TRAIL- AFTERNOON

ALEX(13, the one in charge), TWIN BROTHERS (11/11), and

HELEN (8, Alex’s Sister) are on bikes riding through the

forest. They speed by the ridge just above where Will is

digging the hole. Helen (with a helmet on) is struggling

behind. She sees something and falls off her bike. She

4

stands up and looks down where Will is digging. The other

kids come back to see what’s going on. Alex picks up Helen’s

bike and places it in front of her to grab. She points down

at the hole. They all look to see what appears to be dirt

being flung out of a hole by itself.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- AFTERNOON

The kids approach the edge. They stare down at Will who is

rhythmically shoveling dirt, throwing dirt, shoveling dirt,

throwing dirt.

Alex yells down at Will but he doesn’t hear or stop. The

girl nudges Alex to stop. One of the twins hands the other a

rock. That twin throws a rock down at him. Helen punches the

twin who threw the rock.

Will looks up through the dust to see four faces looking

down at him.

Will throws the shovel up and crawls out of the hole. He

takes off his gloves. They stare at him. Helen waves but

tries to hide it from the other kids. Will gives an awkward

grin but dares not wave back. Alex and the twins stare at

Will then the hole. Will looks over his shoulder back at the

hole and gives them a unsure grin. Alex takes a moment to

look at the twins who shrug at him. Alex motions for them to

leave. Will watches as they get back on their backs and ride

away. He sighs in relief before getting back in the hole.

CUT TO:

EXT. FOREST- LATE AFTERNOON

Greg stumbles through the forest and happens to find the

site but watches from a distance. He notices Will seems to

be having trouble digging. Like the ground is too hard.

INT. KITCHEN- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Again Greg is up cooking when will enters the kitchen. Will

sits down to find pancakes at the table.

Will goes to put on his muddy boots and sees a pick axe

laying next to them. He picks it up and inspects it. He

looks up to see Greg watching. Greg tips his coffee mug to

Will, giving him the okay. Will grins and takes off.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MORNING

Will tosses his lunch box to the side, puts on his gloves,

and goes straight to work with the pick axe. He starts to

lift rocks out of the hole.

5

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- AFTERNOON

Will is having trouble lifting a rock out of the hole when

several arms come from no where to help lift it out. It’s

Alex again with the twins, and Helen. Will hopes the don’t

decide to come back and bury him alive.

Will climbs out of the hole and nods at them for thanks.

Alex pats Will on the back which sends Will sprawling. The

twins mimic the same gesture and begin to pat Will on the

back. Then they take turn to one another and start patting

the other on the back. They turn to pat Alex but he slaps

their hands away and grabs the shovel. Alex puts the tip of

the shovel to his head like he’s saluting, then jumps into

the hole. Alex hits hard ground on the first strike. Will

hands him the pick axe. Alex stares at the pick axe with a

grin from ear to ear.

Will looks over to see that the twins have already started

breaking up some of the larger rocks, and are moving them to

a pile away from the hole. Will notices his watch. He grabs

his lunch box and starts to devour his food. He watches the

twins move and break the rocks.

Helen walks up to Will and puts on a head light strapped to

an elastic band. She turns it to show Will. Will is amazed.

She turns off the light and puts it on Will’s head. He gives

her a hug without even thinking about it. Afraid the others

have seen she slugs him on the shoulder. But by his reaction

it was too hard. Helen gives an apology smile then takes off

before things get more awkward.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- LATE AFTERNOON

Will and Alex are taking turns digging while the others are

breaking up the rocks and carrying them over to the pile.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- JUST AFTER SUNSET

Eventually, they realize its late and decide to call it a

day. They all wave goodbye. Will stays a bit longer to look

over everything. He looks down at the hole and is impressed

to see how far they have come. It’s darker than usual so

Will uses the head light to guide his way home. Lightning

bugs have started to show.

INT. WILLS- EVENING

Will is asleep with the book on his chest. The rain is

trickling down bedroom window outside. Greg comes in, takes

the book, and places it back on the shelf. He turns the

light off and cracks the door.

INT. WILLS- AFTER DAY BREAK

6

Will slowly stirs and looks over at the rain hitting the

window. He stares at the gloomy light for a moment then

shoots out of bed. He throws his clothes on as quick as

possible.

INT. KITCHEN- MORNING

Greg is drinking coffee and reading the paper when Will

enters the room. Greg starts to put food on the table but

Will just runs straight out the door with his rain boots and

rain coat. Greg watches Will till he disappears. Greg looks

down at the food and shrugs. He sits down and starts pouring

syrup on the waffle.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- LATE MORNING

Will sprints to the dig site only to find the hole is

filling with water. He can see that the sides surrounding

the hole have caved in. He furiously begins to try and fish

the water out with his hands. Everything he tries doesn’t

seem to work. He runs off in the direction of his house.

INT. THE TOOL SHED- LATE MORNING

Will enters the shed out of the rain. He goes straight for

the bucket, grabs it, and heads straight back out.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MID DAY

Will is desperately trying to use the bucket to get the

water out but its no use. The rain is so heavy that water

keeps filling up the hole.

Will is sitting under the tree staring at the hole when Alex

and his entourage show up. Will marches up to them, points

to his watch, then throws up his arms. Alex shrugs and

points up to the rain. They all look up at the rain. Will

stares at the Alex. Alex pick up the bucket that Will was

using earlier and motions to give it to Will. Will takes the

bucket, places it on the ground, and kicks it really hard

sending the bucket flying. Will marches off back home. Alex

looks at the twins who shrug back at him. Helen looks sad as

she watches Will walk away. They get their bikes and head

home.

INT. BOYS ROOM- EVENING

Will sits at his bedroom window with his head resting on his

crossed arms. He watches the rain. He does not look happy.

EXT. FOREST TRAIL- JUST AFTER DAY BREAK

The rain has stopped but the forest is still wet. Some of

the branches are still dripping as Will walks to the dig

7

site. He’s walking very slow, almost as if he doesn’t want

to go.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MORNING

Will reaches the ridge that looks down at the dig site and

sees there are already people down there working. The closer

he gets, he sees there are more than usual. They are in a

line passing to each other what appears to be buckets of

mud. Helen sees him, grabs his hand, and rushes him over to

the hole. He recognizes some faces from school. They wave at

him but he has no idea why. He hesitantly waves back.

When he gets to the hole he can’t believe what he sees. Alex

is in the hole, covered in mud. The hole looks as deep as

before but there is now a ladder, so maybe even deeper. Alex

notices Will, and smiles up at him. He climbs out of the

hole and hands Will the bucket. Will grins and climbs down

the ladder. Every one is busy working.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- LATE AFTERNOON

Everyone is finishing up and getting ready to head home.

Will makes sure to shake everyone’s hand who helped out.

INT. KITCHEN- EVENING

Will is drawing something on a big piece of draft paper, in

between bites of food. He stares at his drawings while

reaching for a glass of milk with one hand. Greg is watching

the news as they eat. Greg sneaks glances at Will and tries

to hide his amusement.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- JUST BEFORE SUN RISE

Will arrives at the dig site and sets up a make shift

drafting board. Eventually, all the kids from yesterday

start trickling in. Will grabs Alex and shows him some

layouts on the draft board. They are so involved with what

they’re doing they don’t notice there are kids in

construction style uniforms with hard hats, walking by them.

Alex notices and nudges Will who is still distracted but

looks up. They both just stare at the kids that are dressed

up.

CUT TO:

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MONTAGE

Will and Alex are wearing construction style wear and are

arguing over something on the draft board. Will is pointing

to a place on the board. Alex is shaking his head and

pointing to a different place. Will shakes his head in

return. Will continually points at his spot without

8

stopping. Alex tries to point but Will quickly slaps his

hand away. Alex immediately pulls his slapped hand back to

his body in shock. He stares at Will while cradling his hurt

hand. Alex snaps out of it and slaps Will in the back of the

head.

Alex is directing a small group of construction workers,

while Will goes around checking on other workers. Will comes

to Helen, who is wearing a helmet slightly too big. They

grin at each other. She gives him a fun loving punch but

again a little too hard. Will looks at her with a confused

“why” face and walks off. She feels horrible but doesn’t

know how to express it.

Will and Alex are talking, when a construction worker lifts

his head up from the ladder leading to the hole. He motions

them to come quickly. They dash to the hole and the

construction worker points down into the dark hole. They

look and see how far it’s gotten. There are now two ladders

stacked on top of one another. Will and Alex look at each

other.

INT. BOTTOM OF THE HOLE- AFTERNOON (MONTAGE)

Will and Alex are at the bottom of the hole. Will is on one

knee when he smashes his fist against the hard rock. He

looks puzzled.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- AFTERNOON (MONTAGE)

Alex is waving for everybody to step back from the hole.

Kids are running to hide behind anything the can find. As

soon as he’s done warning everybody, Alex falls to the

ground. He pulls a pair of safety goggles over his eyes.

Alex looks up to see that Will is still standing. Alex grabs

Will and yanks him down right away. Suddenly the hole

explodes. The explosion is so huge dust and debris covers

everyone and everything. When the cloud clears some of the

kids start cheering and jumping. Will and Alex grab one

another and start laughing in each others face like mad men.

The explosion left a slope leading to the hole.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MORNING (NEXT DAY)

Will shows up to the forest and runs into three PICKETERS.

One picketer has an arm in a sling, one has his head wrapped

up, and the third is just fine. They all have signs that

read stuff like: “Why are we digging?!” “When is enough

enough?!” or “Who’s this hole really for?!” Will slows his

approach to read them all as they march in a circle. He

walks by, staring at them.

Will walks over to Helen who is sitting under the big tree.

She has one arm in a sling and a patch over her eye. She

9

waves as he comes closer. Will looks worried. She punches

him in the arm to show him its okay but again she has hit

too hard.

The next morning Will approaches the dig site there are a

few more picketers. There are also now kids playing security

guards. Some of them are talking into their sleeves, while

some are hidden in the forest.

Everybody is working when it starts to rain. Immediately,

Alex twirls his finger in the air, giving the motion for

“wrap it up.” A giant tarp is hoisted up over the hole so

rain rolls right off. Everyone runs underneath it. Some

water comes running down the hill, but runs into a trench

that leads the water to go around the hole. Everyone,

huddled together, look at each other with grins. Alex laughs

and slaps Will on the back sending him sprawling to the

ground. The twins mimic Alex by patting one another on the

back. Will stares up at the giant tree that he sat under the

last time it rained.

CUT TO:

The construction workers are hoisting planks of wood up into

the giant tree with cranes like one would find at a

construction site. It is close to being complete. Will steps

to a large window in the tree house. He overlooks the

construction workers taking the shaft elevator down to the

bottom of the hole. He notices that more than half of the

crew are now going on strike. He lifts his coffee mug full

of apple juice to his lips. He looks concerned

At night there is a SECURITY GUARD patrolling the dig site.

He comes across some GRAFFITI ARTIST tagging some of the

construction equipment. He talks into his walkie talky and

chases them off the premises.

It is pouring when Will comes to the dig site the next day.

Everybody is on strike, even the security guards, even Alex.

They stop circling and make a wall to block him. Will stops

and looks at everyone. He walks half way back up the hill

and sits down. Will and the picketers just stare at each

other.

Helen, still with her arm in a sling, approaches. She starts

to walk down the hill. She stops where Will is sitting. She

looks at the picketers, grabs Will’s hand, and drags him to

the picketers. Will gives an awkward wave and smile as Helen

pulls him through the wall of picketers. Once on the other

side Helen and Will start moving dirt as starting a normal

day at work. Everybody looks at each other and even though

they grumble, the construction workers start digging, the

security guards secure the perimeter, and the the picketers

start circling.

10

INT. WILLS ROOM- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Will wakes up without a problem. He gets ready, but

struggles with putting his socks on while standing up.

INT. KITCHEN- RIGHT BEFORE DAY BREAK

Will is sitting in front of his empty plate and a tall glass

of milk. Greg places two biscuits and dumps gravy over the

them. Will is grinning from ear to ear because it’s his

favorite.

After the meal Will leaves and Greg starts cleaning up. He

looks over and notices that Will’s lunch box is still

sitting on the counter.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- JUST AFTER DAY BREAK

Will waves at the picketers. They wave back and let him

through. As Will walks to the elevator cart he waves to the

Alex in the tree house.

Alex tips his coffee mug down to him in acknowledgment. Will

walks over to the the shaft elevator where Helen is putting

on mining gear. They nod to each other as they step on the

cart with a few other workers and close the cart door. Will

puts on his goggles and turns to Helen. She reaches over and

turns on Wills head light. Will grins in thanks.

Greg walks down to where he can see the site. He is amazed

at the changes. There are now all sorts of construction

equipment and kids from the neighborhood dressed up. All of

a sudden the forest comes to life. He is surrounded by THREE

KIDS in camouflage. Two, the twins, whom descend down from

above him on zip lines. They take the lunch box and escort

him off the premises. Greg confused leaves without much

resistance.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- MID DAY

The elevator cart rises to the top of the hole. Will and the

little sister step out laughing. They are covered in dirt.

The whole construction crew is having a lunch break, even

the picketers join in.

INT. TREE HOUSE -FOREST DIG SITE- LATE AFTERNOON

Will and Alex are looking at some plans on the draft board

in the tree house. They are not agreeing on something and

again are each pointing to something on the draft board. A

construction worker busts in and makes urgent gestures to

follow him.

INT. BOTTOM OF THE HOLE- LATE AFTERNOON

11

Will is on one knee. He feels the the solid ground. He takes

a moment to think before he stands up. He looks at everybody

in the pit and sees how tired and dirty every body is. Will

takes off his glove and holds his hand up to the light from

his head lamp. There is only dead skin where the splinter

was. He turns to Alex and nods. Alex goes to a phone that is

mounted on the wall and talks into the receiver. Seconds

later the sound of the shaft elevator descending is heard.

Alex and everyone stare at where the elevator stops with

intensity. Will squats to one knee with his back to the

elevator shaft. He feels the hard rock with his bare hand.

Alex and the others watch the as the elevator reaches the

bottom.

A WORKER opens the elevator gate and exits holding a tin

lunchbox big enough to hold a book. The worker holds it as

if it is fragile and carefully hands it to Alex. Alex takes

it and looks at the G.I. Joe design that covers it. He

slowly hands it over the shoulder of Will who still has his

back turned. Will takes a moment to open it to double check

it’s contents. Alex and the others try to look over Wills

shoulder but no one gets good look to see what’s inside.

Will closes it and places it on the solid ground. Will his

glove less hand with dirt and ceremonially pours it over the

tin lunch box. The dirt hides most of the tin lunchbox. Will

stands and simply turns to walk to the shaft elevator. Alex,

confused, tries to stop Will. Will turns to Alex and tries

to smile. Alex can see the pain in Will’s eyes and lets go.

Will walks past Alex and gets on the lift by himself.

Everyone watches as the elevator take him up.

INT. ELEVATOR- SUNSET

As Will rides the shaft elevator up a series of flashes hit

his face from the tunnel lights.

CUT TO:

INT. WILLS ROOM- EVENING (FLASH BACK)

Will is in bed under the covers while his MOTHER(42) lies

next him showing him a giant picture book about

archeologist. He runs his fingers on the book from left to

right. His mother puts the book away and kisses Will

goodnight. Before she can get too far Will tugs on her

shirt. They speak in sign language.

THE BOY

(in subtitles)

Why do they dig?

The Mother pauses as if unsure how to answer.

12

MOTHER

(in subtitles)

Maybe they believe the past has all

the answers.

Will contemplates this. His mother sings again.

MOTHER

(in subtitles)

Night night, love you, sweet dreams,

say your prayers.

His mother with a grin winks and turns out the light.

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- SUNSET

The elevator cart emerges with just Will in it. A few of the

workers notice this and have stopped what they’re doing.

Will keeps walking forward. The workers start to mumble to

each other and look at him. Will gives a weak grin to Helen

as he walks by. She gives him a hopeful smile. Will walks

through the picketers, who just look at him as he walks

away. One of the picketers throws down his sign and walks

off in the other direction. Will continues to walk up the

ridge headed home.

END

EXT. FOREST DIG SITE- SUNSET (CREDITS ROLLING)

Alex and the others come up in the escalator cart. As soon

as it stops Alex starts walking after Will. Alex sees that

Will is too far, so he stops. Everyone slowly starts to turn

to Alex as if waiting instruction. The kid who threw down

his sign quickly runs back to his spot and picks the sign

back up. Alex looks at everyone and sees the dirty tired

faces. He gives a motion by twirling his hand, “wrap it up.”

The workers start to make a line leading to the hole. The

picketers put their signs down and join in. They form an

assembly line pouring buckets of dirt into the hole.

FADE OUT

13