Episode 3

PANEL 1 Visual: A rainy, high-contrast action shot. JOHN’S SEDAN is wrapped around a concrete pole on a dark Santa Monica road. The windshield is shattered. John is slumped over the wheel, blood pooling on the dashboard. CAPTION: John's night began with a dead end. SFX: SCREEE... CRASH!

PANEL 2 Visual: The perspective shifts to a chaotic, brightly lit hospital hallway. Nurses and doctors are in mid-sprint, pushing a gurney. John is on it, neck in a brace, oxygen mask over his face. NURSE: Concussion. Head trauma. Admitted to St. John’s. SFX: RUSHING... BEEPING...

PANEL 3 Visual: A quiet, sterile recovery room. John is unconscious in the hospital bed, hooked to monitors. He is muttering in his sleep, his brow furrowed in pain. JOHN (Whispering): Mia... the nursery... I shouldn't have... CAPTION: The protector is now the patient.

PANEL 4 Visual: Back at the dark house. MIA stands by the kitchen phone, looking frantic. She is repeatedly dialing a number that isn't answering. The house behind her is swallowed in deep shadows. MIA: John, please pick up. Where are you? CAPTION: Silence is a weapon.

PANEL 5 Visual: Mia walks into the nursery doorway. The room glows with a sickly, cold blue light. Her breath is visible as a thick white cloud in the air. She is shivering, clutching her maternity smock tight. MIA: It... it’s so cold in here. CAPTION: The temperature of a grave.

PANEL 6 Visual: Close-up of the Annabelle doll sitting upright in the crib. A green, jagged soundwave from the baby monitor is superimposed over the panel. VOICE (from monitor): ...Help... Mommy... MIA (Off-panel): They said he was admitted. They said he was safe!

PANEL 7 Visual: Extreme close-up of the doll’s shoulder. A grey, skeletal hand with long, rotted fingernails reaches from the darkness behind the crib and grips the doll's porcelain neck. DEMONIC WHISPER (Off-panel): He was an obstacle. CAPTION: Now, she is truly alone.

 THE SHADOW & THE STOVE

PANEL 1Visual: The kitchen, late at night. Mia is exhausted, her eyes sunken. She is heating a kettle on the gas stove. The kitchen is dimly lit by a single overhead bulb that flickers.MIA: (To herself) Just some tea. Then I’ll call the hospital again. He has to wake up.CAPTION: Exhaustion is an open door.

PANEL 2Visual: Mia walks out of the kitchen toward the living room to grab a blanket. In the background, the Annabelle doll is sitting on a kitchen chair, though Mia didn't put her there. The gas flame on the stove suddenly flares up, turning a violent, supernatural purple.SFX: WHOOOSH

PANEL 3Visual: The kettle begins to whistle, but the sound quickly distorts into a high-pitched human scream. Thick, black oily smoke starts pouring out of the stove, rapidly filling the ceiling.SFX: SCREEEEEEEEECAPTION: The house is breathing fire.

PANEL 4Visual: Mia rushes back into the kitchen, coughing and covering her mouth. The smoke is so thick she can barely see. She reaches for the stove knob, but her hand stops short. The knobs are glowing red-hot.MIA: (Choking) No! Not now!SFX: Cough! Hack!

PANEL 5Visual: Through the thick smoke, a massive, distorted SHADOW manifests on the kitchen wall. It is much larger than a man, with curved horns and elongated limbs. The shadow’s "hand" reaches toward Mia’s throat.CAPTION: It isn't the smoke that’s suffocating her.

PANEL 6Visual: Mia trips backward, falling onto the floor. She looks up in terror. The Annabelle doll is now sitting on the counter right next to the flames, her porcelain face untouched by the heat, staring down at Mia with a mocking grin.MIA: (Gasping for air) You... you did this...CAPTION: A soul for a soul.

PANEL 7Visual: Mia crawls toward the back door, her hand reaching for the handle. Just as she touches it, the glass in the door SHATTERS inward. Outside, the moon is obscured by clouds, and the reflection in the broken glass shows the demon standing directly over her.DEMONIC VOICE: Burn with me, Mother.SFX: SHATTER!

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***