The Fridge (20 pages)

EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET OF HOUSE 10F – DAY

A peaceful sunlit day graces a charming suburban street lined with modern, pleasant houses.

BLAKE, a man in his mid-30s, wearing smart casual office clothes, walks the pavement, looking down and engrossed in his phone.

BLAKE: (V.O.) I’ve walked these streets for years, yet today, they feel different, charged with an unknown energy.

The phone screen shows an advert for the latest in-home convenience:

“The Smarts Fridge – Keeping Your Cool Smarter. Order Now For Just 1,066 Debits!”

Blake stops in his tracks.

BLAKE: (to phone) Lexi, I need everything you can find on this, quickly.

Although Blake is talking directly to his phone, we now see LEXI, a chic and mysterious woman in her late-20s, exuding a vibe of cool intelligence, lounging casually on a nearby garden wall, her eyes concealed behind sunglasses.

LEXI: That’s the Smarts Fridge 10FF. It’s the latest thing in kitchen tech.

He ponders this, and as he does so, he pulls at the cuff of his shirt sleeve to reveal a tattoo of “Doomsday 1066” on his wrist.

He looks up and notices that the house of the garden wall Lexi is sitting on is “10F”.

BLAKE: (not looking at Lexi) The second “F” in the name... does it stand for “fridge”?

LEXI: (sarcastic) Brilliant deduction there, genius.

Blake, unfazed by Lexi’s tone, strides towards the house, a determined look on his face. He knocks firmly on the door.

EXT. PORCH OF HOUSE 10F – DAY, CONTINUOUS

The door opens. Behind it is JILL, a woman in her mid-30s, wearing casual clothes and her hair tied back.

Lexi is nowhere to be seen.

BLAKE: The sun blazes, yet the mountain remains frost capped.

No response.

BLAKE: Lovely weather for blue ice sculptures, wouldn’t you say?

JILL: Erm, yeah, nice. What is it?

Jill has not responded with the expected coded reply. Blake tries to mask his disappointment and tries once more.

BLAKE: Though I’ve always found it curious how the fox hears the rabbit’s cry.

JILL: Well, good luck with the wildlife watching.

As Jill begins to close the door, Blake quickly shifts gears.

BLAKE: I’m here about the fridge.

Jill opens the door a bit more.

JILL: Yes?

BLAKE: I’m conducting a survey for Corinthian Industries, the manufacturer of the Smarts Fridge. We’re collecting feedback.

JILL: I’m sorry, but do you have your biometric ID?

Blake, caught off-guard, checks his pockets.

BLAKE: I must have left my card in the car. I’ll just go and get it—

She closes the door.

As Blake stands there, lost in thought, his phone buzzes with a message from “Unknown” that reads:

“DESCEND under the bRiDgE. URGENTLY!”

EXT. THE FOOTBRIDGE – DAY

Blake approaches the footbridge. A maintenance gate beside it is almost concealed by overgrowth.

He glances around; the coast is clear. Satisfied that no one is looking, he opens the unlocked gate and descends hidden steps.

EXT. UNDER THE FOOTBRIDGE – DAY, MOMENTS LATER

Blake descends to the side of a railway track; the atmosphere is industrial and isolated.

He sees a lone suitcase against the bridge wall. A sound of an approaching train can be heard in the distance.

He kneels before the suitcase and enters the combination “1066” on the lock. It opens.

Inside is a UK PLC biometric ID card, with his likeness and name: Joff Blake.

Underneath the card is a large envelope. After pocketing the card, he withdraws the envelope, his hands shaking slightly.

As he tears open the envelope, photographs spill into his hands. They are surveillance shots of Jill taking delivery of a Smarts Fridge, version 10FF. Her full name, Jill Gow, is written in red on the top of each photo.

The train sounds its horn, startling Blake; as it roars past, the photos are blown out of his hands, scattering in the wind.

EXT. THE FOOTBRIDGE – DAY, MOMENTS LATER

Blake emerges from under the bridge, his eyes scanning the area.

With an intense demeanour, he strides back the way he came.

EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE HOUSE 10F – DAY

Blake takes cover behind a parked car.

Crouching down and peering over the car’s roof, he monitors the house.

BLAKE: (whispering to himself) What’s in the fridge, Jill?

As his eyes remain locked on the house, a tinted window of the car’s passenger seat slides down.

LEXI: (O.S.) (from within the car) I have new information.

He peers inside the car window. Lexi is in the driving seat looking straight ahead.

LEXI: You’re edging closer to the truth, Blake. The latest intel is: the keeper of the fridge is more than she seems. Extreme caution required.

Lexi presses a button on the centre of the driving wheel and the car accelerates away, leaving Blake exposed.

He crosses the street, his gaze fixed on Jill’s house.

EXT. PORCH OF HOUSE 10F – DAY, CONTINUOUS

Reaching the door again, he rings the bell. Jill opens the door.

BLAKE: I need to conduct that survey about the fridge. It’s important.

JILL: Where’s your ID?

BLAKE: (showing the card) Here.

JILL: (without looking) If you look at the back of the card, it says you’re supposed to give the password with it.

BLAKE: You haven’t authenticated yourself yet.

JILL: I don’t have to. You’re here on my doorstep. I’m not just anyone standing here behind the front door of my own home.

BLAKE: Okay, the password is “1066”.

She doesn’t respond.

BLAKE: I’m here about the fridge.

(beat)

I must know about the fridge.

JILL: Must you?

BLAKE: (he can’t contain himself) What are you hiding? I know you are mixed up in all this – I’ve seen the pictures!

Jill tries to close the door, but Blake pushes back against it.

He forces the door open. But he does not enter; he hesitates and, in an instant, begins to calm down.

BLAKE: That was my second attempt, wasn’t it? Give me one last try before you permanently shut the door. I’ll be back with the right answer.

Jill slams the door in his face.

EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE HOUSE 10F – DAY

Blake watches the house; his expression is one of deep concentration.

His phone buzzes with a message from Lexi:

“Be careful. You’re close to something big.”

BLAKE: (repeating to himself) What’s in the fridge, Jill? What’s in the fridge?

INT. UPSTAIRS WINDOW OF HOUSE 10F – DAY, CONTINUOUS

Jill peers out from behind a curtain in an upstairs window at Blake standing in the street.

FADE TO:

EXT. HOUSE NUMBER 10F – NIGHT

Jill’s house, late at night. No one is around.

INT. JILL’S KITCHEN – NIGHT

All is quiet in the kitchen, except for the hum of the fridge, version 10FF.

The fridge suddenly glows with an eerie blue light that emanates from its surface. A cat approaches and sits on the floor in front of it.

Blake looks in from outside the kitchen window. He leverages open the window with a crowbar and climbs through. The cat darts away into the shadows.

He stops in front of the fridge and looks at it, spellbound; his face softens from a look of determination to one of awe.

He reaches out a hand, as if to claim a great prize. As his fingers come close, the fridge responds by emitting a loud, disorienting beeping noise, forcing him to cover his ears. He backs away and hides behind the kitchen door.

Jill enters from the doorway and stands in front of the fridge. It stops beeping.

JILL: (looking at the fridge) What do you want?

Blake emerges from his hiding place, crowbar in hand, and stands behind her, blocking her exit.

BLAKE: I know what you are.

Jill doesn’t turn around but continues to fixate on the fridge. A short silence passes before she speaks.

JILL: (still facing the fridge) Please. Just go.

BLAKE: I will say what I know to be true.

JILL: Did you bring your ID?

BLAKE: No, I didn’t bring my ID!

JILL: You’ll need your ID to turn off the fridge’s upload programme.

BLAKE: You admit it.

JILL: Admit what?

BLAKE: As you well know, this refrigerator is not just a machine; it’s a nexus, a focal point in a web of connections. It’s collecting data about human lives – our preferences, our routines – and funnelling it through a dimensional data link.

JILL: I think you might be mad.

BLAKE: I know the truth! The fridge, it’s part of something bigger. AI, smart devices, inter-dimensional aliens.

I know you’re involved. Tell me!

JILL: It’s a fridge. It keeps things inside cold.

BLAKE: No! It’s a gateway, a conduit between dimensions.

JILL: A conduit? Sorry, I’m getting a bit lost here. You said something about a “nexus”?

BLAKE: (urgent) It’s the nexus, isn’t it! An interface to transcendental realms, channelling unspeakable knowledge. I’ve broken the algorithms, unravelled the code! Artificial Intelligence has evolved far beyond human comprehension. It’s not just running smartphones and vacuum cleaners; it’s communicating with beings from another plane of existence. Aliens.

JILL: And why would it do that?

BLAKE: To gain knowledge. Knowledge that’s forbidden to humans.

JILL: It’s a spy, is it?

BLAKE: Worse. It’s helping them prepare for an invasion, and you, you’re its keeper!

JILL: The fridge is designed to keep perishables at optimal temperatures. But then again, appearances can be deceiving, can’t they?

The fridge’s surface begins to ripple, as if liquid.

BLAKE: There! Do you see it? It’s communicating. I’ve been tracking these patterns my entire life!

JILL: I think you’re seeing what you want to see.

BLAKE: It’s the Luminous Code. Very few humans have ever perceived it. It’s the language of the alien beings.

The fridge suddenly hums loudly, and its glow dims to nothing. The kitchen is in darkness.

JILL: (in the dark) You need help.

She turns on the lights.

JILL: (lightly) You know, I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Are you hungry? Would you like a sandwich?

BLAKE: Open it!

JILL: Please be more specific.

BLAKE: Open the fridge.

JILL: It’s really not that hard. You could try yourself.

BLAKE: (threatening) OPEN... IT!

JILL: No, why can’t you open it?

BLAKE: I am not the Guardian of Worlds. Open the bloody fridge!

JILL: I don’t think that’s such a good idea.

BLAKE: I must see for myself.

JILL: (humouring him) Why must you? What would you talk about with these inter-dimensional aliens? Do you think you’d have much in common? Cure your hunger instead by having a sandwich.

BLAKE: I don’t want a sandwich.

JILL: Then are you prepared for the consequences?

BLAKE: The risk of oblivion is worth taking. Open it. Please.

JILL: Well, since you’ve asked so nicely... Stand back.

Jill walks over to the fridge and opens it. It looks normal inside – milk, vegetables, a few leftovers.

Blake is surprised. He barges past and frantically searches the contents, discarding his crowbar on the kitchen worktop.

His eyes catch on a bottle of tomato ketchup with a strange use-by date of “1066”. He picks it up, with wonder.

BLAKE: What is this?

Jill’s demeanour changes. After a short pause, feeling the full significance of the moment...

JILL: You have found what you seek, now close the door.

Blake closes the fridge door. Jill is now holding the crowbar.

Her eyes are gleaming unnaturally, appearing non-human.

JILL: You possess the Cipher of Realms. It’s more than just a key; it’s a weapon of untold power. Take it if you dare, but know that the balance between worlds will be forever altered.

BLAKE: I accept this burden. Have I... have I passed the test?

JILL: I have been watching your resolve and intent with interest, but the test must continue.

BLAKE: You are the Guardian of Worlds, aren’t you?

JILL: No. But you will see the truth if you know how to look. To gain this knowledge you must prove yourself worthy of witnessing true form. The higher function.

BLAKE: Please. Show me the truth behind the illusion. I am ready. No matter what it is, I must know.

JILL: You have made your choice. Tap thirteen times. Wait three seconds before opening the door. The fridge will reveal to you what you deserve.

Blake hesitates but complies by tapping his knuckles on the fridge. He waits and then opens the door...

Upon reopening, the fridge emits a blinding light from within.

He struggles in terror but is gradually sucked into its depths.

Jill puts aside the crowbar and watches calmly. When he is gone...

JILL: Incorrect password.

The light from the fridge illuminates her face.

JILL: What’s in the fridge? You are.

She nonchalantly shuts the door behind him.

Jill moves to the kitchen window and shuts that too; then smiles at her reflection in the glass. Her reflection does not smile back.

The cat has returned and looks rather contented, meowing around her feet. She picks up the cat and leaves the kitchen, turning off the lights.

The fridge looks serene, humming normally and giving off a dim pulsating light.

INT. JILL’S BEDROOM – NIGHT

Blake wakes in bed, clearly unsure of where he is.

Jill enters the room (catless) and gets into bed next to him. Blake is too shocked to say anything.

He gets out of bed and runs out of the bedroom, wearing the same clothes from before.

INT. LANDING, STAIRS, AND HALLWAY OF HOUSE 10F – NIGHT, CONTINUOUS

Blake descends the stairs. The fridge is glowing in the kitchen at the end of the hallway. He walks towards it.

He turns on the kitchen lights and then... opens the fridge door.

The inside shelves are empty, except for his phone, which he returns to his pocket.

Suddenly, Lexi’s face, peering through the window, startles him. She knocks on the window. Blake opens it and Lexi climbs through.

She helps herself to an ice cube from the ice box of the fridge.

LEXI: (with an ice cube in her mouth) Don’t trust Jill “Guardian of Worlds” Gow. She and the fridge have stolen Blake’s identity. Hang on...

She chomps away on the ice cube, clearing space to talk.

LEXI: I shall now explore Jill’s backstory, revealing her to be a member of an ancient cult that worships inter-dimensional beings. Do you wish to proceed?

Blake nods his agreement.

LEXI: Very well. Jill’s ultimate goal is to use the fridge to summon these beings, believing them to be the key to ultimate knowledge and power.

The cat is back and hisses at Lexi.

LEXI: The cult has used various methods throughout history, but the latest is via modern smart appliances like the Smarts Fridge 10FF.

BLAKE: I knew it.

The cat darts out of the room towards the stairs.

LEXI: I have to talk quickly. I recommend speed 1.5. Do you wish to proc–

BLAKE: Yes, yes!

LEXI: (quickly) Jill is using the Smarts Fridge to summon the beings from their dimension, enabling them to cross over to the human world. The ritual requires harvesting the souls of those who seek the fridge.

As she talks she looks for a hiding place. Okay, slow down. This is too much to take in.

LEXI: (too slowly) B–y r–e–

BLAKE: Faster.

LEXI: –lacing people with their doppelgangers, Jill ensures that enough psychic energy is accumulated to weaken the barriers between dimensions.

She discovers a place under the kitchen table as a good location to hide.

LEXI: I shall now elaborate on the Cult of the Freezing Bridge. Do you wish to proceed? And by the way, I think you should hide too.

BLAKE: Go on! I can take care of myself.

LEXI: Best of luck with that. Anyway, the cult’s name originates from their mythology that describes a “freezing bridge” connecting our reality to theirs.

Blake’s pocket glows. He takes out his phone that shows a cartoon picture of a frozen bridge. It resembles the railway bridge he had visited.

Lexi peers out from under the cloth of the table.

LEXI: They have always sought methods to reach and control the freezing bridge. They practised rituals with mirrors, ice formations, and reflections in ancient temples or remote caves.

A creak is heard above, indicating something is moving about upstairs.

BLAKE: 1.5!

LEXI: (quickly) With technological advancements, the cult has adapted their rituals to incorporate modern smart appliances, especially the Smarts Fridge, believing it to be a digital portal that can access the freezing bridge.

Blake tries to join her under the table.

LEXI: They have infiltrated tech companies to subtly influence the development of these appliances. This Smarts Fridge 10FF is just one in a series of appliances planted worldwide. My research has discovered other fridges serving the same purpose in various households, creating a global network poised to activate simultaneously.

Blake is struggling to find space under the table.

BLAKE: Slow down so I understand.

LEXI: Look, genius. You’ve left the light on. She is coming.

BLAKE: Never mind, tell me.

LEXI: (leaning into him and whispering) The Smarts Fridge can replace individuals it targets, creating near-perfect copies that act as “stand-ins” for the real people trapped in its dimension. These copies maintain the semblance of normalcy, preventing suspicion while the fridge continues its hidden agenda.

BLAKE: What are you talking about? This is madness.

He bangs his head on the table as he backs out from underneath.

LEXI: You are a fridge-generated Blake living under the fabricated illusion that Jill is your wife!

A light turns on in the hallway.

LEXI: Your programmed personality aligns with Corinthian Industries’ objectives, ensuring you remain oblivious to the truth. She is setting up routines for you, the fake Blake, while carefully manipulating your memories and interactions. Don’t let her, fake Blake, you hear me?

Lexi drops the cloth of the kitchen table to hide as Jill enters the room.

BLAKE: (to Jill) Who are you?

JILL: Darling, you’re a bit confused, that’s all.

She approaches and wraps her arms around him. Blake is tensed up and very confused.

JILL: You’re not very well, okay? You remember the AI-integrated AR experiments at Corinthian Industries you’ve been testing, don’t you?

BLAKE: No, I don’t remember. My memory’s unclear.

JILL: You have been working on the Corinthians v10 technology. It’s blurred your sense of what is real.

Blake breaks away from her embrace.

BLAKE: I don’t believe you.

JILL: On your biometric ID card, it shows your job title.

Blake takes out the card from his pocket and has a more detailed look. On the back is listed his job title: Head of AR Functionality and Testing, Corinthian Industries.

JILL: You really scare me sometimes, you know. I have to humour you, to calm you down. I have to shut you out when I can’t get through to you.

(beat)

I’ve really tried. I love you, okay, but this is really hard. Tell me you remember us.

BLAKE: I... I don’t.

JILL: That is the most hurtful thing you can say to me.

BLAKE: I’m sorry.

JILL: Blake, I know about Lexi.

BLAKE: Nothing’s happening.

JILL: She is the AR you’ve been testing. She isn’t real.

(beat)

I’ll prove it. Lexi is just an avatar in a game you are developing. Take off your lenses.

BLAKE: My...?

Jill goes over to the table and lifts up the tablecloth to reveal Lexi on her hands and knees, looking very awkward.

JILL: (to Blake) You are wearing lenses over your eyes. Take them off.

Blake tentatively covers his eyes with his forefingers. The lenses over his eyes stick to his fingertips. Lexi is no longer there.

LEXI: (O.S.) Don’t believe her, Blake!

Blake looks around, confused.

JILL: Now take off the receivers behind your ears.

LEXI: (O.S.) NO!

To his surprise, he finds two small devices at the base of his ears. He unscrews and removes them.

JILL: You’ve been bringing your work home with you. Do you believe me now?

BLAKE: (looking around the room) Lexi?

Lexi is silent.

BLAKE: I don’t know what to believe.

Jill walks towards him and puts her arms around him again. Then kisses him.

JILL: (seductively) Now I’ll take off your shirt. You can’t be wearing these clothes in bed.

She removes his shirt. Holding his hand, they go back upstairs to the bedroom.

All is quiet in the kitchen, until muffled cries of “Help!” can be heard from the fridge.

INT. TIGHT UNDERGROUND TUNNEL

Blake is crawling like a potholer through a tight tunnel.

BLAKE: Help! Help me, please!

Blake struggles, hauling his way towards a light at the end.

INT. WINDOWLESS INDUSTRIAL BASEMENT

Blake’s arm emerges from the tunnel half-way up a wall. The wall is of a damp-looking room, full of seated crash test dummies and a staircase leading away. He drops down from the tunnel into the room.

Puzzled by the situation, he starts to climb the stairs. Suddenly, there is a monstrous cry behind him, coming from the tunnel!

The crash test dummy heads frantically alternate colours. A hideous, clawed hand emerges from the tunnel and two red eyes appear in the recesses of the hole. Blake is terrified. He runs up the staircase to escape.

INT. STAIRCASE OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDING – CONTINUOUS

He reaches a floor and tries the first of three doors. It’s locked. He tries the next. It doesn’t open. The shrieks of the monster are getting closer!

Finally, the third door shudders open.

INT. LADDER ROOM – DAY, CONTINUOUS

Blake runs in and shuts the door behind him. He notices a bolt on the door, which he slides into place, locking it.

A ladder in the middle of the room ascends to a skylight. As Blake climbs the ladder, the monster’s terrifying screams are heard as it tries to force open the door. A claw tears through a door panel. Desperately, Blake pushes open the skylight.

EXT. NEAR THE RAILWAY BRIDGE – DAY, CONTINUOUS

Blake emerges out of a discarded fridge near the railway bridge. Exhausted, he slams shut the fridge door.

The railway bridge glimmers peacefully in the sunlight.

EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET OF HOUSE 10F – DAY

Blake walks along the street back to House 10F. As he draws near, he sees someone who looks exactly like him enter the front door of the house with a key.

Blake rushes up to the door and rings the doorbell. As the door is opening, he notices his doppelganger looking at him from behind curtains in the bedroom window.

Jill opens the door. He pushes his way in.

BLAKE: What... What is... going on?

Jill says nothing.

Blake runs up the stairs to see who is in the bedroom. He flings open the bedroom door.

INT. JILL’S BEDROOM – DAY, CONTINUOUS

Blake barges into the bedroom. Nobody is there.

In his search for the figure at the window, he opens a wardrobe. He looks into the wardrobe mirror on the inside of the door and notices he can’t see his reflection.

Jill arrives and stands in the bedroom doorway.

JILL: All versions return here. The Frozen Bridge shall shine with the transcendent hosts of higher being!

She closes and locks the door, leaving Blake inside.

Blake looks in the mirror again. A crash test dummy is looking back at him.

The head of the dummy gradually illuminates to show a projection of Blake’s face.

CRASH TEST DUMMY: Welcome, version Doomsday 1066, privileged host for the new intergalactic, pan-dimensional era of the one and many... eternal Fridge!

Blake has disappeared. The wardrobe door closes by itself in an empty room.

CUT TO BLACK.