THE BOILER ROOM


Written by

Emil E. Bulut

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

Darkness.

A light switch CLICKS.

A dusty family basement is dimly lit by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Wooden stairs lead upstairs.

Dusty cardboard box towers. One tower of boxes with labels "X-MAS", "FISHING", and "BABY". The light casts ominous shadows from the towers of boxes.

A red iron door at the other end of the basement from the opposite side of the stairs.

AXEL, a 15-year-old scrawny boy in a grey hoodie, stand at the top of the stairs. Axel looks down at the basement.

AXEL

Shit.

Axel looks scared of going down into the basement. He walks down the stairs. Axel walks towards the red door.

He notices a lonely box labeled "MEMORIES". Peeks inside.

A baseball glove sits on top of a folded cardigan.

Axel kicks the box.

A large centipede drops on top of Axel. He screams and throws the insect off himself with panic.

The centipede land on the floor and slithers away. Axel Takes a deep breath and walks to the red door.

He opens the CREAKING red door. A dark boiler room is revealed on the other side. An old gasoline boiler stands at the center of the small room.

Axel extends his arm into the dark room looking for a light switch. Finds it.

Axel toggles the light switch six times, but the boiler room remains dark.

Axel rubs his forehead.

AXEL

Goddamn.

He pulls the red door open all the way. Drags some nearby boxes over and prop the against the door to hold it open.

Axel steps into the dark boiler room. He hits something metallic and groans.

Axel looks for something with his arms. Finds something and PRESSES a button. The boiler starts to WHEEZE. A red lamp lights up on the boiler.

The red light shows Axel's nervous face.

AXEL

(muttered under breath)

Never doing this again.

The boxes holding the red door open fall down. The door SLAMS shut.

Axel screams behind the door. The red light shining from the edges of the red door grows brighter and lights up the basement. Alex screams one last time and then there is only the sound of the boiler humming along.

THE END