Skinwalkers (29 page)

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: Now, it’s time to concentrate and relax. I’d like you to focus on the pinwheel in my hand. Look at the pinwheel and relax. Feel the restraints on your arms and legs soften and disappear. See the room’s gray walls dissolve into nothingness
…

[Dr. Lewis then proceeded to elicit a deep hypnotic state. After ten minutes the subject was adequately relaxed. Pinprick tests verified the depth of the hypnotic trance and interrogation proceeded.]

Lewis: Johanna, you are very relaxed now, very safe, ready to peruse the vault of memories. Now, I want you to think back to April 11, 2004, the third day of the Perdition dig. You are there, right now. Tell me what you see and hear. Trust your subconscious mind to tell the truth. Feel free to let it narrate and tell me what it is experiencing.

Sims: I’m in the truck with Derek. He’s playing rap music. He knows I hate it but thinks it’s funny to make me listen to it. Derek likes me but is too shy to say so.

Lewis: How do you feel about Derek, Johanna?

Sims: He’s nice, but immature. Sometimes he can be an ass.

Lewis: Do you wish him harm in any way?

Sims: No. I would never want to see Derek hurt. He’s like my little brother.

Lewis: Where are you and Derek going, Johanna? Where is the truck now?

Sims: We’re headed toward the dig. I can see the black earth ahead of us in the distance. It shimmers like a mirage. I don’t like it. It’s already hot outside, but it’s always cold there. And the smell
…

Lewis: Okay, Johanna. Relax for a moment. The black earth is gone. You are safe. Now, I want you to think about later that day, when you unearthed the skeleton. You are there right now. Tell us what you see.

Sims: I brush away dirt and I see what looks like the end of a bone. I don’t think anything of it at first. We’ve made a lot of finds in this area, but most turned out to be nothing but pig bones. We think this section must have been some kind of killing ground for animals; probably a slaughterhouse. I keep brushing. It’s not long before I realize I’m looking at a human ulna. A big one.
 
I call Professor Reynolds over. He’s excited and we both begin to work the site. Soon, Derek and Sara join us.

[The subject pauses and begins to show signs of discomfort.]

Lewis: It’s okay, Johanna. You are calm and relaxed. Remember, you’re completely safe. Anything unpleasant will play before you like a film in a movie theater. Is that clear?

Johanna: Yes.

Lewis: Good. Once again, you are totally relaxed. Nothing can harm you. Now please tell us what you see.

Sims: We scrape the dirt away and I’m shocked to see there’s not a hand attached to the arm bones, but a claw. The jagged nails on its fingers are as black as the earth it came out of. None of us know what to think. We begin working back the other way. We’re amazed to find the ulna and radius attached to a
humerus
. It’s as though the skeleton has been perfectly preserved in its entirety. Then, finally, we uncover the head.

Lewis: Then what happens, Johanna? What happens when you unearth the head?

Sims: We all crouch there, just looking at it. Sara thinks Derek has played a joke on us and says so. I know he hasn’t even before he answers.

Lewis: Why, Johanna? Why does Sara think Derek has played a joke?

Sims: Because the head isn’t a human at all. Professor Reynolds says it’s the skull of a coyote. I know he’s right.

Lewis: Please, tell us, Johanna. How do you know Professor Reynolds is right?

Sims: I just know. I look at its fanged jaws grinning up at me, and I just know. I stare in to the empty space where its eyes would be and feel like I’m falling into it, drowning where there is only darkness and
…
and Coyote.

Lewis: Johanna, sleep!

Devine: I thought you said this was perfectly safe? There at the end, she looked like she was about twist herself inside out!

Lewis: I assure you, Counselor, she is safe. Totally and completely. Johanna’s just been through a traumatic experience. One so traumatic her mind has blocked it out. She’s just uneasy about recovering memories she’s kept locked away so tightly.
 
But we can stop, if you wish
…

Devine: We need to know what the hell happened that night. You’re sure she’ll be okay if we continue?

Lewis: There is no danger. Johanna will break the trance herself if things become too difficult for her.

Devine: Very well.

Lewis: Johanna, this is Dr. Lewis again. Can you hear me?

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: Good. Now, we are going to delve further into your subconscious. But there is no reason to be afraid. Nothing we find there can harm you. Do you understand?

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: Excellent. Now, still being absolutely calm, absolutely relaxed, I want you to move forward in time to that night at the dig, after everyone had gone to bed. You are there, right now. What is happening?

Sims: I wake up from a dream that I can’t remember. I look over and see Sara lying in her sleeping bag beside me in the tent. Her snores are soft, as tiny as she is. I have to pee and so I leave the tent and walk to one of the portable toilets. On my way back, I feel drawn to the tent we’ve set up over the skeleton.

Lewis: What do you mean, you feel drawn?

[Subject does not answer for several seconds.]

Sims: It like someone’s calling me. I feel my body moving toward the site of its own accord. Before I know it, I’m standing over Coyote.

Lewis: Who?

Sims: Coyote
…
the skeleton.

Lewis: Do you call it Coyote because of its head?

Sims: Yes. But it’s more than that.

Lewis: What happens next, Johanna?

[Johanna begin
s
to tremble in her seat across the table from Dr. Lewis]

Devine: Oh Christ. We better
…

Lewis: Johanna, relax. You are perfectly safe. You are still at the dig but you are surrounded by a force field that won’t let anything hurt you. Nothing harmful can pass through the force field, Johanna. Whatever you see is just playing on a movie screen, do you understand?

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: Good, Johanna. Now tell us what happens next.

Sims: Coyote.

Lewis: We don’t understand, Johanna. The skeleton?

Sims: Yes
…
and no.

Lewis: Is there someone else there with you, Johanna? Someone calling themselves Coyote?

Sims: Yes
…
and no.

Devine: Where the hell are you going with this, Doctor?

Lewis: Look, Mr. Devine. As I’ve told you, in my prior sessions with Johanna, she’s exhibited symptoms typically associated with dissociative identity disorder.

Devine: Multiple personalities, right. And I told you that defense doesn’t have a chance in hell. This is New Mexico, not California.

Lewis: Please, Mr. Devine
…
William. I think we’re on the cusp of something here. Something that might lead to Ms. Sims’s freedom. May I or may I not continue?

Devine: I called you in as an expert witness, Doctor. Please proceed, but do not waste
my
or my client’s time for the sake of your own curiosity.

Lewis: Johanna, is Coyote with you at the site?

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: Is Coyote part of you, Johanna?

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: Is he here with you, now?

Sims: Yes.

Lewis: May I speak to the part of you that is Coyote?

White: Oh
,
sweet Jesus! Look at what’s happening to her eyes! Look at what’s happening to her fucking eyes!

[At this point, the interview ended as the subject broke out of her restraints and attacked the men in attendance. Dr. Lewis and Mr. White were killed and Mr. Devine suffered crippling wounds before other officers arrived to subdue the subject.]

From an e-mail written by Splinter’s Edge Films Executive Producer, Albert Smith…

From: Smith, Albert

Sent: Wednesday, September 1, 2012 3:30 PM

To:
 
“Hill, Bear“

Subject:
Welcome aboard!

Congratulations, kid! You’ve made it to the big leagues! I skimmed the first draft of your script and fucking loved it! Damn, if it’s possible, I think it’s better than your fucking book! Just a few suggestions, though:

First, what about the title? Is your heart stuck on
Skinwalkers
? I mean, sure it works for a book, but I just don’t see it up in big letters on the marquee. What the hell is a
skinwalker
, anyway? I thought the story was about werewolves. Werewolves I know; werewolves I like. This is Hollywood, kid. We need a title that will knock the audience fucking flat, not confuse the poor bastards. But don’t worry. Uncle Al wouldn’t come complaining if he didn’t have a solution in mind for you. I was in the shower this morning and this popped into my head. Let me know what you think. Okay, here it comes. Picture this:
o
pening
credits roll between flashes of cowboys shooting the tee-total fuck
outta
one another! You mix that shit with flashes of werewolves coming at ’
em
so the audience knows right away that they are in some fucked up, super-scary-crazy-ass shit! And then all of
a
sudden, boom! It hits ’
em
outta
nowhere. Upon on the screen in big fucking letters dripping with blood: WEREWOLF SHOOTOUT AT HIGH NOON. Man, does that fucking rock or what?! I’m telling you, Uncle Al is pure fucking magic when he’s on!

Another thing: does the lead have to be black? Now, before you start, let me say I know what you’re thinking. But Uncle Al’s no fucking racist. Just last week I came
outta
Tiffany’s after buying this sweet-ass leather jacket and this black guy came up to me begging me for some fucking change. Well, I fucking upped the ante on the son of a bitch and tipped him a goddamn twenty-dollar bill! That’s just how I roll, kid. Uncle Al’s heart is as fucking big as his legendary
schlong
(Just ask Debbie about me and see what she says)! Anyway, I know that type of shit is more acceptable these days, what with Denzel and Foxx winning fucking Oscars and that Tyler Perry shit raking in the dough (That Perry is a fucking genius! I can’t wait to work with that motherfucker!), but I just see the classical John Wayne type in the lead, here. Get back to me
asap
so I can pass the word on to Sue.

I also noticed you got Indians running around like well, wild Indians, but there’s no mention of teepees in your notes for set design. In fact, I think you fucking got confused and thought that form was the fucking catering order or something because you go on and on about
“
hogans
.
“

Speaking of Indians, Wes would like it if Coyote could have more dialogue. And I have to say I think it’s a good idea. Now, now, I know what you’re thinking, kid, but no. Uncle Al hasn’t lost his fucking marbles. Make no mistake about it, he’s as sharp as fucking tack! In fact, I’ve got another thunderbolt from the blue for
ya
:
h
ow
about we throw the chicks a bone (other than Uncle Al’s that is, oh!) and get a love triangle going between Coyote, Maxine, and the bounty hunter? You know, make it all Shakespearian and tragic like. I mean, that shit worked in
Twilight
, right? Wes could play Coyote like
Lautner’s
character, and, instead of a saloon whore (although there’s nothing wrong with that in Uncle Al’s book!)
Rosario
’s character could be an Indian Princess who’s promised to Coyote. But then the bounty hunter enters the picture—I see him more and more as the old Hollywood man’s man type, maybe Crowe, or even better, Clooney!—and stirs shit the fuck up!