Scene from potential horror film

INT CAR NIGHT

It’s very late at night and Anna, a young woman in her mid-20’s, has been driving nonstop for just over six hours. She is returning home to Tucson, AZ from a weekend trip in Los Angeles. 40 miles outside of Tucson, she was forced to take a detour off of I-10. The detour has led her down a dark, deserted desert road, which she has been traveling on for the last 15 miles.

Feeling tired, Anna turns on the radio and is greeted with fuzz. She checks a couple stations and is unable to pick up a signal. She looks over at the passenger seat, which is littered with CDs. She grabs one randomly and pops it into the player. She looks at the clock in her dashboard and realizes she should call her mother to let her know that she is running late because of the detour. She mutes the stereo and grabs her phone, which is placed in the cup holder between the two front seats, and speed dials her mother’s phone number. She lets the phone ring a few times, but there is no answer or voicemail. She places the phone back into the cup holder and turns the music back on. In the distance, she sees a light and what appears to be a small gas station and convenience store. She looks at her gas meter, which is about a quarter full. Although this would be sufficient to get her home, she decides to stop for gas anyway so she can get out and stretch her limbs.

EXT GAS STATION PARKING LOT NIGHT

The station is obviously old. There is only one pump with a handwritten sign taped on to it that says “Cash only, pay inside”. There is a small convenience store that appears to be open. There are no other cars in the lot. Anna pulls her car into the gas station and parks next to the sole pump. Neglecting to lock the doors, Anna gets out of her car and walks toward the store. A man sits a couple of feet to the right of the front door. He is wearing a cowboy hat pulled low over his face and a long trench coat. Anna glances over at him before entering the store, but he takes no notice of her.

INT CONVENIENCE STORE NIGHT

Upon entering the store, Anna sees a restroom sign in the back corner and heads in that direction. The store is small, dirty and poorly lit. An older man works the cash register. He is the only other person in the store. He notices Anna enter and their eyes meet for a brief moment, but she quickly turns away and heads towards the restroom. The cashier continues to stare at her as she enters the restroom

INT RESTROOM NIGHT

The restroom is filthy and Anna decides against using the toilet, which looks like it hasn’t been flushed in days. She looks at her reflection in the mirror over the sink and realizes how tired she looks. To avoid germs, she grabs a paper towel before turning the sink on. She rinses her face a couple times with her hands and grabs a fresh paper towel to dry her face and to turn the sink off.

INT CONVENIENCE STORE NIGHT

Anna pours herself a hot coffee from the coffee machine next to the restroom and walks up to the counter to pay and ask about gas, but the cashier is not there. She looks behind the counter and then glances around the store but he is nowhere to be found. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out two one dollar bills. She leaves them on the counter and walks out with her coffee.

EXT GAS STATION PARKING LOT NIGHT

Anna exits the convenience store and looks to her left. She sees nothing except the empty chair where the cowboy had been sitting. Sighing, she walks to her car and gets in.

INT CAR NIGHT

Anna gets into her car and places her coffee in the cup holder, not taking notice that her phone is no longer there. She places her key into the ignition and turns it. The stereo turns on but the engine does not. She tries a couple more times but the car will not start. Frustrated she pops the hood and gets out, closing the door behind her.

EXT GAS STATION NIGHT

Anna opens the hood and checks her oil, which looks OK. Due to her lack of knowledge in auto mechanics, she doesn’t know what else to look for. She turns around and looks towards the store to see if she can see the cashier or the cowboy. As she turns, the stereo turns on suddenly, with the volume turned up all the way. Startled, Anna quickly turns back towards the car and slams the hood down. She looks through the windshield but sees nothing. She stands still for a moment, not sure what to make of the situation. Nervous, she starts to back away from the car when the music suddenly stops. She stands still again and when nothing further happens, she walks back toward her car and peeks through the driver’s window. She sees nothing. Suddenly, Anna hears a door slam. It sounds too heavy to be the door to the store, but it definitely came from that direction. Thinking it must be the cashier, Anna runs to the store.

INT CONVENEIENCE STORE NIGHT

Anna walks into the store and looks around. She sees nothing but a half-open door in the back corner by the restroom that she hadn’t noticed before. She walks towards the door and timidly peeks inside. She sees the cashier sitting on the floor, his back towards her, wearing nothing but dirty boxer shorts. Laid out in front on him on the floor are various objects that look like dirty surgical tools. He turns slightly and Anna sees that he is holding and polishing what looks like a large specula in his hands. Upon seeing this, she gasps. The cashier hears her and turns around to look at her. He looks her in the eye and slowly smiles. Anna backs into the shelf behind her, knocking over some snack food items, turns and runs out of the store.

INT CAR NIGHT

Anna gets into her car and goes to turn the key again, but it is no longer in the ignition. Crying, she reaches towards the cup holder for her phone and realizes that it isn’t there. She looks over to the passenger seat and is startled to find a cowboy hat placed on top of her CDs. After staring at the hat for a moment, she turns towards her door to exit and sees the cowboy standing outside of it, staring through the window with a smile on his face. She rushes to lock the door but he opens it just in time. Anna grabs the coffee and throws it into the cowboy’s face. He screams as Anna scrambles towards the passenger side. As she leans over to open the passenger door, the cowboy grabs her leg and violently pulls her toward him. As he starts to pull her body out of the car, she grabs onto the steering wheel. The cowboy lets go of her legs, reaches in and grabs her hair and jerks her head back towards him. She lets go of the steering wheel.

EXT GAS STATION PARKING LOT NIGHT

The cowboy pulls Anna out of the car by her hair. She starts to swing her arms in self defense. Still holding her hair, the cowboy bangs her head on the open door. Anna succumbs as she starts to feel faint. The cowboy throws her over his shoulder and walks towards the store.