Now we hear the chickens begin to raise a fuss, and the mule is braying.
The old man pulls his shotgun from the wall, opens it, loads it, then strides with determination to the door.
As he walks to the door, the noises outside become louder and more agitated, reaching a crescendo just as he puts his hand on the doorknob. Chickens cluck frantically, the mule is clearly panicked (EE-HAW!!! EEEEE-HAAAW!!) and the dogs are howling.
The old man turns the handle of the doorknob, and the noises outside suddenly cease, all at once.
Close-up of the old man’s face. He is clearly perplexed. He looks to his wife, suddenly uncertain. She has dropped her book, and is standing by her chair, her hand to her mouth.
The old man steps outside with his shotgun ready.
Camera closes in on the old women and stays there. We watch the expressions changing on her face from uncertainty to fear.
Camera cuts to the door the old man has just stepped through, left slightly ajar. We see the door from the old woman’s point of view, at an extreme angle. Through it we see just a sliver of darkness outside, but cannot see outside.
Silence for a moment. And then the silence is shattered by the horrific blasts of the old man’s shotgun from outside. One! Two! Three! Four! Five! A pause, and then six! And we know from the clicking sounds following that the shotgun has been emptied.
A loud intake of breath from beyond the door, “Huuuuun-n-n-n-n-h!” And then silence again.
Camera cuts back to the old woman. She is terrified. “John?” she asks. No response. “John?” Hands trembling, she steps fearfully toward the door. We see the door from her point of view as she slowly approaches. The door grows larger, till it fills the frame. We see the old woman touch the doorknob to open it.
At that instant, the walls of the house shudder all around her, as if something heavy has slammed up against them. The old woman jumps back from the door. Again the walls shake, then again. The old woman stumbles backwards to her chair, tipping the oil lamp and knocking it off the card table. She falls. The light goes out and the house is filled with darkness. Only the light of the desert stars shines through the crack in the door.
From very close, we hear the old woman’s labored breathing. And then the door bursts open with a huge crash. The woman screams.
Fade to black.
End of Scene 3