EXT. SCHOOLYARD - MIDDAY
ALICE, HUMPHREY, and BUNNY sit at a school playground, having a picnic. The sky is white, The sky is white, with off-white puffy clouds and a yellow sun. The field is in hues of pink and purple. There is a forest that entraps the entirety of the school. These trees are gold, but a lot of the gold has flaked off, revealing the rotting black wood underneath. The trees make sound as they shake, a soft clacking of wood and the ding of metal against metal. The jungle gym in the playground looks like a house with white shutters and dark blue siding. Other children run outside and hang on the swings next to the jungle gym but Alice does not pay any attention to them.
Alice, a 7-year-old girl, sits a picnic basket down on the red and white gingham picnic blanket that she and her companions sit on. Bunny, a human-sized black and white rabbit, hops around the playground with Humphrey, a yellow-colored whale, who swims next to Bunny through the air. A neon yellow frog jumps up next to Alice and she squeals, watching it float into the sky even past the peak of its jump.

ALICE
It’s so nice out!

BUNNY
It, it is! So bright!

Alice pats the space next to her for Bunny to sit, pulling out a teapot, kettle, plates, bread, butter, and jam from her picnic basket. Behind her, a dark figure emerges from one of the rotting husks of the trees, and Alice looks up at it.

Cut to a shot from Alice’s point of view as she quickly examines the tree. When she sees nothing, cut back to a wide shot of a picnic blanket. Alice gestures to all of the items she has just pulled out.

ALICE
Bunny, would you like some?

BUNNY
The, jam, the jam and, the jam and bread, please! Please, Alice!

ALICE
Okay! What about you, Humphrey?

Humphrey looks up at Alice, opens his mouth, and a TOOTH wriggles, falling out of his mouth.
 
HUMPHREY
I want all of it.

ALICE
Alrighty then!

Alice giggles as she prepares the picnic for her friends. She gives the bread and jam to Bunny first, who struggles to spread the jam on his bread with his paws. Alice also pours tea into a small teal teacup and hands that and the butter to Humphrey.

ALICE
Now, when you’re done with that, Bunny, give it to Humphrey!

Bunny hands Humphrey the bread and jam, chewing on the bread thoughtfully. Humphrey begins to prepare his meal. He tries to ask Alice a question, but his voice is muffled by the food he is eating. Alice giggles.

ALICE
Don’t talk with your mouth full, Bunny!

Bunny smiles sheepishly, finishing his food.

BUNNY
What are, what are we going to, to, do today, Alice?

ALICE
What do you mean? We’re having a tea party!

BUNNY
Oh… with just, oh…, the four of us? That’s s-so boring!

Beat.
Alice's brow furrows, and she shakes her head softly.

ALICE (PLAYFULLY)
Bunny, can't you count? There's only three of us here!

Humphrey shoots Bunny a glare. Bunny jumps back a little at the severity of Humphrey’s look. Humphrey turns to the food in front of him, eating his teacup whole. He chews it with his mouth open, the small cuts the ceramic creates beginning to gush blood. The scene begins to darken.

ALICE
Humphrey! Are you okay?

Humphrey smiles a gummy, bloody grin, teeth falling from his mouth.

ALICE
No? Then… then why are you smiling?

Humphrey silently raises his chin, nudging his face towards the sky, which is now pitch black.
Alice slowly looks up where Humphrey had pointed—a shady figure waves at her through one of the windows of the jungle gym.
The figure slowly approaches her, and two hands land on her shoulder. She jumps but is pulled into a hug by ROWAN and BLAINN. The figure disappears.
A faint melody of 1970s pop can be heard as Alice falls into this hug, relaxing, everything from her imagination disappearing. A woman, MARIA, approaches her, her hands wide for a hug as well, but something is wrong with her. Her eyes are black, open sockets, and her mouth hangs wide, an abyss within it. Only Alice reacts to this horrible image.

MARIA
ALICE. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

Alice winces and looks down. She has a cut on her knee, and Rowan and Blainn move so Maria can inspect Alice's cut.

MARIA
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU FELL REALLY HARD, DIDN'T YOU?

ALICE
Fell? I don't remember falling-

Maria smiles. A horrible picture, as it allows for her rotting yellow teeth to show, sharp as knives.

MARIA
DID YOU HIT YOUR HEAD?

Maria places her hand on Alice's forehead, and Alice scoots away.

ROWAN
I think she's fine, Mrs. Smith. Alice, do you want to go play?

Alice gives a small nod.
 
MARIA
ALRIGHTY, THEN. I JUST HAD TO MAKE SURE MY DARLING DAUGHTER WAS ALRIGHT. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE! HERE! TAKE A CANDY FOR YOUR TROUBLES!

Maria pulls out a lollipop, unwraps it, and shoves it straight into Alice's mouth, she spits it out; it comes out as a knife.

ALICE
Ow.

But her words are muddled.
Rowan and Blainn help Alice to her feet and walk to the jungle gym; Maria smiles and watches them.

INT. JUNGLE GYM - CONTINUOUS
ALICE, ROWAN, and BLAINN walk into the bottom of the jungle gym, sitting in the chairs sat around a dining table. Alice sits in the chair farthest to the back. She plays with her hands and stares off into a window, watching the children play outside. BUNNY and HUMPHREY appear outside. They speak in low voices and sound nothing like MARIA and PAUL.

BUNNY
Where is she?

HUMPHREY
I don't know. She should be here.

BUNNY
She's going to tell someone.

HUMPHREY
She hated the girl.

BUNNY
They were best friends. Weren't you watching, Paul?

HUMPHREY
I was just doing my job.

Alice shivers, curling into a ball. There's a tap on her shoulder and she's wrenched back into reality. Blainn taps on Alice's shoulder, concern etched on her face.

BLAINN
Are you okay? You look... troubled.

ROWAN
That's a big word!

Alice jumps away from Blainn's hand, standing up and turning away.

ALICE
I'm fine.

ROWAN
Are you sure? You don't look fine.

Blainn tries to place her hand back on Alice's shoulder, but Alice immediately grabs Blainn's wrist and throws it back.
Everything begins to crackle and glitch, the bus and children on it glitching in and out of existence, with only Blainn, Rowan, Alice, and the dining table set staying in focus.
As everything glitches in and out, the sounds of children's laughter fade into garbled sounds of thuds and screams; she sounds of ERNALINE dying.
Alice stares at the empty seat next to her, watching as Bunny and Humphrey appear at the table, sitting on opposite sides. A shadowy figure appears on the table, laying there, dead. Bunny and Humphrey's faces are all messed up in the same way Maria's was.

BUNNY
MY LITTLE GIRL WILL BE SAFE, NOW.

HUMPHREY
What are you gonna do with it?

BUNNY
Burn it.

Alice shrinks away from the table, and Blainn and Rowan step closer to her. Blainn holds out her hand.

BLAINN
Here. I'm Blainn, and this is Rowan, my twin sister. What's your name?

ALICE
My... my name? My... I'm...

The shadowy figure on the table fully glitches in, staring directly at Alice with cuts and bruises all over its body.

ERNALINE
Friends. Forever.

FADE TO BLACK.