Seven

S E V E N by Andrew Kevin Walker January 27,1992 The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for. - Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940 EXT.COUNTRY CHURCH -- DAY The white cross on the church steeple stands against blue sky. The church bell rings, resonating. Mass has let out.Small church, small congregation.The dirt road in front is lined with pick-up trucks and parishioners on foot heading to outlying farms and homes.An old two-story house sits across the road.Lone. INT.OLD HOUSE -- DAY Sunlight comes through the soot on the windows, more brown than bright.SOMERSET, 45, in a suit and tie, stands in this empty second- story room.He looks around, at the ceiling, at the worn wooden floor, at the peeling wallpaper on the walls. Somerset walks to one wall where the current wallpaper is peeled away to reveal flowery wallpaper underneath.He runs his finger across one of the pale red roses that decorates the older paper. He pushes the grime away, brings the rose out more clearly. He pulls at the edge of the paper, carefully ripping off a roughly squared section with the rose at its center. He studies it in his hand. EXT.OLD HOUSE -- DAY Birds sing.Somerset stands, pondering the forested landscape. MAN'S VOICE (O.S.) Is something wrong? Somerset does not respond. The MAN, in an ill-fitting real estate jacket, is seated on the hood of a dirty Ford Thunderbird.He holds a check and a booklet of receipts. MAN (CONT) Is something the matter? SOMERSET No... no.