Danny Collier, 13, walks down the sidewalk carrying a mylar happy birthday balloon. He turns onto a sidewalk that leads to a medium-sized house. He stops at the front door. From inside his shirt, he pulls out a key on a strap that hangs around his neck. He opens the door and goes inside.
Danny walks into the house excitedly. He calls for his mom, but she's not home. He reminds her about presents, but she doesn't answer.
Danny walks into his bedroom. He tosses his backpack on his office chair. He stops and stares at his bed. An ornate, antique box sits in the middle. A slip of paper lays on the bed in front of the box. Danny picks up the slip of paper. It reads “For Danny.” He grins and sets the slip of paper back on the bed. He picks up the box and examines it from all angles. He admires the handicraft. The box is half a foot in length and half again in width.
Danny opens the box. He reaches in and pulls out a key covered with ornate designs that match the box. He reaches back in the box and pulls out a card. He reads it out loud: "Pazder Cemetery. Braun Crypt." That’s all that’s on the card. Danny flips it over and looks for more. He shrugs. Danny takes the key and card with him as he leaves.
Danny walks down the sidewalk, talking on his phone. His mother had nothing to do with the present and Danny can' get in touch with his father.
Danny walks past the last house on the block and enters a small forest. The forest only takes up a suburban block. Danny follows the path through the middle of the forest. He exits the other side of the forest and crosses the street. He stands before the gate to Pazder Cemetery. Danny pulls the card from his pocket and confirms the name of the cemetery. He nods and enters.
Danny scans the cemetery. He sees the crypts and mausoleums towards his right at the back of the cemetery. He heads that way. He reads the names on the headstones as he heads that way: Smith, McMartin, Warnke, Buckey, MacFarlane, Darling, Pulling, Radecki, Hammond, Rivera, Gould, Summit, Heger, Finkelhorn, Tate, Gallant, and LaFontaine. As he nears the crypts, Danny sees a series of headstones with “Man of the Year” written above names and years. The years are all exactly 17 years apart: George Chapman, 1820; John Brown, 1837; Wiley Harper, 1854; Patty Cannon, 1871; John Johnston, 1888; Edward Rulloff, 1905; Andreas Hall, 1922; Franklin Evans, 1939; Isaac Wood, 1956,;Lydia Sherman, 1973; Thomas Carr, 1990; Thomas Williamson, 2007. After Williamson’s grave is a headstone that reads “Man of the Year” and “2024.” The name is blank. The grave has been freshly dug up and sits empty, waiting. Danny reads them all as he goes by, he’s interested. But he doesn’t linger.
He makes his way among the crypts until he finds the one marked “Braun.” The door has no keyhole. Danny examines it for a bit. He puts two hands on the right side and pushes. Really hard. The door budges. He has to push as hard as he can for a while. Eventually it moves enough that he can fit. Danny looks around. No one sees him; no one is around. He slips inside.
One wall inside the crypt consists of coffins on shelves, marked with the names of Braun family members: Silas, Korie, Phillip, Kay, William, Jason, Melissa, Jep, Sadie. On the other side rests an altar. On top of the altar is a large ceremonial box. A keyhole is prominent in the center.
Danny pulls out the key. He inserts it in the box and turns it. It opens. Danny pulls up the lid and looks inside. He pulls out a long, S-shaped dagger.
He looks in the box and pulls out a card with handwritten instructions. He reads them out loud: The town is now closed. No one enters, no one exits until the ceremony ends. Danny puts the dagger back in the box. It’s your birthday and you must complete the ceremony. You must take the dagger and kill someone. Danny is shocked.
He tries to put the card back in the box. He can’t let go of it. He keeps trying to shake the card from his hand. It doesn’t work. He tries to pull it away, but it sticks.
He starts reading the card again: You cannot refuse. You can’t warn anybody about the ceremony. You can’t ask anyone for help. The killing must be a surprise. Time is limited. After 48 hours, if you haven’t killed someone by then, they all die. To avoid you, someone can sat “I see you” to your face and you won’t be able to kill them. Once you make the kill, you will be named Man of the Year and the town will be free once again.
He throws the card in the box, this time it goes.
He runs for the exit. He smashes face-first into an energy field that glows blue once he touches it. He falls on his ass. His nose is bleeding. He wipes the blood from his nose. He gets up and examines the energy field. He reaches for it. Slowly. It grows brighter when he touches it but nothing else happens. He pushes on it harder and harder. Nothing happens. He pushes with all his might. Nothing. He bangs on the energy field with his fists. Nothing changes
He steps back and thinks for a moment. He looks at the box. Danny walks over to the box and grabs the dagger. He walks toward the door. As he gets closer, the energy field starts to fade. It is gone by the time he reaches the door. He reaches out to feel for it. Nothing’s there. He walks through the door, ready for impact. It doesn’t come. He’s free.
Danny rides his bike down the street in a quiet neighborhood. A blue energy dome envelops the whole town. The dagger is stuffed down the back of his pants.
He rides towards the closest part of the blue energy wall. Danny sees two teen boys walking along the energy wall, BEN, blonde, and MIKE, brunette. He continues biking in their direction.
Ben spots him and says: "Nah, Danny, I see you." Mike looks around frantically until he sees Danny. Mike says "I see you." Danny is offended. He says: "C’mon guys, I wouldn’t kill you." Ben notes that he can't. Mike agrees. Danny reiterates he wouldn't. He mopes for a bit.
Danny asks how they knew about the ceremony. They say they took a special class in school. Danny didn't know about the class. They were told the rules, but not who the designated killer would be.
Mike and Ben head home, continuing to talk a bout Danny.
Danny walks up to the front door of Susan's house and knocks on the door. The door is opened by Susan's mom, Martina. She sees Danny and frowns. She says :I see you."
He’s taken aback by Martina's coldness. He asks to talk to Susan. Martina says she's doing homework and tries to make him go away.
Danny begs her, but she's very resistant. He tells her it's about school. She examines him for weapons. Finding none, she says he can get 2 minutes. She gets Susan.
She runs for the door and goes outside. She hugs Danny. He eagerly hugs back. Martina tells them "no touching."
Susan asks how his birthday went. He doesn't want to talk about it.
He asks if they can spend some time together. Susan says her mother won't let her. She suggests she can get away at the Town Anniversary Festival tomorrow night. They plan to meet at the Ferris wheel. He says he loves her. She loves him too. They hold hands briefly before Danny leaves.
Danny walks through Rozier park. He now wears a hoodie, which helps hide the dagger tucked in his pants.
Danny takes long looks at each person or couple he gets close to, trying to make a choice. He spots a jogger, Anthony Carlton. He wears headphones and stops to fiddle with his mp3 player a few times as if it’s not working properly.
Danny maneuvers himself so he’s behind Anthony. Danny creeps up on Anthony, who still stands fiddling with his mp3 player. Danny gets closer. He pulls out the dagger. Anthony has fixed the mp3 player and starts jogging again.
Frustrated, Danny gives chase. Anthony doesn’t get too far away. He’s in no hurry. Danny is almost upon him. He raises the dagger for a strike. Anthony stops again, to fix the mp3 player once more.
Danny crashes into Anthony, dropping the dagger. Anthony sees Danny scramble for the dagger. Anthony’s eyes go wide with recognition and fear. He says "I see you!" and runs.
Danny slumps in disappointment. Frowning, Danny picks up the dagger. He falls on his back, exasperated and frustrated.
Danny walks through the parking lot of the mall, still wearing the hoodie. He scans various customers as they enter and exit the mall. He takes a long time to choose, wandering around. He loses his nerve a few times. Then he sees Franklin Parker, WM, 16, carrying a small bag across the parking lot. Danny grins. He hates Franklin.
Danny circles around behind Franklin. Franklin walks between a row of cars. Danny pulls out the dagger. He raises it as he gets closer to Franklin.
Unseen by Danny, a WOMAN sits in the car Franklin is passing. The woman sees Danny. Franklin passes the car.
The woman opens the car door sharply, smashing it into Danny, face first. He sprawls backward onto the concrete. The dagger skitters under a nearby car.
Franklin turns to see what happened. He sees the dagger.
Franklin says "I see you" and runs away. The woman starts her car and flees as fast as she can. Danny lays flat on his back with a sigh. Blood flows from his head where he hit a car as he fell.
Danny walks through Rozier park, dejected. His hands are in his pockets and he notices nothing around him. He almost walks directly into Ben and Mike.
Ben and Mike say "I see you" to Danny. Danny says they have to say it every time. Ben and Mike exchange a look of concern.
Frustrated, Danny walks on. Ben and Mike follow him. They ask him why he hasn't killed anyone yet.
Danny says he's not a killer.
Mike says he better turn into one. Ben says "soon." He says it isn't that easy. The pressure him to do it fast.
Mike tells Danny he has to go after someone really close to him. Ben says someone who wouldn't suspect him. Danny stares at them for a moment, then walks away. He’s on the verge of a panic attack.
Danny stands in a public restroom, staring at himself in the mirror. He frowns, fighting off tears. He says he doesn't have a choice, it has to be Susan. He walks out the bathroom door.
Danny walks around the side of the building to meet Susan. She grins. Danny puts his arm around her and they walk toward the midway and the rides. They walk through the various rides and games. They laugh and smile, but don’t see anything they like. Susan says they're all kids' rides. Danny said the rides for the kids, drinks and food for the adults.
Danny laughs and casually rests his hand on the hilt of the dagger, again hidden beneath his shirt and hoodie.
Susan playfully runs into the Hall of Mirrors, quickly losing Danny.
Danny is confused and walks face first into a mirror. Susan laughs.
He suddenly sees her standing before him. He reaches out to touch her. He smacks his hand on one of the mirrors. Susan laughs and runs away.
Danny stops a looks around. He doesn’t see Susan anywhere. He pulls the dagger out. He conceals it by his side. With his other hand he feels in front of him to move through the maze without bumping into anything.
He sees a flash of Susan’s reflection. He turns that way and makes a few more turns. He spots Susan. She’s turned the other way, hiding.
Danny raises the dagger and prepares to stab Susan in the back.
He starts to bring the knife down towards her.
They make eye contact in the mirror.
Danny sees fear in her eyes.
He has a realization and smiles. He changes motion and stabs himself in the neck. He hits the jugular vein and blood spurts onto the mirror. Susan screams. Danny falls to the floor, bouncing off the mirrors and leaving a trail of blood smears on the glass. Susan runs and grabs ahold of Danny, so he doesn’t lie on the floor.
The blue energy dome over the town slowly disappears.
Susan’s screams still fill the air.
Susan and Martina stand in front of the “Man of the Year” graves. The last headstone has been filled in. It says: “Man of the Year/Danny Collier, 2024.” The grave has been filled in. Susan cries. Martina doesn’t.