A Pair of Aces
Page 16
Loony catches Angela by her long hair, jerks her to the ground by the picnic table.
BRIAN AS HIMSELF
Put her on the table. Can you fucking handle that?
Loony is already pulling Angela to her feet, and when he realizes he's heard Brian as himself again, he pauses.
LOONY
Brian. Man. You're back.
BRIAN AS HIMSELF
No shit.
LOONY
The shadow guy. Where'd he go? He gonna come back?
BRIAN AS HIMSELF
I told you goddamnit, he's always here. Just not all the way.
LOONY
Sure…sure.
Stone shoves Angela up against the picnic table.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Now, get that bitch up on the table like I said!
Stone does as he's told, and Loony helps. Angela cries out as the two roughly drape her over the table on her back. Brian leans over Angela.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
The question of the evening is do you love this asshole down there? There'll be a pop quiz later, so you remember your answer.
ANGELA
Yes, yes…
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Good, good. Got a prop-o-sition for you. I'll let you go if you'll tell me to cut him instead of you. You say: Cut him, Clyde. Cut him to pieces. And I'll let you go.
ANGELA
No. I can't do that!
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Put her hand down on the table….
Stone and Loony are still amazed at the voice transformation.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Hey, has everyone gone fucking deaf around here?
Stone holds her. Angela is SCREAMING. Loony holds her hand by the wrist, forcing it out on the table.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
I've got something for you.
Brian SNAPS the razor open. It pops open and catches the moonlight and reflects its beams.
Then Brian slams the razor DOWN.
INSERT RAZOR
as it sticks into the wood of the table, inches from Angela's head. She nearly loses it, as Brian pushes her face down to one side against the table.
Brian pulls the blade out of the table, appears relaxed, moves suddenly, slashes down.
Angela screams.
Brian holds up a severed finger, looks at it curiously. He uses the fingernail to get something out of his teeth.
Then he reaches down and holds her middle finger, the razor poised above her again. Angela is hysterical.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Quick, now, let's hear what you have to say about your sweetheart.
The moonlight strikes Brian's eyes, and something bad moves there. Angela, crazed beyond belief, looks up at him.
ANGELA
Cut him. Don't hurt me anymore, CUT HIM!
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Stone. Take his pants down, Loony. Get him up.
Loony and Stone pull down Jimmy's pants, hold him up, slap him awake.
LOONY
Come on, asshole, wakey time.
Stone has Jimmy's underwear down. Jimmy is barely aware of what's going on.
ANGELA
By the blessed virgin, don't!
BRIAN AS CLYDE
There's still time, spic. You or him, baby?
ANGELA
(she can barely get the word out)
Him….
Jimmy is awake now. And suddenly real alert.
JIMMY
For God's sake, Brian, don't…do this. I'm begging you!! God, don't, please don't…
Angela is crying, defeated. Brian reaches down and clutches Jimmy's vitals with one hand, and raises the razor to slash with the other.
ANGLE FALLING RAZOR
JIMMY
His body shakes. He SCREAMS and we HEAR ANGELA SCREAM as well, and then we–
CUT TO:
INT. CABIN–KITCHEN
Monty and Becky, near the stove and the pots of heating water, Monty clutching the gig, she the axe. They look at each other as they HEAR the SCREAM.
BECKY
God, they're here. They're killing someone. It's what they're going to do to us!
MONTY
No. No, damn it, they're not.
SERIES OF SHOTS–MOMENTS LATER
Monty hurries about the room, blocking off the front door with the couch..
Becky nailing paneling on the living room windows….
The water on the stove starting to boil.
BACK TO SCENE
Monty picks up the frog gig again, comes toward Becky who is standing at the stove with her axe, shaking.
MONTY
(exhausted)
How's that water coming?
BECKY
(still cool to Monty)
How does it look?
MONTY
I'm just trying to make us a little safer, Beck. That's all. If I knew anything else to do, I would do it.
BECKY
(sarcastic again)
Gee, Monty, there's one thing I can think of that would really help? Only it's a little late now…
Becky turns on him, holding her axe, the other hand clutched at her side.
BECKY
You could have taken us any goddamn place but back HERE!
MONTY
Oh, right.
BECKY
What–were–you–THINKING!
MONTY
What was I supposed to do? Those lunatics were right on our tail!
BECKY
Exactly. And where ARE those lunatics now? Right outside, murdering someone and–and–
Becky shakes, starts coming loose.
BECKY (CONT'D)
…three guesses who's NEXT!
FAVOR MONTY
who is standing with his back to the window. He opens his mouth to speak as–
–the window EXPLODES in a shower of glass and we–
GO TO SLOW MOTION and the EXPLOSION continues, as Monty ducks and Becky throws up a protective arm, and we RETURN TO REAL TIME, and we get–
BRIAN'S FACE
at the window.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
TRICK OR TREAT, ASSHOLES!
He throws something inside.
Brian disappears from the window.
Monty and Becky look at the object lying on the floor.
INSERT OBJECT
Jimmy's BLOODY TESTICLES.
BACK TO SCENE
Beck and Monty moving.
MONTY
Cut the lamp.
The single remaining light goes out as Becky springs across the room and slams it with the axe. The bright moon throws a wedge of light through the broken kitchen window.
Monty cautiously moves toward the busted window over the kitchen sink. He sidles up there and looks out carefully, nervously. Becky eases over beside him.
MONTY AND BECKY'S POV
A strange figure. Brian as Clyde, with spidery arms and legs, capers back and forth, dancing in the moonlight.
THEME GROWS WITH AN EERIE BEAT.
He is graceful, yet jerky and alien, His razor FLASHES in the moonlight. He hoots, makes peculiar sounds.
Brian/Clyde spreads his arms like a heron about to take flight. He stands on one leg, then the other. He dances closer and closer to the house. He laughs at the moon at the sky, at the world.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Hey, teacheeeeeer, remember me?
BECKY AND MONTY
BECKY
It's him.
MONTY
Him who?
BECKY
Clyde…the one who raped me.
MONTY
Come on….get your shit together, Beck.
BECKY
It's him. I know that voice. It's him!
BRIAN/CLYDE'S DANCE
His shadow is unworldly, it swirls, distorts, almost disappears.
CLOSE ON
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Hey, teacher–want to go another round?
THE WINDOW
; Monty leans out.
MONTY
Shut up. Shut the fuck up!
CUT TO:
THE DANCE
BRIAN AS CLYDE
We're waiting, teacher.
BRIAN AS BRIAN
Hey, buddy, we're going to cut the pretty teacher's heart out, man.
INT. CABIN
A SOUND, A BUMP
Monty turns quickly.
BECKY
What's that?
Monty grabs his frog gig.
MOVING
Monty runs toward the paneled back glass. Becky follows reluctantly with her axe.
SOUND: Something drips, like great globs of water off the roof, splattering the steps.
Monty peers between cracks in the strips of paneling.
MONTY
Something, I don't know. Hanging there, from over the porch. It's a–
WHAM!
CUT TO:
EXT. BACK PORCH
Hands grab at something. It's so quick we can't tell much, but we can see the hands, and then we get a glimpse of Stone's face, and him pulling the object back, and then–
–a blur of motion, and the heavy object swings into sight, coming right AT US.
MONTY POV
Through the split. A body swinging.
Monty shrinks back from what he sees.
MONTY
Jesus God!
CUT TO:
The shadow figure SLAMS right at us. Hits the glass door and fragments it and the paneling bulges.
CLOSE SHOT THROUGH SPLIT
It is the body of Angela, swinging upside down, eyes wide open, face covered in blood, hair hanging down.
CUT TO:
MONTY AND BECKY
BECKY
What–what is it?
CLOSE SHOT–MONTY
He has that thousand yard stare.
MONTY
The girl..the one.from your dreams.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PATROL CAR–NIGHT
Larry driving, Ted in the passenger seat, Moses and Buffy in the back.
MOSES
As I recall, you hit a stretch of blacktop before the Beaumont's driveway. You got to turn left or right. I don't exactly remember.
LARRY
That's a big help. Don't see how we can miss it in the fucking dark.
TED
Just keep your eyes open, watch the road. I'd just as soon spot these bastards before they spot us.
LARRY
Good thinking. For a Catholic, I mean.
TED
Don't start.
MOSES
That what you are, officer? No shit. I never met one before.
Larry laughs.
NEAR THE CABIN
Brian, Loony and Stone standing close together, talking quietly. They wear the Halloween masks Loony stole from Pop's store. Brian wears the one with the knife in the skull. Loony holds the shotgun.
LOONY
Let's do it, let's splatter 'em.
BRIAN AS CLYDE
We will. But we're going to do this right. Stone, you go up the drive there, find a place to hang out, just in case we get visitors, like that patrol car we seen. What I want to do to that bitch might take a while, and I don't want to be bothered…Loony, give Stone the shotgun.
Stone takes the shotgun, disappears into the darkness.
DISSOLVE TO:
PATROL CAR–NIGHT
The patrol car comes over a high rise, and its lights pierce the trees and hit the black Chevy setting on the driveway of the Beaumont place.
INT. PATROL CAR
Larry slows the vehicle, stops at the mouth of the driveway.
MOSES
It's the drive that goes to the Beaumont place, I can tell that now.
LARRY
You can always tell something soon as it happens. That's a real talent you got there, fella. The dog could have told us that.
BRIAN AND LOONY
They're at the far end of the drive, watching. From where they stand, they can see the patrol car's lights through the trees.
LOONY
Who's that?
BRIAN AS CLYDE
A car, idiot.
LOONY
So what do we do?
BRIAN AS CLYDE
Not a thing. Stone's there.
INT. THE CABIN
Monty peers out the front living room window. The window is boarded over, but there are gaps.
BECKY
What is it, what's happening?
MONTY
Lights. I don't know.
BECKY
It's more of them. We can't stop them, they'll murder us, Monty!
MONTY
Shut up, Beck. Just shut the hell up!
OUTSIDE THE CABIN
Brian and Loony are running crazily through the night toward the cabin, hooting like owls.
INT. PATROL CAR
MOSES
I did what I said I'd do, I got you here, didn't I? Just let me out.
LARRY
Sit tight. This isn't a bus, we don't make stops.
TED
Both of you, all right. I don't want any more hassle than we've got.
LARRY
We're wasting time, man. We need to get out there and get these little bastards.
TED
We're going to do just that, Larry, all right? First, though, we're going to get our shit together and–
A slug cuts through the windshield at an angle, misses Larry by inches, hits Ted sitting on the passenger side just in front of the left ear. Fragments of glass, brains, blood and skull fly about inside the car like a meteor shower.
THE WOODS
Stone looses another blast from his hiding place.
A RED FLARE AND EXPLOSION
INT. PATROL CAR
Another blast blows holes through the hood. Moses jerks open the back door and jumps out. Buffy nearly runs over him, hits the drive, crosses the road, dives into the woods and is gone.
Larry snatches the riot gun down, grabs the door handle, rolls over Ted, hits the ground. Looks beneath the car. Moses, down by the back rear tire, whispers to him.
MOSES
Is he dead?
LARRY
Why don't you give him a shake and see if he comes around.
MOSES
Jesus God. He's going to kill us!
LARRY
No he isn't. I'm going to blow his ass away. Going to slip off in the woods over there, cross the road further down, see if I can get up behind him.
MOSES
You're going to leave me here? You can't do that.
LARRY
Yeah, I can. I'm going to get this guy…You know, old Ted wasn't bad for a commie Catholic. Stay sharp, and maybe you won't end up dead.
Larry rolls, bellies into the woods, and is gone.