EXT. PARK - NIGHT
It's dark. What little light there is is cast by an
unforgiving sodium vapor floodlight attached to a low, park
bathroom structure. A dim sliver of green flourescent light
creeps out through the door, left ajar by too much use. A car
is parked by the building, its headlights and radio on. The
radio plays a soft rock station.
On the dented hood sits RILEY, an awkwardly looking fellow
in his mid twenties. He sits just little too close to CLAIRE,
a beautiful girl in blue jeans, a black tank top and a hoodie
around her waist. She seems uncomfortable.
RILEY
...C'mon...
CLAIRE
It's not that simple, Riley. You
can't just say one thing thing and
mean something else. It's not fair.
I want to go home. C'mon. Let's go
home.
Riley doesn't answer, He sits on the hood, sulking. He pokes
Claire.
CLAIRE
Stop it.
He doesn't. She swats his hand away and smacks him in the
head. Without warning, he grabs her in a bear hug and starts
to squeeze.
CLAIRE (CONT'D)
Stop it, you fuck! Let me go.
Intensity builds, as Claire starts to gasp for air. She
manages to kick Riley in the shin. He yelps and releases her.
She scratches his cheek and he starts to bleed. Claire runs,
trips and finds Riley over her and puts his hands around her
neck.
RILEY
Shh! Please! Shh!
Claire gasps for air, one last time, and passes out. Riley
looks up and around to see if anybody has seen him, then
picks up her body.
RILEY (CONT'D)
Oh man...
He panics.
RILEY (CONT'D)
Claire? Crap. Oh crap. Why'd you do
that? Why'd you do that?
He struggles to drag the motionless Claire, but he manages to
get her to the trunk. He fumbles for his keys, and realizes
they're in the ignition.
RILEY
Crap.
He puts Claire down and leans her against the bumper. She
slumps over. Riley goes to turn the car off. The music cuts
out and it's dead silent, besides Riley's breathing.
Claire's eyes have rolled up into her head. If she's
breathing, it's very, very shallow.
Riley returns with the keys, and opens the trunk. It's full
of soda cans he hasn't brought back for deposit yet. He digs
out some room like a dog covering a bone, except instead of
dirt, it cans. Loud cans. He pauses like a meerkat, and
listens for other signs of life in the park. Nothing. He
sighs again and picks up Claire.
RILEY (CONT'D)
Crap.
He manages to get her into the trunk and closes it. He looks
around again and gets into the car, leaving the keys in the
trunk's keyhole. A few seconds of realization set in.
RILEY (CONT'D)
(From inside the car)
CRAP!
He shuffles out, grabs the keys, scratching the paint in the
process. He tries to buff out the minute scratch with his
fingertips. He gets into the car.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Riley settles into the driver's seat and starts the car. The
soft-rock radio starts playing. Loudly.
RILEY
Crap.
He stabs at the radio with his finger. He takes a deep
breath. and puts the car into reverse.
CUT TO:
EXT. PARK - NIGHT
Riley's car performs the worst K-turn and drives off into the
darkness, managing to hit a curb on the way out.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR TRUNK - NIGHT
The bump snaps Claire awake, gasping for air, flailing for
something to grab. She gets her bearings, and calms down a
bit.
CLAIRE
Motherfucker.
CUT TO:
EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT
Riley's car comes to a stop at the intersection in a small,
darkened town. A stoplight hangs above the car, glowing red.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Riley impatiently fidgets, checking his mirrors and looking
around his car.
He stabs at the radio again, searching the radio stations. He
scans across a soft rock station, a polka station, and a
christian station.
RADIO (V.O.)
(an evangelical voice)
Thou shalt not kill! The lord Jesus-
Riley stabs his finger at the power button. He leans his
elbow on the window sill, and cups his cheek in his hand. His
face is still bleeding from Claire's scratch. There's blood
all over his hand, and it's smeared on his face.
RILEY
Ahh damn.
He looks around for something to wipe his blood up with. He
opens and closes the glove compartment, and any other
compartments within reach.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Riley leans through the seats to the
back to look there.
CUT TO:
EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT
The light changes to green. The car doesn't move.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Riley's ass is wedged between the seats as he fumbles in the
back. The green light bathing the car switches to yellow,
then red.
Riley twists back around to his seat, a dirty old t-shirt
with a crudely drawn Cats logo screenprinted on it in his
hand. He wipes the blood from his hands. He looks up from his
wiping as the light not facing him turns yellow. He tosses
the shirt into the passenger seat and waits. He slowly revs
the engine.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR TRUNK - NIGHT
Claire takes a deep breath and starts to kick on the trunk.
CLAIRE
(between kicks)
Bastard! Fucking Bastard! You
little crybaby piece of shit!
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
The light's green, and Riley is about to go, but the muffled
kicks and screams coming from inside the trunk are too much.
He puts the car in park.
CLAIRE (O.C.)
(muffled, in the trunk)
I swear to god I'm going to tell
the whole goddamn town what you
did, you cocksucker!
CUT TO:
EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT
Riley turns the ignition off and gets out of the car, a
thermos in one hand, his car keys in the other.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR TRUNK - NIGHT
Claire hears the keys jingle in the lock. Her breathing is
panicked. The trunk opens up, She pounces. Before she even
gets any momentum, she's hit with a thermos to the head.
CUT TO:
EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT
Riley closes the trunk, and sees the green light. He runs to
the open driver's door, stops, goes back to the trunk and
snatches the keys from the keyhole, and runs back to the
driver's seat.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Riley fumbles with the keys. He turns the car on. The light
turns yellow. He gets the car in gear, the light turns red.
RILEY
(Ad Lib)
FUCK! God fucking dammit! Shit!
Aah!!!
He punches the dashboard and hurts his hand
RILEY (CONT'D)
DAMMIT!
He grips the wheel. He floors it anyway. The car lurches
forward.
CUT TO:
EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT
A motorcycle with the loudest pipes ever speeds past. He
screams and stomps on the brake. The rider's middle finger is
the last thing he sees as it goes out of view. There's a car
still a little farther down the road behind Riley, slowly
creeping to a stop behind him.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Riley, oblivious to the approaching car, is at his wit's end.
RILEY
(Ad Lib)
GODDAMMIT!
He floors it.
More flashing lights light up his car's interior as a siren
blares behind him. He screams even more, and slams on his
brakes.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR TRUNK - NIGHT
Claire awakes yet again. The trunk pops open as she's tossed
around inside it. The front bumper of the police cruiser is
inside the trunk with her. Riley's screams are
With her last bit of energy, she kicks the trunk all the way
open.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Riley's past his wit's end. He grabs his thermos.
CUT TO:
INT./EXT. COP CAR - NIGHT
The COP, a little groggy from the impact, looks up from his
steering wheel and locks eyes with Claire.
COP
What the fuck?
He gets out of his car and runs ahead to help. As he gets
closer to Riley's car, Riley pounces, screaming and wildly
flailing his thermos.
he takes a wild swing at the cop. And misses.
Riley runs past the police car, still screaming. He turns
around and throws the thermos at the cop. It hits him in the
shoulder.
COP (CONT'D)
Ow! Fuck!
He misfires, hitting Riley in the knee.
RILEY
NO!
He falls down in the middle of the intersection, gurgling and
moaning like a wounded bobcat. A pool of blood forms at his
knee.
The cop lowers his still-smoking gun.
Riley writhes in the pool of blood, and as if to mock him
with insult on top of injury, the stoplight turns green.
FADE TO BLACK.