TW // Strong language, violence, suicide
ACT TWO.
INT. JAMES' CAR, MORNING
James and Annie are driving down the freeway. The sun has risen and cars fly by on either side. Annie is slumped in the passenger seat, gazing out to the mountains in the distance and James is focused on the road, his expression blank.
On the radio is a talk show, and James increases the volume when he hears something that catches his interest.
RADIO VOICE 1 (FEMALE)
...we know that the health care issues have pushed people into a state where they have no choice but to request these services-
RADIO VOICE 2 (MALE)
-but it's murder-
RADIO VOICE 1
-I'm not condoning it. I am just stating one of the contributing factors to the Euthanists flourishing in this country-
RADIO VOICE 2
-but these people are committing murder. They're playing God.
RADIO VOICE 1
Again, I'm not saying that it justifies it in any way, it just gives some reasoning behind the decisions people have made.
RADIO VOICE 2
How do we stop them?
RADIO VOICE 1
Maybe we can't. Maybe this is something that we need to accept as a reality. People want to die, but lack the strength of character to kill themselves-
RADIO VOICE 2
(losing composure)
-suicide is a sin!
RADIO VOICE 1
I would argue so is denying millions of people access to the health care that they need. Until we learn to look after our citizens, they will take whatever option is available to them to-
James taps the radio to switch the station and Dolly Parton interrupts the heated discussion. He flashes a look at Annie who is staring at the radio and had clearly been listening intently. She sees him looking and turns back to the vibrating landscape.
JAMES
I'm not evil.
(said almost to himself)
ANNIE
(sitting up and frowning at him)
How many people have you...
JAMES
Seventy-two.
(catches himself)
Seventy-one.
Annie smiles and looks away.
ANNIE
My mind won't allow a man who has killed more than zero people to not be evil.
JAMES
I understand that.
ANNIE
Is that what this is? A way for you to atone for your seventy one sins? Is that why you're doing this? I'm a way for you to wash away your sins?
James says nothing, just stares ahead and clenches his jaw. Annie exhales deeply and returns her glare to the passing view.
ANNIE (CONT'D)
Pull over.
James flashes her a look of concerned shock.
ANNIE (CONT'D)
(smiling at seeing his reaction)
I need to pee, dummy.
James nods and returns his look to the road.
JAMES
There's a rest stop a ways up ahead.
Silence falls between them for a few moments and the car rolls into the rest stop.
ANNIE
I'm not gonna run away, James. I've got nowhere else to be. Hell, I'm supposed to be dead.
James suppresses a smile and they both get out.
CUT TO:
EXT. REST STOP CAR LOT, MOMENTS LATER
James lights a cigarette and wanders aimlessly around the car, kicking the dusty floor and looking away to the mountains while Annie walks into the rest stop.
CUT TO:
INT. COOPER'S HOUSE, NIGHT
COOPER is sat at a long, wooden dining table in a crystal-clean suburban house. His shirt and face are covered in blood and his bloodied jacket lies on the table. He cradles a tumbler of whisky and sips it deeply while closing his eyes.
After several moments, his wife, CAROLE, enters. She has long, blonde hair and a tall, elegant figure. She is carrying over-filled shopping bags.
On seeing COOPER, she screams and drops the bags; groceries tumble to the floor in every direction. COOPER barely lifts his gaze from his drink but manages a half smile as his pictures the morbid scene he has helped to paint.
CAROLE
Cooper.
(she slowly steps towards him, as though he might explode if she disturbs his stillness)
What happened?
She reaches him and sits alongside him, squeezing his arm and not taking her eyes from his bloodied face and shirt.
CAROLE (CONT'D)
Are you hurt?
(more forcibly when no reply is forthcoming)
Tell me what happened.
COOPER
(glances at her but cannot maintain her stare)
Don't worry, it's not my blood.
CAROLE draws herself away an inch, allowing her hand to leave his shoulder. He glances at her retreat and smiles again, shaking his head.
COOPER (CONT'D)
No. It's Morgan's. You know M-
CAROLE
-ya, I know. Is she okay?
COOPER
I held her as she died.
COOPER takes a deep sip of whisky and then tops up the glass as CAROLE gasps and covers her mouth.
CAROLE
No. How?
COOPER
It was my fault. I was reckless.
COOPER chews his lip angrily and rocks back in his chair. CAROLE scans him over and over, calculating, trying to piece together the puzzle that he's forming before her.
CAROLE
Cooper, you're going to need to talk to me, sweetie. What the hell happened?
COOPER
It was a Euthanist.
(he locks CAROLE with his eyes)
We shouldn't have gone alone. We shouldn't have gone at all.
CAROLE
Oh Jesus.
COOPER
We shouldn't have gone.
CAROLE
Look, go and get in the bath. I'll call Bill and find out-
COOPER
-No. You can't. Nobody knows why we were there.
CAROLE
(her voice a note more stern)
Why not, Cooper?
COOPER
The Feds took the case. We were off it.
CAROLE sits back in her chair and stares at the ceiling. She knows enough to understand that her husband has made a huge mistake. COOPER drains his glass and then picks up his jacket. He opens the lapel and pulls out a folded piece of paper, spattered in blood. He hands it to CAROLE. She unfolds it and sees James' face staring back at her.
CAROLE
What is this?
COOPER
Her next target. How I'm going to find her.
CAROLE takes a breath and folds the paper back up, handing it back to him.
CAROLE
How long do you have before they find out what happened?
COOPER
(shakes his head)
I need to leave before sunrise.
CAROLE
(rising to her feet and wiping tears from her eyes)
I'll make some supper then you get some rest.
(she leans over and kisses his forehead gently as a tear rolls down his cheek)
You're going to fix this.
COOPER
Yes ma'am.
CAROLE
Make sure you do, sweetie.
CAROLE leaves and COOPER pours himself another drink.
FADE OUT.
INT. MIRIAM'S SUV, MORNING.
MIRIAM is driving out of town, the mountains in the distance and the sun low over their crests. She pulls over on the side of the deserted road and washes her hair from a bottle of water. She removes her bloodied dressing gown and tosses it into the dirt, replacing it with a blue blouse and black jeans from her trunk; the jeans are slightly too small and she has to lever them on while sitting in the drivers' seat.
A car drives past at speed and sounds its horn loudly. MIRIAM doesn't react.
MIRIAM has a cigarette while stood staring out to the sun rising over the mountains, before returning to the car and driving away.
CUT TO:
INT. MIRIAM'S SUV, LATER
MIRIAM is driving and humming along to a country song on the radio.
WE SEE A SIGN THAT SAYS 'NOODLE SOUP - 200YDS'
MIRIAM indicates and pulls over.
CUT TO:
INT. ROADSIDE DINER, LATER
MIRIAM slurps at her noodle soup, smiling lightly. Her phone rings and she stares at it for a moment before answering.
MIRIAM
Yep
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL SUPPLY ROOM, SAME TIME
A wiry male nurse in scrubs is cradling a cell phone to his ear, looking nervous.
NURSE
I have it.
INTER CUT - PHONE CONVERSATION
MIRIAM
Of course you do!
(she dips her finger in her soup and then guides the liquid to her mouth before it drips)
NURSE
And this makes us even?
MIRIAM
Even Stevens... Go.
NURSE
His registered address is the same, but his next of kin is in Fairview. 49 Fairview Drive. An Arthur Cole.
MIRIAM
Huh.
(frowning and gazing out of the window)
NURSE
So... are we good now.
MIRIAM
I'll let you know in a couple of days.
The nurse opens his mouth to speak but MIRIAM clicks the line dead.
CUT TO:
INT. ROADSIDE DINER, SAME TIME
She picks food from her teeth while frowning, lost in thought. After a moment she gets up and walks to a small store, where she buys a map and a can of Coke before exiting and returning to her car. In the front seat she surveys the map with a cigarette hanging from her lip.
MIRIAM
(to herself with a breath of cigarette smoke)
Arthur Cole. 49 Fairview Drive. Arthur Cole. 49 Fairview Drive. Arthur-
She finds the location and burns a hole through the exact spot with her cigarette.
MIRIAM (CONT'D)
(in a sing-song voice)
I'm coming' for you, boy.
She turns the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot, heading back the way she had come with country music leaving a trail with the dust.
CUT TO:
INT. MOTEL LOBBY, EVENING
JAMES and ANNIE enter, leaving the fading sun outside. A young man sits to attention at the reception desk and smiles broadly. Neither JAMES or ANNIE return the smile; both being pre-occupied with sizing up the tired establishment.
CLERK
(his unanswered smile fades)
Evenin'
JAMES
Twin room. One night.
JAMES opens his wallet and fingers a set of notes as he waits for a response.
CLERK
(taken aback and now sheepish)
Err.. sixty-seven dollars, sir.
JAMES places the cash and then takes a lightly shaking key from the clerk with the number 6 emblazoned on a plastic fob that dangles from it.
The clerk sits back down and returns ANNIE's smile before the two exit the way they had come.
CUT TO:
INT. MOTEL ROOM 6, SECONDS LATER
The door opens and JAMES and ANNIE enter. They tentatively place their meagre belongings on the separate beds and JAMES lies down. ANNIE fingers the bedspread with a wince and then resigns herself to her fatigue and lies down. They remain in silence for several moments as the sounds of passing traffic and the occasional barking dog bounce against the exterior of the building.
ANNIE
They'll be chasing us now, won't they?
James says nothing but sits up to light a cigarette.
ANNIE (CONT'D)
Don't do that.
JAMES
(looking at Annie, bemused)
Do what?
ANNIE
Ignore me. It's rude.
JAMES open his mouth the speak but ANNIE continues.
ANNIE (CONT'D)
You have taken me away from my home, not done the one thing that I asked you to do, and now you won't tell me where we're going or what we're doing. I'm not sure if I've already made this clear but I have nothing left to live for. At this point I'm basically just coming along for the ride to see what your big plan is, but there's nothing stopping me from walking out of here and throwing myself in front of the next 18-wheeler that comes flying past. Do you understand that?
JAMES lays silently, smoke pouring from his mouth. His eyes are wide, calculating. ANNIE rises to her feet and starts to pace the room, one hand on her lower back and one hand on her protruding belly.
ANNIE (CONT'D)
I don't know why I came. This is ridiculous. What did I think was going to happen?
JAMES
I want to help you.
ANNIE
I never asked for your help. I asked for one thing and you refused to do it. That's the end of our interaction. Now you've dragged me for miles for what? You want to be friends? You want somebody to talk to?
ANNIE pants with her hands on her hips and JAMES stares at her, speechless. He has nothing to say to justify what he has done, he has no plan.
ANNIE looks down at his jacket at the foot of the bed and then reaches down and brandishes his gun from within. She places it to her right temple and stares him in the eye.
ANNIE
If you won't, I will.
JAMES
Wait. Please.
(he raises both hands and sits upright on the bed)
ANNIE
For what?
ANNIE is crying and JAMES sidles to the edge of the bed, not taking his eyes from her as he does.
JAMES
I am sorry. I don't know what my plan is. I don't really have one. But, I want to help you. I know you don't know me and you don't care who I am, but I cannot kill you. Not because of the damn rules or whatever, but because it's wrong.
ANNIE
That's not a decision for you to make.
JAMES
True. But I did, and here we are. And if you choose to shoot yourself, then fine, I guess you got what you wanted. But just know before that I wanted to help you. Even though I might have failed.
ANNIE
Just because I am a pregnant woman does not mean that I need you to make decisions for me. I made my mind up. You think that was easy?
JAMES
Of course not.
The pair say nothing for a few moments as the tension rises between them.
JAMES
Annie, it doesn't end like this. I don't know what happens next but please give me a chance to work this out.
ANNIE bites her lip as her chin trembles. She lowers the gun and tosses it onto the bed.
ANNIE
It's pathetic. I can't even do it myself.
JAMES
You're stronger than you think.
ANNIE
Don't. Don't talk to me like you know me. You don't know anything about me. I don't deserve your mercy.
JAMES
Maybe not, but this isn't just about you.
ANNIE
How can you take any moral stance on this? You're a murderer.
JAMES
(shakes his head)
Unless we have more right than anybody. Society made us. Society handed over the keys to sin a long time ago and we're just keeping them safe.
ANNIE
(covers her face and suppresses a scream)
Can you at least tell me where we're going?
JAMES
(hesitates, then softens as he sizes Annie's glare)
Fairview. It's 60km north of here. My foster parents' place.
ANNIE
Won't they know to find you there?
JAMES
(shakes his head)
They don't know it.
ANNIE rolls onto her side and JAMES returns to his bed. His eyes dart over the ceiling as he tries to fathom what to say next.
Silence falls but for the howl of a distant dog.
FADE OUT.
EXT. JAMES' APARTMENT, EARLY MORNING
COOPER is banging on the door of a tired apartment.
COOPER
Mr. Cole. Police. Open up.
A man appears from an apartment two doors down. His hair is long, grey and matted and he is wearing only a vest and boxer shorts.
NEIGHBOUR
Can I help you officer?
COOPER spins around at the voice and pauses mid-knock.
COOPER
Sir, do you know a Mr. Cole that lives at this address?
NEIGHBOUR
Sure, I know James. Has he done something wrong?
COOPER
When did you last see him?
NEIGHBOUR
Oh maybe two months back now. He comes and goes at all hours. He's a salesman, you see.
COOPER
A salesman?
NEIGHBOUR
Yeah, all over. Is he in trouble?
(pauses, then nods once)
Is his father okay?
COOPER
Father?
NEIGHBOUR
His foster dad, he pays his rent here. Asks me to keep an eye on him, so he doesn't get up to no good. Seems I might've failed on that count.
COOPER
Do you have an address for this foster parent?
NEIGHBOUR
Sure. It's out in Fairview. But from what I gather James hasn't been to see them for a long while. Doesn't see eye to eye with his folks.
The old man disappears into his apartment and COOPER strains his eyes to see in through James' closed net curtains. The neighbour re-appears with a piece of paper; an address scrawled on it.
COOPER
(takes the note)
Thanks.
NEIGHBOUR
Whatever he's done, I'm sure he had a good reason. He's a good boy.
COOPER forces a smile and nods before walking away down the road. The neighbour watches him disappear down an alleyway before going back indoors.
FADE OUT.
INT. MIRIAM'S MOTHER'S HOUSE, DAY
There's a knocking at a distant door that isn't heard for a few moments. A woman in her late fifties is sat restfully on a couch with an over-loud soap opera playing on the television. The house is busy and cluttered, but neat, like the woman whose hands are clasped between her knees.
Once heard, the woman shows surprise at the unexpected disturbance and gets to her feet. She shuffles out of view to the front door.
WE SEE HER APPROACH THE DOOR FROM WITHIN THE HALLWAY THAT MARKS THE ENTRANCE TO THE HOUSE. ONCE OPENED, MIRIAM SMILES SOFTLY INSIDE AT HER MOTHER.
MOTHER
Oh.
WE SEE THE MOTHER'S FROWN FROM MIRIAM'S PERSPECTIVE.
The mother doesn't allow the door to yield.
MIRIAM
I was passing and wanted to say hello.
MOTHER
Oh.
MIRIAM
Is it a bad time?
MOTHER
No. It's just... I wasn't expecting to see you.
The mother hesitates and then steps back, allowing MIRIAM inside.
MIRIAM walks past her mother. She is carrying a hold-all in one hand.
MIRIAM
It's been a while, I know. I'm sorry.
MOTHER
(noticing the bag and pausing with the door still ajar)
I don't need money.
MIRIAM
(drops her head, unsurprised)
Ma-
MOTHER
-I mean it.
A silence falls between them and eventually the mother clicks the door shut and the women move inside the house.
They take seats in the living room and the mother mutes the TV. MIRIAM glances at the screen, the soap shows a melodramatic fight and she shakes her head softly.
MOTHER (CONT'D)
Don't.
MIRIAM
Don't what?
MOTHER
Judge me. I like this.
(nodding at the TV)
You would too if you gave it a chance.
MIRIAM takes a deep breath, recalling the difficulty her mother heaped onto their infrequent meetings.
MIRIAM
Can I make tea?
MOTHER
I don't want tea.
MIRIAM
Okay. Look, I just want to leave this here with you-
MOTHER
-I'm not taking your money. Unless you tell me where it's from, I will not take it.
MIRIAM
I'm a driver.
MOTHER
You're a liar. Why do you lie to your mother so easily?
MIRIAM
Ma-
MOTHER
-No, Miriam. You've done nothing but lie since you came out of me. I won't take another penny from you.
MIRIAM
Why now? Why was it okay to accept it before now?
MOTHER
That was when I believed you. Now I don't. So I can't.
MIRIAM
(anger rising)
But you'll watch the TV I bought. Sit on the couch I bought. Live in the house-
MOTHER
-take the damned TV! Take the couch. I don't care. I won't take another penny of your whore-money.
MIRIAM
(hurt)
I'm no whore.
MOTHER
You're a damned liar. So you might as well be. Whatever it is you do it ain't good so I can call you a whore if I want. In Jesus' eyes it's all the same.
MIRIAM takes a deep breath and surveys the room. The Christian effigies on the wall outnumber the family photos. A long pause in conversation allows the sound of a ticking clock to fill the silence.
MIRIAM
I'm going to go.
MOTHER
Your father would be so disappointed in-
MIRIAM
-what I've become? I know you tell me at every damned opportunity.
MOTHER
(glances at a statue of Jesus on the cross beside the television)
Don't you dare blaspheme in this house.
MIRIAM slumps back into the couch and looks to the ceiling in frustration.
MIRIAM
I will be done soon. I won't be dishonest any more. I'm sorry I have been.
MOTHER
(eyes fixed on the silent TV)
I'm sorry too. Take your money with you on your way out.
MIRIAM takes a breath and then rises to her feet, grabbing the hold-all. She stands there, an unrequited stare at her mother giving her a moment to consider her words. But she says nothing and departs.
We hear the door close and then see the mother un-mute the TV and return to her restful, emotionless pose; hands clasped tightly between her knees.
CUT TO:
INT. MIRIAM'S CAR, SAME TIME
MIRIAM opens the back door, throws in the holdall and then opens the driver's door and sidles into the front seat.
She bites her lips hard and stares ahead for a few moments. We hear a dog barking angrily a couple of yards down. She shakes her head and then turns the ignition. She waits until she is out of sight of the house before lighting a cigarette and turning up the country music on the radio.
FADE TO BLACK.
END OF ACT TWO.