ACE: Part II

INT. CAR/EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING – DAY

The boys sit in car watching the apartment building, a two-lane street and a small parking lot between them and the front step.  Loitering on the front step, along with two of his mentally juvenile comrades, is young man named KEVIN Ehlert.  He stands with the confidence of a boy with an extremely skewed sense of self image.  A boy who thinks he is bigger than he could ever be, a boy whose world is the only world there is.

In the car, Calvin, Byron, James, and Neil pass a small pair of binoculars between them.

         JAMES
We went to high school with him, remember?  He had that hot girlfriend.  What was her name?

         CALVIN
I can’t recall.
         
         NEIL
You were the only one who thought she was hot, James.

Byron watches as, up on the front step, Kevin harasses a young girl as she fumbles with her groceries trying to get into the building.

         JAMES
Was I?

         CALVIN
Absolutely.  She was such a pretentious hippi chick.  I hated her.

         NEIL
She was alright.

         BYRON
I don’t even remember her.  I remember him, though. He was in my journalism class.

         CALVIN
Seriously?  I can’t imagine him doing…  Anything in that class.

         BYRON
He enrolled under the impression that it was based around the concept of keeping a diary.

With the binoculars pressed to his eyes, Neil watches as Kevin accepts a small, balled up wad of small bills from a scrawny, adolescent boy and passes him a wadded up sandwich bag in return.

         NEIL
He’s a dealer.

         JAMES
A drug dealer?

         CALVIN
Oh, that’s perfect.

INT. BYRON’S KITCHEN – DAY

Morgan opens the freezer and lowers herself to the bottom drawer, retrieving a plain frozen pizza.  Stepping to the counter she removes it from the packaging, placing the pie on a metal pizza pan.  She crumples the plastic and the paper label, pushing them into the trash bin beneath the kitchen sink.

After preheating the oven, Morgan moves back to the refrigerator, she goes to the crisper and removes an assortment of vegetables, laying them on an old, stained cutting board.  She begins to slice and dice the vegetables, placing them artistically onto the face of the frozen pizza.

With the vegetables are placed, and the remains are returned to the crisper, she proceeds with the grating of additional cheese.  Layering mozzarella, Monterey jack, cheddar, and little bits of pepper jack over the vegetables and crust, she makes sure no shred lies idly on the open pan.

The oven gives a sharp sound, an indication that it is preheated, and Morgan calmly inserts the custom pizza, sliding onto the middle shelf.

INT. BYRON’S BEDROOM – DAY

Byron lies on his bed, facing the ceiling, arms at his side.  Morgan enters, moving to the bed, and stands over him.

         MORGAN
I hope you’re hungry.

Byron looks up at her, his mind retracting from itself, entering back into reality.  He smiles.

         BYRON
What Morgan?

         MORGAN
Are you feeling all right?

         BYRON
I’m…  Fine.

Byron sits up in bed.

         BYRON [CONT’D]
Didn’t you have to work tonight?

         MORGAN
No.  Byron, why don’t you kiss me?

Byron reaches out, grabbing hold of her hand.  For a moment he just holds it there, feeling the skin on the back of her hand, watching his fingers fall across hers, intertwining.  She smiles down at him, but he takes no notice.

Morgan turns her body, closing the bedroom door, and moves to the bed, pushing Byron back into the lying position.

         MORGAN [CONT’D]
I’m a lady, damn it.

She kisses him passionately.  He is unresponsive at first, before releasing a torrent of suppressed aggression, channeling it into pure, carnal affection.

CUT

Byron and Morgan lay beside each other, each of their side, Byron rapping himself around her gentle, slender body.  His eyes stare coldly at the back of her head.

         BYRON
I don’t think I’ll live to see my next birthday.

         MORGAN
Don’t talk like that.  I don’t think I could stand to live in a world without your face in it, and I plan on living a long, long time.

Byron kisses her neck.

         BYRON
Sometimes I think I’d go mad without you.

Morgan turns herself around under Byron’s arm, facing him.

         MORGAN
Oh, Byron, didn’t you know?  We are mad.  So bloody mad.

They kiss softly, but pull apart quickly as the fire alarm in the kitchen begins sounding.

         MORGAN [CONT’D]
Shit!

Morgan leaps from the bed, trying to gather her clothes and assemble her outfit on her way to the door.  Byron watches, smiling in a distant sort of way.

         MORGAN [CONT’D]
The pizza.  Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, goddamn.

INT. BYRON’S KITCHEN – DAY

Morgan lunges for the oven door, releasing a cloud of thick, white smoke.  She reaches for the pizza pan, burning her hand.  She yelps, scrambling for the oven mitt.  Byron watches from the doorway as Morgan slides the pizza into the trash.

         MORGAN
I’m sorry, By.

         BYRON
I wasn’t very hungry.  You’re going to be late for work.  I’m going over to Neil’s.

Morgan takes his hand as he turns, heading towards the bedroom.

         MORGAN
I love you.

         BYRON
I love you, too.

         MORGAN
Where have you been?

Byron looks to the floor, sifting through thoughts and images and emotions.  Morgan runs her thumb across his fingers.

         BYRON
I’ll be at Neil’s late tonight.

         MORGAN
I’ll wait for you.

         BYRON
You don’t have to, Morgan.  I’ll be tired.

         MORGAN
I’ll wait for you.

Byron pulls his hand free and heads back to the bedroom.

EXT. DOWNTOWN – NIGHT

Byron and Neil march down the sidewalk, suspiciously alert of their surroundings.  Each nearby movement warrants a worried glance, every approaching noise is a presumed threat.

         BYRON
So he was there?

         NEIL
Yeah.

         BYRON
Right in the middle of it?  Jesus, are you sure this is safe?

         NEIL
No, but Calvin and I agree this is the kind of once in a lifetime opportunity.

         BYRON
Where’s Calvin?

         NEIL
He hates this guy.  A lot.

         BYRON
Figures.

EXT. DANNY BRISBY’S APARTMENT – NIGHT

Neil turns to Byron just before ringing the doorbell. They both stop.  Byron waits patiently as Neil forms his thoughts.

         NEIL
You spent the day with Morgan, yeah?  How is she?

         BYRON
Fine.

         NEIL
You two are still…  Close?

         BYRON
Yeah, I guess, why?

Neil shrugs and presses the small white button beside the nameplate reading “D. BRISBY”.

INT. DANNY BRISBY’S APARTMENT – NIGHT

An obnoxious buzzing fills the apartment as a figure hurries to the door.  He lays his finger on the buzzer, aligning his eye with the peephole and squinting.  He mutters softly to himself as Byron and Neil come into view, moving quietly through the long, incandescent corridor.

BRISBY waits for Neil to knock twice before opening the door, letting them into his empty, sterile apartment.

         NEIL
Hey, Danny, this is Byron.  Byron, this is Danny Brisby.

Danny and Byron move into the sitting room, Byron sitting on the couch with Neil resting on the arm, barely bending his knees.  Danny follows them closely.

         BRISBY
I didn’t expect you to bring anyone, Neil, you usually know better.  You know it’s best not to act at all out of the ordinary.

         NEIL
Don’t worry about it, Danny.

         BRISBY
Oh, I won’t.  I don’t have to worry anymore.  That’s you two are for.  You’re here to take all my problems, take them, and worry over them for yourselves.

         NEIL
Where is it?

Brisby leaves the room for a moment, returning with a bundled t-shirt.  He places the bundle on the coffee table and pushes it toward Byron.

         BRISBY
It’s all there, all of it, bullets and everything.  I don’t know how guns work.  I nearly put a hole in my head trying to put the safety on.

Neil and Byron share a look.  Byron leans forward and unfolds the shirt, looking inside.  Looking back at him is a small, semi-automatic pistol, grease black.

         BYRON
You were there.

Brisby begins to smile before losing himself in thought.

BRISBY
Yeah.  I was there.

INT. HOUSE – EVENING

Tod Strom enters and goes straight from the front door up a staircase, onto the second floor, poking his head into bedrooms.  He sees nothing and cuts back down to the living room, where two young children watch television.  He angles for the kitchen, but keeps moving when all he finds is a mother washing the dishes.

         BRISBY [V.O.]
I was there when Strom showed up.  I was in the bathroom.

Brisby enters the kitchen, adjusting his jeans as Tod heads to the basement.

INT. BASEMENT – EVENING

In contrast to his previous pace, the Tod seems to lose most of his momentum as he descends the staircase.  His feet become heavy, his arms and hands fall loose and limp.  His breathing begins to slow.

         BRISBY [V.O.]
He was a fucking ghost, that guy.

The basement is dark, humid, and full of people, their bodies lying about, covering every couch, chair, and comfortable surface within sight.  They lazily rub against each other, constantly moving, like one large entity.  Tod wades through shadows, his eyes drifting over the mess, finally focusing on a figure at the end of the room.

Brisby is following him, watching from a distance.

         BRISBY [V.O.]
I knew what was about to happen.  I knew it.  I have a knack for expecting these things.

Evening light streams in, silhouetting the figure as it stands. Moving even slower now, his legs pushing against the flow, Tod aims for the outline, which looks away from him.
Brisby pushes through the basement and lands on a couch, squeezing in between to passionate couples.  He watches as Tod glides across the floor.

The silhouette moves, shifting the light across the man’s face.  Tod slows to a stop as the figure turns, already smiling.

         BRISBY [V.O.]
Mason had no idea.

Tod raises a pistol and fires a round into Mason’s jaw, shattering his skull and twisting his face as his body falls to the floor.

The basement lights turn on as the room erupts. Tod steps forward and drops another bullet into the figures skull, blood spraying across the wood panel siding of the wall behind him.  The partygoers are pushing up the stairs by the time he turns the gun on himself

Tod’s body falls back, landing just in front of Brisby, the gun bouncing on the carpet, landing at his feet.  He glances about the chaotic room before slowly reaching for it.

         BRISBY [V.O.]
It was just there, so…  I took it.

INT. APARTMENT – DAY

Brisby stands looking down at the gun, shaking his head.  He suddenly pushes to the window, glancing beyond the drapes.

         NEIL
Why?

BRISBY
Guns are expensive, you know.  Why wouldn’t I take it?
         
NEIL
So why give it to us?

Brisby walks back to a recliner and sits on the armrest.

         BRISBY
Well, I’m not just giving it to you.

         BYRON
We can’t afford to –

         BRISBY
I met a girl a few weeks ago, and I like her a lot.  But she’s nosey, and I don’t like secrets.  I don’t want that dirty gun lying around in my closet for her to find.  I f I could sell it, I would, but –

         NEIL
What’s the catch?

         BRISBY
You take the gun, and I get to sleep at night.  But whenever I say, whenever I need it, I get it.  No hassles.  I need your word, okay?

Byron and Neil share a look.

         NEIL
Yeah.  Sure.

Brisby holds out his hand to shake.

EXT. DOWNTOWN – NIGHT

Neil and Byron walk down the empty street, the wind blowing loose trash across their path.

         NEIL [V.O.]
For now, maybe this stays between just you and me.

         BYRON [V.O.]
Yeah, okay.  Sure.

EXT. BEACH – DAY

James, Calvin, Byron, and Neil walk along the beach, throwing sticks and stones into the water.  At moments they seem young and carefree, at others they exhibit a quiet, introspective demeanor.  The latter seems more natural than the former.

INT. JAMES’ BEDROOM – DAY

James plays with his cat, the creature rolling in and out of the sunlight on the warm, carpeted floor.  In this moment he feels wholly and completely at peace, as though everything were suddenly perfectly clear.  He could die in this moment, in this time and place, and his death would be a happy one.

INT. CAR/EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING – NIGHT

The boys are parked again, in their usual spot across from Kevin’s apartment building. James and Byron sit in the back seat eating potato chips.  Calvin holds the binoculars to his eyes.  Kevin sits alone, smoking on the front step of the building.

         JAMES
My parents are going away to Aruba.  They won’t be back for weeks.

         NEIL
Yeah.

Calvin watches through the eyeglasses as Kevin tosses a butt and lights another cigarette.

         CALVIN
Seems like we’re doing them a favor.  Killing them so quickly.

         NEIL
Yeah.

Byron slouches down low into the corner of the car.

         BYRON [V.O.]
Morgan, I’m sorry.  I’m not…  I don’t feel like me anymore.

INT. BYRON’S KITCHEN – NIGHT

Byron stands, a telephone receiver up to his ear, his eyes panning across the tile floor.  He nervously bends his fingers, cracking his knuckles.

         BYRON
Or maybe this is me.  Maybe what I’m feeling right now is…  There isn’t anything in this world I love more than you, Morgan, believe me, but…  I can’t say I truly love you, with all my heart, without wondering if I’m not deceiving myself.  Maybe I’m just…  Maybe I’m just…  I’m not well, Morgan.  I’m not well.

         MORGAN [V.O.]
Where do we go from here, Byron?

Byron reaches into the sink, the tips of his fingers feeling the contours of an old, stainless steel spoon handle.  Byron’s neck becomes loose as his head sags down to his shoulder.  His fingers become heavy, pulling the spoon out from beneath a pile of dishes, tipping them sideways, causing them to tumble, causing a clatter.

INT. CAR – NIGHT

Neil sits in the drivers seat, looking across at Kevin’s apartment building.  He lifts a camera up to his eye, adjusting the telescopic lens, and snaps a photograph.  His thumb works the film advance.

EXT. BEACH – EVENING

Calvin and Neil sit close to the water, looking out across the waves at the setting sun.  Neil’s shoes and socks are removed, his pant legs rolled up.

         CALVIN
Do you believe in destiny, Neil?  Fate?

         NEIL
Do you?

Calvin lets his fingers slide in and out of the sand.

         CALVIN
My mother, she’s a religious woman.  I’ve been told all my life that I was created for a singular purpose.  That before I was born, I had a destiny.  I was meant for something.

Neil closes his eyes, resting his head in his arms.

         CALVIN [CONT’D]
I try not to think about it.  I try to feel free.  But all I can do is fail.  Maybe that’s my fate.  Maybe that’s my destiny.  Maybe this is what I was meant for.

Neil lifts his head, keeping his eyes closed, trying to feel the warmth of the falling sun.

         CALVIN [CONT’D]
We’re doomed, Neil.  We’re doomed.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING – NIGHT

The gang arrives quietly in Neil’s car, pulling up to the front step where Kevin sits, his back to the wall, a pair of headphones covering his ears.  Exiting the vehicle quickly, they leave the car running and their doors open.  Neil pops the trunk as he steps from the car holding a bat.

Kevin begins to slowly open his eyes.  As he arrives at the front step, Calvin lifts his leg, bringing his foot down hard onto Kevin face, driving his skull back against the brick wall.  James and Byron work swiftly to duct-tape Kevin’s wrists and ankles respectively.  As they lift him, Calvin shoves an old, paisley bandana between his teeth and tapes over his mouth.

Throwing his limp body into the cramped trunk, they reenter the vehicle and make a smooth escape.

INT. CAR – NIGHT

James furrows his brow, breathing heavily, staring down at his feet.  Byron, beside him, massages his rubs his hands, wiping the sweat from his palms.  Neil is calm.  Calvin tries to hide a smile.

EXT. JAMES’ HOUSE – NIGHT

The car slows, killing the headlights as it turns into James’ driveway, gliding beneath the rising garage door, which closes as they park.

INT. GARAGE – NIGHT

Neil exits the vehicle, popping the trunk.  Behind him Byron also steps out, just in time to see a body tumble out of the trunk, it’s face cracking against the garage door before hitting the pavement.  Kevin scrambles to his feet, dropping a knife onto the garage floor.  Byron hesitates before lunging, but is too late.  Kevin pushes his way out of the garage and onto the driveway.

         NEIL
FUCK!

Neil slides back into the vehicle as James exits, running out after the escaped hostage.

EXT. SUBURBIA – NIGHT

Kevin tugs at his fraying, duct-tape handcuffs, his legs moving on a surplus of adrenaline, his lungs screaming past the gag.  Behind him, James runs as fast as an asthmatic can.  Behind both of them Neil’s car backs out of the driveway.

INT. CAR – NIGHT

Neil, his jaw clenched tightly, passes Calvin the baseball bat and rolls down his window.  Calvin smiles, sliding his torso out into the open air.

EXT. SUBURBIA – NIGHT

Kevin has abandoned the cuffs and begins clawing at the tape over his mouth.  He turns at the corner, cutting across an open lawn.  James, following the fugitive, trips over a low-lying shrubbery, tumbling onto his back, gasping for air.  Coming around the corner, Neil and Calvin are closing in, with Calvin hanging out the window, bat held tight in his grip.

With not far behind him, Kevin manages to peel away the tape and begins spitting out the gag.  Before the ball of cloth falls from his lips, Byron appears in the street just ahead of him.  His legs slow, with the car just behind him, and he lets out a quiet sob just as the baseball bat collides with the back of his skull.

INT. JAMES’ KITCHEN – NIGHT

Byron, James, and Neil stand around the kitchen, wearing their conspicuous, black, serial killer outfits, gloves on their hands, drinking tall glasses of milk.

         JAMES
Christ, I need to get more cardio.

The toaster pops.

         NEIL
Well boys.  Let’s go have a look.

James grabs the toast, stacking the two slices on a small plate.

INT. JAMES’ BASEMENT – NIGHT

The boys descend the wooden steps slowly, bouncy on every creaky board.  Looking around the ceiling as he descends, Neil soon sees the grim atmosphere Calvin has created.

A set of long, bare fluorescent tubes hang overhead, casting dull, dank, dirty shadows onto Kevin’s already blackened, bloodied face.  His hands are tied behind him, attached to the sturdy, metal chair.  His ankles are bound to the legs of the chair, and his shoes and socks have been removed.  Around his waist is a thick, brown belt, strapped tightly to the chair,

The surrounding area has been cleared, and a smelly, stained blanket has been laid over the cement floor beneath the chair.  Leaning against the walls on either side are an assortment of weapons including sports equipment, gardening tools, and various blunt objects.  In his hand Calvin holds Kevin’s knife.

Kevin is barely conscious.

         CALVIN
You boys are just in time.  This fuckers been in and out since we brought him in, but I think he’s back for good.  Hey.  Hey!

Calvin rubs his fingers hard over Kevin’s scalp, shaking his head loosely on his neck.  Growing impatient he slaps the man across the cheek.

         KEVIN
What the fuck?

James hands Calvin the plate of toast.  Calvin slides the knife into his belt and begins munching on the toast.  Calvin speaks with his mouth full.
         
CALVIN
Hey, Kevin.  I’m going cut your eyelids off.

Kevin spits a glob of blood out onto his own pants.

         KEVIN
What the fuck is this?

         CALVIN
Why do they always ask that?  Huh?  In the movies, I mean.  Why are they always confused? Hey, Kevin.  What do you think is going on here?

         KEVIN
Is this a joke?

         CALVIN
Jesus Christ!  “Is this a joke?”  “Is this some sort of joke?”  “You’re crazy!  You’re a madman!”  They always that shit.  HEY!  Kevin!

Calvin kicks Kevin in the shoulder, knocking him and the chair over, landing him on his back.  The others in the basement are startled by the action, somehow surprised by Calvin’s unpredictability.  Calvin leans down into Kevin’s face, grabbing him by the collar.  Kevin recoils in fear.

         CALVIN [CONT’D]
We’re going to kill you.

Calvin pulls Kevin back into his original position.

         NEIL
Is there any way we can secure that chair?

         JAMES
Yeah, guys, I want this to be perfect.

         CALVIN
I don’t know, James, this is your house.  Do you have a chair that bolts into the floor?  Other than the toilet?

         JAMES
Hey, maybe we could just –

         NEIL
No.

         KEVIN
Why are you doing this?

Calvin drops his forehead into the palm of his hand.

         CALVIN
Oh, my god.  You are so stupid.

Calvin hands the empty plate to James and moves out of the light and into the shadows, returning with the duct-tape in his hand.  He kneels down beside Kevin and begins taping the chair to the ground.

         CALVIN [CONT’D]
You know how fucking aggravating this is?  To see you in this predicament?  I wish I could trade places with you.  Really I do.

         KEVIN
What do you want?

Calvin laughs, shaking his head as he jiggles the chair, checking the security of the tape.  He decides to add more.

         CALVIN
You really had a good start, you know.  You nearly escaped, I was impressed.  But now…  All you had to do was rock the chair, but now you’re taped down.  I’ll never understand that.  Why they always give up so quickly, break down and cry.

         KEVIN
I’ll do anything you ask, I swear.

Kevin closes his eyes, letting the tears roll down his cheeks.

         JAMES
Do you remember us?

         NEIL
We should’ve kept him gagged.

James bends, reaching into a toolbox laid against the wall and retrieving a ball-peen hammer.  He steps into the light, holding the hammer loosely at his side.  Calvin smiles, stepping away from Calvin.

         JAMES
Do you remember me, Kevin?

Kevin peeks through the tears, squinting through a busted eye, trying to recognize James.  Behind him he sees Neil.

         KEVIN
Neil?  Neil, it’s me, Kevin.  Don’t you know me?  We had…  Fuck…  We used to play soccer together, yeah?

Neil stares at the man, with no desire to respond.

         JAMES
Kevin!  Do you remember me, you son of a bitch?  Do you remember what you said to me?

Kevin is overwhelmed by fright and confusion, shaking his head uncontrollably and beginning to sob as James begins to lift the hammer.

         CALVIN
What did he say?

         JAMES
All I did was smile at that stupid fucking slut.  She dropped you along time ago, didn’t she, you fuck.  You fat, stupid animal.  You fat, stupid, fucking fuck!  Do you fucking remember me?  You shit!  Do you fucking remember me!?!

James swings the hammer down onto Kevin’s thigh, causing him to scream out in pain.  Kevin growls and swings again, cracking Kevin’s kneecap.  Kevin screams and vomits onto himself, crying and wheezing.  James, disgusted, steps back.
         
         CALVIN
Holy shit!

JAMES
You disgusting fuck.  I’m twice the man you ever were.

Neil steps forward, taking the hammer from James and tossing it into the corner.  Approaching Kevin, he grabs the man by the jaw, squishing his cheeks.  Neil looks down into his eyes.

         NEIL
Soccer, huh?  I don’t recall.

Neil punches the man across the jaw.  He lifts his head and punches him again, this time in the forehead.  Kevin groans, breathing heavily, trying to lose consciousness.  Neil grabs a lock of his hair and lifts his head up, striking him square in the nose.  Neil shakes his fist out for a moment before continuing.

INT. JAMES’ KITCHEN – NIGHT

Byron and Calvin sit at the kitchen table, each with a glass of milk.  Calvin is filling his face with leftover pasta.  Byron wipes his fingers up and down the glass of milk, collecting the condensation.

         CALVIN
Fuck, I’m hungry.
         
         BYRON
Calvin?  Why are we doing this?

Calvin struggles to swallow before answering.  He washes the pasta down with series of long gulps of milk.

         CALVIN
Because we can.

         BYRON
But do you like it?

         CALVIN
Of course I do. Do you?

         BYRON
This isn’t like lions killing wildebeest, is it though?  This isn’t normal is it?
         
         CALVIN
What’s normal, By?  I’m eating week-old rigatoni out of microwaveable, plastic bowl.  What the fuck is normal about any of this?

Byron ponders the statement for a moment before heading out to the back door.  Calvin continues eating.

INT. JAMES’ BASEMENT – NIGHT

James sits behind Kevin, kneeling down, peeling the skin off of his fingertips with a razor blade.  Kevin screams, his shirt torn and bloodied, his face a mess.  Neil stands  before him, wiping his swollen knuckles with a dirty rag.  Behind Neil, Calvin hops down the stairs.  Smiling, Calvin places a hand on Neil’s shoulder.

         CALVIN
Fucking beautiful, eh, Neil?  Fucking beautiful.

         NEIL
Where’s Byron?

         CALVIN
I think he went out for a smoke.

Neil turns to climb the stairs as Calvin lifts a power-drill.

EXT. JAMES’ BACKYARD – NIGHT

Byron stands at the edge of the cement patio, halfway through a cigarette.  The night is warm but still, the sky clear and bright with stars.  Neil exits the house quietly to join Byron.          

         BYRON
We’re never going to get away with this.

         NEIL
Maybe not.

         BYRON
No one’s ever going to understand what we’re doing here.  We’re crazy, Neil.  We’re crazy, and the only people who’ll ever really listen are crazy people.  This is fucked.  We’re fucked.

         NEIL
Maybe.  But maybe we don’t do this for other people.  We hate people.  Maybe we do this for ourselves.  And maybe we don’t do it for the future, we do it for right now.

Byron takes one last long drag on his cigarette and tosses it into the bushes.  He looks down at his feet.  His shoe’s untied.  He drops down to a knee to tie it as Neil walks back into the house.

         BYRON
Maybe.

INT. JAMES’ BASEMENT – NIGHT

Towels are tucked into Kevin’s shirt in a shoddy attempt to stop the blood for flowing out too fast.  His pants have been opened to reveal his genitals, which have been tightly bound at the base, causing the package to become purple and swollen.  His nostrils have been flayed and an ear is missing.  His cracked lips are beginning to whisper.  His chest is rising and falling slowly, his body is exhausted from fighting off eventual death.  Calvin sits pretzel-legged beside the chair, cutting into the top Kevin’s foot with a hacksaw.  James and Neil stand nearby, watching coldly as Kevin’s whispers slowly become audible.

         KEVIN
This is the end.  This is how it ends.  No, no.  This isn’t it.  God, I’ll see you all in Hell.  I’ll be waiting.  I’ll be waiting.  I’m fucking invincible.  Fuck, you, fuck all of you, I’m not going to die.  You’re not going to kill me, you don’t have the guts, none of you are men, you dogs.  You fucking dogs, they’ll find you.  I’ll find you.  I’ll pay them well.  This isn’t the end.  This is not the end.

Byron steps down the staircase, slowly and confidently.  He is absolutely sure of himself as he saunters into the light.  He touches Calvin on the shoulder, and helps him to his feet, pulling the knife from his belt.  Calvin backs away, smiling, as Byron squats in front of Kevin, looking him in the eyes.

         BYRON
Do you believe in God, Kevin?

         KEVIN
Fuck, no…  Yes.  Yes, God save me.

         BYRON
I do.  I honestly do.  And I fucking hate him.  He’s always looking down on us, from up there, and he’s holding all the cards.  We’re just pawns.  Sure he loves us, but what is that to me?  I’m still down here, powerless.  Helpless.  A victim of his whim.  Sometimes I feel like I’ll never be happy as long as he’s God, and I’m not.

         KEVIN
You’re a victim?

         BYRON
He’s like that kid in high school, you know.  That popular kid, who has the girl, who has the power, who has the confidence to do whatever he wants.  And he thinks everyone loves him.  And he thinks everyone should look up to him.  Envy him.

Kevin begins to laugh the weak, psychotic laugh of a man who knows he’s about to die.

         BYRON [CONT’D]
Fuck him.  You know who else is like him?

         KEVIN
Fuck you.  Fuck all of you, you sick freaks.  You’re all going to rot in jail.  Rot in Hell.  This may be the end for me, but not for you.  You’re all freaks.  Losers.  You always have been, and you always will be.  God?  God?  God hates you.  Gad hates us all, you fucking –

Byron stabs into the man’s side, just above his hip.  Kevin screams and goes rigid as Byron pulls the knife horizontally, tearing open his belly, releasing shredded intestines onto the dying man’s lap.

         CALVIN
Fuck yeah!

         BYRON
I am fucking God!

Byron reaches up with his free hand, still pulling at the knife with the other, dragging it through Kevin’s entrails, and grabs his throat, squeezing and twisting until the screaming turns into a gargled squeal.

Calving steps forward, reaching into the situation and pulling out the intestines.  He smiles and laughs as he tugs them from Kevin’s belly.

         CALVIN
Fuck!  Yes!  It’s beautiful!  It’s beautiful!

Kevin’s screaming becomes Calvin’s, as he yells with joy.  Byron begins yelling too as he releases the knife, having cut across the entire expanse.  He spreads the flaps of skin and reaches his free hand into the emptying cavity.  Letting his other hand fall from Kevin’s throat, he grabs onto the man’s testicles and begins pulling.  Kevin begins another attempt at screaming, but only vomits.  A thick mix of blood and bile flow forth from Kevin’s upturned mouth.  His eyes bulge.

James steps into the light, holding a dull axe.  He screams cathartically as he lifts the blade, and growls, gnashing his teeth, as he drops it onto the bloodied, contorted face of Kevin Ehlert.  Blood squirts into the air as all the sound drops out of the room.  Everyone beneath the light is breathing heavily.

         CALVIN
Glorious.

James awkwardly pries the axe loose from Kevin’s face and drops it beside the body.  Byron retracts his hands from the body and stands, his arms, his face, and his upper torso covered in blood.  Calvin continues to pull at the intestine, now beginning to walk around the corpse, wrapping it in the removed organs.

         JAMES
That was good.  That was good.

Byron nods, feeling the warm blood drying on his body.  Neil tosses he and James a towel.

         CALVIN
I wish we could’ve made it last longer.

         BYRON
Yeah.

Calvin drops the intestine, stepping back and looking down at the scene.

         CALVIN
Are you sure I can’t take a picture?  Christ, I wish we could’ve filmed the whole thing.  It’s going to be a shame to toss this bloody masterpiece.

Neil hands Calvin a large, black trash bag.

         NEIL
We’d better get started.

         JAMES
Did anyone hear the garage door?

         AMOS
Jim?

The group turns to look at the staircase, where a young man, a few years younger than themselves, stands crouched, staring down at the bloody mess.  Calvin and Neil are the first to act, sprinting for the steps as the man turns to run.  Calvin grabs the knife off the floor as he goes.  James follows soon after, waving his arms in protest.

         JAMES
Amos, no!  Wait!

INT. JAMES’ HOUSE – NIGHT

Amos launches himself up from the basement and into the kitchen, scrambling to get his footing.  He kicks the door closed behind him, but Neil bursts through, Calvin right behind him.  Amos knocks a chair behind him as he moves into the living room.

He moves quickly through the house, leaping over furniture and scrambling through doorways, before the lights go out.  In the darkness he quickly stumbles into a dark hallway, but manages to climb into a bedroom, closing the door behind him.  He leans back against the hard wood and breathes heavily.

INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT

After a moment of silence, he stands.  He creeps across the room to the bedside table, where he gently lifts the telephone.  As he brings the receiver to his ear, we begin to hear the dial tone.  Then a click.

         JAMES [V.O.]
Amos, please.

James speaks on the other end.

         JAMES [V.O. CONT’D]
You’re in control here, Amos.  I’m your brother.  Think about what you’re doing.  Think about where you’re taking us.

         AMOS
What I’m doing?  What are you doing, Jim?  What was going on down there?

         JAMES [V.O.]
Please, Amos.

         AMOS
What is this, Jim?

Neil pushes into the bedroom, Calvin just behind him, and throws Amos to the ground.  He places the telephone back on the table as Calvin beats Amos into unconscious submission with the hilt of Kevin’s knife.

INT. CAR – DAY

Not even Calvin is smiling as the four boys drive silently down miles of long, empty roads, their minds numbing at the sight of the barren landscape.  Surprisingly, James looks terribly angry, rather than apprehensive, frightened, or regretful.  His fiery eyes stare out at the wilderness.

EXT. ROAD – DAY

The vehicle flies through flat, golden fields, moving through the countryside and into the winding roads of the forest.

         CALVIN [V.O.]
Boys, let’s slow down.  My uncle’s got this cabin up…  Upstate.  He hunts every so often, but mostly he just likes to lie around and nap and shit.  It’s shitty, but it’s isolated.  I think we need to get out of town, yeah, and think some things through?  Righteous.

INT. CAR – DAY

The boys look up at the pine trees, the sun filtering through the conifers, as the car maneuvers up the ruggedly narrow driveway.

EXT. CABIN – DAY

The car emerges into a small open area where, in the center, an old, wooden cabin has been erected.  Beside it stands an outhouse, and on three sides the two buildings are protected by forest.  Facing the cabin is a small stream that runs swiftly.  On the other side of the stream is a long, flat, barren field, covered in tangled, brittle, dying grass.

Neil parks the car beside the cabin and Calvin exits, runs up to the cabin’s porch, and knocks sharply on the sagging doorframe.  There is no answer.  He rushes to a window and peeks in.  After a moment of snooping he gives the okay and begins searching for a key.

Neil waits for James and Byron to be in front of the trunk before popping it open.  They reach in and drag out a bound and gagged Amos, who walks compliantly to the front porch where Calvin is unlocking the door.

INT. CABIN – DAY

James sits silently at an old, nicked and notched, wooden table, a drink in his hand.  Behind him, Calvin and Byron carry a bundled body, covered in a thick, coarse blanket.  Neil walks around the one room cabin pushing furniture against the walls and pulling the drapes.  James takes a drink.