Tonight's the Night

a man who has a wish.

FADE IN:

 

EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT

 

There are shots of busy downtown streets. Its dark and people have all gathered under the festive lights dressed in different costumes. Black leather everywhere �" this is the Goths holiday.

 

A small white house with a black metal fence and a neglected yard is somewhere in a dark sketchy neighbourhood up town.

 

INT. JOHNNYS HOUSE - CONTINUED

 

JOHNNY is cooking a pumpkin pie. His house is a would-be white if it hadn’t been for the neglect - a barely liveable space. 

 

                      JOHNNY (V.O)

I heard someone say once, that the freaks come out at night. They dress up in materials created solely for the purposes of chafing, and they dance.  The lights sometimes see them, and dance too. This is one of those nights where the lights awoke to the silhouettes of these freaks, and began their slow waltz to the withering sounds of humanity. I am not a freak.

 

JOHNNY takes the pumpkin pie out of the oven and puts a candle in it. He lights it then walks into the bathroom. He then takes a piss and flushes the toilet. He walks to the sink and turns on the tap. The water seems backed up for a moment, and then begins pushing putrid yellow water out of the tap. After a few seconds the water runs clean. JOHNNY brushes his teeth while he flips on the shower. Steam begins rising. He steps into the shower and kneels under the weight of the warmth.

 

          JOHNNY (V.O)

That heat. I could curl up under that warmth and stay there forever. Forever... I suppose it seems like a long time. But it’s only one moment,really; it is this moment right now. It is the moment before and the moment after. These moments become less and less defined until they’re coalescing into one - forever. It is just one moment. Somehow we have been given a gift to see forever as a million little pieces, all separate from each other, until the moment of our death, when we finally see it all as it actually is, that one moment, eternity.

 

As JOHNNY emerges from the bathroom fully clothed, he sits down to eat the pie in which the candle has dwindled to a wax ball on its surface. He cuts around it. He eats his slice of pie as the silence in the room becomes more and more evident; the rising sound of cacophonous church bells ring in his ears. The corners of the house are inhabited only by shadows, not merely a place void of light, but shadows that truly emanate darkness.

 

JOHNNY walks to the cupboard and fills a glass with ice and grabs an almost empty bottle of whiskey. He contemplates its contents. He leaves the bottle and the glass on the counter.

 

          JOHNNY (V.O)

I hear they come out of the shadows. They are from which they came. The freaks of the night. Most evenings I wait for you. But tonight I wait no longer. The darkness beckons me to the dance floor.

 

JOHNNY puts on his coat and checks to make sure the keys for his car are in his pocket. He grabs the pie and exits the house.

 

EXT. OUTSIDE JOHNNYS HOUSE - CONTINUED

 

He centers the pie on his front porch. He relights the last bit of the candle and walks to his car, gets in and starts it. The candle burns out as he drives away.

 

“Take the long way home,” by Supertramp begins to play on the radio. He drives slowly to the music. The lights reflect off the windows of his car. The streets are lined with pariahs.

 

EXT. DOWNTOWN �" CONTINUED

 

He soon finds himself amid the hustle and bustle of Halloween night. He parks his car near an alley way and watches some of the local addicts get high.

 

          JOHNNY (V.O)

Drugs. They are the one thing that can bring you closer to experiencing eternity without having to deny yourself the possibilities of salvation. They are only for the suicidal. Drugs are for those who do not want to live, but do not want to die, either. It’s a perfect limbo between life and death, heaven and hell. But some of us do not want limbo. Some of us want to pick a side, and stick to it.

 

JOHNNY watches the HEADS get off in the alleyway while a lonely STRAGGLER stumbles towards his vehicle. He is wearing a cute and innocent looking bear costume. He is drunk. He bumps into JOHNNY’s car as JOHNNY watches him cautiously from the front seat of his vehicle. The STRAGGLER mumbles a nonsensical apology to JOHNNY as he saunters off towards the alleyway, where the HEADS are.

 

          JOHNNY (V.O)

This is what I have been waiting for. My chance to find you.

 

JOHNNY stares tentatively as the STRAGGLER asks the HEADS if they know the location of the nearest ATM. From JOHNNY’s perspective it appears he receives no aid from the HEADS. The STRAGGLER staggers off.

 

JOHNNY keeps watching, closely. A few of the HEADS come out of the alleyway, and begin sneaking up on the unsuspecting STRAGGLER, who sings some drunken tune as he makes his way down the block. The HEADS grab hold of the STRAGGLER and commence their mugging. They hold him to the ground and start demanding he tell them his pin number. He refuses and they begin torturing him.

 

JOHNNY appears excited. His eyes widen and he can hear his heart begin to beat faster. He leans forward in his seat. They beat the STRAGGLER relentlessly until he gives them his number. After he forfeits his pin code, they continue to beat him anyway.

 

JOHNNY stays out of site until the HEADS have gone. He then slowly exits his vehicle, and tip toes cautiously towards the beaten STRAGGLER. He looks around to see if anybody is watching, like he has been. He looks down at the beaten boy. Groans are the only sounds coming from his mouth. His eyes are barely able to focus. JOHNNY sits cross-legged beside him. Their eyes lock as JOHNNY brushes the boys blood matted hair out of his face. They stare at each other for a moment.

    

          JOHNNY

How does it feel?

 

No reply comes save for his disturbed breathing.

 

                        JOHNNY (CONT’D)

Can you see it... eternity?

 

Although the STRAGGLER speaks no words, JOHNNY knows he can see it.

 

          JOHNNY (CONT’D)

You must feel relieved. No more worry. Peace is coming.

 

JOHNNY gets up and begins walking away as the STRAGGLER gurgles his own blood in protest. JOHNNY seems to hear nothing, but then stops. He stares forward in odd contemplation. He turns back to the STRAGGLER and grabs him by the legs. He drags him behind a building and places him in between two large garbage bins. The STRAGGLER is too weak to do anything. As JOHNNY leaves him there, the STRAGGLERS eyes close and his head goes limp.

 

JOHNNY walks back to his car and smokes a cigarette while he waits for the two HEADS to come back. Once they do, they notice that the STRAGGLER has gone. They don’t seem worried as they hurry back into the alleyway. JOHNNY follows them. The two HEADS are smoking out of a pipe while a few others lay scattered and motionless on the ground with their backs or heads leaning against the brick walls surrounding them. They look comfortable despite the awkward positions in which they lay.

    

          JOHNNY

Where can I find the nearest ATM?

 

The two HEADS look at each other knowingly.

 

          HEAD #1

Yeah man, Mac’s down the street to your left and a couple blocks up they got a real nice one, bolted to the wall, it is. Give you cash, cash, cash right on the spot. As long as you’ve got plastic, right?

 

                        JOHNNY

Right, thanks guys. Have a good night.

 

                        HEAD #1

And a good night to you too, sir.

 

The HEADS watch in anticipation as JOHNNY leaves. They smile at each other and begin following him.

 

JOHNNY can hear the footsteps, but he pretends not to. His face reflects the anticipation of a child waiting to open a much anticipated gift. He tries to keep his cool.

 

The HEADS sneak up behind him and push him to the wall. After a devastating blow to the face they search him for valuables, and find he has none. HEAD #1 puts his forearm against his neck and begins choking him.

 

                        HEAD #1

Why are you looking for an ATM if you ain’t got no wallet?

 

JOHNNY stares contentedly at the depraved addict in front of him.

 

                        JOHNNY

Kill me.

 

                        HEAD #1

What?

 

                        HEAD #2

He says he wants you to kill him.

 

HEAD # 1 takes out a butterfly knife and skilfully reveals the blade.

 

          HEAD #1

That can be arranged, you realize, now you better tell us if you got something special for us or I’ll have to cut it out of you.

 

JOHNNY is not scared.

 

                        JOHNNY

Kill me like you killed that boy in the bear costume.

 

HEAD # 1 seems increasingly shocked and suspicious of his new victim.

 

                   HEAD #2

Hey, we didn’t kill him, he ain’t dead. You see him here? He was good enough to get up and walk away, wasn’t he?

 

                        JOHNNY

No. I had to drag his body and put it with the rest of the trash.

 

          HEAD #2

Wh-Why would you...?

 

          HEAD #1

Bullshit. He’s lying. Just trying to scare us. Nobody would do that. You’re lying, you sick freak.

 

The HEAD throws JOHNNY to the ground. He kicks him hard in the ribs before they both run off, away from the alleyway. JOHNNY rolls unto his back and remains lying on the pavement. He stares up at the sky.

 

          JOHNNY (V.O)

I can’t see the stars, but I know they’re there. Somewhere behind this

fog of light are more lights, all apart of some cosmic constellation that is supposed to mean something to me. Some people think these lights tell us about ourselves. About our planet or our future. Do I think these lights mean anything? I suppose they mean as much as the light in my dining room does. Or the lamps that line our hallowed city streets. I suppose that light is the most meaningful thing on earth. It’s no wonder we worship it. Without it, where would we be?

 

EXT. OUTSIDE JOHNNY’S HOUSE �" A WHILE LATER

 

JOHNNY’s car pulls into his drive way. He steps out wearily towards his front door.

 

          JOHNNY (V.O)

I couldn’t find you out there among the black leather and the bright lights. I couldn’t find you anywhere. I’ve looked in every orifice of the street, gazed into the black depths, only to find that I couldn’t see. Maybe you were in there, but no light shone upon your face. Maybe you hide in the corners of my home, where nothing but emptiness dwells. You even may be hiding somewhere inside me, in places I cannot feel. Your presence, or perhaps, lack thereof, does not bother me. Not tonight, at least. Although no fruition has come from this moment, there will always be another. I will wait for that moment. I will wait for you.

 

JOHNNY sees that the pie plate is empty expect for one last piece (which is located in the space where he had taken his piece out). A new candle has been placed in the centre of it and is still lit and burning. JOHNNY carefully picks it up as to not disturb the flame, and enters his house.

 

FADE OUT:

 

Author's Note

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