back.
YOUNG JANICE (cont.)
Kimmy, just take little hits! You always do that.
KIMMY (raspy, almost unable to talk)
At least I didn’t throw up. This time.
TOPHER
Erky. Throw me a cigarette, man.
ERIC tosses up his pack. TOPHER takes one and lights it.
KIMMY
How long are your grandparents gone, Eric?
YOUNG ERIC
Weeks. Months. Years.
YOUNG BRENT (laughing)
Erky is high.
YOUNG JANICE
They missed their plane. They were supposed to be back today.
The Roxy Music song has been playing under all this, and it’s building to a climax now. YOUNG TOPHER stands up and begins playing air-guitar, using the rum bottle as the guitar neck.
YOUNG BRENT (repeating after song)
“In every dream home a heartache… ”
YOUNG ERIC
Yeah, and if you get too fucked up and put a foot through my grandparent’s roof, it’ll be my fucking heartache, all right. Topher, what are you doing? YOUNG BRENT
Topher’s higher than Erky.
YOUNG JANICE
Topher, be careful…
The climax of the song comes. TOPHER strides down to the edge of the roof and braces himself, serenading the orchard and surrounding town. He begins to sing, quiet but getting louder, then bellowing the final line:
TOPHER
“Inflatable dolly — dee-luxe and dee-lightful. I blew up your body… but you blew my mind!”
As the guitar solo comes wailing in, TOPHER staggers for a moment on the edge of the roof, air-strumming the bottle. Abruptly, he pitches over the edge and vanishes. After a stunned second:
YOUNG ERIC
Shit! KIMMY (almost crying)
Is he hurt? Is he hurt?
YOUNG ERIC
Topher, man? You all right?
YOUNG TOPHER (weakly; offscreen)
It was all great, except the last little bit. But I think I spilled some of my Bacardi. YOUNG BRENT (relieved)
You are such an asshole, man!
YOUNG ERIC
Are you sure you’re okay?
As ERIC begins climbing down from the roof, TOPHER suddenly sits up.
YOUNG TOPHER
Shit! (fumbles in pockets)
If those fuckers get lost… (finds what he’s looking for)
Ah. Far out.
YOUNG ERIC
Don’t do shit like that, man.
YOUNG TOPHER
I fucking thought I smashed these or something.
YOUNG ERIC
Smashed what?
YOUNG TOPHER
Let’s go in, man, put on some more tunes — I’ll show you. It’s a surprise…
As Roxy Music plays out, we DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. — ERIC’S MOTEL — NIGHT
Just to establish the transition, we see the outside of a mid-grade side-of-the-road motel. We move in on ERIC’S room.
INT. — ERIC’S MOTEL — NIGHT
ADULT ERIC is sleeping. We move in on his face, lips moving a little, hear his voice in a dreaming whisper:
ERIC
Topher, don’t…
CUT TO: Quick FLASH of TOPHER’s distorted current face coming out of shadow, as though it were in ERIC’s room.
ERIC wakes up, gasping, but there’s nothing in the room but a little light from the streetlights leaking through the curtain. ERIC lets his head fall back, then we hear a faint noise. ERIC sits up: he hears it. It’s someone CRYING.
Looking really disturbed, ERIC glances at the digital clock, which reads 3:17. We hear the crying a little louder — a woman’s voice, a hopeless, quiet weeping. ERIC stands up by the bed, turning his head slowly, locating the source of the sound. It’s more upsetting to him than us, because he RECOGNIZES it.
ERIC moves slowly across the dark room toward the bathroom door, which is closed. He slowly leans his head against the door and we hear the crying louder. He looks terrified. The crying gets louder.
ERIC
K-K-Ki… Kimmy?
The crying continues, a little more frightened and miserable now.
ERIC
Kimmy, is… is that you? KIMMY (tiny, whispery voice)
I’m so scared.
ERIC, hands shaking violently, tries the door. It’s locked.
ERIC
Kimmy, let me in. KIMMY
I’m… scared. Eric, where is everyone? What’s happening?
Something THUMPS, as though someone has just climbed into the bathtub. The thumping gets louder — something very strange is happening in the bathroom. ERIC
Kimmy? Kimmy!
Her weeping has changed to sounds of panicked grunts, like someone fighting for their life or being raped.
KIMMY
Why… why can’t… I… see? You told me… you told me I could see… everything!
On “everything”, the door finally pops open in ERIC’s hand. He throws on the light. The bathroom is EMPTY. He staggers back, looks wildly at the clock. It reads 3:18, as we CUT TO:
INT. — HOSPITAL — NIGHT, SAME TIME
We see TOPHER’s strange head on a pillow, eyes open, staring straight up into the darkness. A light from outside is making tree-branch shadows flail on the walls and across his expressionless face, but he is utterly, utterly still as we CUT TO:
INT. — JANICE’S KITCHEN — NIGHT
