Script excerpt
YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Investigating Officer(s): Det. T. Armstrong, Det. S. Murphy
Incident No.: 001985-19D-2020
Case Description: Dalton Kimbrough homicide investigation
This is the opening scene of Dalton Kimbrough's movie, Death to the Revelers, taken as evidence (Evidence # 001985-03) from the master bedroom of the film crew's lodge.
Caution: Some rough language and situations.
EXT--LONESOME COUNTRY ROAD, DAY
It's a swarthy afternoon down South. Traveling this stretch, one is likely to encounter various forms of dilapidation. The world is vast and falling.
At one particularly lonesome stretch, TEAK, a young black hitchhiker, is resting in the partial shade of a road sign. A nuts-and-bolts economy car rattles down the road and passes him, then slows to a stop and backs up.
Two men are in the car.
The passenger, JERRY, is middle-aged and road-whipped, or so it seems. He has a couple of day's worth of stubble, and his business attire looks worn from routine.
The driver, DARL, is in his early twenties; he looks as if he were held at gunpoint and made to comb his ratty hair and change his clothes, but still refused to shave.
Jerry rolls down the window.
JERRY
(to TEAK)
Ain't gonna get too far sittin' on your knees, boy.
TEAK
What can I say? Traffic's slow today, and the sun's 'bout to eat me alive.
JERRY
Damn right, it is. Where ya headed?
TEAK
Jackson.
JERRY
Jackson? That's a helluva stretch. What's a matter, your daddy beatin' on ya?
TEAK
Naw, I don't reckon he is.
JERRY
Well, ain't you lucky. Get in.
TEAK climbs in the backseat, and the little economy car sputters off into the haze.
CUT TO:
INT--CAR, SAME
JERRY
You seem like a trusting fella. Most people these days wouldn't get in a car with a couple of rogues like us.
TEAK
Most white folks 'round here wouldn't stop to give me a ride either.
JERRY
Yeah, well, white or black, all people are bull****, you hear me?
Everyone is silent, only the blues on the radio and the road noise are heard.
JERRY
(cutting off radio)
Turn this s*** off. I wanna talk to our new friend here. What's your name?
TEAK
Teak.
JERRY
Teak?
TEAK
That's right.
JERRY
Well… Teak. You in trouble or somethin', I mean, why you scramblin' through the Delta on a day hot as this? You lookin' to become roadkill?
The car swerves. Darl looks tense behind the wheel.
JERRY
S***, boy!
DARL
Sorry. Armadillo.
JERRY
Rather a dead armadillo than whiplash, ain't that right, Teak? Now, why was it you're out here wearing holes in your shoes?
TEAK
I'm just tryin' to start over. I done been in all the trouble I care to be in, so I'm goin' somewhere where it might not can find me.
JERRY
You can't hide from trouble. And that'll be the first thing you learn out here on the mean highway. Trouble is a slick bastard. Just ask my boy. Trouble is sho' nuff gonna find his little prancin' ***. You know, Teak, some people have to die before they wake up.
Darl bobbles the wheel again. Jerry screws up his face in disgust.
JERRY
I smell s***. Teak, did you s*** yourself, boy?
TEAK
No.
JERRY
No, I think you s*** yourself for fear of this knucklehead's driving.
(to Darl)
Why don't you pull over someplace and let somebody drive who ain't gonna get us killed? And that would be me!
Darl shoots Teak a worried look in the rearview mirror, then pulls the car to the shoulder. Jerry gets out, and Darl slides over into the passenger seat.
DARL
(on the sly, to Teak)
You picked the wrong day to go to Jackson, friend. Or the wrong car to get in one. You and me both are f****d. This guy's lost his marbles.
TEAK
Oh, s***. You don't know him?
DARL
S*** no, man. I just started working with him today, and he's already pulled a gun on me.
TEAK
Oh, s***.
DARL
You ain't packin', are you?
TEAK
Naw, man.
DARL
Well, then… Just let me handle this.
Jerry gets in. The awkward silence hangs heavy.
JERRY
What are y'all f**** sayin'?
DARL
Nothin' man, just--
TEAK
I was just tellin' him that I can get out right here, it'd be cool--
Jerry pulls off quickly before Teak can get to the door.
JERRY
What's a matter, Teak? You feelin' sick back there?
TEAK
Kinda.
JERRY
Well, maybe you need to see a doctor or somethin'.
TEAK
Maybe, yeah.
JERRY
Yeah? Well, you know, I'm a doctor.
TEAK
You don't say…
JERRY
(angry)
I just f*****' did say, didn't I! Goddamn, you f*****' kids are so cynical these days. Like the world is some kinda game. How old are you, Teak?
TEAK
Twenty-three.
JERRY
Twenty-three years old. You know, when I was 23, I had a job and earned enough money to buy a car. I didn't hang out on the side of the road with one thumb in the wind, and the other stuck up my ***, Teak. I didn't rely on other people's charity to get me where I wanted to go. You hearin' me?
The car is silent, dangerous.
DARL
Hey, man, maybe you should just let him out. I'm sure there's a gas station or somethin' right up--
Darl is interrupted by a pistol report. Jerry has just pulled a gun and shot Darl in the chest. Blood sprays the windshield, and Darl lies lifeless.
TEAK
(whispering)
Oh, s***.
Teak whimpers, trying not to ruffle any more feathers.
JERRY
(to Darl)
Don't ever talk back to your elders, hotshot! I guess you blew it! Ha, ha, ha…
Jerry seems as if his tension has been released by this act. He lights a cigarette and basks in the highway wind.
JERRY
You know what this means?
TEAK
(in tears)
Wh- what's that?
JERRY
You're gonna have to help me carry out my plan. You see, my kid, he's been runnin' around tellin' his ma and his principal and all kinda folks that I been beatin' and molestin' him, you know what I'm sayin'.
TEAK
(feeble)
Uh-huh.
JERRY
Truth be told, it's him and his friends that's molestin' each other. I seen it, Teak. Walked up in the middle of the s***. So I'm goin' down to the old schoolhouse and takin' him down, along with all his f***** friends. There's so many of them squirmin' f****** that it'll take two men to do the job. You hear me?
Teak can't even squeeze out a response, he's so jolted.
JERRY
This kid here ain't got the heart for it.
(Bursts into laughter)
Jerry looks at Teak in the rearview mirror.
JERRY
(menacing)
What the f***'s the matter with you?
Teak can't respond.
JERRY
You with me or what?
CUT TO:
EXT--ROADSIDE, SAME
Jerry whips the car to the shoulder and gets out. He jerks Teak out of the backseat and sticks the gun in his face.
JERRY
You ain't tellin' me you're a softy too, are you? C'mon, man, you said you know trouble. Hell, man, if this ain't it…
TEAK
(babbling)
What are you doin', man?
JERRY
You think I'm a maniac? Well, maybe I am. But it's people like you made me that way! Now, you wanna die in this cotton patch here, or you wanna end it right now?
Jerry hands Teak the gun and backs off.
JERRY
C'mon, kid! Shoot me! C'mon, trouble man!
Teak twitches with fear as Jerry taunts him. Teak raises the gun. Jerry charges, and Teak fires.
Jerry's chest explodes, and he falls to the dirty highway, rolling in a fit of spasms. Finally, he gives and lies still as Teak reels in horror, his face glistening with tears.
Teak surveys the scene, then checks the road. He wipes the gun with his shirt, throws it on the ground, and runs into the woods.
The murder scene is still as Teak vanishes in the thicket. Suddenly, Jerry raises his head to look for his killer. He grins and stands up, then begins to laugh. Inside the car, a bloody Darl raises up and looks out the window, then laughs.
CUT TO:
EXT--ROAD, LATER
A bottle smashes against a road sign.
INT--CAR, SAME
The music is blaring, the car is speeding, and the passengers are still covered in what appears to be blood. Darl is half leaning out the window from his bottle toss.
DARL
Woo! S ***, man, that's a rush!
JERRY
The thrill of a good performance. We just give that boy some damn fine entertainment, and it didn't cost him nothin' except a little wear on his wits. But he'll be alright in … oh, I don't know. Thirty years maybe.
(Laughs)
DARL
You're the maestro, Jerry! You had me scared.
JERRY
Well, that's the thing. You adapt yourself to that mindset. If you ain't got it in ya, you can't pull it off. It's just like that kid. He becomes a performer too.
DARL
Unwilling, maybe, but…
JERRY
But who willingly comes to the world stage, Darl? Who decides what roles they play?
DARL
(laughs)
Us.
JERRY
It's funny what a man can see and hear in a matter of minutes that'll turn him from a regular old hitchhiker into a cold-blooded killer.
