Lesson 10

[Jeremy Kirk]

Subject line: Jeremy Level 1 Action Emotions

What I learned doing this assignment is fear, anxiety and relief are all emotions that elicit action.

Jackie has just been attacked by Abuela whom he threw out the window. Her Guardian Angel saved her from the fall, so she returns. Jackie is already in a state of fear.

MAIN ROOM
Jackie quickly puts on clothes, grabs his trench coat, pulls his pistol from the drawer. He is about to race out the door when he remembers the gun in the box.
Jackie grabs the revolver, slips it into one pocket and dumps the ammo in another.
He slides to the door and CREAKS it open.
The hallway looks empty.
Jackie slips out and quietly closes the door behind him.
ABUELA
Ten million dollars is a lot of money Señor asesino.
Jackie looks up and sees Abuela at the end of the hall.
JACKIE
Ten million dollars? Who would put up that kind of money for a contract?
Abuela flips out a butterfly knife.
ABUELA
I don’t know. But it isn’t a contract. It’s a bounty!
Jackie is confused.
JACKIE
Like wanted dead or alive?
ABUELA
No alive, just dead.
She hunkers down like a feral cat to attack, when –
Doors open on all sides of the hall. Residence come out with baseball bats, meat cleavers, rolling pins, a wooden chair even a small boy with a sling shot and a handful of steel balls.
As the neighbors surround him, Jackie nods.
This is a moment of anxiety as his neighbors surround him like jackels.
JACKIE
Mr. Wilson, Ray, Donna how’s that water softener doing I installed? Hey, Charles, I see you got a day off work. Wow, look at how big little Ricky’s gotten.
Mr. Wilson, an overweight old man with a hearing aide pulls back on the bat and delivers a blow into Jackie’s guts.
He doubles over, just as Donna smashes a chair across his back.
Jackie goes down.
Yael jumps into action.
He pulls back a wing and SLAMS it into Mr. Wilson. The old man is BLASTED back through his own door.
Yael curls his other wing and unfurls it into Donna. Her fat ass is SMASHED into the wall.
Charles uses his rolling pin under Jackie’s chin and strangles him, as Ray lifts the meat cleaver.
RAY
Hold him steady, hold him steady.
As Ray rushes in, Yael grabs the back of Charles head and yanks it straight down.
The cleaver descends and splits the back of the skull.
Jackie rips the rolling pin from Charles dying grasp, takes it two handed and swings into Ray’s knee.
Ray YELPs and falls against the wall.
Jackie gets to his feet – just as a steel ball WHISTLES past.
He grabs Ray and spins him around for use as a human shield.
Fear once again.
Down the hall – Abuela and Ricky. The boy loads another steel round and stretches back the rubber band.
JACKIE
What the hell Ray! I buy boxes of girl scout cookies from you!
RAY
I’m sorry, but ten million dollars cuts allot of ties.
Jackie looks to the kid who squints one eye and aims.
JACKIE
You ain’t got a shot, kid.
THUNK!
Jackie looks at Ray, who has a shiny steel ball imbedded in his right eye.
Jackie has no time to stare in horror as –
THUNK!
Another ball bearing in his left eye.
JACKIE
Jesus Christ! Kids a God damn sniper!
Yael becomes frustrated, he charges down the hall, drops low and swipes his wing from below.
The kid and Abuela are lifted up – as if on a magic carpet ride and SMASHED into the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
Sparks, tiles and dust rain down on the kid and old woman as they flop to the ground.
Ray’s body slips from his hands as Jackie stares in disbelief over what he just witnessed.
How did they?
OUTSIDE
Jackie races to his shot-to-shit Trans Am and slides inside.
JACKIE
A ten million dollar bounty on me? Who would place a bounty on me? It’s not like I have an Ex-wife or anything. (anxiety)
Jackie punches out the windshield.
Yael is next to him.
YAEL
Seems pretty obvious to me.
Tires SQUEAL out, and the peppered windshield is all that’s left. Relief.