Badlands Page #12

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD

Kit and Holly travel down a country road in the Studebaker.

HOLLY (V.O.)

At this moment I didn't feel shame

or fear, but just kind of blah, like

when you're sitting there and all

the water's run out of the bathtub.

INT. CAR

Kit, driving, turns to Holly.

KIT:

You tired?

HOLLY:

Yeah.

KIT:

Yeah, you look tired... Listen, honey.

when all this is over, I'm going to

sit down and buy you a big, thick

steak.

HOLLY:

I don't want a steak.

KIT:

Well, we'll see about that... Hey,

lookie.

He nods at a wrecked car lying in a ditch beside the road.

KIT:

They're probably going to blame that

on me, too, bastards.

VIGILANTE MONTAGE – SERIES OF ANGLES – BLACK AND WHITE

Various shots characterizing the Midwest's reaction to Kit

and Holly:
a deserted street, law officers posing with their

guns and ammunition, children walking from class under armed

guard, a detective in a trench coat pointing at a pump, a

woman calling in her children at dusk, a county official

posing with the county records, the court reporter with a

book of signatures, vigilantes signing up and being deputized,

then riding through the streets of their town in the backs

of pickups, a priest among them, etc.

HOLLY (V.O.)

The whole country was out looking

for us, for who knew where Kit would

strike next?

Sidewalks were deserted. Stores closed their doors and drew

their blinds. Posses and vigilante committees were set up

from Texas to North Dakota. Children rode back and forth to

school under heavy guard. A famous detective was brought in

from Boston. He could find no clues... My clarinet teacher

said I probably wasn't responsible, but others said I was.

Then, on Thursday, the Governor of Oklahoma sent out the

National Guard to stand watch at the Federal Reserve Bank in

Tulsa when word got out that Kit meant to rob it... It was

like the Russians had invaded.

EXT. RICH MAN'S HOUSE

Kit and Holly approach a large Victorian mansion. Kit rings

the bell.

HOLLY (V.O.)

We needed supplies, so we went to a

rich man's house. Kit figured it'd

be safer and quicker than shopping

in the downtown... A maid came to

the door.

A MAID opens the door.

KIT:

Hi, I come to check the meter. My

tools are in here.

He nods at the suitcase he is carrying. The Maid looks at

Holly.

KIT:

Oh, this Is Holly. She's from Texas.

Kit winks at Holly. The Maid brushes her ears to indicate

that she is deaf, then stands back to let them pass.

HOLLY (V.O.)

Later we found out she was deaf and

we hadn't even known it.

KIT:

Excuse me.

They enter the house.

INT. LIVING ROOM

Kit leads the others into the living room. The owner of the

house, a RICH MAN, sits in a chair in the corner, reviewing

some prints. At the sight of Kit he comes to his feet.

KIT:

Hi.

RICH MAN:

Yes?

KIT:

This your place?

RICH MAN:

Yes.

Kit looks around, overwhelmed by the luxury of the mansion.

KIT:

Sorry to barge in on you. Anybody

else here besides you two?

RICH MAN:

No.

The Rich Man is wary. Kit nearly forgets to explain himself.

KIT:

Good deal... Oh, uh, we're on the

run and we'd like to hang out here

for a while. Couple of hours, maybe.

How'd that be?

RICH MAN:

Stay as long as you like.

TIGHT ON MURAL:

The CAMERA PANS across a mural of some pastoral scene.

INT. HOUSE – SERIES OF ANGLES

Holly runs her finger around the lip of a crystal glass. It

makes a soft chiming noise. Kit, sitting at the end of a

table opposite her, picks up a dinner bell, rings it, then

puts it down and regards her solemnly.

KIT:

Next time I ring that, it means time

to clear out.

Holly, in the next angle, has moved a bust off its pedestal

onto the corner of a piano. She thinks better of this and

restores the bust to its original position.

Kit sniffs at a glass of sherry, then takes a picture off

the mantel and studies it.

Holly, at the other end of the room, tests the comforts of a

chair.

This done, she moves to another chair and tests it, too. She

makes her hand limp. She watches it swing back and forth.

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