Hard Rain Page #13

THE BOTTLE:

Flies across the inside of the church and smashes against a

wall, sending sheets of fire down the wall.

EXT. CHURCH

The roof is on fire.

EXT. KAREN'S HOUSE

Modest, two-story, on a side street. The front door is open;

the boat tied up outside. There's a light on in the front

hall.

INT. KAREN'S HOUSE

Karen is unconscious. Wayne has her laying on the stairs

leading up from the entry area to the second floor. There's

three feet of water in the house. Karen's legs are in the

water. Her hands are handcuffed to a railing attached to the

wall, running up the stairs. Wayne stands over Karen, pats

her face.

WAYNE:

Wakey-wakey.

Karen stirs, then starts slipping back into unconsciousness,

so Wayne splashes her face with water. Karen comes to,

sputtering. Her eyes focus. She looks up at Wayne. Wayne

grins.

WAYNE:

Dear Penthouse:
I always thought

your letters were fake, until the

wildest thing happened to me. I'm a

policeman in a small town. In the

middle of the big flood last year, I

was patrolling the streets in a boat,

feeling kind of sorry for myself --

'cause it was my birthday and all --

when I saw the front door to a house

was open. I pulled my gun -- afraid

it might be looters. Imagine my

surprise when, instead of a looter,

I find a young woman handcuffed to

the railing of her stairs. Her name

was Karen, and ever since she came

back from college she'd made it clear

she was too good for any of us local

folk. Now here she was, in handcuffs!

I said, "What the heck is going on

here, ma'am?" And she said...

Karen says nothing. Wayne leans in close.

WAYNE:

And she said...

KAREN:

Sorry, Wayne, but I'm not playing a

part in your sick little play.

Wayne pulls his gun, puts it to Karen's head.

WAYNE:

You're perfect for the role. I suggest

you reconsider.

KAREN:

Or what? You'll kill me? You're gonna

do that anyway.

WAYNE:

I might get clumsy. It might take a

while.

KAREN:

I'm sure you can hurt me. But it's

all going to be the same when I'm

dead.

Wayne straightens up, looks at her, then launches back into

it.

WAYNE:

And she said, "Happy Birthday, Wayne.

I've got something for you." Well,

I'm not stupid. I knew what she wanted

to give me and I knew she wanted to

give it bad, so I --

THE OVERHEAD LIGHT

Sparks and goes out.

WAYNE:

(looks up at light)

That won't do. Man's gotta see what

he's doing. 'Scuse me.

Wayne heads off for the kitchen. The second he's gone...

KAREN:

Raises her hips and digs a hand into her pocket and pulls

out her Swiss Army knife. She pries open the big blade. She

hears Wayne sloshing back toward her. She gets back into the

position Wayne left her in as...

WAYNE:

Re-enters carrying two burning candles in candle-holders.

WAYNE:

I got the candles. All's we need is

a cake.

He sets the candles down on a dry step above Karen's head.

He leans in close.

WAYNE:

Mood lighting. You in the mood yet?

(no answer from Karen;

back into Penthouse

letter)

And then she said, "My present's

ready and waiting. All's you gotta

do is unwrap it."

Wayne reaches into the water, undoes Karen's rain pants,

yanks off her shoes, then pulls off her pants. He throws

them over the banister. Karen remains passive, blank. Wayne

takes off his holster; hangs it on the banister. Then he

pushes his pants down to his ankles. His shirttail is long

enough so that we don't have to see his wretched little

pecker. He climbs on top of Karen in the water, brings his

face close to hers.

WAYNE:

It was cold and rainy that birthday

night, and all I wanted was to get

someplace warm and dry. As it turned

out, what I really wanted was

something warm and wet. Wayne grins

and closes for a kiss and...

KAREN'S HAND

Moves fast with the knife and...

WAYNE'S EYES

Pop open wide.

WAYNE:

His head jerks back. He tries to shout, but all that comes

out is an awful gurgle. He tries to push off Karen, but...

KAREN:

Wraps her legs around him, holds him close, pinning him.

WAYNE:

Finally breaks free. He tries to stop the bleeding with a

hand, but the blood spurts through his fingers. He reaches

for his gun in his holster on the banister, but just as he

grabs it...

KAREN:

Lashes out of the water with her legs, kicking Wayne in the

groin, pushing him back.

WAYNE:

Tries to get his balance, but his feet can't move -- his

pants are around his ankles. He falls back into the water,

firing his pistol.

BULLETS:

Blow chunks out of the wall next to Karen, hit the ceiling

and...

WAYNE:

Is floating on his back, trying to lift the pistol, but his

strength is fading fast. He gets off one last shot and...

THE CANDLE:

Nearest Karen is blown to pieces.

WAYNE:

The gun drops into the water. No more shots. No more life.

He floats, pants around his ankles, covered in blood, dead.

KAREN:

Happy Birthday, Wayne.

EXT. STREET AND CHURCH

The church roof is on fire.

THE SHERIFF, PHIL AND HANK

Are across the street.

INT. CHURCH

Jim and Tom hear a creaking and look up.

THE CEILING:

The fire has eaten holes in the roof. Embers come down.

EXT. CHURCH AND STREET

The Sheriff is getting very agitated.

SHERIFF:

They're not coming out, Hank!

HANK:

The fire's not catching. The rain's

too --

SHERIFF:

We have to get them! We have to kill

them! Do you understand? If they're

not dead, we got jack sh*t!

INT. CHURCH

A small chunk of burning ceiling drops down. Jim and Tom

look up. Just then...

BRIGHT LIGHT:

Floods into the church through...

THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

Filling the church with a kaleidoscope of colors.

TOM AND JIM:

Look out the windows.

TOM:

My God they're beautiful.

THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

Remain beautiful for a few more seconds until they shatter

and blow inwards as...

THE SHERIFF'S BOAT AND HANK'S BOAT

Come crashing through.

THE BOATS:

Land, stop fast. The Sheriff's boat lands closer to the

pulpit; Hank's boat closer to the balcony.

THE SHERIFF, HANK AND PHIL

Look around. It's quiet for a moment. There's no sign of Tom

and Jim.

INT. KAREN'S HOUSE

Karen has her pants back on. She reaches out with one foot

and hooks Wayne's holster off the banister. She flips it

through the air and catches it with her hands. She opens

little leather pockets -- mace, more bullets. No keys. Karen

starts to panic.

KAREN:

There have to be keys. There --

She sees...

WAYNE:

Still floating on his back, still dead. She looks closer

at...

WAYNE'S PANTS

Bunched around his ankles. And there, hanging from a belt-

loop is a ring of keys.

KAREN:

Reaches out with her foot for Wayne's pants. She can't reach.

WAYNE:

Is slowly drifting out the open door. Beyond the door, in

the light of the streetlamp, the water is riffling, moving,

and Wayne is heading toward it.

KAREN:

Slides down further on the stairs, into the water, then stops.

CLOSE ON HANDCUFFS AND RAILING

There are metal supports going from the railing to the wall,

every three feet. Karen is prevented from going any further

down the stairs by one of these supports.

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