STAY Page #16

SAM (CONT'D)

(speaking rapidly)

I found your waitress tonight. I

found Athena. She remembers you.

The mention of her name seems to make Henry distraught. He

shakes his head violently.

HENRY:

I didn't mean to hurt her.

SAM:

You haven't hurt anyone yet, Henry.

Just put the gun down.

HENRY:

I've hurt people. I have. I've done

something terrible.

SAM:

Just put the gun down, Henry. Okay?

Put the gun down. Let me help you.

HENRY:

It's the only way out. Don't you

see that?

SAM:

One of the first times I met you,

you said you didn't know what was

real anymore. Okay, well I thought

I did but I was wrong. I don't know

what's real, either. And if you die

.

HENRY:

You're real, Dr. Foster. You tried

to save me. You were just a little

too late.

(beat)

For the longest time I didn't

understand what was happening to

me. But now-

97.

SAM:

But you waited. Why didn't you

shoot yourself as soon as you knew?

You wanted me to help you. Why?

HENRY:

Because I'm afraid. I don't know

what's on the other side.

(beat)

Maybe that's why I can't wake up.

I'm afraid to go back there.

SAM:

Then don't. Don't go back.

HENRY:

It's a dream. It's got to end

sometime.

SAM:

Listen. Listen to me. If you're

wrong, you pull the trigger and

you're dead. End of story.

HENRY:

I'm not wrong.

Sam nods but says nothing for a moment.

SAM:

(very quiet)

Okay. What if you're right? What if

it is your dream? Look around. Look

around!

Henry takes his eyes off Sam and looks around. The cars race

by, headlights streaming. Below the bridge the East River

flows. And behind them are the towers of Manhattan.

Everything shimmers in the rainfall. The skyline looks both

majestic and fragile.

SAM (CONT'D)

The whole world is in your dream.

Athena's here, I'm here, everyone.

You kill yourself, you're killing

all of us.

(beat)

Stay here. Stay with us.

HENRY:

I have to wake up.

98.

The moment he says these words everything goes quiet. The

bridge is suddenly empty, no traffic at all, nobody in sight

but Henry and Sam.

The rain stops. The stars, normally invisible above the city,

now crowd the sky, brighter and more numerous than we've ever

seen them.

Then the stars begin to fall, all the stars rain from the

sky, leaving burning trails in their wake, the entire sky

crisscrossed with these scars.

.

An apocalyptic howl, the most terrifying noise imaginable,

seems to erupt from everywhere and nowhere. The bridge

shudders and sways.

Henry shoves the barrel of the revolver into his mouth.

SAM:

Please don't. Please-

CLOSE on Henry.

He pulls the trigger.

FADE TO WHITE:

Very bright. People in the theater should be shielding their

eyes.

As we fade in we see that the bright light is actually a

small flashlight, shining directly into the camera.

SAM (O.S.) (CONT'D)

He's still alive.

The camera pulls back to show Henry lying on his back on the

walkway, blood streaming from his head. Sam is crouched

beside him, holding one of his wrists. In his other hand, Sam

holds a small flashlight, which he shines in Henry's eyes.

Sam is not wearing his navy-blue cable-knit sweater, though

he was before Henry shot himself.

The camera pulls back farther. This is the Brooklyn Bridge

but this is not the scene we just left., A Ford Mustang has

just been in a terrible collision.

There is a gaping hole in the windshield on the driver's

side. Flames consume the backseat. Smoke spills out the

windows. The radio still plays, however: The Band's "I Shall

be Released."

99.

One of the Mustang's front tires has blown out. Scraps of

black rubber litter the accident scene.

ATHENA is kneeling next to Henry, on the opposite side of

Sam, holding Henry's other hand.

Henry's arms are burned and lacerated from the accident.

Other cars have stopped short of the Mustang. All Manhattan-

bound traffic has come to a halt. From the distance, we hear

the blaring of horns.

ATHENA:

(in shock)

He's okay, right? He's going to be

okay?

Sam leans closer to the injured man, so that his face is

hovering right above Henry's.

.

Henry's eyes are open. He appears able to see, but he's

losing a tremendous amount of blood. It puddles below him on

the asphalt, deep red in the bridge's incandescent lights.

SAM:

(to the gathering crowd)

We need an ambulance! Somebody call

an ambulance!

He begins to unbutton his shirt. BETH LEVY gets out of a

stopped car and hurries over. She wears the navy-blue cable-

knit SWEATER, which she now quickly shrugs out of and hands

to Sam.

BETH:

Here, use this.

Sam bundles the sweater and presses it against the deep,

unseen gash on Henry's head.

BETH (CONT'D)

I just called 911. They're on the

way.

HENRY:

(to Athena)

Hold this-

He has Athena hold the sweater to staunch the bleeding.

100.

ATHENA:

(to Henry)

Stop bleeding, baby. Okay? You've

got to stop bleeding now.

Sam pinches Henry's nostrils and blows into his mouth to make

sure the airways are clear.

SAM:

He's breathing. Hold that tight.

Sam goes to check on the other two casualties. The first, an

old man, lies halfway out of one of the rear windows. Sam

checks his pulse. Nothing.

Sam shakes his head and walks around to the other side of the

car, but we PULL IN for a closer look at the old man.

It's LEON. Blood leaks from his nostrils and mouth.

On the other side of the car lies MRS. LETHAM, face up, eyes

open. Blood streams down her face from a massive head wound.

Sam checks her pulse as well, but it's obvious she's dead.

Sam closes her eyelids, hurries back to Henry, and crouches

beside him.

ATHENA:

His mom and dad? Are they okay?

SAM:

They're both gone.

CLOSE ON HENRY'S EYES. We can tell that he has registered

this news.

.

For a moment the frames projected on screen slow from their

24-per-second clip and then melt away entirely. The white

screen is replaced by a shot we've seen before: Henry, alone

on the empty bridge, walking from the burning Mustang.

The vision disappears as quickly as it appeared, and we're

back at the accident scene, watching Sam trying desperately

to save Henry.

In the backseat of one of the stopped cars, a BABY, strapped

into its baby seat, HOWLS and howls.

A crowd has gathered around the accident scene. From the

nearest cars come the drivers and their passengers, circling

around Henry.

The strange thing is that we recognize all of them.

101.

The Englishman and his wife. Sheriff Kennelly (not in

uniform). A young woman we last saw on the subway, asking

Henry about his Spanish Art class, and the businessman who

wanted him to quit smoking. Dr. Schlegel and the burly

paramedics (not in uniform). A middle-aged Filipino wearing a

Mets cap. The various waitresses and cooks we saw in the

diners. Devon. Smitty. The Muslim woman in full veil. The

bartender from the White Horse Tavern. A crew of blonde

tourists standing together. The piano movers.

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