The Butterfly Effect Page #8

LENNY:

I can't undo the rope!

Tommy spins around and flashes an evil smile.

TOMMY:

Drop it or I'll slit your mother's throat in her sleep.

As if on cue, Lenny does exactly as he's told. His eyes begin to glaze over.

Evan, beaten and bloody, reaches out with his last bit of strength, grabs Tommy's foot and holds on.

EVAN:

I got him, Lenny. Help Crockett!

Lenny remains frozen in place. Tommy yanks his leg back, breaking Evan's grip. Evan groans on the ground in a writhing heap.

Tommy's voice hitches. His eyes water from pent up frustration.

TOMMY:

Listen to me good, Evan. There's a million other sisters in the world. You didn't have to f*** with mine.

Tommy smiles viciously at Lenny, traumatized to watch Tommy pick up the lighter fluid and spray a liquid fuse from the campfire to the soaked gunny sack.

A WHOOSH OF FLAMES

And Evan passes out.

FLASH! SMASH CUT TO:

INT. EVAN'S DORM - NIGHT - 2002

Evan comes to with Heidi slapping him awake.

EVAN:

Oh my God! No! No!

Heidi rolls her eyes.

HEIDI:

Wake up, idiot. It was just a dream.

She stands and angrily puts on her jacket.

EVAN:

(freaked out)

It didn't feel like a dream.

HEIDI:

Maybe because they never do.

(sarcastic)

So Don Juan, you pass out on all your dates?

Evan doesn't even hear her. After getting his bearings, he grabs his jacket and exits, leaving her dumbfounded.

INT. EVAN'S CAR - SUNRISE

Evan drives...

EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY

Evan, exhausted, finally pulls into Lenny's driveway. Very little has changed in the past seven years.

INT. LENNY'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS

ANGLE ON LENNY:

Now 20, making a model airplane. He's still overweight and looks like his mother dresses him.

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

The room is filled with model airplanes. Hundreds of them.

A KNOCK on Lenny's bedroom door. Mrs. Kagan, grayer, fatter, opens the door and escorts Evan inside. She glares at Evan while pretending to be cheerful.

MRS. KAGAN

I've got a surprise for you, Lenny. You'll never guess who's here.

Lenny looks up to see Evan, his jaw drops.

ANGLE ON EVAN:

Looking around, shocked to see:

PAN ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ROOM. Nothing has changed in the past seven years. The same kids' toys, posters and comic books.

AS WE PAN ALL THE WAY AROUND TO LENNY

We see he's working on the model again, in his own world. The window of opportunity for conversation has closed.

EVAN:

Hey, uh, it's me. Evan.

Silence. Lenny frowns.

EVAN:

What's that you're working on? A model?

Nothing.

EVAN:

Well, you look busy, so maybe I should make this quick. I'd totally understand if you didn't want to get into this right now, but that day at the junkyard, could you help me remember what happened? Any details?

No response. Evan picks up a model airplane from the desk.

LENNY:

I couldn't cut the rope.

EVAN:

(containing excitement)

Yeah, good, what else do you remember?

LENNY:

Drop it or I'll slit your mother's throat in her sleep.

Evan, startled, drops the model on the desk. An epiphany.

EVAN:

Jesus Christ. It really happened.

Lenny stares out the window.

EVAN:

What if I can get back all my lost memories with my journals.

With lightning speed, Lenny jumps from his desk and unexpectedly shoves EVAN IN TO THE WALL. Squadrons of hanging planes crash to the floor. Lenny digs his fingers into Evan's shoulder.

LENNY:

Make one peep and I swear it'll be your last, motherf***er.

Evan is terrified. Then Lenny suddenly moves back and begins working on the model again, his eyes a million miles away. Evan is speechless.

The door bursts open. Mrs. Kagan looks at the smashed model airplanes by Evan's feet. Evan ignores her accusing stare.

EVAN:

Well, thanks for seeing me, man. I shouldn't have waited so long.

When Lenny doesn't respond, Mrs. Kagan hustles Evan back into the hallway.

INT. EVAN'S DORM - NIGHT

Evan pulls a dozen journals from beneath his bed and begins pouring over them. Nearby, Thumper empties a can of hairspray into his Mohawk.

THUMPER:

You really think he wanted to kill you?

EVAN:

All I know is that I might be able to unblock some of my repressed memories.

He finds something he's looking for, marks the page with a yellow post-it note marked, BLACKOUT and sets the book in a separate pile.

As he sets the next journal on the bed, it automatically opens up to a place where the spine was bent. Staring up at him is the message:

EVAN'S DIARY

I will come back for you.

Evan looks overcome by guilt.

LATER THAT EVENING:

INT. EVAN'S DORM - NIGHT

Evan has now organized a pile of five journals. He selects an entry, begins reading and suddenly closes the journal. Fear covers his face. He holds one of his hands up and isn't surprised to see it trembling.

He opens his journal again and reads out loud.

EVAN:

(reading aloud)

The last thing I remember before the blackout was holding my hands over Kayleigh's ears...

(his voice slowly fades)

I think I was more focused on her hands on mine than the mailbox across the street...

His own words grow reverberant, distant. Furthermore, the walls behind him vibrate, slightly worse than before.

FLASH! SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. MRS. HALPERN'S HOME - DAY - 1995

Evan, Kayleigh, Lenny and Tommy, all thirteen, watch the mailbox across the street with intense anticipation.

When Evan comes to in this memory, the lit cigarette absently drops from his mouth and nestles into the folds of his shirt, SMOLDERING.

The mailbox...tick-tock, tick-tock...Like a staring contest.

LENNY:

Maybe it went out. Should someone check it?

TOMMY:

Yeah, you do that, Lenny.

Suddenly a car appears from down the street and slowly pulls into the driveway.

MRS. HALPERN, 24, an attractive young mother, gets out of the car and walks to the mailbox.

Across the street, Tommy digs his fingers into the nerves of Lenny's shoulder.

TOMMY:

Make one peep and I swear it'll be your last, motherf***er.

Tommy's words make Evan flinch. From inside the car, a BABY begins to cry. Mrs. Halpern walks back to the car.

Evan looks on in horror and suddenly clenches his teeth in pain and silently swipes the front of his shirt, sending the lit cigarette to the ground. He pulls up his shirt revealing a fresh BURN MARK on his stomach.

MRS. HALPERN

How's my sweet girl? Awww, you need a change, don't you honey?

Mrs. Halpern picks her up and carries her to the house. AS the mother unlocks the front door to the house, the kids break into wide smiles of relief. But wait...

The mother remembers the mail and carries the baby back to the mailbox. Now Tommy is the only one left still smiling.

MRS. HALPERN

You want to open the door, honey?

The baby fumbles with the mailbox's door handle for a moment -

ANGLE ON KIDS' FACES

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