The Keeping Room Page #12

---

What you doin’?

Augusta moves to them.

And then, like a PUNCH TO THE GUT, Augusta KNOWS. She

drops the gun. Falls down to her knees.

MAD:

You come back.

BILL:

Just wanted to hear that old voice again.

He reaches his hand up to touch her face, but he can’t

quite make it. Mad grabs his hand and helps him the rest

of the way.

She holds his hand with her hand to her face.

BILL (CONT’D)

It’s over. It’s all over.

(CONTINUED)

75.

MAD:

What you mean?

BILL:

Take shelter. They comin’.

His eyes stop their wandering.

Mad leans in and kisses his lips. HARD.

She puts her face to his face.

His breathing is so thin...

And then he’s GONE.

We stay here for a bit, in SILENCE.

And then Mad takes the pistol from Bill’s hand, gets up,

and walks back into the Keeping Room.

Augusta doesn’t move. And then, she knows she must.

If that wasn’t Moses...

INT. KEEPING ROOM - SAME

Louise crouches in the corner. Pistol at the ready.

Mad walks in and Louise lowers her gun.

Mad sits at the table. Silent.

LOUISE:

Is it done?

Mad remains silent.

LOUISE (CONT’D)

...Mad?

EXT. FARMHOUSE - SAME

Augusta moves over to the Wagon, to where Moses...

His BLOOD soaks the earth...

His HAT lies on the ground...

BUT HE IS NOT THERE.

She looks every which way. He’s nowhere.

76.

INT. KEEPING ROOM - DAWN

Mad sits there. Still silent.

LOUISE:

Where’s --

Augusta comes in, quickly closing the door behind her and

then BOLTING it. She turns and presses up against it, her

heart racing.

She looks at Mad.

LOUISE (CONT’D)

What’s goin’ on?

MAD:

(to herself, real quiet)

He come back.

Augusta goes to say something --

MAD (CONT’D)

I ain’t angry with you, Augusta! I’m

angry cause I came close to killin’ him

myself!

Augusta moves right next to Mad. Mad grabs her hand real

hard.

LOUISE:

But we wanted him dead...

MAD:

(biting back feeling)

Glad it was you instead uh me. Bill would

never forgive me if I’s the one done it.

Louise hears Bill’s name.

AUGUSTA:

Mad --

MAD:

When you gonna learn what don’t happen

don’t matter?

Beat.

MAD (CONT’D)

You just go on.

She takes Bill’s gun. Regards it.

(CONTINUED)

77.

MAD (CONT’D)

Might be another man out there. Ain’t no

time to think on love.

AUGUSTA:

There is another man out there.

MAD:

We ain’t goin’ to wait for him.

Beat.

MAD (CONT’D)

We goin’ out there to hunt him. And we

ain’t come back ‘til he ours.

EXT. KEEPING ROOM - MORNING

We’re WIDE on the farm and the surrounding buildings.

And save for the symphony of southern bugs...

It’s DEAD QUIET. And then we see --

Our three women EMERGE from the keeping room and move

through the dawn.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - SAME

They are spread across the field, moving towards us.

Separately, but also as one.

Their RIFLES lead the way.

Louise carries Henry’s rifle. Mad carries Bill’s.

They move towards the wagon where Moses was, hoping to

discover a trail to where he’s gone.

They STOP.

Augusta finds SOME BLOOD and then a few steps away a bit

MORE. She motions to start moving again.

In SILENCE, the women follow.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - SAME

Augusta tracks the blood to the back of the house. The

BACK DOOR is open. A BLOODY HAND PRINT smeared across the

outside wall of the house.

(CONTINUED)

78.

She looks back to the others.

With their eyes, they agree to keep going.

INT. FARMHOUSE - SAME

The BLOOD leads from the door to the stairs. Augusta

follows the trail, the women behind her.

They mount the stairs.

INT. FARMHOUSE / HALLWAY - SAME

BLOOD is smeared across the DOOR FRAME of the bedroom.

The door is slightly ajar.

Augusta takes a BREATH -Pushes

the door open with the NOSE of her RIFLE...

INT. FARMHOUSE / BEDROOM - SAME

But Moses is NOT THERE.

And then she sees -Henry’s

BODY lying on the bed.

Augusta searches the room for an answer, for something,

anything to tell her what to do, and then she notices

that Henry’s PISTOL has been removed from his HOLSTER.

And there’s fresh BLOOD on it.

Quickly, Augusta moves out of the room --

INT. FARMHOUSE / HALLWAY - SAME

-- following the trail of BLOOD --

Mad and Louise stand STOCK STILL -And

Augusta looks back down at the blood in front of the

bedroom door and realizes --

The spots were him COMING...

AND GOING.

Louise and Mad look down and see it too.

79.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Augusta comes out the door, then Louise, then Mad.

The women look down at the ground. BLOOD. But --

There is ANOTHER trail, headed in ANOTHER direction...

AWAY from the house.

Augusta knows he’s not too far now.

The others keep pace. They slowly approach...

THE FENCE.

There is BLOOD painted across one of its posts -She

looks DOWN.

And on the WOODEN WALKWAY...

MORE BLOOD leads AWAY, out and around, back to the place

they just came from, back to the -

EXT. KEEPING ROOM - SAME

The door is slightly ajar. A LIGHT pours out from within.

Augusta stops. Her breaths are HEAVY.

The others stop too.

She takes a step CLOSER...

And ANOTHER.

And -

MOSES (O.C.)

This is fine moonshine.

Augusta stops. Catches herself.

Holds it back as best she can.

AUGUSTA:

Our daddy made it.

MOSES (O.C.)

Your daddy made fine moonshine.

She moves closer...

(CONTINUED)

80.

MOSES (O.C.) (CONT’D)

I’ve been waiting for you.

AUGUSTA:

I was looking for you.

And closer still. She can see a SLIVER of him now,

sitting there, sitting at her table.

MOSES (O.C)

You found me.

AUGUSTA:

I did.

MOSES (O.C.)

Saw Henry’s dead.

AUGUSTA:

Your man?

MOSES:

He was.

And she reaches the door.

She pushes it open all the way with the back of her arm,

gun still up, still ready.

And then, she sees all of him...

INT. KEEPING ROOM - SAME

Moses sits there, in the chair farthest from the door,

his gut and chest now COVERED in BLOOD. His wound is as

bad as she thought, spilling out red all over him.

The fire is dying behind him.

The JUG OF MOONSHINE sits on the table next to him. His

hand around her small glass.

His other hand is propped up on the table...

Henry’s PISTOL pointed right at her.

MOSES:

I like this room.

AUGUSTA:

I like it too.

She moves a little closer.

(CONTINUED)

81.

He lets her.

Mad and Louise move to the doorway, standing just barely

on the edge of the room. They don’t come in.

AUGUSTA (CONT’D)

What’s your name?

MOSES:

Moses.

AUGUSTA:

Like the baby.

MOSES:

Just like.

AUGUSTA:

...Why’re you doin’ this, Moses?

MOSES:

Me an’ him are bummers. Sent on ahead to

forage the outlying land, look for food,

deserters, survivors. Whole army’s just

behind us. Already took Georgia. Uncle

Billy’s heading this way. Burning down

every thing in his path. Rest assured,

it’ll be cruel.

Mad and Louise exchange a look.

MOSES (CONT’D)

And the crueler it is the sooner it’ll be

over.

AUGUSTA:

We can hold ‘em.

He smiles.

MOSES:

Girl, I believe you can.

He takes a drink from his glass.

MOSES (CONT’D)

You know how many battles I fought in?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes