30. Good and Evil-Eric

• FADE IN


• INT. BEDROOM-MORNING


• Nathan West slams his hand down on the noisy alarm clock, groaning in disagreement. Rain pitter-patters a dance on the roof and windows. He finally pulls himself out of bed and heads to the bathroom. After straightening his tie, he heads out the door with a thermos of coffee. He tumbles on the porch, spilling his coffee.
• A corpse has been buried upright in his yard; the only part visible is a severly decomposed head. A cake with several candles is to the left of the head, pocked by rain drops. To the right of the head is a sign that reads: Happy 40th Birthday Nate!. He stares at the horrifying tableau, unaware that his hands have pulled out a cell phone and speed-dialed a number.


• NATHAN
• Oh my god! M-my mom. She's buried in my front yard!


• A few minutes later an ambulance and two squad cars pull up. Two officers climb out and talk to Nathan. He stares through them, in shock.


• VOICE O.S.
• You called us here for this?


• INT. BREAK ROOM-MORNING


• Nathan sits at a table with a cup of coffee and a Honey Bun. He pretends to read a paper while the others pull out gifts, and congratulate him. THAD enters the break room with a birthday cake. A single candle's flame wavers in the center-40.


• THAD
• So, what a surprise this morning huh? You know how long it took me to dig her up?


• NATHAN
• Yeah, real creative.


• THAD
• Hey bud, have you been all right lately?


• NATHAN
• Yeah...it's just that I'm not used to all the...attention, yah know?


• THAD'S face lights up. He leans closer to Nathan and pats him on the shoulder.


• THAD
• Ah, I know what it is, bud. It's the midlife success blues . Hey, I know what'll cheer you up.


• Nathan turns to Thad and gives him a worried look.


• NATHAN
• Yeah? And what would that be?


• THAD
• Well, it's something I already did. That coffee you're drinking, well, this morning I squirted my sister's bloody syringes into it. Right now you're drinking about 3cc's of Hep-C creamer.


• Thad giggles. Nathan spits up the coffee and leaps out of his seat. He holds up both of his hands, as if in defense. The others turn to Thad, they appear hurt. Karen looks the most put off, and jealous.


• KAREN
• Wow, you never did that for my birthday. That's really nice of you...Thad. I wa-


• NATHAN
• Look. Guys. I really, really appreciate all you've done for me. But this is too much. I'm not used to all your cr...niceness. I need to take the day off.


• Nathan walks to the time clock and punches out. He grabs a vest from his locker and walks out.


• THAD
• I think he's a bit off guys. I don't know, maybe he's found something horrible like true love.


• KAREN
• Hmm, I think it's worse than that. He's acting like he won the friggin lottery or something. I've never seen him this upset.


• STEVE
• Guys, this isn't just a bad thing, it's a good thing too. I saw the look in his face when you told him about the syringes. Sure, he was surprisingly, actually upset about that. And I don't mean just any old upset. And see, instead of enjoying his misery like everyone else in the world he looks like the type to do something great, like go postal and kill everyone.


• THAD
• Wow, now that would be cool. Do you really think he might? Do you think he's really that nice?


• INT. LIVING ROOM-AFTERNOON


• Nathan sits on a sofa, ignoring the Television news. His head is buried in his hands, which are propped up with his elbows and knees. He finally stands up and presses the play button on his answering machine.


• ANSWERING MACHINE
• Happy Birthday sweety! I've got a big surprise for you! Hey, you know what some little jerk did this morning? I woke up and someone had mowed my lawn. And then the little bastard had the nerve to roll up my windows during that thunderstorm we had. I wish I could'a caught him, but he ran off too fast. Well I'll see y-


• Nathan sinks back on the sofa and turns up the afternoon news, a woman is crying, holding her young daughter.


• WOMAN
• I just can't b-believe there are people out there like this. Who would bring back my little daughter after she was kidnapped? This world is sick! I just want justice, I want to be able to look the guy in the eyes that brought her back, and hug him, the son of a-. My life will never be-


• REPORTER
• People saving kidnapped children...is it possible we could see more of these evil acts? Has our random acts of kindness policy really met its match? Mor-


• NATHAN VO
• I don't know how much more I can take of this insanity. I feel like a fraud. I'm stuck. The great anamoly. I can't even kill myself, because everyone will look at it as a great thing. I can't believe I'm so depressed I don't even have the motivation to kill myself. I know what I can do. Confession. I'll confess to something evil I never did. At least I'll be a hero.


• EXT. STREET-NIGHT


• Nathan is hung from a blazing pyre. He has been bound and gagged. People throw bricks at him. Blood drips down his face as he grimaces and screams muffled pleas through the gag. The flames lick higher, scorching his pants and finally engulfing his entire body. The crowd begins chanting his name. A news reporter and crew are next to the pyre.


• REPORTER
• Tonight, Nathan West will be crowned a hero. He has admitted to kidnapping ten-year-old Racheal Svens. Several suspects are still at large for returning her, we will give you more-


• FADE TO BLACK