The Red Kaleidoscope Rainbow Part II
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For the first part of the screenplay:
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Let's continue...
INT. THE CELL
Mike lays curled up on his mattress. He's skinny and weak again, in his hospital robes.
INT. OFFICE
An empty desk.
Dr. Row sits on the floor with a blanket set down below herself and a plethora of papers on top of that. She massages her socked feet as she stares blankly at the papers.
CUT TO:
Text, backwards and nonsensical.
The sheets turn transparent, revealing Dr. Row's face beyond. We look up at her through the floor as she stares through us.
CUT TO:
Dr. Row sits on the blanket, but the papers are gone and the wooden floor is now glass, below, a void bathed by an unknown light source.
Snapping out of her day dream, Dr. Row rubs her eyes, gets up and walks across the glass floor. Taking a seat on the window sill, she lights a cigarette.
As she stares out of the window, the glass fogs up.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
The window Dr. Row stares out of is filled with papers that appear between the two panes of glass.
INT. OFFICE
Peering through the smoke, her eyes focus.
She scans Mike's files in the window.
CUT TO:
A fetus, suspended in a glass tank with a thick mesh of wires extending through and around it.
The tanks hums and bubbles gently...
THWAK
The glass shatters--
P-P-P-P-POP
The wires tear away from the machine.
The water within is clouded by thick clouds of vermillion--
PPPFFFFFFFFFFFFF
The tank is drained and, in a matter of seconds, it is empty.
The writhing wires on the floor lose life.
The tanks begins to hum a crackled tune.
INT. OFFICE
Dr. Row leans her head against her office door, her fingers on the door handle.
INT. THE CELL
Mike's shadow kneels in a corner, the final squirts of a stream spitting from his squat.
Done, the shadow wipes his backside with his hand and starts his way across the wall, dragging his palm along the bricks. He lies down behind Mike as he sleeps.
EXT. OUTSIDE
The caterpillar has made its way along a branch and is positioning itself on a broken twig stub, ready to hang upside down.
INT. THE CELL - DAY
Mike sits on his bed facing a huge clock on the wall.
The seconds tick past...
Mike starts humming a tune in sync with the tick-tock of the second hand.
Suddenly time speeds up, the minute hand now moving just as fast as the second hand was.
Mike still hums his tune in sync with the tick-tock.
Time speeds up again. The hour hand moves as fast as the second hand should.
Mike still hums his tune in perfect time.
INT. THE CELL - SAME
Mike sits facing the wall, no clock.
His tune is interrupted when the door swings open and Dr. Row walks in.
He raises his eyebrows at her and rubs the back of his head.
Dr. Row, stood in front of him, mouths a hello.
Mike looks out into the darkness waiting for a chair to slide in... it doesn't.
Dr. Row goes for the seat that isn't there and...
DR. ROW
Shit...
... falls to the floor.
There's an awkward moment.
The shadow on the wall snorts.
Her professional facade is dropped and they both start laughing.
INT. THE CELL
Dr. Row sits on the wooden chair looking over notes, her foot tapping lightly against the bag beside her. Mike suppresses a subtle smile.
DR. ROW
Ok -
Her voice fades away.
Mike watches her lips move for a second.
She stops and cocks her head to the side.
DR. ROW
Can we just talk for a little while?
Mike nods, yes.
DR. ROW
All right. How do you feel?
He shrugs his shoulders.
DR. ROW
Anything on your mind?
Mike smiles and shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
Nothing? How about shoes? They seem to interest you.
Mike smiles.
DR. ROW
My sister bought these ones for me. I hate shopping.
Mike nods along.
DR. ROW
You don't like shopping either?
He shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
Tell me about it.
After a moment:
MIKE
Never wanted to buy anything.
DR. ROW
But, there's some things that we need. Eventually we all end up having to go before wasting away at home. When was the last time you went shopping?
Mike shrugs his shoulders.
DR. ROW
That's all right. You seem to have gotten yourself into a routine. Time seems to fade away with a good routine, no?
He nods, yes.
DR. ROW
Could you tell me about it?
He stares at her.
DR. ROW
The routine...
Time whizzes by... then...
DR. ROW
Here.
Time stops. Dr. Row is holding up a yellow flashcard.
Mike shakes his head, no.
She holds up a red flash card.
Mike closes his eyes.
INT. THE CELL - LATER
Dr. Row stands in the doorway with a smile, but underneath there is a clear tinge of disappointment.
The door swings shut.
BOOOOM
At the foot is a tray with lunch on it: a sandwich and an apple.
Scratching the pillowcase on his arm Mike goes and picks the tray up.
He sits on the mattress and digs into the sandwich.
Mike's eye is caught by the green apple.
SHADOW
Don't...
He slowly blinks.
SHADOW
Prick.
The apple turns red.
Mike stands and the tray falls.
The green apple hops and rolls across the stoney floor before hitting a wall.
Mike lies on the mattress, arms folded across his chest, his face, snow white.
He closes his eyes.
A shadow creeps up his legs.
CUT TO:
Trapped in a metallic box Mike looks around himself.
He pushes his ear against the metal to hear liquid rush past outside.
Mike looks up. There's a hatch above his head. He grabs the wheel with both hands and with all his might he tries to turn it.
CREEEEEE...
It doesn't give.
Mike thinks a moment.
CUT TO:
In a grey void a cream white figure holds onto the tip of a blade that protrudes through the ceiling, pulling, crying, feet pressed against the wall above, a crimson stream snaking down his body and dripping off of his back into the void below.
CUT TO:
In the box, Mike's shadow taps his head as a gesture to Mike.
CUT TO:
Metal grinds against stone, a blade freed from the stoney cleft.
CUT TO:
With his index finger, he lightly pushes the wheel.
It spins with incredible pace before an ominous groan reverberates around the box.
Mike crouches.
BAM
The hatch bursts open, the box instantly filled with crystal clear water.
Mike is sucked out of the box...
EXT. OCEAN
... into a massive body of water.
A spec in a fathomless ocean, Mike spins in the blue abyss.
He is perfectly comfortable--and shocked at this.
He has a thought...
CUT TO:
Mike's shadow holds a glistening blade before his face.
CUT TO:
A white feminine figure floats in a black vacuum.
CUT TO:
... there's no harm in trying.
Mike takes a deep breath...
... quite satisfying. The liquid fills his lungs and he's weighed down. He sinks into the darkness below.
Pitch consumes all, until--
FLASH
--a beam of blue light, shone from a distance, illuminates Mike's face.
The pale dot shimmers against the far-off currents.
Mike is transfixed. He stops sinking, his feet hitting the seabed.
Mike starts wading toward the blue light and, though it seems miles away, he reaches it in a few steps.
The intense light is a tiny spec. Mike lightly flicks it.
He is suddenly filled with joy; a giant smile spreads across his face.
Seemingly inebriated, he blows on the blue light... nothing comes from his lips.
Mike gives his chest a thump.
He blows on the blue spec again, and this time bubbles stream out of his mouth.
As the bubbles clear, they reveal a dopey grin that, when the blue light turns red, drops off of Mike's face.
The light starts to grow, transforming into a rose.
Ignoring fearful impulses, Mike inspects it. However, he daren't touch it.
WWWSSHHHHHH
A current beats against Mike, dragging him away from the light twirling like a piece of scrap.
When he comes to his senses, he searches again for the rose. He finds it, but...
CUT TO:
The blade before the shadow's face reflects his eyes. From the pupil grows a white female figure.
Horrified, the shadow drops the sword.
CUT TO:
... the flower is in the breast pocket of the skinny sleazeball.
Mike turns and starts beating his limbs against the water.
The sleazeball disappears then reappears right before Mike with a cartoonishly wide smile on his face.
Before Mike can react, the sleazeball taps his chest and, like a balloon, he flies off with bubbles streaming from his mouth.
Surging up from the depths, Mike slows as he careens closer to the surface.
He comes to a stop out of the darkness and in crystal waters again.
The last few bubbles trickle from his lips.
Mike starts to panic.
He can't breath.
A red mist rises from below, the clear waters turning blood red.
Fighting for the surface, Mike's arms and legs go to work, digging at the scarlet ink as it thickens, the water turning solid.
The surface gone, Mike is trapped in the gelatinous prison.
Silence and inertia...
A silken web of fractures suddenly break through the jelly.
Thrashing and convulsing in a fit for life, Mike attempts to scramble towards air...
EXT. OCEAN SURFACE
An endless skin of red jelly stretches all around, meeting a setting sun on the horizon.
CUT TO:
... but the material around him only gives way.
He descends through a tunnel of his own making, into the all-consuming nothingness below.
EXT. PARK
Tall white birds pick at the bread crumbs that have been thrown near the water side.
Dr. Row and Mike sit on a bench, looking over the water, Dr. Row breathing in the pleasant air, Mike a grey wall.
DR. ROW
I knew today would bring...
She smiles widely.
CUT TO:
Dr. Row, atop a Mayan stairway, holds out golden crumbs to a white bird's eye floating above the pyramid's zenith.
DR. ROW (V.O)
... blessings.
CUT TO:
She turns her wide smile towards Mike.
CUT TO:
He strangles a squawking goose.
CUT TO:
MIKE
We should be getting back.
She checks the time on her watch.
DR. ROW
Ohh, we should. Come on.
She throws the last of the crumbs.
CUT TO:
A shower head.
Feet enter the tub.
INT. HOME
Water slaps and chimes in cascading droves as steam begins to reach out from below the bathroom door.
CUT TO:
A key grinds into the front door's lock and it opens.
CUT TO:
POV:
We walk in behind Mike, take our school shoes off and begin working the buttons on our coat.
Mike bends down and takes over, popping off our coat and putting it on a peg.
CUT TO:
The water being swallowed by the dark gulp of the bath tub drain turns red.
CUT TO:
As Mike is about to turn to us...
DR. ROW
AAAAHH!!
... Dr. Row's screams pierce the air.
We pivot on the spot haphazardly as the walls around us begin to crack, the coat falling off of the peg, blank pictures dropping off the wall, the house falling apart.
Mike runs up stairs.
CUT TO:
The water vapor begins billowing out from under the door in greater pulsating plumes as Mike's fists pound.
INT. THE CELL - SAME
Mike jolts awake.
He looks down at himself; he's wearing a suit and tie, looking sharp, clean and healthy.
He's sitting in the wooden chair facing the door which...
CREEEEEE...
... slowly opens.
At first only darkness is revealed but then...
PTT-PTT-PTT-PTT-PTT
... the light patter of bare feet on stone approaches.
A figure emerges from the darkness:
Dr. Row, encased in a red dress that perfectly hugs her every curve, and she has her eyes on Mike.
She reaches the doorway, her heavy gaze penetrating the thick air as she leans against the frame.
Mike, flabbergasted, tries to conceal all discomfort.
Dr. Row approaches...
PTT-PTT-PTT
... she never breaks eye contact...
PTT-PTT-PTT
... Mike tries to but can't look away.
PTT-PTT-PTT
She reaches his chair and leans over him with a sultry smile.
She leans in closer.
Mike inhales and is instantly intoxicated by her scent.
He presses his face forward.
Brilliant white and bright orange fur meets Mike's cheek as he, eyes closed, buries his face in the soft embrace.
Miniscule creamy spores, dripping with specs of liquid, emanate from the fur.
As Mike inhales he can only tighten the embrace in an attempt to envelop himself in the wall of fur.
DR. ROW
Beware the vixen.
Mike turns his gaze to the right to see Dr. Row standing, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, in the door way.
He looks up to realise that he embraces a 20 ft fox.
His petrified eyes lock onto the fox's. Its features instantaneously explode with vehemence.
The fox's jaws descend upon--
CHOMP
CUT TO:
Mike pulls away from Dr. Row as she leans ever closer... but, his shoulders quickly hit the chair's backrest. He cannot escape.
She whispers a laugh, her forehead resting millimetres from his, her hands on his neck, her fingers circling his skin.
Mike can only grip the chair below him and hold his breath.
Dr. Row's knee hits the wood in between Mike's legs.
She takes a step back, then lifts Mike up by his tie.
Wood scrapes on stone and the chair is gone.
Dr. Row stares deep into his eyes, Mike looks away.
She brings him in close, pulling his body against hers.
Mike's eyes are still turned away, so, fingers on his chin, she gently turns his gaze back on her. She then takes hold of his wrists and puts his hands on her lower back.
She pulls him in even tighter whispering a groan of pleasure as she does.
She lightly kisses his closed lips... his cheek... his neck... as her fingers comb through his hair.
Dr. Row stops and lets Mike takes a breath.
Before he can step away she pushes him. He trips and falls back into a red arm chair.
She circles the chair as he straightens his suit and scans the room, looking for a way out. The door is closed. A bleak nothing rests beyond the barred window. Dr. Row stops in front of him.
Her knee rises again, the red dress riding higher up her thigh as she descends upon Mike. One knee and then both slide and groan into the leather on either side of him.
Having mounted his lap, she cups his face with her hands. Mike tries to pull away, but she starts pecking his lips, insistent.
His eyes whirring in their sockets, Mike becomes aware of her every body part: her lips on his forehead... her fingers running down his neck... her breasts against his chest... her warm groin rubbing against his stomach... her ankles on his knees.
Mike looks to the closest wall to see his shadow slapping Dr. Row's breasts as she bounces on his lap, hair flying.
Dr. Row grips Mike's fingers as they tap against the arms of the chair and places his hands on her ass. She whispers another groan of pleasure and excitement.
Mike looks back to the shadow. He is stood and Dr. Row kneels on the chair with the shadow thrusting behind her, pulling her hair as her moans turn into cries... into shrieks... into squeals and roars.
Lumps begin protruding from her lower and mid-abdomen, domes pressing outwards beneath her breasts.
Cogs begin to spin in Mike's pupil.
With a mechanical judder, whirr and pop his fingers ascend the curve of her back and grip the zip.
His facial features screaming "NO!", his hands unzip the dress.
The silver, snake-like seal opens...
TSSSSSSSSSSSS...
... meandering right down to her lower back before stopping.
With Mike about to scream for help, Dr. Row takes hold of the top of her dress and starts pulling down.
INT. THE CELL - SAME
Mike sits in the wooden chair, back in his rags and scrawny again.
The door opens.
A fox's paws patter across the concrete...
PTT-PTT-PTT-P--
POP
The chair disappears from underneath Mike.
The fox has gone.
Mike hits the ground.
The door is open. Dr. Row leans against the frame in her old lab coat. Her eyes crumple and her voice rings with giddy laughter.
Mike, splayed out on the floor, can't help but laugh with her.
INT. OFFICE
At her desk, Dr. Row smiles to herself.
DR. ROW
Miggs, you stupid fuck.
She folds up a long hand-written letter and puts it back into its envelope - which is marked...
To Dr. Row
... and in the corner are a few childish hearts.
She puts the love letter in her top draw before going back to work.
INT. THE CELL - DAY
Mike stands in the middle of the cell, looking out of the open door with anticipation. He gestures slightly as he whispers to himself; a conversation he plans to have with Dr. Row.
The sounds of bare feet pattering on stone approach.
He awkwardly shifts his weight from left to right.
A red dress appears in the darkness... empty.
Mike steps away from the door. His shadow, arms folded across his chest, shakes his head, unimpressed.
SHADOW
If you can't fuck the thing, at least do something about it.
Mike picks at his fingers, eyes on the ground. His feet move towards the door.
SHADOW
There we go.
The red dress meets Mike at the doorway.
Holding his breath, he waits...
Someone fills the dress.
Face contorted with disgust, Mike steps back.
SHADOW
Fuck!
He disappears into a darkened corner.
He falls onto the mattress as the Woman in Red approaches.
About to close his eyes, Mike sees Dr. Row pass through the dress.
CUT TO:
Wood scrapes on stone. Dr. Row takes a seat and starts mouthing words.
Mike stares blankly at her.
She studies him in the silence...
DR. ROW
What do you see?
His eyes calmly re-focus and he seems to recognise her, but can only then pull the covers over his head, lie down and turn his back to her.
INT. UNDER THE COVERS
Dr. Row's shadow rises as she stands. Mike turns back over and, looking through the thin sheets, begins to make out Dr. Row's figure leaning forward to talk.
DR. ROW
It's been four months and there's been very little improvement -
Her voice fades away. Mike starts gnawing on his nails.
INT. UNDER A BED
Bare feet make their way across a cream carpet and stop close by.
A red dress suddenly falls and crumples before them.
Small fingers in a child's mouth pull away and the young boy inhales gently--
SMACK
CUT TO:
Dr. Row claps her hands together to get Mike's attention again.
DR. ROW
(suppressing frustration)
Listen, please. I'm trying to help you. Now please tell me, what do you see?
MIKE
It's... It's a... It...
Dr. Row slowly pulls the covers away. A corner of her mouth smiles.
DR. ROW
Come on, sit up.
He does.
DR. ROW
You can tell me. Look around, what do you see?
MIKE
Nothing, it's gone.
DR. ROW
Then what was here?
MIKE
It...
Dr. Row waits a moment but Mike seems to have lost his train of thought.
DR. ROW
Come on, don't get choked up on me. Please tell.
She reaches forward to touch his shoulder.
MIKE
(pulling away, aghast)
A dress.
Dr. Row draws her hand back.
DR. ROW
I'm sorry.
Her finger curls the corner of her coat. She smiles briefly.
DR. ROW (CONT'D)
... the dress; when did you see it?
MIKE
I don't know.
DR. ROW
That's all right. What was it doing?
MIKE
It was coming closer, through the da-da-the doorway.
DR. ROW
Do you know why?
Mike shakes his head, no.
MIKE
Well, how did it make you feel?
He's embarrassed, and he tries to hide it.
DR. ROW
You don't have to answer.
MIKE
In the end. Scared.
DR. ROW
Anything else?
Mike shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
Why were you scared, if you can remember?
Mike is stuck for words.
DR. ROW
What was scary about it?
MIKE
It...
She waits a minute for him to go on but he just shakes his head.
DR. ROW
(standing, gesturing toward the door)
I was hoping to try -
Mike shakes his head, no. Dr. Row sits and looks around.
DR. ROW
Maybe this isn't the place, but we could try it here. How about it?
The door creaks open, Mike is out of the conversation and focused on the darkness.
Dr. Row closes the door.
CUT TO:
DR. ROW
How about it?
He nods, yes.
DR. ROW
I'd like you to lie down. If that makes you more comfortable.
Mike shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
Whatever does, please.
Mike sits crossed legged with his back against wall. He pulls the covers over his lap.
DR. ROW
You good?
He nods, yes.
DR. ROW
Is there anything else? Maybe I could get some candles, some music.
Mike scoffs, but his eyes immediately hit the floor as he smiles/grimaces into his chest.
DR. ROW
(laughing)
No, it's all right. It's a little silly, but it works for some people. Is there anything I could do that'd make you more comfortable?
Mike shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
All right. What I'm going to do is say a word, or ask a question, and you just need to respond without thinking. Just be relaxed about things. You can say as much or as little as you want.
Mike nods, yes.
DR. ROW
You may close your eyes if you want.
Mike looks down at himself then shakes his head, no.
Dr. Row turns in her seat a little as not to be directly facing Mike.
DR. ROW
Ok, first word. Shoes.
MIKE
(smiling)
Um... Feet... that are protected, socks and walking. Um... there's blue ones, grey ones, white ones. Your white shoes. Your sister got them for you. Um... shoe laces, trainers, working shoes... Um... I don't know anymore.
DR. ROW
That's all right, that was good. Next word. Protect.
MIKE
There's a Mum and a Dad and a kid...
(pause)
It's not me...
DR. ROW
If you don't want to go on then you don't have to.
Mike shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
Another?
Mike nod, yes.
DR. ROW
Ok. Dress.
A moment.
MIKE
Like to get dressed or to wear a dress?
DR. ROW
Whatever you feel like.
MIKE
Women... wear dresses... they also get dressed. Uh... shit...
DR. ROW
It's ok.
MIKE
No, no, no. It's ok, it's ok, I've got it. I'm fine. It just feels like I'm giving obvious--I'm fine.
DR. ROW
Are you sure?
MIKE
I'm fine. Ask me again.
DR. ROW
It's all right, we'll stop.
MIKE
I want to go on. I see what we're trying to get at. Ask me again.
Dr. Row watches him for a moment, unsure.
DR. ROW
I won't ask you again, maybe some other time. We can move on though.
Mike nods, yes.
DR. ROW
Colour.
He takes a breath and a long pause.
MIKE
There's a...
Dr. Row waits a second.
CUT TO:
A partially cloudy sky.
CUT TO:
Droplets of water slide down the face of a glass triangle.
CUT TO:
Mike straddles a gigantic cactus.
CUT TO:
SLICE
Thick, red goo bleeds out of the wound of an open cactus.
CUT TO:
DR. ROW
Anything else?
Mike shakes his head, no.
DR. ROW
This is the last one... actually, we're finished. This one is just a question.
Mike nods, yes.
DR. ROW
What do you... No, no. It's ok, we're done.
She stands and makes her way to the door. Mike watches her go. He almost opens his mouth, but instead turns his eyes down and squeezes the pillowcase on his wrist.
CUT TO:
Dr. Row sits on a chair in a brightly lit, infinitely long office. She stares toward the nearby door, tears welling in her eyes.
Mike, as if watching a slow-motion tennis match, pivots between Dr. Row and the light drenched door frame.
EXT. BEACH
Mike stands between Dr. Row and the Woman in Red. Before him is an endless desert.
He begins trudging towards the sun set on the barren horizon.
CUT TO:
A woman's navel softly expands and shudders.
CUT TO:
Before she leaves, Dr. Row looks over her shoulder with strong eyes and a nod.
The door shuts.
B-BOOOM
Mike pulls the covers away and looks across the room to a small mirror.
He stares blankly at his face... and then at the door... then back to his reflection...
After a snort and a hand over the mouth, he can't help but laugh.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
The mirror drops off the wall and smashes into nothingness.
CREEEEE...
Slowly the door swings open. It's the Woman in The Red Dress.
She stares at Mike for a second then out of the window.
The shadow on the wall slaps his hand over his eyes.
Mike stands and looks out through the bars. There's nothing but darkness beyond.
He turns around and the Woman approaches.
MIKE
Hey... Hey! Stay back, you--you, fucking whore.
(she comes closer)
Fuck off!
She reaches out to him with a sadistic smile.
Her overgrown, yellowing nails inch ever closer--
BAM
Mike punches her in the jaw.
She hits the floor, turning into a heap of ruby socks that slink out into the darkness beyond the door.
The door closes.
BOOOOOM
The shadow takes his hand away from his eyes.
Mike crouches down and holds his stomach, retching.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
MIKE
Go away!
The door swings open.
Nothing.
A woman's shrills stab through the air, hurtling toward Mike.
The Woman in Red emerges from the darkness, sprinting into the room at full clip, shrieking maniacally.
Mike's parted, spluttering lips shut. His trembling hand on his stomach balls into a fist.
He stands, yells right back and then charges.
The room elongates into a long corridor, at one end is Mike, the other, the Woman in the Red Dress.
They both charge at each other, screaming murder as they go.
Mike's face twists and contorts with pure malice.
The Woman in Red screams mindlessly--
SMACK
Mike tackles her to the ground, their bodies tearing to a mangled stop on the unforgiving concrete.
The Woman in Red immediately starts clawing at Mike's face from underneath.
He leans away, but she gets loose and spins off of her back, onto her front, to crawl away.
Mike merely shifts his hips, pinning her down, and, ignoring her screams and flailing, he grabs a fistful of her hair.
Baring his teeth, eyes glazing over, he tears her head back begins to systematically smash her face against the stone floor.
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
CR-CRACK
SMACK
CRACK
CRACK
In no time, she stops screaming.
The vicious pounding subsides, the cracking bones and smacking flesh giving away to the slop of dead skin and tired muscles.
The greasy strands of the Woman in Red's short hair slip out of Mike's fist.
He throws his arms outwards and, turning his face up to the above, inhales, a battered cry about to reach up from the depths of his--
INT. CELL TURNED CORRIDOR - SAME
Mike sits on a white stallion, confused.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
The door swings open.
In canters a grey mare, atop, the Woman in red knight's armour - no helmet.
Mike looks down at himself again, he's not wearing his robes anymore but silver plates of thick armour.
In both of their hands appear long jousts. Mike looks around himself for a helmet... but nothing.
From the floor emerges a scarlet rope, it stretches across the room putting Mike on one side and the Woman on the other.
The walls fall away, a crowd cheers.
Out of the darkness struts a Red Ninja Samurai holding a scroll. His blade is sheathed.
He walks into the centre of the room and opens the parchment. It's empty.
The Ninja Samurai drops it and, addressing the crowd, introduces the two knights by simply gesturing to each.
The crowd goes nuts.
NINJA SAMURAI
(BOOMING)
Prepare!
The Woman in Red sits up straight and holds out her joust.
WOMAN IN RED
Ready!
Mike, still lost, lifts his joust.
MIKE
... ready...
NINJA SAMURAI
Commence!
He bows and backs into the darkness.
Drums roll and the crowd cheers.
The Woman in Red is first to lurch forward, she kicks her horse and bolts toward Mike.
Mike's horse is the one to respond. He almost falls off as it gallops ahead, but gets hold of the reigns.
The two thunder toward each other.
Mike lifts his joust and closes his--
THWACK
--he's propelled off his horse and...
BAM-KKSSHHHHHHHHH
... across the floor. Agonised, he looks down at himself, but he sees no strike wounds.
SMASH
The Woman in Red hits the floor hard clawing at the hole in her armour.
KASPLAT
She bursts like a balloon, spurting blood everywhere.
The crowd exudes cheer.
CUT TO:
Mike is back on his horse at his end of the corridor.
The drum roll starts up again.
The Woman in Red charges out of the darkness.
Mike kicks his horse, rising to the challenge.
Imbued with greater confidence, he aims for her chest.
B-BANG
She's off her horse again, bursting in mid air.
Mike is showered in blood.
The crowd goes wild.
CUT TO:
Back at his end of the corridor Mike can hear hoofs on stone.
He charges at the darkness yelling through grit teeth.
The Woman in Red only just makes it out the darkness when--
BLAM
The crowd cheers again.
CUT TO:
Skin tears like paper... Metal folds like cotton... Mike's blunt joust stabs through meat as if it were butter... The Woman in Red's eyes glisten with an autonomous and empty rage... Ruby streams dance into the black ether... Explosions of crimson shimmer and convulse... Nebulas of blood unfold and churn...
INT. CELL TURNED CORRIDOR - SAME
Mike sits on his tainted horse completely exhausted and caked in blood.
He hears the Woman in Red galloping toward him in the darkness. He sighs and kicks his horse.
Charging toward the clamour of hooves he raises his joust from chest-height, upwards--
THWAK
The joust tip slams through the Woman's teeth, shattering them entirely, and sails into her mouth. Her neck immediately snaps, her spinal column and skin tearing as the joust tip explodes through the back of her skull.
Mike is propelled off of his horse. He lands on his feet before falling to his knees.
The Woman in Red's horse trots into darkness with only armour on its back.
Above the hushed clap of horse hooves all to be heard is:
Silence...
BOOOOOM
Mike slams his metal joust down like a wizard's staff.
The Woman's decapitated head slides down the pole. Mike lifts his hand to avoid it touching him.
The crowd screams out in joy as her face slides toward the concrete then gently bumps against it.
Mike looks around disgusted, then down at the head, then at his hand holding the pole, blood drenched and speckled with brain matter..
BAM
He stomps on the head and pulls the joust up.
Mike then picks it up and holds it out to the crowd.
MIKE
Is this not enough!? Is this not enough!? Are you not entertained!?
All goes silent.
THUD
Mike drops the head. A voice from the crowd rises up out of the darkness.
VOICE
Fuck you!
SECOND VOICE
Yeah! Fuck you!
CROWD
Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!
The crowd continues to chant.
Out of the darkness comes the decapitated body of the Woman in Red.
She marches up to Mike and stands tall. Her body moves from side to side as if she's looking at the crowd.
The Woman in Red flips him off.
The crowd goes nuts, they cheer louder and chant faster, with more aggression.
CROWD
Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!
Out of the darkness flies a plastic bag full of blood--
SLAP
--it bursts against Mike's back.
Before he can come to any terms, Mike is hit with a barrage of bloody bags.
The Woman in Red seemingly enjoys this. She raises her arms and dances about in the hail.
Mike tries to fight off the continuous volley but is being blinded by all the blood.
The Woman in Red picks up her own head by the hair, which elongates substantially.
The crowd cheers for her.
She swings it around like an an olympian would for a hammer throw. Though, she doesn't release.
She edges closer and closer to Mike.
He, meanwhile, has no ide--
BLAM
INT. DR'S OFFICE - DAY
Dr. Row sits before a desk from which a voice emanates.
Mike sits beside her, turned away.
VOICE
The reality of your situation is... Unfortunately... I have to regret to tell you that it's not good. And it doesn't look like your systems will ever be functional again.
Calm, unmoving, Dr. Row's eyes fix upon some place between the desk and herself.
She raises her gaze, gripping Mike's fingers. He shows no reaction.
DR. ROW
I'm a little lost...
Silence...
Dr. Row squeezes Mike's fingers. He can only pinch the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.
A lump catches in Dr. Row's throat.
The voice takes a breath.
DR. ROW
Uhm--
The door creaks open. Nobody reacts.
Mike slips his fingers free from Dr. Row's grip.
She takes a moment before trying to utter something...
DR. ROW
I... Uhh--
VOICE
(harsh)
Barren. That's it: barren.
She lets loose a whimper before covering her mouth and moving her lips, trying to retain some composure.
Mike is gone; his chair is empty.
The desk, too, is unoccupied.
Shadow skims over Dr. Row's shoulders. She daren't turn around.
CUT TO:
Mike's eyes are wrought with confusion. Pain and devastation exude from his stare.
CUT TO:
Dr. Row turns toward the open door and the powerful white light that drenches it.
CUT TO:
Mike's eyes.
CUT TO:
Dr. Row's eyes.
CUT TO:
Mike stands with open arms, violently pelted with an endless barrage of blood-filled bags, the screams of an enraged audience deafening.
INT. OFFICE
Silence.
Dr. Row's long hair is draped over her bowed head, masking her face. Her hands push into her fringe within the curtain of hair as, eyes closed, she methodically murmurs.
EXT. OUTSIDE
The caterpillar cocoon hanging from the bare, knobbly twig, quakes ever so subtly.
INT. THE CELL
Mike lies on his mattress, staring up at the ceiling.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
The door swings open and in walks the Woman in the Red Dress.
Mike shakes his head and tries to get up--but can't.
A smile stretches across the Woman's face as she stands above him.
Mike's wide eyes question, but she offers no words. She kneels down and touches his hand.
Mike tries to pull away. His strength fails him.
The Woman draws circles in his palm and sings him a soft lullaby. As she progresses through the song, she sits beside him on the mattress, her stockinged feet escaping the concrete and curling into the cotton.
Mike starts drifting off, but he fights it until the end of her song...
WOMAN IN RED
Now once
Unto the wilderness
The tear-boy treads
And the tear-boy cries
For now
Until eternity
The sad clouds fly
And those mad clowns pry.
But he stays
True, he stays.
The man
That once beleaguered him
Streams far into the fry
And the crone she cry.
The boy
Slashed, betrayed,
He kept his bay
And so his waters lapped,
His desert island sighed
And its trees, they grew
So once
Unto the wilderness
The crass man lies
Upon his hammock,
His back up to skies
So, though he stays
True, he stays
It's there he stays
And, crying, she prays.
Now once upon a lullaby,
My baby sleeps,
His dreams too dizzy,
His soul unrest,
His head awash,
Through with lies.
Pain awaits beyond his rainbow
Though a warm palm cries,
Wishing away this terrible rhyme.
So for now he stays,
I pray he stays.
He closes his eyes.
WOMAN IN RED
(whispers)
No, no, baby. Uh-uh. Not yet.
His eyes bob open.
She smiles again and then runs her hands over the pillowcase on his wrist.
Mike can do nothing.
She rips the pillowcase off and drops it over his eyes.
CUT TO:
BOOOOOOM
The two Burly Men burst into the room and grab Mike from his bed, quickly getting him to his feet and off the mattress.
Mike puts up no fight. Then he sees his wrist. He sees the Red Band.
Mike screams, fear tautening his every muscle, his limbs stiff and struggling against the men, their motion only intensified as Mike realises that they're headed toward the open door.
BURLY MAN
It's been too long.
OTHER BURLY MAN
I'm going to enjoy this.
They each re-grip their arm and leg, lifting him off the ground.
They start swinging Mike, readying to throw him through the door, into the darkness.
Mike begs and pleads between his manic yells, but they just laugh.
Like a sack of bones he's tossed into the void.
CUT TO:
There is no corridor beyond the door, just a hole that echoes Mike's terror.
In the darkness below a tiled floor is lit up.
His guttural screams ring with sudden mortal realisation--
THWACK
--just before splattering on the ground Mike is jerked back up as if attached to a bungee cord.
He bounces up and down, sobbing in fear.
SNAP
Mike falls about half a metre onto the tiled ground...
SMACK
Rain starts pouring down from above.
Coughing and blubbering away his agony, Mike sits up.
Imbued with soggy frustration, he grips the Red Band on his wrist and...
CUT TO:
The teeth of a saw press against flesh.
CUT TO:
An exhale escapes pursed lips.
CUT TO:
... with his face stretching into a ghostly and grotesque silent cry, Mike strips layers of skin off to free his hand.
CUT TO:
A giant titan floats upside down, suspended in chains in space. Below him, Earth rotates.
CUT TO:
A chin rests against a wooden block.
CUT TO:
An executioner lifts his axe.
CUT TO:
A blade tears through the titan's neck.
His head falls from his chained body, descending towards Earth, an ocean of blood cascading from the severed neck following it.
CUT TO:
Within serene waters.
SPLASH
The titan's head breaks the surface and sinks with the crimson rain billowing into the clear waters above.
As the head sinks and the clouds of blood puff, the tainted waters crystallise and purify.
CUT TO:
Mike's stripped wrist is slapped by the cool rain as, trembling, he gets to his feet.
With a final yell of anger, Mike throws the band into the shadows...
... he waits to hear it hit the ground...
WOMAN IN RED
Never free. Are you?
The Woman in Red emerges from the darkness holding the Red Band.
MIKE
(almost pleading)
... won't you just go away...
WOMAN IN RED
Would you prefer this?
The Woman in Red transforms into Dr. Row and--glitch--is inches from Mike.
DR. ROW
(caressing his chest)
Where's that tie when you need it?
MIKE
(pushing her away)
You're not fooling anyone.
DR. ROW
Not even you? Not even slightly?
Dr. Row transforms back into the Woman in Red.
Mike just shakes his head.
WOMAN IN RED
(musical)
Wash time.
MIKE
What?
The two Burly Men approach from behind him.
WOMAN IN RED
Are you deaf or stupid? Wash time.
The Burly Men grab hold of Mike. One holds his arms to his sides and the other grabs his head and forces him to look up.
MIKE
Let me go!
WOMAN IN RED
Why?
Mike tries to kick out but the man holding his arms squeezes him tighter, surely cracking a rib.
WOMAN IN RED
Why? Why? Why? Please tell me. I'm dying to know. Tell me why.
MIKE
Fuck you!
WOMAN IN RED
Ok, open up.
The man holding his head puts his fingers in Mike's mouth and pries his jaws open.
Mike struggles as his mouth is filled with rain water.
WOMAN IN RED
Try and keep calm. Breath through your nose. Listen to the sound of my voice.
She sings the lullaby again as Mike splutters and squirms.
With each word of the lullaby Mike grows more frustrated, until...
CHOMP
Mike clamps down hard on the Burly Man's fingers and bites them clean off.
The Man looks at his stubs.
Mike spits the fingers and blood out, blubbering.
MIKE
Fuck you! Fuck you!
The Burly Man picks up his fingers and pockets them.
WOMAN IN RED
Now, now...
All of a sudden Mike is alone with the Woman in Red. She circles him.
WOMAN IN RED
Congratulations. How did it feel?
Mike tries to step toward her but something is still holding him in place.
The rain above Mike beats down harder, soaking him thoroughly.
Stopped at a distance from him in light drizzle, she sighs into her chest. Sympathy finds its way to her eyes.
WOMAN IN RED
Oh, come on my boy -
MIKE
I'm not your boy.
The Woman in Red rolls her dress sleeves up and kicks off her shoes. She makes her way back over to Mike and rubs her fingers through his drenched hair.
WOMAN IN RED
You always hated this part. Head down.
Mike's head is forced down.
The rain stops for a moment and a stream of yellow goo drops onto his head. The Woman in Red starts scrubbing his hair.
WOMAN IN RED
Come on, put your head up now or it'll get in your eyes.
Mike's head is forced backward. She continues to scrub his scalp, clearly too hard. Mike can only strain his features.
WOMAN IN RED
All right, keep it back.
The rain above him pours again and she washes the yellow goo out of his hair.
WOMAN IN RED
How does that feel? Much better, right...
Mike tries to speak but can't.
WOMAN IN RED
I remember the first time that -
Mike closes his eyes and her voice fades away. She mouths a story whilst washing the last of the bubbles out of his hair.
When she's done she slaps his face.
WOMAN IN RED
You never listen!
She slaps him again and whatever forces keeping him in place let go. He falls onto a bed.
The rain stops.
WOMAN IN RED
Sit up.
Mike is forced to sit up on the end of the bed.
The Woman in Red sits behind him with a towel in her hands and starts scrubbing his head dry, again, clearly too hard.
WOMAN IN RED
Do you remember the hair dryer? You used to love the wind in you hair. Do you remember?
MIKE
No, I don't remember you psychotic bitch.
The Woman stops scrubbing and slaps the side of Mike's head again and again and again, until his ear starts to bleed. Mike can only cower.
Screaming through her teeth, her fingers grip his hair so he can't escape her:
WOMAN IN RED
Where's your respect! I thought I brought you up to be better than that. I treated you good your whole fucking life, I looked after you, I fed you, I clothed you, I loved you. And this is what I get in return!?
She violently jerks his head back and continues drying.
Mike sniffs the pain away. Tears well in her eyes. When she sees the blood dripping from Mike's ear she cleans it away.
MIKE
(under his breath)
I never wanted any of it.
The Woman in Red stops drying his hair.
WOMAN IN RED
What did you say to me?
No reply. She slaps him.
WOMAN IN RED
What do you say!?
No reply. She slaps him again.
WOMAN IN RED
(continually slapping him)
Tell me! What did you say to me!
MIKE
I never wanted any of it!
She stops slapping him and stands up.
Mike sits below her looking up. Their eyes lock.
She raises her hand to slap him... Mike flinches... she gives up, aflood with tears.
WOMAN IN RED
I fucking hate you. I wish you were never born. I never wanted you to turn out like this. I tried my hardest, I always have. But it was never enough.
She throws the towel in dismay and runs off into the darkness.
Mike stands and the bed disappears.
Silence...
BURLY MAN (O.S)
Looks like you're left with us again.
The rain starts up again. Everything goes dark.
Mike starts screaming.
Clothes rip, bodies struggle, flesh is pounded.
INT. THE CELL - SAME
Mike lays curled up in bed, clean, his hair still slightly wet and his robes new.
