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dannymdip · 5 years

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Eshelman Comic Full Draft

Prologue:

We see a bus pull up to Davidson High School. The bus drives away, dropping off several students, including RYAN DANO, who has a Walkman and is listening to music. The friends’ car pulls up, driven by Ryan’s best friend DEAN DORION, picks Ryan back up, drives away. The car, playing the same music, makes its way through scenes of Naperville then Chicago, ends up at a music venue downtown where BRUCE FLETCHER is playing a show at noon—this was the music they were listening to. Ryan and friends attend the concert. They get back in their car and drive back to the high school, where they drop off Ryan. The bus pulls up and picks him up again.

Ryan is speaking with THE COUNSELOR, who tells him he has an in-school suspension. If he continues to misbehave, he will get an out-of-school suspension. Ryan calls him a faggot and gets the OOS suspension.

Six months later (now January), It is Ryan’s birthday. For his birthday he gets a sweet Fender Mustang electric guitar. As he jams, we see to his side an acoustic guitar and a low-tier electric guitar—a Squier Bullet Strat—and we can assume this is something he’s pretty passionate about. In the other room, Ryan’s parents, KEN and LIZ DANO get a call from the counselor saying Ryan hasn’t been to school in six months. Ken and Liz tell Ryan they’re going to take him in for a psychological evaluation, and if he’s not qualified for the alternative program, he’s going to be expelled. Ryan tells his friends, and they explain that the alternative school is just a ploy to get better test scores. They tell him he should get into it because it’s super easy. Dean tells him that to get into the alternative program, he needs to tell the counselor the following things (the scenes cut between the friend talking to Ryan and Ryan talking to the counselor): I’ve just been missing so much school because I feel so isolated from the other kids. I don’t feel like I can relate or connect to anyone, and I know they’re all laughing at me behind my back. I get really angry sometimes and I lash out at other people; I just want revenge for all they’ve done to me. I haven’t been sleeping at all. When I skip school I go out and drink until I’m sick; I’ve even taken heroin a couple of times. Then when I go without drinking for a couple of days I start hurting myself. I’ve thought about taking my own life, but I’m too much of a coward to do it. The friend tells Ryan, “And when he asks…” The counselor asks Ryan why he’s contemplating suicide. “You say…” Ryan says, “I don’t like Mondays.” When Ryan asks his friend why this, his friend says, “Trust me, just do it.” Ken gets a call from the school telling them that they are admitting him to the alternative program.

Ken and Liz drive (1998 BMW 328i) Ryan to the alternative school, which is in a strip center next to a laundromat and a RadioShack. It’s one room, and he’s supposed to be there for three hours a day. They had Apple IIe computers; they would play Mavis Beacon or read a book. Kids in the class threaten the teacher, who looks unfazed, with chairs. Ken and Liz pick him back up. They’re all sitting in their living room; Ken and Liz are discussing transportation, as there is no bus to the alt school and they both have to work. Ryan tells them they have to buy him a car. They exchange a worried look. Later, they’re talking quietly, saying, maybe if they get him a car, he’ll go to this school, get his diploma, and just shape up. They sigh.

We see Ryan drive up to the alternative school in a shitty, beat up car (think Chrysler Concorde). He looks at the school for a second and smiles, then drives away. He pulls up to his Dean’s apartment in the city. He shows him the car, and Dean shows him how to cut off the muffler and put a coffee can on the exhaust pipe. Ryan drives back home three hours later with the loudest car (POP POP POP POP POP), tells his parents he was at school.

Three months later, it is now April 23rd (six days after the Columbine Shooting), Ken and Liz are walking into the house, they pick up the mail. They’re talking, saying, “I just can’t believe that kind of thing could happen so easily.” “It makes me very scared, you know, there are some dangerous kids in Ryan’s program.” Etc. They see an envelope from Davidson High School. They open it to see a letter in which the counselor informs them, in light of recent events, of the dangerous warning signs their son exhibits. It lists the things that Ryan’s friend told him to say. It then strongly recommends he be admitted to a psychiatric institution or therapeutic boarding school for his own safety and the safety of others. It recommends a list of boarding schools, on which is THE ESHELMAN SCHOOL. They visit Eshelman’s website using Netscape on their iMac G3; it is very hopeful.

In mid-September, Ryan is driving his ridiculously loud car at 3AM on a weeknight in the city. Dean tells him to turn left on red on a one way and they are pulled over and arrested for driving past curfew; his car is also impounded. He calls his parents to come pick him up 40 minutes away. His parents drive up and he says, “What, no McDonalds?” His mom says she doesn’t even know what to say to him. He asks if Dean can get a ride; they say Dean is 23 and can find his own way home. They are told it will cost $2000 to get the car out of impound, $800 more than what they paid for it. They get home and say, “you haven’t even been going to school, have you?” and he says, “I don’t know.” They sigh and tell him to go to bed. His mom says, “Our son isn’t going to get his high school diploma. We can’t let this happen.” They’re quiet for a while and then turn to their computer. They exchange a look.

One month later, on October 20th at 3AM, two large men burst into the room where Ryan is sleeping. They are wearing matching polos and hats. Ryan screams and scrambles backwards. The men say, “Calm down, we’re taking you away.” Ryan sees his parents in the hallway crying. He asks them what’s going on and they look away. The men say, “You’re coming with us now; you’re being sent away to a boarding school.” Ryan starts begging his parents not to do this. They start to say, “Listen, Ryan, just do what they s—” One of the men says to them, “You’re going to have to stay in your bedroom until we leave.” They oblige. The men drag Ryan out of bed, downstairs, and out the door. They push him into a van with the Eshelman logo on the side. Liz starts to come out of the house, but one of the men walks towards her sternly, telling her if she doesn’t let him leave, he’ll end up in prison or a crack house. The other man asks Ryan, “Are you gonna be cool? Cause if you can’t handle yourself we’ll cuff you.” Ryan is wide eyed and slowly nods. They throw a bag to him and it bounces off his chest. They get in the car, one in front and one with Ryan, and drive away.

On the road, the man next to Ryan starts explaining that he’s going to a boarding school. He hands him the pamphlet and tells him it’s a three-month program, it’s gonna be great, there are all these activities. It’s not a big deal. Open the bag; it’ll clear everything up. Ryan opens the backpack. In it is a note from his parents, a Craig Discman, his CDs, and a carton of Marlboro lights. He reads the note; we see it in its entirety. Ryan thinks to himself that it’s okay, he’ll talk his way out of this. He’ll get there and call his parents and go back home.

They pull into a hotel. During the night he wakes up and starts to walk toward the door, but one of the men is sitting there wide awake and says, “Not happening.” The next morning, back on the road, Ryan asks how long it’s going to take. They tell him it’ll be another 12 hours. Ryan looks at the cigarettes. He tells them, “I don’t smoke lights, I smoke menthols.” They tell him, “You can get some when we get there.” He takes a cigarette and asks for a lighter. The man lights it for him. He puts in his Discman and a Bruce Fletcher CD. We see the car’s ashtray get fuller and fuller as the man lights Ryan’s cigarettes, and we see various scenes of the car on highways. We see someone in a different car seeing the man lighting Ryan’s cigarettes. Eventually, at sunset, they pass a sign that says, “Welcome to Maine”.

END of Prologue

Act 1:

It is the evening of October 22. We watch a van drive down a shitty dirt road just wide enough to fit. Branches scrape the van as it passes by trees. It pulls into a circular clearing with one large boxy house, one smaller house, and a trailer. There’s a sign that says Eshelman School. The men cuff Ryan as they lead him out of the van. They walk into the house (figure out layout) to an office, and Ryan is told to sit down at a table. Opposite him are two kids; behind them is a 54-year-old man, LOU DELUCCI, leaning on a table. One of the kids is looking at a file and says, “Do you know why you’re here?” The other kid is writing in a notebook. They have an exchange:

Ryan: “Put me on the phone with my parents right now.” Kid: “Oh, you’re not talking to them at all for at least four months.” R: “I want a lawyer.” K: Laughs. “That’s not how this works. This is the Eshelman School. Behind me is headmaster Lou Delucci. You’ve been sent here because you’re a problem. The program takes two and a half years minimum.” R: “Fuck you. Shut up.” Ryan turns to everyone in the room, pointing at them and either telling them “Fuck you” or “Shut up.” K: “Alright, so, now that you’re done. You’re going to be here for about three years.” R: “I’m 18 in a year and a half, if you keep me past then I’ll sue you for everything.” K: “Alright well you either leave when you’re 18 or you finish the program.” R: “I’m not finishing shit. Let me out of here or I’m gonna fucking kill you.” Other Kid: “How are you going to kill us, Ryan?” R: Silence OK: “Really. Tell us. How will you kill us?” R: “Well, I’ll take this chair an—” OK: “Let me stop you there. Make one move, and before the chairs legs can even leave the ground, six guys will be in here zip tying you with your face on the floorboards.” R: Silence K: “Okay, glad we’re on the same page. Now, you either do what we say, or you spend some time in the corner.” R: “The corner?” K: “So now you have to shower and delouse.” R: “Delouse? Who has lice? People don’t have lice.”

They empty his pockets, take his earrings and hat, and say, “If you’re hiding anything, we’re going to find it and we’re going to take it no matter where it is, so you might as well just hand it over.” “Alright now come shower.” Ryan says, “Fuck off.” They grab him, drag him upstairs and throw him into a shower stall. They say, “Take off your clothes and shower, now, or we’ll do it for you.” They watch him as he showers and applies delousing spray. They catch his hand and shake their heads when Ryan tries to reach to shut the curtain. As he gets out of the shower, they give him a small towel and some plain clothes, a white t-shirt and shorts. They walk him to another kid, EDWARD DERSCH, aged 16. “This is Edward. He’s going to be your big brother. Follow him to the dining room.”

Walking down the stairs, Edward tells Ryan everything will be easier if he just listens, and Ryan says, “Fuck you.” They arrive in the dining hall, seating now around 30 students, half boys and half girls, and they sit down at a table. Ryan looks around at the children, who have dead eyes and messy hair and blank faces. No one is talking. Suddenly, Ryan hears someone yell, “HOUSE IN THE DINING ROOM!” Several more students file in, and from the back appear two large kids dragging a third, who is struggling. Edward says, “Oh, it’s good you’re here for this.” The two kids throw the third to the ground before yelling, “Get up!” LIAM WALWORTH awkwardly rises to his feet. Lou comes out and approaches Liam, addressing him. He gets right up in his face and begins to shout; Liam looks forward with a blank expression. Ryan looks confused. After a while, Lou turns to the crowd and yells, “Time for everyone to get their feelings off!” One by one, groups of four students come up to Liam and scream awful things at him for one minute. Ryan turns to Edward and asks, “Who is that?” Edward says, “That’s you if you don’t listen. This is called a general meeting. We deemed him a split risk for being dark-on-dark. After this he’s gonna get a Bright L.E. and probably some time in the corner.” Ryan turns back and mutters, “What the fuck…” As Ryan watches more kids scream at Liam, Edward explains that at Eshelman, if you do bad, someone will report you. If you get reported, you receive an L.E.—learning experience. If you don’t misbehave, and you participate and book other kids, you earn more privileges. He explains the Strength/Non-Strength system of hierarchy and guilt. Ryan watches as Liam looks down without flinching.

Edward leads Ryan into a dorm room with four bunk beds. He tells Ryan he is to sleep on the bed above his own. Ryan looks at the bed; the mattress is just two inches of rubber. Ryan gets in bed, as do other students in the room. Edward says, “Don’t try to run in the middle of the night. I’m keeping watch and there are men with rifles downstairs,” then leaves. Ryan looks around and sees all the other kids laying down stiff looking upwards. He hears a call, “EVERYTHING BLOWS!” and the lights turn off. Ryan mumbles, “Everything blows?” After a beat of silence, he hears all at once the springs of every student’s bed squeak in a chorus as they all masturbate.

“HOUSE WAKE UP!” Ryan sits up; It’s 7AM. He looks around at all the kids making hospital corners on their beds. He gets up and neatly lays his sheet over his bed. Edward walks in with a clipboard looking exhausted. “Hospital corners, Ryan. Now. Breakfast in 15.” Ryan asks if he can shower. “You shower at night Ryan. I shower in the morning. Do what you’re told and maybe you can too.”

Ryan is sitting in the dining room at a table with two other boys who do not speak. Lou comes out. “Attention! This is Ryan. Ryan, read the Eshelman Philosophy for us.” Lou gestures to a plaque nearby. Ryan looks at it, “Okay, um…” Lou says, “It does not say ‘Okay, um’, Ryan. Read it, now.” Ryan reads: “With eagerness of spirit we shall find ourselves through knowing others. Um,” Lou yells, “No ‘Um’, Ryan!” Ryan: “We shall no longer be driven by our guilt and fears but by our trust and conviction. No longer dwelling on the unreal and unattainable, we must use the tool of truth to distinguish between what is needed and what is desired. No longer alone within ourselves, we must challenge our fears and the fears of others so as to have value in what is found. Seeing ourselves in the eyes of others shall demand change. No longer encapsulated in negativity, we must now strive towards positive goals. No longer able to delay, we must now accept responsibility for ourselves and others. We shall learn by our mistakes and use them to build a strong foundation. We must first attack the principles upon which all our former opinions were founded and put them in their proper perspective.” Lou says, “Good. Serve breakfast!” Lou walks out. Edward walks around the house with a clipboard as people silently eat. We see him mumble and record every outfit that every student is wearing. He walks back to a room where staff member DUKE BERNARD is getting things out of a filing cabinet. He says, “Duke, clothing chart.” Duke says, “Right. Set it down there. Bring Liam his e4 meal, and when breakfast is over give Ryan his work detail.”

Liam sits in a chair facing the corner of a wooden wall. Someone sits behind him with a clipboard. Liam stares as an ant climbs up the wall. “Liam!” Edward approaches from behind with a tray. On it is a bowl full of a nondescript formula. “E4.” Edward hands Liam the tray. Liam turns back around to face the corner. “Edward?” “What.” “This soup smells like the home.” “Stop glamorizing, Liam. That’s guilt.” Liam continues to stare forward. The ant disappears into a crack.

7:45: Edward opens a closet for Ryan; in it is a sponge and a bucket. “You’re a worker. Your job is to clean. Take these and scrub the floors. Do not ask whether or not you’ve cleaned enough—you haven’t.” Ryan starts to speak and Edward says, “Just fucking do it Ryan.” Another kid directs him to an area. Ryan gets on all fours and begins to scrub the wooden floor as the kid supervises him.

10:30: Ryan is still scrubbing when he hears someone shout, “RYAN, COME KNOCK!” He looks up. Edward is standing there. “Go. Get up. Now.” Edward leads Ryan to the door, “Knock.” Ryan says, “Oooooookay, why?” “Knock now, or else.” Ryan knocks on the door. “Who is it?” “Ryan.” “Come in!” Ryan enters. There are four kids sitting in chairs in front of him. The entire room is covered in colorful handmade posters about the program. “You’re here because you have guilt.” “Cop to your guilt.” Ryan looks around, “Um… I’m new here. I don’t really know all the rules. If I did something wrong, I’m really sorry.” The four—called a dealing crew—begin to scream at him for “talking past house blow”, referring to when he mumbled after hearing “Everything blows”. Some of them seem to be having a little bit of trouble making the infraction really seem like something serious, but they scream nonetheless. Once they’re done, one of them says, “Your L.E. is time in the corner. We’ll try an hour and see if you’re ready.”

Edward leads Ryan into the room where Liam still sits and directs him to a chair one of the other corners. Ryan looks at Liam as they walk. “Eyes up front, Ryan.” Edward says, “Sit here. Don’t move. Don’t talk. Don’t look anywhere but this corner.” Another kid sits behind Ryan in another chair to supervise him.

Ryan looks at the corner. He begins an internal monolog about how batshit this has been. He thinks about his situation. He realizes his best bet is to do anything and everything he is told to do from now on. He decides to play along, scam them, and escape when he gets the chance. He will be the star student; that’s how he’ll get through this. He hears mumbling from the other corner and turns instinctively. “Eyes forward,” says the kid sitting behind him.

Liam is talking under his breath. His supervisor tells him to shut up. He keeps talking but it’s a whisper. “Shut the fuck up, Liam, you little piece of shit,” again and again. As Liam watches, about a dozen ants climb up and down the corner.

11:30: Edward comes back. “How’s he been?” The kid watching says, “Fine.” Edward asks Ryan if he’s ready to behave, and Ryan says yes. Edward walks him to an office, telling him it’s time to write his guilt letter. Duke is sitting in the office. Ryan sits down and Edward leaves. Duke explains that Ryan is to write a letter to his parents apologizing for everything he has done wrong in his life. Ryan says okay without any question and begins writing. Ryan writes all of his major transgressions. After ten minutes, he slides the paper to Duke, who reads it over and tells Ryan it’s not enough and to write more. Ryan, again without question, begins writing again. After another 20 minutes, he has exhausted everything he’s actually guilty of. Duke reads it again and says, “No. This is bullshit. More.” For another 45 minutes, Ryan writes things that range from near-truths to lies. Again, Duke says it’s not enough, getting angrier. This continues until 2:00PM, when he is dismissed to go to group. Duke makes sure Ryan understands that this isn’t over.

2:00: Edward retrieves Ryan and brings him to a circle of sitting students, one of whom is screaming at another. He instructs him to sit down and tells him that this is called The Game. Each student must pick someone in the circle to scream at for one minute. This is called getting your feelings off. Edward tells Ryan to start. Ryan starts to falter, but remembers, ‘just do what they say.’ He picks someone at random and begins to half-heartedly yell nonspecific things. Edward instructs him to be louder, meaner. Edward starts telling Ryan about the kid; his name was Jared, he was addicted to heroin, he started stealing to be able to buy drugs. Ryan begins to yell louder about those things. Edward keeps telling him, louder, meaner, louder, meaner. Ryan is screaming awful things at this kid, who has a blank expression. Edward tells him that’s good, he can stop. Ryan looks surprised and unsettled by how angry he got. Someone else goes in the background while Ryan has an internal monolog about how that was really fucked up but it’s what he had to do. He keeps rationalizing while also building confidence about being able to play this program. The next person picks Ryan to yell at. Edward similarly feeds them extremely personal information about Ryan, and keeps telling him, “Don’t react.” This Game will continue for two hours until everyone has screamed at each other.

4:00: Ryan is back in the office. Duke tells him he better be fucking real this time, and Ryan begins drafting another guilt letter. Ryan keeps lying more and Duke keeps revising his drafts. This keeps going until 6:00, when Duke finally accepts the letter and says, “See, doesn’t it feel good to tell the truth? Now you need to make your plaque. Choose one of these philosophies and decorate this construction paper with it.” Ryan works for 30 minutes with markers to produce a colorful sign saying “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”.

6:30: Ryan took so long to complete his guilt letter that he has missed dinner. Edward instructs him to get back to work, so he gets down on all fours and begins scrubbing the floor again. There are other students doing their own jobs in the background. After an hour, he looks to Edward and asks if he can go to the bathroom. Edward tells him he has to fill out a bring-up slip. Ryan writes his request on a little piece of paper and hands it to Edward, who tells Ryan to keep working. He brings the paper to another kid, who signs it, then another kid who nods and signs it, then back to the office. Edward comes out and hands the paper to Ryan. On it is his request, several signatures, and a big letter “Y”. Edward points Ryan to the bathroom and calls to another inconsequential background kid, “Derrick! On Ryan.” Ryan enters the bathroom, followed by Derrick. Ryan gets to the urinal and looks back at Derrick, who says, “Hurry up.” Ryan turns back around and tries to pee. “I can’t do it if you’re watching.” Derrick says, “You can, and you will, cause if you piss yourself out there, it’ll be bad. Trust me.” Ryan closes his eyes tight and pees. Derrick says, “Get back to work.” Ryan scrubs the floor more.

9:00: Duke comes out and yells, “END THE DAY!” Everyone gets up and put away their equipment; Ryan follows suit. They go upstairs to the dorms. They file in and out of the shower, no longer than 3 minutes each. Ryan gets to his bunk, where Edward is laying. Ryan climbs to his bed, and Edward says, “Have fun?” Ryan says, “I guess.” “Good, cause that’s every single day, so get real used to it.” Ryan looks disconcerted as he once again hears the call, “EVERYTHING BLOWS!”

BEGIN MONTAGE

First two pages are: House wake up, reciting philosophy, working, Edward telling him something isn’t allowed, The Game, dropping slips, work, dinner, work, bathroom, shower, everything blows. Then several pages of specific ones of those: a page of just learning rules, a page of just The Game, a page of just dropping slips, just being dealt with (first with Verbal Reprimands, then just with Talking-Tos), just copping to small guilt, a page of a dealing crew explaining he’s been promoted to Ramrod. A page of just him overseeing another kid who’s scrubbing. He’s being given worker of the day, rewarded with an RC Cola.

It is now November 20. The house is celebrating an early Thanksgiving. Edward explains that the staff like to be home for the real Thanksgiving. Lou makes an announcement about how thankful they should all be for the program. He then tells everyone in the house to say one thing they’re thankful for. After everyone goes, Edward submits a bring-up to go outside to smoke. Eventually, he is able to and he goes outside with Lou. Lou also smokes and talks to him about how well he’s doing. He tells him he’s come a long way and eventually, once he graduates, he’d like him to join staff. He says, “We had your back last year with Pete. We know we can count on you.” While Lou is talking, Edward looks around the compound. After a second, he notices something by the shed. He squints to see Liam, holding an oar. Liam clasps his hands together in a gesture of begging. Edward looks at him for a while, then nods and turns back to Lou. He says he’s ready to go back inside.

Liam gets to the boat launch on the river, where there is a single, beat up canoe. He gets in and begins rowing himself down the river.

Edward is sitting on the couch, watching another high-strength student, Laura, do a headcount. The student looks around, then walks out of the room, then back in, then yells, “HOUSE IN THE DINING ROOM!” Everyone files in and sits down at the tables. She counts everyone and pauses. She turns and yells, “LOU! SPLIT STUDENT—LIAM WALWORTH!” In a second, Lou comes storming out holding a clipboard, “TRACKERS! He’s in Bright L.E., no shoelaces! Grab your flashlights and go!” Laura, Edward, and two other high-strengths, Kurt and Larry, spring into action. They leave the house with flashlights and a handful of zip-ties. They look around, then Edward says, “Look! The canoe’s gone.”

Liam is canoeing down the river, muttering to himself, “Shut the fuck up, Liam, you little piece of shit.” He looks very tired. He looks over his shoulder and sees nothing, so he banks the canoe and lays in it on his side. He falls asleep.

Suddenly he is awoken by a bright light. Edward grabs him by his shirt collar and pulls him out of the canoe. He zip-ties Liam’s hands behind his back and tells the other three to get the canoe back to the compound while he brings Liam to Lou. The two begin walking back upstream. Liam says, “It’s okay. I understand.” Edward says, “I didn’t turn you in, it was headcounts. Come on, man, you know how this shit works. There are no cracks to slip through.” “I’ll find one.” “No you won’t. You know maybe you wouldn’t hate it here so much if you just do what you’re told—act as if. You make it out, I give you a week before you wind up in jail. And I give you a week in jail before you’re begging to come back here.” “You just think jail is worse than it is because of your da—” Edward hits Liam in the back of the head. Liam is quiet for a second, then starts tearing up and muttering, “Shut the fuck up, Liam, you little piece of shit.” Edward says, “Hey, hey,” and gives Liam a hug, “Don’t talk about my dad.” “I’m sorry.” “The way you’re acting is putting me in a really difficult situation, Liam. Everything would be so much easier for everyone if you would just stop acquiring so much guilt.” “I can’t do it, Edward, I’m sorry. I’m not built for it. I would change for you if I could.” Edward pulls partway out of the hug, sighs, and looks disappointed. The two kiss. “I’m thankful for you,” says Liam. Edward says, “Come on man, you know it’s not actually Thanksgiving.”

On December 18, two months into his stay, Ryan is told he can talk to his parents on the phone. Duke gives him a script of exactly what to say. He picks up the phone. The script is all very cheery about how good the program is for him and how he’s doing really well there. He calls them and reads the script verbatim. He hesitates on one line and looks up at Duke for a second. Duke’s hand is directly over the cradle, ready to hang up immediately if he strays from the script. Ryan quickly looks back down and keeps reading. Duke smiles.

He’s been promoted to Department Head; he now oversees the Ramrods. He’s now being given resident of the week, rewarded with a soda and a cigarette. He hasn’t smoked in 2 months and it’s the best it’s ever felt. Edward tells him once he’s a Coordinator, he gets a pack of cigarettes each week. He’s becoming more and more motivated to conform to the program. He’s being given new privileges—Window Privs, then Bathroom Privs, then Reading Privs (he reads Catcher in the Rye), then Letter Privs.

Now a spread of just alternating House Wake Up and Everything Blows, getting smaller in each panel.

END of Act 1

Act 2:

It is March 1, 2000. Ryan is called into an office. Duke and Edward are both there. They tell Ryan that he’s doing really great in the program and that he’s earned a visit from his parents. They will come to the facility and talk with him there for a couple hours. Then they’ll take him out to a restaurant in Castle Rock, the nearest town. The meeting will be supervised by both of them, and Edward will come along and supervise the outing. Edward is given carte blanche to use whatever means necessary in the case of an attempted escape. The visit will be March 4, this coming Saturday.

Ken and Liz are driving down the dirt road leading to Eshelman. They’re talking about how they’re excited but nervous. They remark on the unsettling seclusion of the compound, but they talk about how Ryan seems to be doing really well here.

Ryan sits in the office; next to him is Edward, who says, “Don’t fuck this up.” In comes Ken and Liz, lead by Duke. Duke explains that he understands how excited they are but there is a no touching policy for safety—it probably wouldn’t be a problem in this case, but the policy has to be universal. Ryan’s parents tell him how happy they are to see him. They ask how he’s doing, basically what you’d expect. Ryan, of course, tells them he’s doing great, the program is great, he gets to do all sorts of things and he’s making the best friends he’s ever had. He introduces them to Edward, who tells them how much Ryan has improved since coming. Duke tells them that if Ryan keeps it up, they’ll be able to send him care packages soon. It’s all very jubilant and celebratory.

They’re in Ryan’s parents’ car. Ken asks him where he wants to go. Ryan, sitting on the left, says, “Can we get McDonalds?” Suddenly, Edward’s eyes go wide. He looks back at Ryan, but instead sees a 10-year-old Liam, saying something indistinct. He looks forward to see Liam’s father, enraged. Back at Liam, he’s saying over and over, “Can we get McDonalds? Can we get McDonalds? Can we get McDonalds?” Liam’s father turns all the way around and yells at Liam, “Shut the fuck up, Liam, you little piece of shit!” Liam’s mom yells, “Honey!” He begins to turn, when everything goes dark and blurry. Edward strains to focus to see Liam’s father, head against the steering wheel, pouring blood. He looks at Liam, who says, “…Dad?” Edward yells, “Liam cover your eyes!” Liam puts his hands over his eyes. Edward kicks his door open and runs around to the other side. He opens the door and helps Liam out of the car with his hands still covering his eyes. He hugs Liam tight and says, “It’s okay, Liam. It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay.” Edward blinks and is back in Ryan’s parents’ car. Ken says, “What do you think, Edward? McDonalds or Wendy’s.” “Oh, um. McDonalds, I guess.”

They’re all finishing their burgers. Ryan is looking around. The exit sign catches his eye. He watches as people leave the restaurant, each with a ‘ding!’ He looks at Edward, who has finished his food and is sucking noisily on a soda, looking the other way, out the window. Ryan’s eyes dart nervously back and forth from the exit to Edward. The bell dings in his head over and over; the sign starts to change into different messages, ‘ESCAPE’, ‘RUN’, ‘HES NOT LOOKING’, ‘YOU CAN MAKE IT’, ‘NOW’. He blurts out, “I’m ready to go back now.” Edward turns around and looks surprised, then smiles.

That night, Edward volunteers for Head Night Owl duty. He begins the usual routine of sitting by the riflemen, filling out paperwork. He has coffee and Cheetos. He sighs; he looks nervous. “Corner count,” he says to the riflemen. They nod, disinterested, and continue chatting. Edward enters the corner room, bringing his Cheetos with him. Liam is the only one currently on corner time. He’s lying on a mattress on the floor, but his eyes are open and sad. Edward whispers, “Liam.” He looks up, confused, “What’s wrong, what’d I do?” “Nothing, don’t worry.” Edward sits on the mattress next to Liam, who sits up. They both eat Cheetos while they talk:

Edward: “I was thinking about the crash today.” Liam: “Hm.” E: “I like it here, but I’m always worried. You know, I lost my parents, then your folks took me in. I lost them, then mom took us in. She kicked me out. Now Lou is like a father figure for me; every day I worry something’s gonna happen to him.” L: “Lou’s a dick.” Edward laughs. E: “Yeah, but my dad was kind of a dick, too. I don’t think I’ll ever feel secure until there’s no one left above me. If I’m at the very top, I can’t lose anyone I look up to.” L: “You sound like a megalomaniac.” E: “Maybe.” Liam takes a beat, then smiles. L: “Well, you’re always the top as far as I’m concerned.”

Liam puts his hand on Edward’s crotch. “Cardinal Rules, Liam. I don’t want that guilt on my mind.” Edward pauses and says, “Well. I want it, but I just can’t. I gotta get back to my post, babe.” Edward kisses Liam and gets up. Liam says, “Love you.” Edward says, “Love you too.”

Now a similar Ryan montage as before, but with more conviction. More privileges, higher ranks. He’s now a Coordinator, doing headcounts and recording clothes. He’s now a Night Owl, drinking coffee and eating Cheetos all night while counting heads in the boys’ dorm upstairs. He sees down the stairs that Edward was not lying about the riflemen. He’s getting Bottom Bunk Privs, Exercise Privs, Writing Privs, Facial Hair Privs, Jewelry Privs, Long Sleeve Privs, Couch Privs, Music Privs. He’s now a Shingle Expeditor, in the X’s—the highest division, acting as security. He’s formally introduced to KRYSTAL ROGERS. She’s the staff member in charge of the X’s. She’s young, late 20’s, she’s cute and charismatic. He takes a shine to her. He’s now a Senior Shingle Expeditor, now a Coordinator of the X’s. He’s now dressed fashionably with a shitty beard; he listens to a Walkman while he lifts weights twice a week. he has good bedding from home and gets care packages with treats. During his free time, he shoots the breeze with Duke, Krystal. He has now achieved the highest rank, Senior Coordinator of the X’s. There was only one other SCX—Edward. Unlike most of his promotions, Lou is present for this one. So, in the room is Duke, Lou, and Krystal. Lou tells Ryan that this is the fastest any student has ever completed the program. His growth has been outstanding, he’s one of the best students they’ve ever had at Eshelman. As Lou says this, Edward passes by the door. Edward lingers after passing it to listen to Lou. Hearing this, his face turns to one of bitterness and jealousy.

It is now May 30, 2000—one week after the release of the Marshal Mathers LP. Lou stands in front of the room and yells, “HOUSE IN THE DINING ROOM!” Everyone files in. Lou begins a speech: “It has come to our attention that some of you have been talking about a hack musician by the name of Marshal Mathers, or ‘Eminem’. Mathers is not to be spoken of in this house anymore—Ever. He sets a horrible example for you all, and he goes against everything Eshelman stands for. He had a terrible upbringing; he glorifies the breaking of all three of our cardinal rules: drugs, violence, and sex. He has lyrics like: ‘I take seven kids from Columbine, stand ’em all in line/Add an AK-47, a revolver, a nine/A MAC-11 and it oughta solve the problem of mine/And that’s a whole school of bullies shot up all at one time’. Columbine is not a joke. It’s not to be laughed at or heralded. Maybe if Mathers had been a student here, he would be a good person now, like Bruce Fletcher. But instead, Marshall Mathers will be dead within the next three years; mark my words.” At the mention of Bruce Fletcher, Ryan’s eyes go wide and his jaw drops. He approaches Lou after the speech, “Hey Lou, what was that you said about Bruce Fletcher?” Lou says, “Oh, Bruce was a student here at Eshelman back in the 80s.” “That’s so cool; that’s like all I listen to on my Walkman. Did he graduate?” “Absolutely.” Ryan thinks for a second, “Do you think I could write to him?” Lou smiles, “I don’t see why not. Ask Krystal about him, they were students here at the same time.”

Ryan is talking with Krystal in the staff office, “So you knew Bruce Fletcher?” Krystal says, “Sure, I knew him. I looooove his music. He was great; a lot like you.” Ryan grins, “Do you think you could call him and ask if I could write to him?” Krystal says, “For you? Of course.” She picks up the phone and dials. It rings, then a voice answers, “Hello?” “Hey Bruce, it’s Krystal. I have a student here at Eshelman who’s a huge fan, I’m gonna put him on, okay?”

We now get a series of short letters back and forth between Ryan and Bruce. At first it’s introductions, then talking about Eshelman, then really being buddies and Bruce telling him once he graduates, they can jam together, he’ll give Ryan one of his guitars, etc.

It is now June 12. Once again Ryan is called into the room with all the staff and Edward. Lou tells him that he thinks Ryan’s ready to do a home visit. He makes it clear that they must plan this out in painstaking detail and stick to the itinerary 100%. Edward, naturally, will be coming along to monitor.

We see the whole itinerary. It’s specific to the half-hour He is to get to Chicago on Friday evening and leave Sunday morning. When he arrives on Friday, there will be a small party with his family. The next day, at 5:00PM it says “Dinner at [somewhere fancy]”.

Friday afternoon, Ryan’s parents’ car pulls into their driveway. Ryan steps out of the car; it’s the first time he’s been here since being thrown into a van. He looks around with almost no recognition. He walks into his house and to his room, still looking like he’s never seen any of it before, sometimes picking things up and considering them. The doorbell rings.

In the evening, Ryan’s family sits around the living room, talking. It’s Ken and Liz, his grandparents on both sides, and an aunt, SOPHIE. Edward isn’t paying any attention to the conversation. He looks to the kitchen and notices Ryan’s parents behind the little bar. Ken is about to pour a glass of wine, but Liz stops him and grabs the bottle, saying, “We can’t drink at all in front of Ryan, we have to set a good example.” Ken says, “Good call.” Edward blinks and the scene of Liz grabbing the bottle from Ken turns into a scene of Edward’s mom, Sydney Dersch, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from his dad Roger. “You’ve had more than enough, Roger.” “I’ll say when I’ve had enough!” “Please, give me the bottle. You get so mean when you’re drunk.” Edward’s dad yanks the bottle to the side, unintentionally hitting his wife in the head with it—hard. She falls and hits her head again on an end table. Roger’s jaw drops and the bottle slips out of his hand. The whiskey begins soaking into the carpet along with the blood. We now see that Edward had been watching this whole thing play out from the couch. He has a safety blanket. Roger looks at Edward with tears in his eyes. He walks into another room and walks back with a revolver in his hand. He comes up to Edward. “Eddy, listen, I’m going to do something you’re not going to understand for a long time. If I don’t do this, I’ll have to go to a very, very bad place—a place where I don’t think I could make it. So I need you to close your eyes now and cover them up with your hands.” Edward does it. “That’s good, buddy, that’s good. Now stay like this no matter what. In a little bit, some nice people will come visit and they’ll tell you when you can look, but right now I need you to stay like this, okay?” Edward nods. Roger says, “Okay.” He walks over to where his wife is and picks up the phone. He dials 911. We see Edward peeking a little bit. We are now viewing the scene from Edward’s perspective—just little bits between the cracks of his fingers. Roger says, “Hello yes. I need you to come to 644 Madison Road as soon as you can, and please, take good care of my kid.” Roger drops the phone, puts the gun barrel in his mouth, and pulls the trigger. Edward takes his hands down and approaches the bodies. He sits down cross legged and puts his safety blanket onto his mom (Not covering her head; just like a normal blanket). He picks up the phone, which is saying “Hello? Hello? Sir?” Edward says, “Hello.” “Hey there, what’s your name?” “Eddy.” “What’s going on, Eddy, is everything okay?” “No, I don’t think so. My dad spilled on the carpet but I’m gonna, I think, have to clean it up ‘cause I think they’re, I think, both dead.” Edward blinks again and it’s back to the present, the exact moment from before, no time has passed. He watches Liz put away the bottle and Ken put back the wine glass.

The afternoon of the next day, Ryan’s parents are gonna take the kids out for dinner. After driving a while, they pull into an apartment complex. Ryan asks where they are. His parents tell him that they have a surprise for him; they’re not going to [fancy restaurant]. Ryan looks nervously at Edward. His parents lead them to one of the apartments. His mom says, “Why don’t you knock, Ryan?” Ryan knocks. The door opens to reveal it is the apartment of Bruce Fletcher. “You must be Ryan.”

They’re all sitting at a dinner table while Bruce brings out plates. Ryan asks Edward, “Hey, do you think this is okay for us to be doing?” Edward says, “I think it’s fucking awesome.” Ryan looks relieved.

They’re all eating, having nice conversation. Bruce is asking about Eshelman stuff—is Duke still there? How’s Lou doing? Where are you in the hierarchy? Ryan is asking about his music career. Ryan says, “You know, a lot of the time I would skip school or stay out late to go to your concerts. It’s like I was meant to go to Eshelman and you helped me find my way there.”

After dinner, Bruce is showing Ryan all of his guitars and stuff. He asks if Ryan wants to jam and they play a few things together, Ryan on guitar and Bruce on drums. Bruce improvises some lyrics; Edward taps his foot to the beat. “You got some talent, kid. You know, sometimes at Eshelman they would let me play guitar—for special occasions and such. You should see if you can do that.” Bruce gives Ryan a signed pick that he used at some big show. Ryan is elated.

The next morning, they begin the drive back to Eshelman. Ryan plays guitar in the car and comments on how good the pick feels. He tells his parents to play certain CDs and sings along. He can’t wait to get back and ask Lou about being allowed to play. We haven’t yet seen Ryan get anywhere close to this level of excitement, optimism, general happiness. Edward smiles.

When they get to Eshelman and Ryan and Edward are in the office, Ryan asks Lou about playing his guitar. Lou says he’ll think about it, but probably. Ryan goes to bed with a smile on his face.

The next morning, Ryan’s eating breakfast on the couch when he hears a call from Duke, “RYAN! COME KNOCK!” He looks confused, but he walks to the door and does the knocking ritual. When he enters, the dealing crew asks if he knows why he’s there. He says he doesn’t. They tell him that Edward brought it to their attention that he deviated from the itinerary. Ryan’s expression changes to one of hurt and anger. He swallows and straightens his face. The dealing crew tells him he’s being shot down. They give him a harsh Verbal Reprimand and send him to the staff office. In the office, Lou is sitting looking disgusted with Ryan. Duke looks pissed off and Krystal looks the other way. Lou says, “You are not to communicate with Bruce Fletcher ever again. We’re confiscating the guitar pick he gave you as well as all written correspondence with him, past, present, or future. Your L.E. is corner time. One hour. Get the fuck out of my sight.” Krystal walks him over to the corner. When he sits down, she puts a hand on his shoulder and says, “Don’t worry, Ryan. You’re the best student we’ve ever had. You work extra hard, you’ll be back to SCX in like a week, easy.” Ryan looks comforted. He looks over to see Liam still in the corner. Liam looks gaunt and tired, like he hasn’t been eating or sleeping enough. Liam stares intensely at the corner—which we see is just blank wood—muttering quickly, “Shut the fuck up, Liam, you little piece of shit.” He’s rocking in his chair. We look back to see that, from Liam’s perspective, the corner is covered in dozens if not hundreds of ants.

END of Act 2

Act 3:

It is 1997. Edward is 14 years old. He is the Coordinator on duty; he holds the Incident Book and watches the students eat breakfast. PENNY LEVANTE sits at a table with three other girls. All but one of them are staring blankly at nothing. Penny looks up and notices Liam at another table, sitting with two other boys who are chatting. Liam smiles and waves politely. Penny waves back and winks. Edward sees all of this and gets very angry. He writes in the Incident Book: “9/4 8:33AM | From: Edward | At: Penelope | Flirtatious behavior.”

Later, Penny hears the call, “PENELOPE! COME KNOCK!” Edward brings her to the door and tells her to knock. The dealing crew says to her, “You have guilt, Penelope.” “Cop to your guilt.” They proceed to give a Verbal Reprimand: “You fucking bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are, pulling shit like that here?” “You whore! You piece of shit!” “You’re nothing! You’re going to end up selling yourself on the corner for smack!” “No one’s ever going to love you if you don’t stop being so Gamey!”

The next morning, Edward makes an announcement to the house. “EVERYONE! Penelope has something to tell us. Sing your song, whore.” Penelope is dressed in a prostitute costume standing in front of the house. Liam watches, looking guilty. Others look disinterested, curious, or amused. She has a scant, leopard print top, jean short shorts, torn fishnet leggings, and overdone makeup. She wears a sign around her neck saying, “PLEASE ASK ME WHY I’M A WHRE!” She murmurs, “Umm… Okay uh… Th—Uh,” and begins to sing:

“They call me, / Flamin’ Penny cause I’m, / Hot for many, I’m the, / Hottest baby in the house.” Edward yells, “DANCE, BITCH!” “And when it, / Comes to lovin’, I’m the, / Human oven, I’m the,”

While she sings her song, we enter a flashback from six months earlier. She sits in her room, talking to her friend, “I’ve never told anyone about this, but… When I was four, like… Before my dad left, he used to um… do… things…” Her friend says, “Dude, that’s fucked up.” She’s walking through the hallway at school. Three boys in the background are talking, “hey, that’s the girl who fucked her dad.” “that’s so fucking gross. like, she’s either a huge slut or she has serious problems.” “I heard girls with daddy issues are like, super easy, and they’re kinky as hell; they like to be hit…” She’s lying in her bathtub, slitting her wrist with a piece of broken glass from a lightbulb.

She sobs, clutching herself, and finishes the song: “Hottest baby in the house.” Edward says, “HEYYY! GIVE HER A HAND! I mean, she’s probably already got the clap.” The whole house applauds.

It is now 1998. We see PETE WIELAND JR. talking to Duke, “No, god dammit. I have a headache! I need to lay down!” Duke says, “I know what you’re doing; you just don’t want to work. I’m sick of this headache shit from you. We’re having a ring.”

The house gathers in a circle around Pete, who’s wearing a pair of boxing gloves. Opposite him is Edward, now at age 15. Duke calls out, “3, 2, 1… FIGHT!” The house begins chanting, “Edward! Edward! Edward! Kick his ass! Etc.” Edward punches Pete back and forth three times, then uppercuts him. His nose is bleeding as he falls to the floor. Edward puts out a hand to help him up; Pete takes his hand. Edward yanks Pete’s hand backwards and punches him in the head with his other hand, then kicks him in the stomach. Pete is on all fours, looking down at his gloves. More and more blood drips onto his gloves and the floor. His vision starts to fade and go black. He begins to regain his vision later to see a figure in a doorway before it leaves. Duke is outside the door and tells an inconsequential student, Skye, to guard the door. Skye leans into the room, “Pete? You okay?” Pete is sitting on the ground clutching his head, “No. I have a very bad headache and I don’t feel so good.”

Skye walks over to where Duke is talking to Krystal. She clears her throat. Duke turns, “What the hell are you doing getting up?” “Pete needs something for his headache.” Duke says, “Yeah, whatever, I’ll take care of it,” then continues to talk to Krystal. Skye returns to her post, looking worried. She begins to hear kicking from inside the room. “Pete?” No answer. “Pete??” No answer. She looks closer to see Pete unresponsive, convulsing on the floor and kicking wildly. “PETE NEEDS HELP!”

Duke and Krystal carry Pete, still shaking wildly, outside and stuff him into the back of Duke’s car. They begin driving away, but we can see, due to Eshelman’s seclusion, they couldn’t possibly make it to a hospital in time.

Later, Edward sits in the staff office, looking spooked. Lou is on the phone, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Yeah. Okay. I understand; we’ll figure it out.” He hangs up and turns to Edward. “Pete’s dead.” Edward looks horrified. “But don’t worry—we have ways of making these kinds of things disappear. We’ll cover this up and no one will ever know you had anything to do with it.” Edward takes a deep breath, “Okay. Thank you, Lou.” Lou smiles, “Don’t mention it. No, really, don’t mention this ever again.” He laughs, “You’re a good kid, you know that? I think you’re due for a promotion, eh, Chief?” Edward smiles.

Back to 2000, it is now July. Ryan stands in the staff office, “I think I’ve proven myself pretty well getting back to SCX so quickly.” Lou nods. Ryan continues, “I’d like to apply for graduation dates.” Lou and Duke exchange a look; Lou thinks for a minute, “I’m sorry, Ryan. You’re not ready for graduation. You’re not even close; you have a long, long way to go.” They hear a call from the other room: “SPLIT STUDENT—LIAM WALWORTH!” Lou slams the desk, “Fuck that little piece of shit! Ryan, you’re on Tracking Crew. Get Edward and go find that son of a bitch.” Ryan turns around and looks very angry. Krystal is outside the office, she says, “Hey, man, at least you get to spend more time here with me.”

Liam walks out of the woods timidly. He spots a truck parked near a farm house. He walks across the street and approaches the truck. Looking around, he tries the door. It opens, and he gets in. He pulls down the mirror and the keys to the truck fall into his lap. He holds them up and smiles. The truck starts. He pulls out and begins driving down the highway. He hears something from the back seat, “Can we get McDonalds?” He turns around to see himself as a 10-year-old. He turns back around, “Stop it. Stop it, please.” His child version continues, “Can we get McDonalds?” “No, we can’t. Please be quiet.” The child continues, “Can we get McDonalds? Can we get McDonalds? Can we get McDonalds?” Liam turns around to his 10-year-old self and screams, “Shut the fuck up, Liam, you little piece of shit!” He turns back around just before wrapping the truck full speed around a telephone pole. He blacks out.

Liam wakes up in a different car; he’s 12 years old. OFFICER SAM AMBERS knocks on the window, “Hey, kid.” Liam looks up, his head still resting on the steering wheel. Liam is sitting in jail when he hears the clerk yell, “Walworth!” He stumbles over. His and Edward’s foster mother has come to pick him up. She looks disappointed. When they get in the car, his mother says, “Ever since Eddy left, you’ve been behaving like an animal.” Liam grumbles, “Eddy didn’t leave; you kicked him out.” His mother says, “I can’t deal with you anymore. I’m sending you to Eshelman too.”

“Liam!” Edward bangs on the window of the truck, looking terrified. “LIAM! Wake up! Please wake up!” Ryan looks at Edward, concerned. “FUCK!” Edward yells and leans against the truck, sliding down to a sitting position. He starts to cry, but then hears a click. The door to the truck opens and Liam spills out onto the gravel, coughing. He sees Edward looking at him, smiling with relief. He gives Edward a hug, “It’s okay, Eddy. It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay.” Edward kisses Liam deeply; Ryan stares at them. Edward looks up at him; his smile fades. He says, “Ryan, I’m sorry I turned you in for the Bruce thing.” Ryan says, “Whatever. I had guilt, I probably would have copped to it anyway.” “Please don’t tell anyone about this. You can do whatever you want, I’ll vouch for you.” Ryan says, “Corruption is some serious guilt, Edward. You sure you wanna contract out with me?” Edward says, “I’m sick of how Lou treats Liam. If we team up, there’s no more rules for us.” Ryan smiles.

Back on the compound, Ryan and Edward walk behind Liam towards the house, they look over to see Sam Ambers, who has driven to the compound and is talking to Duke. “Hey there, I’m Officer Sam Ambers with the Castle County Sheriff’s Office. Would you mind if I t—” Duke says, “Get the hell out of here.” Sam looks over and makes eye contact with Liam. Liam recognizes him from his arrest; Liam’s eyes are pleading for rescue.

In the next section, as Ryan tells each story, we see it unfold, with his speech as narration. Each of these is one page:

August: Krystal pours Ryan a cup of coffee. They’re talking in the staff office. He tells her, “Yesterday was a nightmare. We were outside and I had to watch that kid Rod. But he’s like 12, so of course he wants to play in the lake. Now suddenly I’m chasing this kid into the lake cause I have to stay within 3 feet of him. I get soaked. Really fucked up my athlete’s foot, but they won’t let me put more of that powder on, cause there’s gotta be enough for everyone.”

September: Krystal says, “How do you think you did?” Ryan says, “I don’t know. The math sections really messed me up. I’m not super optimistic about my score. Sometimes I wish we had school here. I guess we’ll see though.”

October: They’re now driving in Krystal’s car. Krystal says, “Jesus man, are you alright?” Ryan says, “Yeah, you know that huge kid I was big brothering, Len?” We see Ryan talking with Len. Krystal says, “Yeah, he seemed nice.” Ryan says, “Yeah well, my guess is he’s a smoker, cause after about 24 hours, he fucking flipped his shit.” We see Len going on a rampage, throwing everything around. Ryan tries to tackle him, but he easily throws Ryan several feet away. “It took 10 guys to finally zip him. But they can’t have a guy like that here. Like, what are we gonna do? Put him in a ring? He’d handily kill everyone in the house. We had to just send him somewhere else.” November: They’re at a drive through window. Ryan says, “Can you believe that kid?” Krystal says, “Ballsy move.” Ryan says, “That really must have taken a lot of patience. And now it’s gonna be there like all week.” We see a kid smiling while scrubbing the floor. He sits back and admires his work. We now see that he has cleaned a swastika into the floor.

December: They’re parked in Krystal’s car somewhere on the dirt road to the school. Krystal says, “That’s not that bad of a score.” Ryan says, “It’s a 760. Composite. That means I got more than half the answers wrong. In math I got a 280.” Krystal says, “Well when I was here and I took it, I didn’t do much better. I got an 820 composite.” Ryan says, “I’m never gonna get into college.” Krystal says, “That’s not so bad. I mean, I didn’t. I just stayed here.” Ryan says nothing, but looks like he’s in thought.

It is December 20. “Merry Christmas guys!” Lou walks into the staff office. In the office is Krystal, Duke, Edward, and Ryan, “Merry Christmas, Lou.” Lou pulls out a pack of cigarettes, “Smoke?” Lou, Edward and Ryan stand outside smoking, “I’m real proud of you both. I think you’d both make brilliant staff members if you chose to stay with us. I’d pay for you to live in a nice house nearby; you’ll get a great salary. Out there, they don’t understand the world like we do. You go out there; you’ll see—everyone you thought was cool? They’re losers. They don’t get it; they’re all wasting their lives. It’s like the philosophy says, they’re all driven by guilt and fear. And all those kids in there? They’re the same. Losers. Half of them are gonna end up dead by 20. You guys are different; you guys get it. Of course, there’s only one staff position open right now, but I’d be honored to have either of you fill it.” Ryan and Edward look at each other. Their faces show just a hint of suspicion and rivalry. Lou throws his cigarette down and snuffs it out with his shoe.

It is now January 12, 2001. Ryan is allowed to play his guitar for his birthday. “Man, 18th birthday, huh? You get to do all sorts of things now.” Krystal and Ryan are having coffee in the staff room again. Ryan smiles; he’s tuning his guitar. Krystal says, “You know what song you’re doing?” Ryan says, “Yeah, I talked to Lou about it. I had to change some lyrics but it’s approved.” “What song is it?” Ryan looks up, “You’ll see.”

Ryan is in front of the house playing his guitar. He sings:

“Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah, Just like that, Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah, La dee dah.  So hard to find my way Now that I'm all on my own. I saw you just the other day, My, how you have grown! Cast my memory back there, Lord, Sometimes I really like thinking about Having fun in the green grass Behind the stadium With you, my brown-eyed dog, You, my brown-eyed dog.”

As he sings, he looks around the room. He notices Krystal. She’s not paying attention; she’s talking to Edward. Ryan keeps playing but looks very upset. After he’s finished, he’s back in the office. Krystal comes in and says, “Hey, that was great.” Ryan says, dismissively, “Yeah, thanks.” He walks out. Krystal looks worried.

The next day, Ryan is sitting in the staff office, filling out some work. Krystal walks in, “Hey Ryan.” “Hm.” “What’s wrong?” Ryan doesn’t look up, “Nothing.” Krystal says, “Ryan.” He doesn’t look up. She says sternly, “Ryan as staff overseer of the X’s I order you to come take a drive with me.” He looks up, tired and sad.

They are driving down the dirt road. Krystal pulls over, “You have to tell me what’s bothering you.” Ryan doesn’t turn, “I can’t.” Krystal says, “Well, then, it must be something about me.” Ryan doesn’t turn. Krystal says, “I think maybe you have feelings for me?” Ryan takes a beat and then says, “Yeah.” He turns to her with tears in his eyes, “And I can’t fucking deal with it. Cause I know it can’t happen.” They both stare forward at the dashboard for a long time. Krystal opens the door and gets out. She walks around the car to the passenger side. She opens the door, leans in, and undoes his seatbelt. She pulls him by his collar out of the car and into a kiss. She spins them around and leans against the side of the hood of the car. She takes his hand and puts it on her breast. She pulls down her pants and hops onto the hood. She takes them off and pulls Ryan towards her, unzipping his pants. They fuck but the viewer doesn’t really see it cause that’s not this book. After, we see him staring out the window as she starts the car back up. He seems to have mixed feelings about what just happened.

The next morning, Ryan is sitting on the couch eating breakfast, when he hears, “RYAN! LOU’S OFFICE! NOW!” He drops his cereal and looks at Duke in the hallway in terror and disbelief.

END of Act 3

Act 4:

“You confessed your love to her?” Lou looks incredulous. Ryan looks to Krystal, “She…” Krystal looks sternly and shakes her head. “You know what? Fuck you. Fuck you all. I’m leaving.” Lou narrows his eyes, “What are you talking about?” “I’m leaving Eshelman. Now. I’m 18. You can’t keep me here.” Lou and Duke exchange a glance. “Krystal, take him to the corner while Duke and I talk this ou—” “No. No corner. I’m fucking leaving. I’m not a part of your sick cult anymore. Let me call my parents.” Ryan walks out of the room. Lou looks at Duke, “We can’t just let him leave.” Duke says, “I’ll call his parents.” They hear a yell from the other room, “ATTENTION EVERYONE!” Ryan stands before the house, “THIS WHOLE SCHOOL IS BULLSHIT! I WILL BE LEAVING NOW! I SUGGEST THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN, COME WITH ME!” Everyone in the house looks at each other, wide eyed. Edward walks over; he puts a hand on Ryan’s shoulder and says quietly, “Ryan, what are you talking about?” Ryan says, “They don’t give a shit about us. They don’t give a shit about me or you or anyone.” He lowers his voice, “You think if they found out about you and Liam, they would even think twice about shooting your ass down? You’ve been their star pupil for 6 years and they don’t give a single solitary shit about you.” Edward takes his hand off of Ryan’s shoulder and looks worried.

Back in Naperville, Ryan’s parents get a call. Ken answers the phone. On the other end is Duke. “Listen, Ken, your son is backsliding. He’s going to call you and tell you anything he can to get you to take him back home, but you can’t do it. If you let him come back home, he’ll go right back to how he was before. I promise you, if he doesn’t graduate, not only will he never get his high school diploma, he’ll be dead within a month. Whatever you do, do not let your son manipulate you. In his mind, you’re weak. He can say anything and you’ll dance to his tune, but we can stop that destructive behavior if he graduates the program.”

Duke comes out and gets Edward. He leads him to the office. Lou says, “Edward, as you heard, Ryan is attempting to drop out of the program. We’re going to do everything we can to save him, but for the time being, he cannot be touched. We just have to let him break the rules cause if we restrain him and he ends up leaving, he could take legal action, and we could get in serious trouble. Tell the other high-strengths, Ryan is not to be dealt with physically.” Edward leaves the room, as he passes Ryan, he says, “They just told me you can do anything you want and we can’t touch you.” Ryan smiles. He walks back to the office, “I’m calling my parents now.” Lou says, “I can’t stop you.” He picks up the phone and dials his house. He waits for a second while it rings. “Dad, I need you to come pick me up. Now. Everything I’ve told you about Eshelman is a lie. All of it; it’s all bullshit. This school is a fucking cult; I haven’t had one actual class this entire time. They just want your money … What are you talking about? … Dad, please, you have to … Dad? DAD! FUCK!” Ryan slams the phone down and points a finger at Lou, “You fucking sociopath!” Lou calmly leans back, “We’ll work on getting you a bus ticket. In the meantime, I ask that you reconsider.” “Fuck you.”

The next day, when House Wake Up is called, he stays in bed and falls back to sleep. At 11am, he gets up and takes an hour-long shower. He then, at 12pm, dresses dark-on-dark, goes to the kitchen, and gets three little cereal cups and a six pack of soda. He lounges on the couch while eating and drinking. Later, he approaches Krystal, “Why? Why would you do that to me?” She says, “Do what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You used me. This job is boring and you can’t get laid, so you used me for companionship and then you used me for sex. But what changed, huh? Lost interest? Did you just want to see if you could fuck a student? The sex wasn’t good enough for you? Big surprise; you fucking pressured me into it.” Krystal rolls her eyes and says, “Leave me alone, Ryan. You’re imagining things.” At dinner, he’s sitting in the dining room with his feet up on the table, tuning his guitar; He plays his guitar and sings, “Hi kids, do you like violence? Wanna see me stick 9-inch nails through each one of my eyelids?” Kids look around in awe and Lou fumes with anger as he continues, “Wanna copy me and do exactly like I did? Try 'cid and get fucked up worse than my life is? My brain's dead weight. I'm tryna get my head straight, but I can't figure out which Spice Girl I want to impregnate. Damn, Lou, all three Cardinal Rules right there! No wonder you hate this guy! Hey, what’s up with those rules, anyway? You don’t fuck since your wife left you? Hey, Jared! Before you got hooked on H, you got your start taking your mom’s Talwin, right? Well good news. Lou’s got a bottle of the stuff in his office. Yeah, it’s usually on top of the cabinet right next to the gun safe. Hey, what’d I tell you? This place is a FUCKING SHAM!” Ryan leans back and lights a cigarette.

That night, Ryan again lays on the couch when everyone’s going to bed. Edward sits on Head Night Owl duty. Ryan gets some coffee from the kitchen and sits down next to Edward, “Hey.” Edward turns and smiles, “You’re a fucking madman, you know that?” Ryan laughs, “You should leave too. Imagine both their best students turning on the system. The whole place would be chaos.” Edward looks a little glum, “I like it here, Ryan. I’ve been here since I was 12, and I have no family; the outside world may as well not exist as far as I’m concerned. Plus, Liam’s only 17 now, and I can’t just leave him here alone.” Ryan says, “Someday soon, you’ll see that I’m right. They’ll turn on you, too.” Edward shrugs. The riflemen walk in the door; Ryan points to them, “The night watch isn’t really in the loop ever, so they don’t know I’m an enemy of the state yet. I can sit here and pretend to take a shift if you wanna go be with Liam for a bit.” Edward says, “That’d be really nice. Thank you.” Edward gets up.

Edward approaches Liam, who’s in his bed, sobbing. Edward rushes to his side, “What’s wrong, babe?” Liam gasps in desperation, “Please, Eddy, get them off me; they’re eating my skin.” Edward looks confused, “What? What’s eating your skin?” Liam starts thrashing around, “The ants, the ants! They’re all over me; I can’t get them off. It hurts; it hurts so much. Please, god, help me.” “Liam, there are no ants on you. There aren’t any ants here at all.” We see Liam’s point of view, he’s completely covered in ants save for his hands and his face. He reaches out to Edward, “Eddy. I’m not gonna make it. I love you so much. Please, don’t watch this; I don’t want you to have to see what they do to me.” Edward hugs Liam tight, “I’m gonna get you out of this fucking corner.”

The next day, January 16, Ryan sits in the office opposite Lou. Lou says, “Look, we can offer you ten dollars and a bus ticket to Claremont, New Hampshire.” Ryan looks at him, “Claremont, New Hampshire?” Lou says, “That’s right.” Ryan says, “You want to send me to Claremont, New Hampshire?” Lou says, “We’re willing to, yes.” Ryan says, “What the fuck is Claremont, New Hampshire? That’s nothing. That’s nowhere. You want to send me to nowhere in the middle of fucking January; I promise you I’ll freeze to death.” Lou sighs. Ryan says, “Fucking ridiculous.”

Four days later, on January 20, Ryan is lying in bed listening to his Walkman. There’s a knock at the door. He looks up to see Krystal. He takes off his headphones, “Oh. Fuck do you want?” Krystal sighs and looks a little guilty, “I talked them into getting you a ticket to Boston. Bus leaves at 9:00pm tomorrow.” She leaves and he just sits there on his bed for a minute.

At 8:30 the next day, Ryan stands in the office. Lou says, “We’ll mail your things to your house. This is a very stupid thing to do, Ryan. You have no education; you have no diploma; your parents refuse to take you back. You think you’ll ever get into college with your test scores? Not to mention we can change your GPA however we see fit. You’ll soon realize the gravity of this mistake. Now, out of the immeasurable kindness of my heart, I make this offer: When you decide to come crawling back, just give us a call and we’ll take you.”

Duke drives Ryan to the bus station. He drops him off and drives away. Ryan is completely free for the first time in 15 months. He sees someone smoking, and he walks up to them, “Hey could I bum one?” He looks around the exterior of the Castle Rock bus station as he smokes. Everything is totally calm. It’s cold—there’s fresh snow on the ground—and Ryan has no coat. He flicks the cigarette away and walks into the bus station.

Back at Eshelman, in the staff office, Edward sits with Duke and Krystal. Duke says, “Anything else?” Edward says, “Yeah, I been watching Liam. I think he’s ready to come out of the corner.” Duke says, “Really. Liam.” Edward says, “Yeah, I think he’s ready to cooperate, I don’t think he’s gonna try to split again.” Duke narrows his eyes, “You’re not contracting out with that fucking loser, are you?” Edward says, “Fuck no. Dude’s a Grade-A dipshit. But he seems like he’s gonna behave, and we need the corner space.” Duke pauses for a second, “Alright. But if he splits, it’s on your fucking head.” Edward says, “Understood.” He walks over to Liam. Liam says, “Oh, Edward. What’s up?” Edward says, “I’m saving you from the ants, buddy. They can’t hurt you anymore. Come with me, we’re gonna get you a sponge; you’re on G.I.”

At 12:30AM, Ryan steps off the bus in Boston and into the Greyhound Bus Station. He has no belongings, just his ID and $10. He goes to a McDonalds that’s inside the station and gets a burger. As he eats, he looks at the change in his hand, then at the group of payphones. He calls his parents on the payphone. They answer. “Dad, it’s Ryan, please just let me come home. I’m not at the school anymore. I’m in Boston, and I’m not going back. You have to let me come home.” Ryan takes a beat and his expression changes from desperation to frustration, “Jesus Christ.” Now another beat. He takes the phone and slams it on the receiver several times. He takes his change and calls Aunt Sophie. “Aunt Sophie, it’s Ryan. I’m in Boston right now; I need you to pick me up. The school got to my parents and convinced them if I came home, I’d die … Okay, well can you get me a bus ticket to Chicago? … Alright … Well, that’s something … Okay, I’m on a payphone though … Okay, call me back when you got it; the number is 857-555-3447 … Okay, bye.” Ryan stands by the phone with his head in his hands for a minute. The phone rings and he picks it up, “Hello? … Thank god, where is it? … Okay, got it. You said Pearl Street, right? … Okay, thank you so much, you’re a life saver … I’ll call you when I get there.” Ryan asks a desk clerk for a map. He looks it over, “Fuck me.”

Now there are various scenes of Ryan walking through Boston en route to Pearl Street. When he gets there at 3AM, the building boasts a big sign saying “HOTEL”. He walks inside and up to the front desk. “Reservation for Ryan Dano?” he says. The clerk looks through their computer, “Hmmm. I’m not seeing it.” Ryan looks surprised, “Maybe it’s under Sophia Dano?” The clerk looks again, “No, I’m sorry, there’s no reservation under that name.” “Fuck me, can I use your phone?” The Clerk says, “Certainly,” and places the phone on the desk. Ryan picks it up and dials. Aunt Sophie answers. Ryan says, “Hey Aunt Sophie, they’re saying there’s no reservation under my na— … You’re kidding … Jesus fucking Christ. Please, don’t listen to them; the school has them brainwashed … Okay, well thanks for the help. I just walked two and a half hours in 35-degree weather without a coat for fucking nothing. Guess I’ll go back out there and fucking freeze to death … Yeah whatever.” Ryan hangs up the phone and turns to the clerk, “Can I stay in the lobby for just, like, an hour?”

It is now 5AM. Ryan has made his way back downtown and is walking through a park. He sees a homeless man sleeping under a blanket, “Excuse me.” The homeless man looks up and says, “Huh?” “I’ll give you…” He counts his money, “Five dollars for that blanket.” The man says, “What? No fucking way.” Ryan says, “How about just for two hours.”

It is now 7AM. Ryan has been sleeping on a bench with his leased blanket. The man walks up to him and shakes his shoulder, “Times up.” Ryan gives him the blanket back and sits up. He looks down at his feet, “Jesus Christ, fucking athlete’s foot.” He takes off his shoes and socks and his feet look and smell like decomposing hamburger meat. He leans to the side and dry heaves. He puts his footwear back on and starts walking back toward the bus station. He enters and walks to the payphones. He looks at what money he has left, probably around $3. He begins dialing numbers. “Krystal, don’t hang up, you gotta help m—” Dial tone. “Hey, Bruce, it’s Ryan. It’s been a while … Yeah okay … Loud and clear, you fucking dick.” He hangs up. “Fuck me, what the fuck are my friends’ numbers?” He begins dialing. Over and over, he hears, “The number you have dialed is incorrect. Please hang up and try again.” Finally, someone picks up, Ryan excitedly says, “Hello? … Do you know anyone named Ryan Dano? … Oh. Well, thanks anyway.” More incorrect messages. After two hours, another person picks up: “Hello?” Ryan: “Oh my god, Dean, is that you?” We see Dean in his parents’ basement smoking weed: “Ryan?” R: “Yes! Fuck yes!” Dean: “Holy shit, dude. What the fuck happened to you? We thought you were dead.” R: “It’s a very, very long story, and I’ll tell you everything later, but right now you gotta listen. I need you to get me a bus ticket back to Chicago. My parents won’t do it because they think I’ll kill myself.” D: “Um, okay. I can do that, I guess. Why, where are you?” R: “I’m in Boston right now, and I’m kind of a little bit homeless. So I need you to call Greyhound and buy a one-way ticket from Boston to Chicago.” D: “Alright, what’s the number for you?” R: “857-555-3447” D: “Alright, I’ll call back.” Ryan waits a moment before the phone rings. R: “Hello?” D: “Yeah, it’s Dean.” R: “What a nice surprise.” D: “Yeah, they say I have to have a credit card to buy a bus ticket, and I don’t got one. So, you want me to, like, get one?” R: “Yes. Please.” D: “Okay, I’ll ask my folks how to get one. Might take a while.” R: “Fuck. Alright, call me back tomorrow at noon.”

[???]

It’s noon the next day. Ryan’s standing by the payphone. His clothes are dirty; he generally looks like shit. The phone rings: R: “Hello?” D: “Hey, it’s Dean.” R: “Yeah.” D: “Yeah, I got it taken care of. There’s a ticket to Chicago for tonight at 5. It’s gonna take, like, a long time, and there’s a layover in New York.” R: “Fuckin’ awesome. You rock, man, thank you so much.”

It’s 11PM. The bus pulls into Grand Central Station. Ryan gets off and exits the building. He looks around Times Square at night time. It’s beautiful and bustling. Ryan smiles, but his stomach starts to make unnatural sounds. “Fuck me,” he says, holding his stomach. He looks around, trying to find a place where he could use the bathroom. He sees the giant McDonalds, and he waddles in. He finds the bathroom and enters. He opens the stall door to see the most disgusting bathroom imaginable. There is shit and piss all over the ground, the toilet, and the walls. “Ah, fuck me.”

END of Act 4

Act 5:

Lou stands in front of the dining room. Some of the younger kids are crying. Lou says, “EYES UP HERE! Look, we’re all very broken up about Ryan leaving us, but we can’t let it affect our behavior.” A kid named Becca stands, “I think Ryan was right. I’m 18, give me my ID; I want out of here.” Lou says, “Sit down, now. Don’t anyone do anything rash; you haven’t thought this through.” Becca says, “I have. It was all lies all along. Who else is 18? Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Another kid stands up and talks with strained confidence, “I’m in. Fuck you, Lou. And fuck this place, too!” Lou is shaking with anger, “You little fucking brats! Sit down while I’m talking!” “I’m 18, you can’t tell me what to do.” “The world is a cold, cold place for little shits like you. This is the last stop—you leave here now; you end up dead or in prison!” “Maybe I’d rather die than be in this fucked up school anymore.” Becca says, “Everyone, if none of us follow the rules, they’re powerless.” The younger kids look around meekly and don’t say anything; they’re still terrified of Lou.

That night, Liam sleeps in his bed. Edward is on Night Owl watch duty. He watches Liam sleep peacefully on a real bed. Suddenly he sees some movement. He squints to see a kid, Bo, getting out of bed. Edward squints to watch what Bo’s gonna do. Bo sneaks over to Liam’s bed. He works extremely slowly. First, he pulls Liam’s blanket off of him. Then, he carefully reaches into the hole in Liam’s boxers. He slowly pulls Liam’s dick out so it’s just hanging out of his boxers. Bo then begins to masturbate, just looking at Liam’s dick. Edward has been watching this whole time. As Bo jerks off, Edward sneaks up behind him. He quickly grabs Bo’s hair and slams his head against the bunk. He throws Bo to the ground and yells, “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” He gets on top of him, and begins punching him. Everyone in the room wakes up. Bo’s face is covered in blood. Liam yells, “Edward, what’s going on?” Edward keeps beating Bo. Suddenly, Edward is in the foster home at age 12, beating his older foster brother. He talks as he punches, “You. Mother. Fucker. Never. Pick. On. Liam. Ever. Again.” His brother’s face is similarly bloodied. His foster mother walks by in the hallway. She screams and yells, “Eddy! What are you doing? Get off of him!” She pulls him by his arm into the hallway, “This is the last straw, Eddy, you’re a menace. I can’t deal with you anymore. I’m sending you to that boarding school we talked about.” Three kids finally tear Edward off of Bo, who sputters blood pitifully. He rolls over on his side, his breathing labored. There are tears in Edward’s eyes as he leans back against the three kids.

It’s 6:00AM when Ryan’s bus finally pulls into the Greyhound station in Chicago. He gets off and uses a payphone to call Dean. “Hey. I just got here. Can you pick me up when you get this?” He hangs up and sits down in the bus station, totally blank expression. Five hours pass before Ryan calls again. “Hello?” “Hey, it’s Ryan. I’m at the station, where are you?” “Oh, right, sorry. I was asleep. I’ll come get you.” Ryan waits again, this time for 30 minutes. Dean’s car pulls up outside the station. Ryan gets in, “What took you so long, you live like 10 minutes from here.” Dean says, “Oh, uh, yeah. I don’t know.” “Are you high?” Dean grins. Ryan says in aggravation, “Jesus Christ.” Dean makes a face, “Dude, you smell like shit.” Ryan says, “You don’t smell great yourself. Get us to your parents’ house so I can take a shower and explain everything.” Dean says, “What do you think of my ride?” Ryan says flatly, “It’s great.” They drive off.

Ryan’s in the shower. He’s washing with real soap and shampoo for the first time since his home visit. He begins to softly cry. Once he’s done, he comes out in a t shirt and boxers, “Shampoo feels so good. Where I was you couldn’t use it cause kids would jizz in the bottle.” Dean says, “Holy shit.” “Yeah. Go get me some food and I’ll fill you in.” “Jeez, okay, boss.” Ryan sits in a bean bag chair. Dean comes back with chips and salsa and a joint. He lights it and offers it to Ryan, who gestures a declination. Dean shrugs and sits down in another bean bag chair, “So what the fuck happened? I thought you were dead.” Ryan says, “I wish. So, you know how my folks were getting real tired of my shit? Well, one night…”

That evening. Edward is doing a head count, kind of bored. His eyes widen; under his breath he says, “No.” He looks around frantically, “No. No. No. No, no, no, no, no. Jesus Christ, Liam, you fucking…” He starts to tear up and hits himself in the head with the hand holding the pen. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He pauses a second and he sees on the wall an ant just before it crawls into a crack. He takes a deep breath, “SPLIT STUDENT—LIAM WALWORTH!” Lou comes storming out, “That fucking little cocksucker! Trackers, get him before he gets too far!” Liam is running through the woods. Edward goes outside with the other trackers; he points to a different direction than the one he took last time, “Let’s try this way.” They enter the woods, moving quickly but not running. We see Liam still running. Later that night, the trackers come back, “We couldn’t find him tonight, we’re gonna try in town in the morning.”

The afternoon of the next day, we’re in Naperville, at Ryan’s parents’ house. They’re pacing around. Liz says, “Our son’s not gonna get a high school diploma. We’ve totally failed as parents; we need to get him back there.” Ken says, “And this school’s so damn expensive; that’s over 60,000 down the drain.” The doorbell rings. Ken and Liz look at each other. Ken opens the door a little bit. [Here we should have a flashback of Ryan coming to the door as a little kid after having been injured in some way] Present day Ryan, standing on the porch, starts to speak, but Ken interrupts him, “You can’t be here. Please go back to the program; they said you could still go back. You’re so close to graduating just stick it out for another few months.” Ryan starts to speak again, but Ken quickly closes the door. Ken turns around with his back to the door, slides down, and begins sobbing. Ryan stands outside with his hand still up and begins crying as well. He walks back to the car, where Dean is smoking another joint, and gets in, “Alright, drive us back to your parents’ house.” Dean says, “Dude, you’ve gotten, like, real bossy.” Ryan says, “Okay. Are you gonna do it?” Dean says, “Yeah, jeez.”

It is the evening. Edward stands in Lou’s office; he’s holding a pen and clipboard. Lou is sitting on the desk, his furious face about two feet from Edward, “Duke told me something interesting. He said if Liam splits again, it would be on you. You’re the one who said we should release him from the corner, isn’t that right?” Edward says, “Yes.” Lou says, “I think you’re contracting out with Liam. And I think you didn’t find him with the trackers because you didn’t want to. God knows what you see in that wretched little weasel, but he’s dragged you down with him. When he gets back here I’m gonna wring his fucking neck!” Edward takes his pen and shoves it into Lou’s neck. Lou is stunned. Edward pulls it out and stabs again. Then again, then again. Edward stops; Lou’s neck is squirting blood all over Edward and himself. Lou looks at Edward for a second, then falls to the ground where he creates a large pool of dark blood. Edward leans down and takes something from Lou’s coat pocket.

Officer Sam Ambers is sitting at his desk. He’s staring at the file he has on The Eshelman School. He gets a phone call. “Officer Sam Ambers … Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He pulls out of the station parking lot. Sam sits in a kitchen with Liam. Liam explains his situation, how he ran away from Eshelman and what goes on there; he doesn’t know these people that live in the house, but he asked for Sam cause he saw him at the school and remembered him from before. Sam puts his face in his hands and sighs, “Okay, look. I gotta take you back. I wish I didn’t. I don’t need to cuff you if you just come with me. They’re driving through some woods. Liam is sobbing and begging, and Sam is tearing up. He pulls the car over and takes a beat before saying, “You’re not going back there. Come on.” They pull back onto the road. Eventually they stop outside Billy’s Diner. There are some truckers inside. Sam hands Liam a ten-dollar bill, “Take this ten. I know a lot of the truckers here, and I trust them. Buy yourself some dinner, and hitchhike as far from here as you can; I’ll cover for you.” Liam stands in the parking lot as Sam drives away, mumbling, “That god damn school.”

BANG! Everyone immediately looks to the thunderous sound. Edward is standing, covered in blood, holding a gun pointed upwards. His hands shake as he announces, voice wavering, “Lou is dead! We can all be free. If you didn’t believe Ryan, believe me. It’s all b-b-bullshit, and we’re getting out of here. Zip Duke and Krystal and take them to the c-c-corner. Once the police see and hear the fucked up shit this place did to us, they’ll understand that this is all self-defense. I h-have a plan.”

Ryan sits again with Dean, who is still smoking weed. Ryan says, “Jesus Christ man, stop smoking so much weed. You’re acting like a fucking loser.” Dean points at Ryan, “Jesus Christ your fucking self! Stop telling me what to do. You think cause you were hot shit at that cult school you can boss everyone around? Welcome to the real world, dickhead! You’re nothing here, just like the rest of us!” Ryan says, “Not all of us wanna be fucking scummy burnout shitheads that live with their parents at 25!” Dean says, “If it weren’t for me, you’d be fucking homeless! Maybe your parents are right; just go back to the fucking place, cause you can’t fucking stay here anymore.” Ryan opens his mouth, but stops. He looks towards the phone.

The riflemen walk into the Eshelman house. Edward was hiding behind the door; he shoots them both in the head. He takes their rifles and tosses one to one to Becca. Then he tosses their side-arms and Lou’s gun to three others. He says, “Let’s get the fuck out of here. There’s definitely gonna be more Eshelman people coming who guard the compound’s perimeter. They always come later, so we have to be ready.” Edward cocks his gun. They all run outside. They start marching up the dirt road. After a little while, they see headlights. Edward calls to his group, “Headlights! Shoot to kill!” All the armed kids begin firing at the headlights. The car comes to a stop and they hear the horn start blaring in a single, sustained note. Edward says, “I think we got ‘em.” He approaches the car, as he gets closer he starts to see the scene better. First, he notices the unlit siren on top of the car. Then, he sees, head face down on the wheel, a dead Sam Ambers, who had come to investigate Eshelman further after his encounter with Liam. Edward realizes he’s killed a police officer. He slowly and silently walks back. Becca says, “Did we get them?” Edward says to himself, “Why was he there?” Becca says, “Who?” Edward says, “He shouldn’t have been there. He didn’t have his siren on. No one should have heard the shots anyway.” Becca says, “Edward, what happened?” Edward says, “They’re gonna kill us. They’re gonna kill us all.” Becca says, “Edward did we just shoot a cop?” Edward keeps muttering to himself, “They’re gonna come here and kill us all.” Becca looks around and says, “Jesus Christ. Can they really do that?” Some of the other kids murmur. Edward sits down on the ground. Everyone is silent for a while before Edward speaks, “Even so, I’m fucking sick of my decisions being made by other people; I’m not gonna let them lock me up.” As Edward finishes, he repeats his father’s words to him, “I don’t think I could make it.” Edward puts the rifle in his mouth.

Ryan picks up the phone. He dials and puts it to his ear. It rings. It keeps ringing. We see a top-down view of the office—Lou dead and surrounded by blood, the phone ringing. We see a few ants crawling around Lou’s neck.

END

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