SNOWDRIFT
By Steve Meredith
EXT. HOODMOUNT: RILEY BATEMANN is driving a Ford focus in a fierce snowstorm. The windshield wipers are moderately moving back and forth. RILEY rubs his eye, yawns, and glances down at the clock on the radio
INT. The clock reads 12:30 a.m.
EXT. Side of the road: We learn as the car passes the camera that he is driving to Chicago, and has 110 miles to go.
EXT. HOODMOUNT: The ONLY sound is the sound of the windshield wipers moving rhythmically back and forth
INT: Passenger seat POV looking over at RILEY. A look of shock and fear passes on his face.
Riley:
Oh shit.
EXT: We see the car slam in to the guardrail of a sharp turn, it skids until it hits what appears to be a wall of snow.
INT: RILEY moves the airbag out of his way, unbuckles his seat belt, and steps out of his car. He wipes his eye and looks at the damage to the car.
BLACKOUT: ROLL TITLE CREDITS
FADE IN: INT. The radio clock reads 3:30 a.m.
EXT: Headlights come out of the darkness towards RILEY’S car. As it pulls up to RILEY’S car we see that it is a white, beat up Chevy pick up truck. A man, JACK, rolls down the window of his Chevy truck. RILEY rolls down his window also.
Jack:
You look like you could use a lift
Riley: (Chuckling)
Is it that obvious? Yeah I do.
Jack:
Where you headed?
Riley:
East side of Chicago
Jack:
C’mon, I’ll at least get you to the nearest bus stop
Riley:
Thanks a lot man, I’m Riley, by the way.
Jack:
My name’s Jack.
EXT. HOODMOUNT on the Chevy truck, looking in on RILEY and JACK
Jack:
There is a bus stop about 15 miles up the road
Riley:
Great, hey thanks again Jack, I really appreciate this.
Jack:
Not a problem…(after a short pause), so Riley, what do you do for a living.
Riley:
I’m a general contractor for RyanHomes
Jack:
Sounds nice
Riley:
What about you?
Jack:
This might sound a bit sinister, but I get people to give me their money…
(Riley glances over at Jack and raises an eyebrow)
…(Jack chuckles), I work for the home shopping network.
Riley: (Chuckling)
Oh, haha.
Jack:
Man people can be so gullible, but hey, that’s what keeps us in business
Riley:
Hey, exploiting people’s stupidity isn’t a crime
Jack:
Ain’t that the truth?
Riley:
Yeah.
(The only sound we hear for the next few minutes is the sound of the windshield wipers sluggishly going back and forth)
Jack:
Ah, here we are.
EXT. The white Chevy pulls into a greyhound station in a small town that looks to be deserted. The brightest lights shine from inside the bus station.
Jack:
If you don’t mind I’m just gonna take a quick leak in the bathroom before I leave you on your way.
Riley:
O.k. and thanks again Jack, I owe you one. I’ll tell you what, give me your mailing address, I’ll cut you a check.
(Jack scribbles down something on a stray piece of paper, gets out of the truck, gives Riley a head nod, and goes inside to the bathroom. Riley collects the few things he has brought with him, and goes into the station. He sits down.)
THE CAMERA MOVES THROUGH THE GLASS
INT. Riley’s eye glances at a news story on the T.V.
News Announcer:
Illinois Police are looking for a man who murdered his wife and children tonight. Jack Pino is the suspect and is driving a white Chevy pickup truck with an Oklahoma license plate reading FGZ-6489
(Riley immediately gets up and walks over to the window. He sees that the license plate on the white Chevy pickup reads FGZ-6489)
Jack: (holding a gun, completely calm)
I want you to give me your wallet now, Riley.
Riley:
You fucking asshole
Jack:
Hey, hey, hey, calm down buddy. Wasn’t it you who said it wasn’t a crime to exploit human stupidity. Think about it Riley, you don’t know me. What the fuck did you try to buddy up to me? Didn’t you have any questions about me? I mean you have to agree, of the two of us, you’re the stupid one.
Riley:
You can’t just shoot me, you do realize that, don’t you. Seems to me that you’re being really stupid.
Jack:
It may seem that way. But no one is here, no one is outside. And the nearest police station is 20 miles East. Which brings us back to the question…if a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
(Riley is speechless)
THE CAMERA PASSES BACK THROUGH THE GLASS
EXT. Looking in on the bus station, we are at an angle where we can not see Riley or Jack. It is completely silent. We only see a short flash of light from inside the station, but we never hear the gunshot.
…we leave…never hearing the tree fall…
BLACKOUT. ROLL CREDITS.