Gutter Punk

Gutter Punk
By
Wilder Carnes
EXT. CITY STREET- AFTERNOON
A raggedy man wearing a dark green jacket weaves in and out                                                     of bumper to bumper traffic on his bicycle. He takes a turn
onto an empty street before stopping to watch a young boy
flicking coins into a man hole cover from a front stoop
across the road. Steam bellows up from the stoop making it
hard to distinguish him. The man gets off his bike and looks
down the road for cars. He reaches into his backpack pulling
something out then turns back towards the boy. A woman
dressed in a business suit strides down the sidewalk calling
the boys name.
MOTHER
Jeremy, what are you doing?
JEREMY looks up to see his mother but continues flicking.
The smoke parts a little and JEREMY sits up.
MOTHER
Those better not be from the swear
jar.
The mans eyes stare unmoving as he grips the handles on his
bike. The conversation gets drowned out by passing traffic.
The MOTHER goes up to the top of the stoop and shrugs down
at JEREMY who has turned towards her. She puts her hands on
her hips and lowers her head. JEREMY turns around and stands
in the smoke and waves his hands over it. The MOTHER gets
his attention again though and points down the road in
anger.
MOTHER
Do it!
The MAN gets back on his bike and peddles off. JEREMY takes
some money from MOTHER and begins walking down the street in
the opposite direction.
EXT. SIDEWALK- LATE AFTERNOON
JEREMY chases a small mouse out of an alley way with a short
metal pipe. He looks up at the sun which is now beginning to
set. He tosses the pipe behind him and begins walking again.
As he rounds a corner he spots a boy his age dribbling a
ball by the stoop. JEREMY approaches him and leans against
the stoop watching.
JEREMY
What’re you doing?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
BOY
Just dribbling. I got a basketball
game on Saturday.
JEREMY
Big game huh?
BOY
Yup. Whole families gonna be up in
those stands going like "Ronny,
Ronny, Ronny" (Chanting)
JEREMY
You’re not that good.
BOY
What?
JEREMY
Basketball is lame. Now Soccer.
That’s a sport.
JEREMY kicks the ball into the street laughing.
JEREMY
Goal!
RONNY chases the ball into the street as oncoming cars
swerve out of the way for him. He falls onto the ground
crying. JEREMY continues walking.
INT. CONVENIENT STORE- SUNSET
JEREMY walks along the aisles running his hand along all the
boxes before turning to go into the back. The attendant
scowls at him from the counter.
ATTENDANT O.S
Don’t touch all that. Get somebody
sick and it’ll be my ass on the
line. Just follow the rules; got
it?
JEREMY
I’ve never been sick a day in my
life. I got my mothers genes.
The ATTENDANT shakes his head at him. JEREMY stares into the
freezer and draws a smiling face on the glass door. He wipes
it away and grabs a gallon of milk. He carries it with two
hands and swings it up onto the counter. The ATTENDANT
smiles slightly at him.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
ATTENDANT
Four ninety-nine. Not so strong
huh?
JEREMY places the money on the counter and swings the milk
down carrying it out the door with both hands wrapped
tightly around its handle.
INT. KITCHEN- APARTMENT- NIGHT
JEREMY puts the gallon of milk on the table and sits down
watching his mother stirring some food in a pot. She turns
to him and smiles.
MOTHER
A little late Jeremy.
JEREMY
I wanted to play before it got
dark.
MOTHER
I told you to go straight to the
store. You know most mothers would
be pretty worried if their son was
gone like that.
JEREMY
I can’t not play outside.
MOTHER
Set the table. I gotta get changed.
His MOTHER walks out of the kitchen area and goes down the
hall to her room where she shuts the door. JEREMY waits for
her to leave then scrambles out of his seat to get the
remote so he can watch TV from the table. Suddenly the door
buzzer rings.
MOTHER O.S
Jeremy! Get the door.
JEREMY’S eyes remain glued to the T.V.
MOTHER O.S
Ugh, Jeremy.
The bedroom door swings open and his mother comes rushing
down the hall while pulling on a sweater. She opens the
door, and is greeted by a furious looking woman.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
WOMAN
You know what Jeremy did today?
His mother makes the opening in the door smaller and gets
closer to the woman.
MOTHER
Jeremy go watch some T.V. alright.
JEREMY keeps his eyes on the T.V. and slowly makes his way
over to the couch. His mother watches him then looks back to
the woman.
MOTHER
What is it? You know I’m really
busy, and I’m sure it was just an
accident.
WOMAN O.S
Your son almost-
JEREMY changes the channel to the news.
ONLY SHOW HIS FACE
REPORTER O.S
Today the coroners office revealed
that another victim has been killed
by local serial killer named ’The
Alleyway Killer’. Local authorities
have tracked down a few possible
suspects but so far they have not
confirmed-
JEREMY changes the channel again. A science show appears
with a man standing in a large factory.
HOST O.S
The steam travels up through the
pipes and heats this component
here. The reacting particles will
create-
MOTHER switches off the T.V. The WOMAN is gone now and his
MOTHER stands behind JEREMY with her arms crossed.
JEREMY
What? I was watching that. It’s
educational.
MOTHER
Come set the table now. We’re gonna
have a talk about what you did
later; got it?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
JEREMY gets up and begins setting the table in the kitchen.
His mother continues stirring the pot.
CUT TO:
JEREMY pours a glass of milk down the drain and places his
dirty plate into the sink.
FADE OUT:
INT. APARTMENT- BEDROOM- NIGHT
JEREMY sits at his desk and carefully draws a picture of a
man hole with smoke rising out of it. He copies it from the
one on the street below which he studies from the window.
His MOTHER suddenly enters the room and sits down on the bed
beside the desk.
MOTHER
Jeremy you could have gotten that
boy seriously hurt. Do you
understand?
JEREMY
No I was just playing.
MOTHER
Why does this keep happening?
JEREMY
What do you mean?
MOTHER
You keep getting in these bad
situations. I don’t want you to
become a trouble maker or
something.
JEREMY continues to draw, and peeks back out the window to
study the man hole and smoke.
MOTHER
Jeremy are you listening? We have
to talk about this now. Why are you
doing this?
JEREMY
I’m not doing anything.
MOTHER
Okay. I guess you’ll work it out
right? What is it? Bothered by the
kids at school?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.
JEREMY
I don’t know. Sure mom.
MOTHER
What’s that supposed to mean? Okay
I won’t push the tough guy.
She sits down next to him and wraps her arms around him.
MOTHER
I know it’s tough sometimes when
things don’ work. Its like moms
work right? I gotta go in and find
the right pipes so the water
flows...Jeremy? Do you know I’m
talking about?
(pause)
If you’re in trouble though you
have to let me know... alright?
JEREMY looks at her and smiles. She smiles back then leans
over him to see his work.
MOTHER
Those are pretty cool huh?
JEREMY
Yeah pretty cool. So out of place.
MOTHER
You wanna know why it does that?
JEREMY turns and looks at her smiling again. Suddenly the
phone rings.
MOTHER
Hold on. I’ll tell you tomorrow
okay. No school right? I left some
food you can heat up in the fridge,
and don’t leave home. I’m a little
worried about-
The phone continues to ring.
JEREMY
Sure mom.
His MOTHER pauses then leaves the room and goes to pick up
the phone. JEREMY continues to draw the smoke by making
small light circles with his pencil.
TIME LAPSE TO DAY THROUGH SAME WINDOW
7.
INT. APARTMENT- BEDROOM- MORNING
JEREMYS mother juggles a suit case and papers as she climbs
into a cab on the street below. JEREMY plays drums on the
window sill with his pencils while he watches.
INT. KITCHEN- APARTMENT- MORNING
Milk spills onto the counter as JEREMY misses the bowl of
cereal. He leaves it, and pulls a chair up to the counter
next to the T.V. room. JEREMY flips through the channels and
stops on some old timey footage of Marilyn Monroe’s dress
billowing above a man whole cover. JEREMY raises his eye
brows.
EXT. CITY STREET- AFTERNOON
JEREMY squats in the empty street above the man whole cover
and spits in between the slots. He gets down on his stomach
and squints his eyes while looking down into the deep dark
sewer. He sits up and starts trying to pull the cover off
the hole.
A shoe suddenly kicks him in the side and he rolls onto his
back, looking up at the BOY from yesterday. JEREMY crosses
his arms and legs. The BOY stands back and crosses his arms
as well.
BOY
Remember me?
JEREMY
Basketball kid right?
BOY
That’s right.
JEREMY
What?
BOY
You almost got me hit?
JEREMY stands up and wipes the dirt from his pants. He
starts trying to pull the cover off again. The BOY shoves
him hard and he falls forward to the ground. JEREMY sits on
his knees and stares at his bleeding hands. Suddenly a
screaming woman can be heard in the distance. The BOY looks
up in the direction of the alleyway across the street. Two
frantic moving shadows can be seen by a dumpster.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.
BOY
Come on! Lets go!
JEREMY shakes his head at him and wipes his hands on his
pants again. The BOY turns and runs down the empty street
around the corner. The screaming gets louder and louder as
JEREMY pulls harder at the cover. Finally the screaming
stops just as JEREMY pulls the cover off and rolls it aside.
He climbs down into the hole and struggles on the large
ladder.
INT. CITY STREET- SEWER- AFTERNOON
JEREMY steps into the low water and stomps a bit. He looks
back up and stares at the open hole above him. He looks
around.
JEREMY
Where’s the fog!?
He shrugs and looks around before walking down the round
sewer tunnel.
JEREMY
Where’s the girl?
(whispers)
Suddenly a low groan can be heard followed by a loud bang.
JEREMY makes a slightly confused face as he looks back up to
see the BOY starring down through the now closed man hole
cover.
JEREMY
What is it?
The barely seen boy leaves from his site. JEREMY continues
to stare up and suddenly a pair of shoes cover the hole.
JEREMY watches for a moment but the shoes walk away. As
JEREMY walks down the tunnel he starts to pick up his pace a
little until he is jogging. He stops when his foot kicks a
can. He picks up the can and analyzes the rusted logo. A
mouse squeezes between his shoes and half swims through the
tunnel.
JEREMY
Ugh!
JEREMY jumps when he spots the mouse, and starts heading
back towards the man hole cover. He climbs back up the
ladder and tries pushing up the cover. Through the grating
JEREMY sees the street is empty. A man in a dark green
jacket sits on Jeremy’s’ stoop flipping a quarter. JEREMY
waits a moment then backs down the ladder carefully.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 9.
SHOW ELAPSED TIME
INT. CITY STREET- SEWER- SUNSET
JEREMY sits in the wet sewage water. He moves his hand
across the surface. Suddenly the sound of moving metal can
be heard in the distance. It starts soft, but gets louder.
JEREMY stands and as the noise grows he starts to run. He
gets faster and faster.
JEREMY
A train in the sewer!?
The noise reaches its peak and JEREMY falls to the ground
with his hands over his head. The noise begins to fade, and
JEREMY turns towards the brick tunnel wall. He presses his
ear against it.
SHOW ELAPSED TIME
INT. CITY STREET- SEWER- SUNSET
JEREMY sits in the same spot as before. He wipes a tear from
his eye and then gets up to place a hand on the ladder. He
looks up to see that the light has started to fade. JEREMY
begins to climb the ladder. When he gets to the top he
pushes himself against the vertical wall with his legs and
back. Then he uses two hands to push the cover. He jiggles
it a bit and gets it to move upwards. Suddenly though he
sees the pair of feet approaching. He quickly stops pushing
and lets himself slide down the ladder. He hits the ground
and looks up while on his back. JEREMY gets to his feet and
lies against the wall with his eyes closed. A wrench hits
the ground in front of him. JEREMY approaches the opening to
the hole and peeks up. He sees the shadow of the man looking
down at him.
MAN
That should help.
(beat)
The man laughs loudly, and walks away.
JEREMY squats down and inspects the wrench. Its tip is
stained a light redish brown. JEREMY screams loudly. He
climbs up the ladder as fast as he can. Just as he is about
to hit the top the cover is removed.
MOTHER O.S
Jeremy!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 10.
JEREMY climbs into his mothers arms. She grabs him and pulls
him out of the hole. A police car drives past and pulls into
a small side street while its lights turn on.
MOTHER
I told you to stay inside Jeremy.
JEREMY
I was inside...the man hole cover.
His MOTHER guides him inside quickly.