The River

MEMORIES

1 INT. CURRENT HOME, CORLISE/RON'S BEDROOM, SPRING, 2AM 1

Opening to a dark room, we are only able to discern the shape of a bed as our night vision begins to focus. Ron can be heard yelling in the next room, though his words are distorted and unclear. Eventually, we can make out a figure draped in blankets as it turns restlesslessly. Moving closer to the figure, we can barely see Corlise’s face. She looks displeased as she picks up a spare pillow to pull over her head.

2 INT. CURRENT HOME, LIVING ROOM, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 2

Now in Ron and Corlise’s moderately furnished, small living room. It is cramped with dog cages, couches, TV’s and games; organized with a single route that allows traffic from the kitchen to the hall - which inconveniently, runs between the large and smaller flatscreen TV’s and the couch.

Sitting in a large beanbag chair in front of the couch, Ron is playing Fallout 76 online with friends. We can’t hear his friends because the TV volume is muted. Wearing noise- cancelling headphones, the volume of his voice is much louder than he thinks.

His game character walks aimlessly inside a makeshift camp while he talks with his friends.

RON
Kyle! My point is, if everyone stopped jumping to the left and then the right every four to eight years, things would be more stable and less like a teeter-totter with two fat kids jumping up and down!

The door to his and Corlise’s bedroom creaks open. Corlise creeps through the dimly lit hallway to where Ron sits near the doorway to the hall. He is oblivious to her until she stands a couple feet away.

RON (CONT'D)
Oh shit! How long have you been standing there? Hang on, guys. I was talking to Corlise.

Taking his headphones off he looks at Corlise.

CORLISE
It’s two in the morning and you are yelling into your headset.

RON
Was I? My bad. I turned the mic monitoring down all the way because the guys could hear me breathing, and I guess I talk louder when Kyle and I argue.

CORLISE
Maybe you should get some sleep and stop playing games? You need to be up in first thing the morning with Nova and Cadence.

RON I’ll be up.

CORLISE
No you’ll stay up all night and then crash right after I get home in the evening.

RON
So? As long as I cook dinner, why is that a problem?

CORLISE
That’s not normal! I need you to be awake to help take care of the kids.

RON
I don’t do that every night, maybe once a week. Most of the time I’m helping out or playing with the kids.

CORLISE
You’re not counting the days you stay up at a time.

RON
I don’t know why that happens.

CORLISE
I need you to either get a night job or fix your sleep. If you’re going to stay up all night, you could at least help me pay some bills. I’m going back to bed.

RON
Ok. I’ll look for something when I’m up with Nova. Love you.

Without saying anything, Corlise closes the door.

Putting his headphones on, Ron puts a dip in before talking. The ambient noise is canceled as Ron puts his headphones on. Hearing the ambient noises from the game, Ron has the volume turned as loud as possible as an advantage to detecting unfriendly footsteps. But also he has hearing damage.

Now continuing to play, his game character makes gestures with his hands, while we hear gulping sounds, followed by crunching sounds. At the same time, two meters at the bottom of the screen fill rapidly until full, emphasizing two black dashes marked exactly at the halfway point with a black permanent marker.

Another meter, 80% of which is red, begins to fill from 1% until stopping exactly at 20%, also previously marked by a dash. A map appears and disappears almost too fast to see, before it is replaced with a custom loading screen, the black dashes on the screen remain.

He has these spots marked to allow him to use damage bonuses and software exploits, making him disliked by overconfident opponents. He and his friends often “PvP” with other gamers, essentially fighting in solo or team duels.

RON (CONT'D)
My bad guys. I forgot to unplug my headphones. Could you hear that?

KYLE Nah.

JOSE Just you.

RON
Yeah, I guess I talk loud. And I need to look for a job. It’s about time anyway. Nova starts school next year.

His character loads into a different place in the game world. He runs to a carefully decorated base. Ron’s character makes a waving sound as another character stops what they are doing to look at him.

JOSE Oh! That’s you!

RON
Yeah, I’m bored fucking around with my camp.

3 INT. KYLE’S APARTMENT, BEDROOM - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 3

Even in the dark, we can see his small bedroom is a mess. Kyle sits on the end of his bed with his legs crossed as he joins the conversation. We see Kyle’s game is in a menu.

KYLE
We could do some PVP? I wanted to test out my character’s new build.

RON
You can try, but most just run off unless they’re using a glitch. If they are, let me know and I’ll join you and see if we can figure it out.

We see the menu change quickly to a map. A location marked as “White Springs” highlights before it is selected. A load screen appears.

4 INT. JOSE’S APARTMENT, BEDROOM - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 4

In Jose’s bedroom, it is better lit and much cleaner. Jose sits with his feet propped up on a computer desk as he plays and watches a podcast of Joe Rogan simultaneously.

JOSE
Hey Ron! Have you thought about doing a podcast?

RON
That’s not really my thing. Besides, who’d want to listen to me ramble about shit?

JOSE
I’d listen! I mean you’ve got some really cool stories from the Army and when you were a kid.

RON
Yeah, still. I’d just clam up if someone asked me to talk about myself with an audience.

JOSE
It’s worth a thought.

5 INT. KYLE'S APARTMENT, BEDROOM - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING

After instigating a fight with two players standing in front of a machine, they return fire on Kyle’s’ character.

KYLE
Hey! I got two of them shooting at me by the White Springs train station!

JOSE I’m on my way!

6 INT. CURRENT HOME, LIVING ROOM - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 6

RON
It’s a good thought Jose.

A map appears on the screen before “White Spring Station” is selected, now looking at a custom loading screen.

Losing the sounds coming from Ron’s headset, we see him sit in silence as he stares at the TV.

7 INT. CURRENT HOME, LIVING ROOM, FOLLOWING MORNING 7

Legs stretched out in front of him and pillows between his back and the couch, Ron has managed to make his gaming position into something resembling a poor man’s recliner.

He’s not as energetic as before but not showing signs of being tired either. We hear Ron and Jose’s conversation through his headphones as before.

RON
Yeah man, I looked over my shoulder ever time I went up those stairs.

8 INT. JOSE'S APARTMENT, BEDROOM - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 8

Again in Jose’s apartment, he cuts his drink from his bottle of water short before speaking.

JOSE Wait, what?

RON
I thought I told you about all that?

JOSE No?

Jose’s inflection indicates he is disappointed this is the first he is hearing of it.

RON
Do you want me to tell you about it? I remember you freaking out the other day because Hagrid was messing with you!

Jose nicknamed a ghost he believes haunts his house “Hagrid”.

JOSE
I don’t like scary shit happening to me! But I like to hear about it happening to other people! I know that sounds kinda fucked up! But, yes! I want you to tell me.

RON
Ok... Keep in mind, this is what my mother told me - not what I saw with my own eyes.

9 INT. COUNTRY HOUSE, BASEMENT, SPRING, MORNING, AGE 4 9

Ron’s mother is doing laundry as he plays with wooden blocks collected from his father’s scrap wood pile nearby. His father has a massive collection of cut 2x4’s, marked and arranged in order near the wall, hinting at plans for a massive framing project.

RON
You have angels that follow you around?

Ron stops stacking the scrap pieces, not sure if he heard his mother correctly.

LUCILLE
Yes Ron. I have two angels that protect me.

Ron is looking around the basement now, trying to catch a glimpse of them.

RON
Why can’t I see them?

LUCILLE
They don’t always want us to see them. But we can feel their spirits.

Finished loading the wet laundry into a basket, she begins to walk across the open basement room with Ron close behind, still looking for the angels.

RON
Are they always with you?

LUCILLE
Not always. Sometimes one or both go out to protect you kids.

Lucille leans the basket against the cinder block wall to open the door and turn off the light. Ron does not seem to be bothered by the dark as he tries to stay out of her way.

10 INT. COUNTRY HOUSE, GARAGE, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 10

After crossing the doorway, Lucille turns right and walks up a set of concrete steps. Ron closes the door and follows behind her at a normal distance.

LUCILLE
One time both my angels were out protecting your brothers when I was attacked by a demon as I walked up these very steps.

Hearing this, Ron tries to hurry up the steps, his head is turned sideways as he watches behind him until he bumps his head into his mother’s rear. Now at the top of the steps, she puts the basket down on the concrete floor. Ron moves a few feet away from the stairs and turns to her.

RON What happened?

LUCILLE
I was pregnant with you. Victoria was in the living room watching a movie. Debbie and your brothers were in school. I had just put a load in the washer and was walking up the steps when something lifted me into the air and threw me back to the bottom of the stairs.

Ron’s eyes are big as he silently listens to story.

LUCILLE (CONT'D)
Then it said in a real deep voice, (she imitates the voice). “You will not have this baby.”

Ron now looks horrified.

RON
It wanted to hurt me?

LUCILLE Yes, it did.

RON
What happened to it?

LUCILLE
My angels reappeared and fought it off!

RON Did you see them?

LUCILLE
No, but I could feel them. Just like I felt the evil spirit leave.

RON Is it here now?

LUCILLE
No Pud. God protects this house because we follow the word of God.

She picks up the basket before carrying it out the open garage door. Ron looks at the basement steps terrified and then follows behind her at a close distance, trying to stay near her angels.

11 INT. CURRENT HOME, LIVING ROOM, CONTINUED 11

Ron doesn’t look particularly bothered as he finishes this memory. He has had three decades to reflect on it. He’s killing skeletal-looking zombies that charge at him before exploding in a bloody mess or fall limp to the ground before they are sent flying from subsequent explosions.

JOSE
Dude! That’s pretty fucked up! I wouldn’t tell my kid something like that. At least not until they were an adult.

Ron pauses to reflect before responding.

RON
For a long time, I believed her.

But time can do funny things with memories and for a while, I suspected maybe she fell down the stairs and made the story up? But then to tell me that after making it up... that would be would be fucked up.

JOSE
Do you think she made it up?

Unknown to Ron, Corlise has opened her door and is slowly heading his direction.

RON I don’t.

JOSE How!

RON I...

Crossing between Ron and the TV, she gives Ron a grimaced glance as she passes, her feet slightly stomping as she walks into the kitchen.

RON (CONT'D)
I think I need to take a break. Corlise looks mad.

JOSE
That’s cool. I was about to hop off here. I want to hear more shit like that, next time we play!

RON
All right buddy, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

JOSE Peace.

Ron leaves his controller on the beanbag as he eases onto his feet, walking quietly into the kitchen.

12 INT. CURRENT HOME, KITCHEN, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 12

Corlise stands in front of the counter with her back to us as she makes coffee. Ron stops a few feet into the room and leans backward against the counter opposite from her coffee station and the microwave.

RON Are you mad?

CORLISE No.

She doesn’t turn around or move her head.

RON
You’re throwing off vibes that you’re mad.

Now she turns around to face Ron, looking upset. We can see coffee grounds that have spilled onto the counter and around her feet.

CORLISE
I don’t like that I come home to see you playing games, and when I go to sleep or wake up, it’s the same thing!

RON
I still take care of the kids.

CORLISE
Maybe the last few months. But you still stay up for days and then crash for 12 hours and do it again a day later! If I didn’t know you, I’d think you were on drugs!

RON
I’ve told you I don’t know why that happens. It’s like I’m excited but don’t have anywhere to put the energy.

CORLISE
I think you’re bipolar!

RON
What? No... If I were bipolar, how the fuck would I have made it though the Army physicals and all their tests?

CORLISE
They can’t test for that and it can develop later on. But you have all the signs! You’re not hungry and then binge eat. You don’t sleep for days and then crash. You have these long periods where you’re depressed. And you get angry over every little thing! I worry about you falling asleep watching Nova.

RON
Here I thought we were doing better with our relationship and I’m finding out I’m still ate the fuck up.

CORLISE
We are doing better. But I wouldn’t say I’m back in love with you.

Corlise pauses, realizing she should be getting ready for work.

CORLISE (CONT'D)
I don’t have time to talk right now. I need to get ready for work. I’ll see you tonight.

RON Ok.

He watches her pass him on her way out of the kitchen before he turns to stare at the door to their garage.