| "Serendipity" Excerpt |
| CUT TO INT. JUNKYARD OFFICE Ron and Ellen come in. Cautiously. It's filthy. RON Hello? Hello? They peer around. No one seems to be in here. Just rows and racks of dirty junk parts. Ellen cringes. ELLEN I never knew it was possible for any place to be this filthy. Ron shrugs it off. Looks around. RON Car parts. Maybe there's a... back... door. ELLEN Oh, don't tell me. He has that look again. And just nods. She goes to look. THEIR POV OUT THE BACK DOOR We see a man in greasy coverall and a welder's mask, with a torch, welding something while gesturing oddly. He flips the mask up. Doesn't look anything like the drawing of Elmo out front. And he's talking. Like Buck and Inez. BACK TO SCENE Ron and Ellen stare blankly. Finally. ELLEN Maybe we should sell the car and take the bus. EXT. BEHIND THE JUNKYARD OFFICE Ron and Ellen step outside and immediately a HUGE DOG lunges at them, BARKING LIKE CRAZY. Only the heavy steel chain around his neck barely stops him. Ellen SCREAMS. Ron "protects" her. ELMO throws open his mask. ELMO Down, Bela! Down! ELLEN Bela? As in "Lugosi?" Ron has no answer. The dog KEEPS on BARKING. Elmo throws down his mask, kills the welding torch, and starts away from the very large car-part sculpture he was working on. This is where they apparently originate - whatever they are. ELMO BELA! DOWN! Dog KEEPS on BARKING. Elmo picks up a huge stick. Starts for the dog. Raises it. Ellen's eyes go wide. ELLEN No! Elmo... throws the stick. The dog stops barking. Runs after it. Gets it. Chews it happily. ELMO Wasn't gonna hit him. He'd tear me a new asshole. Ellen sighs relief. Elmo kicks an old part aside. RON Are you Elmo? ELMO Hell no. Whattaya want? His coveralls say Elmo. Ron hesitates. “Elmo” says: ELMO Don't think I got any. And he turns away to leave. Ron stops him. RON I didn't tell you what I need, yet. ELMO Oh. Well, go ahead. Waiting. Ron looks at Ellen. Looks like she’s praying. RON Injectors. For an '83 Volvo 245 wagon. Elmo says nothing. Just stands there. RON Maybe just a couple? Two or three? ELMO Can’t say. And apparently won’t. So: RON Could we... maybe go look? Elmo stands there for another long moment, appearing... nervous? He looks across the yard a moment, then: ELMO I s’pose. Okay, come on. (to Ellen) You can wait in the lobby if you don't care for all this mess and grease out here. She looks in briefly at the even worse "lobby." ELLEN I think I'll tag along. ELMO Whatever makes your bone grow. Turns and walks off. Ellen looks at Ron. Sees him kind of laughing. Rolls her eyes as if to say, “Men.” NEW ANGLE IN JUNKYARD Walking through the junked cars. Acres of them. RON This place is huge. ELMO Thirty seven acres. RON It doesn't look this big from the outside. ELMO Desert makes everything look smaller. (quieter aside) Don't pull your dingus out. She'll divorce ya right now. Chuckles. Ron chuckles. Ellen rolls her eyes again. RON So, how'd you ever get so many wrecked cars out here? ELMO Lotta people dyin', I guess. Matter of fact. Ellen winces. Ron tries a joke. RON Like a graveyard, huh? People just dyin' to get in. Elmo stops, looks at him blankly. Kind of like Buck did. RON Are you... related to Buck? ELMO Buck? Buck!? Hah! Laughs out. Starts around a particularly bad wreck. ELMO Six died in that one. Never seen such a mess'a body parts. Ellen is looking faint. Paling in the hot sun. ELMO Fender here, bumper there, door way over yonder. Awful. ELLEN (relieved) I thought you meant human body parts. ELMO That's the irony of the situation. You understand irony, doncha? Staring at her expectantly. A beat. ELLEN I think I'll just go wait inside. ELMO TV don't work. Don't even try. ELLEN Okay. Ron... hurry? Ron nods as she starts back, giving wide berth to the wreck. RON She's a little squeamish about death. ELMO Who wouldn't be? Looking at Ron like Ron's insensitive. Then: ELMO Over here. And he turns and starts off. Ron follows. CUT TO INT. JUNKYARD LOBBY A filthy, encrusted television. As if Ellen would ever touch it! She finds a greasy chair and some greasier magazines. Grimaces. No other choice! She looks outside. Doesn't see anyone. Looks at the TV and... turns it on! SPARKS FLY! It nearly explodes! Ellen pokes at it, letting out little yelps. Finally hits the button. Turns it off. Fans the smoke. When it clears, we see that the screen is cracked in half. ELLEN Sweet evil Jesus. Smoke billowing. She doesn't know what else to do. So, she just turns for the door and leaves - quickly. EXT. FRONT OF THE JUNKYARD Ellen rushes out of the office, looking back to see if she’s been discovered, to find, lined up by the road... EVERYONE FROM THE DINER. All smile and wave again, affably. Ellen stops, stares. Then offers the same wan wave and smile. And turns back for the junkyard. Muttering: ELLEN It's the Village of the Damned. Looks over her shoulder. Everyone smiles and waves again. EXT. BEHIND THE JUNKYARD OFFICE Ellen comes out in a hurry. Immediately, the dog lunges at her, BARKING like crazy! SHE YELPS, goes back in. INT. JUNKYARD "LOBBY" Ellen looks for a place to sit. Everything's greasy. The smoke has mostly cleared. She waves at it a little. Looks at the bathroom door. Greasier than the floor, it seems. She looks outside - no sign of Ron or Elmo. ELLEN I knew I shouldn't've had that third bottle of iced tea... She cautiously pushes it open with one finger. Looks in. Grease everywhere. Including the toilet. Ellen sways slightly. But she has to pee. So, she goes in. CUT TO EXT. JUNKYARD Elmo leads Ron through the maze. Ron stops. Stares at a car that looks very familiar. The "six dead" car. RON Didn't we pass this car already? Elmo looks at it. Cocks his head. Looks around. ELMO I don't' think so. RON You said six people died in it. ELMO In this? Hmmm. He seems to be considering it, then just walks on. CUT TO INT. JUNKYARD BATHROOM Gathering her skirt up around her waist, Ellen is climbing up onto the toilet seat, standing on it and trying to squat so as not to touch anything with her butt. EXT. OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM We can just see Ellen's head inside, high, because she's squatting on the toilet seat. Suddenly... she YELPS and goes flying out of sight. Followed by a CRASH. CUT TO EXT. JUNKYARD Elmo stops as if hearing something. Listens. Shrugs. Turns to - the wrecked Volvo in front of them. Oddly, a full set of tools are right there. Tells Ron: ELMO Guess I was wrong, I did have one. Well, go ahead, I reckon. And walks away. Ron looks at the car and the tools. |