Blogs » Screenwriting Contest - "The Deliverance" by Tim Dammer
Screenwriting Contest - "The Deliverance" by Tim Dammer
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Posted by tjdammer - 738 views
THE DELIVERANCE
by
Tim Dammer
EXT. STREET - MORNING
A man in a suit and tie is running frantically down an urban street.
He is RAYMOND TERRY, mid 20's and well built. His BREATHING
IS HEAVY as he makes a sudden turn down a side street.
RAY (V.O.)
You're probably wondering why I'm
running.
Ray hops over a fence and looks at his forearm which is covered
in blood. He continues to run.
RAY (V.O.)
Well see, when you're good at what
you do and decide it's time to quit
during your prime...
We now see that Ray is being chased by two THUGS in suits
and ties. THUG 1 has a pistol tucked in his pants, THUG 2 a
clenched fist ready to strike.
RAY (V.O.)
...you can be sure there will be
unhappy people.
Both thugs look enraged as they continue to chase Ray who
makes another quick turn into an alley. Only until too late
does Ray realize this alley has a dead end. Ray looks for an
escape over the tall brick wall standing in his way. There
is none.
The thugs enter the alley and stop at the entrance blocking Ray's
only exit. The thug with the gun aims it at Ray's head.
RAY (V.O.)
You can also be sure that one of
those unhappy persons will likely
be your employer.
A sleek, expensive looking car behind the thugs slows to a
stop. A man steps out slowly. He wears sunglasses and walks
with a cane. He is THE BOSS. The car drives away as The Boss
steps in front of his thugs. He looks at the thug with the
drawn gun and nods to him. This signals the thug to pull the
trigger.
RAY (V.O.)
Nobody ever told me how difficult
early retirement would be.
Ray SHUTS HIS EYES just as a GUNSHOT RINGS OUT.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
MATCH CUT TO SAME EYES as they snap open. We pull back on
the blinking eyes to see Ray in bed.
He tosses and turns unable to sleep.
MONTAGE OVER RAY UNABLE TO SLEEP: IMAGES FLASH OF DIFFERENT
PEOPLE RAY KILLS. HE SHOOTS A MAN IN BED, ANOTHER IN A CAR, AND
A KNIFES ANOTHER IN AN ALLEY. Each kill quick and
professional in manner.
The lasting image we see is a WOMAN on a swing set cradling an
infant in her arms. She gently sways back and forth as Ray
approaches unnoticed from behind and raises his pistol.  He
aims at the mother's head. BANG. WE HEAR THE CRIES OF A BABY
who has just lost their mother. Ray's eyes reveal slight
remorse.
FLASH CUT BACK TO PRESENT: An ALARM CLOCK IS BEEPING. Ray shuts
off the beeping alarm clock that reads 2:20AM. Ray gets out
of bed, turns on a desk lamp, and opens a laptop. He opens a
file on screen that says: DETECTIVE MURPHY.
Ray looks through the file and we see the schematics of a house.
We see an image of the exterior of a house. We see a picture
of DETECTIVE MURPHY. He is muscular and has a shaved head.
He wears a suit and tie and a golden police detective badge
is clipped to his belt.
Ray grabs a nearby medicine bottle and downs the pills like candy.
He grabs a pistol out of a drawer and sticks it in his
pants. He shuts off the desk lamp.
EXT. STREET/HOUSE - NIGHT
Ray drives along a dark road with sparse street lights. He pulls
slowly up to the same house that was in the picture and
shuts off his headlights. Ray quietly closes his car door
and creeps to a side door of the house.
INT. HOUSE - NIGHT
Ray picks the lock to the side door and enters cautiously with his
pistol drawn. We follow Ray and his flashlight beam through
the cluttered house as he checks each room for his target.
INT. MURPHY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Ray finds the cramped master bedroom and the door is ajar.
He quietly steps into the bedroom.
On the dresser is a framed police academy diploma and a gold detective
badge. We also notice a framed picture of Detective Murphy
with his arm around the woman Ray killed on the swing set.
She is holding a baby. They look like a happy family.
Ray approaches the bed where Detective Murphy sleeps. Murphy has
fallen asleep reading a book which his face is buried in.
Ray carefully aims at Murphy's head. Beat. He thinks about
it.
THE CRIES OF AN INFANT FLOAT IN FROM A NEARBY ROOM. This startles
Ray. These CRIES are familiar. It is the same baby from the
swing set. Detective Murphy begins to stir awake which
startles Ray. Ray quickly exits the room.
Detective Murphy catches a glimpse of Ray as he leaves. He jolts
out of bed and pulls a pistol from his sock drawer. Murphy
goes to the next room and checks on his CRYING BABY. He sees
that his baby is fine and quickly looks to see the front
door wide open. Detective Murphy rushes out the front door
to see Ray's car peel out of the driveway.
INT. RAY'S CAR - NIGHT
Ray tries to regain composure as he drives. He wipes sweat away
from his brow and takes long deep breaths. Ray's cell phone
RINGS which brings him out of his sleepy trance. He looks at
who is calling and looks unsure if he should pick up. After
a moment, Ray silences the phone and throws it on the
passenger seat.
INT. BOSS' CAR - MORNING
The Boss is seated in the back seat of a car and lowers his
cell phone from his ear and looks at it frustrated. He
thinks for a moment and begins dialing new numbers.
EXT. GAS STATION - MORNING
One of the Thugs from the beginning is pumping gas into his
car. His cell phone RINGS and he picks it up quickly.
THUG 1
(into phone)
Yeah. Saw it coming too Boss...yeah
we'll take care of him.
Thug 2 exits the gas station with a cup of coffee in hand.
Thug 1 hangs up the phone.
THUG 1
(to THUG 2)
We've got a situation. We're
heading to Ray's place.
Thug 1 starts up the car and speeds away.
INT. RAY'S CAR - MORNING
Ray looks very nervous as he parks his car in an abandoned
school parking lot. He gets out and jogs through a couple
backyards and reaches the back porch of a small house.
Ray looks around to make sure no one is watching or
following him and quickly reaches under a potted plant where
a key lies. Ray unlocks the back door quickly and enters the
house.
INT. RAY'S HOUSE - MORNING
Ray grabs a gym bag and scramble around his small house
grabbing food, a pistol, and other necessities. Ray stops.
He thought he heard something.
Ray looks out his window shades to see the Two Thugs getting
out of a car across the street. Ray watches as both Thugs
pull weapons discreetly from the coats. Thug 1 has a pistol
drawn and Thug 2 has menacing knife. They approach the
house.
Ray grabs his own pistol and heads to his bathroom. He locks
the door behind him and waits with pistol drawn. He listens
as we hear the front door's lock is picked. Ray listens. He
hears only one pair of feet walking across his wood floor.
Ray opens his bathroom window. Looks out and jumps down. He
quickly makes his way around to the back yard. Ray is in a
full run when Thug 2 pops out from behind a tree and trips
Ray. Ray stumbles to the ground. Thug 2 pounces on Ray who
is the more skilled fighter.
Ray and Thug 2 grapple for a few seconds and Thug 2 manages
to slice Ray's forearm with a quick slash. Ray knocks the
knife out of the Thug 2's hand and head butts the thug. This
stuns Thug 2 long enough for Ray to get to his feet and run.
Thug 1 exits the back door quickly to see Thug 2 getting to
his feet. Both thugs begin to chase Ray.
EXT. STREETS/ALLEY - MORNING
Ray continues to run like a mad man with the thugs close behind
him. We see FEET moving quickly. We hear HEAVY BREATHING.
The chase is on.
Ray cuts down side streets and alleys and still can't shake the
thugs. He jumps over a fence and looks at his bloody
forearm. He continues to run.
Ray makes a quick turn down a back alley only to find it's a dead end.
Too late. The thugs block Ray's exit. Thug 1 draws his gun
as a car pulls up. The Boss steps out and nods to Thug 1 who
smiles menacingly. He is about to pull the trigger. ECU OF
FINGER ON TRIGGER.
This is it for Ray. He shuts his eyes. WE HEAR FIVE SHOTS RING
OUT. Ray winces. He opens his eyes and checks his body which
is unharmed.
We pull back to see the lifeless bodies of the Boss and his two
thugs. Detective Murphy holds the smoking pistol. His badge
gleams in the sunlight. Ray and Detective Murphy stare at
each other for a moment. Both frozen. Beat. Detective Murphy
lowers his pistol and Ray exhales in relief.
FADE TO BLACK: