ERIC
What went wrong?
JANICE
Nothing, really. But nothing went right after a while, either. Another guy I cared more about than he cared about me.
(turns, drying her hands)
But it’s different when a marriage goes off the tracks and you have kids. It’s...there’s still something that worked. I love my children. I miss them so much.
ERIC
I can’t seem to get a handle on it. You married. Children.
JANICE
It’s been a quarter of a century, Pierson. You haven't exactly stayed in touch.
ERIC
All I’ve been doing since I came back here is saying I'm sorry, and it doesn't seem to be working on anyone. But I am sorry, Janice, especially about the way I treated you. Shit, I didn't know what was going on—I was numb, crazy. I was a kid! We were all kids. I just wanted it all to go away.
JANICE sits down on the couch. ERIC joins her.
JANICE
I used to call you. You never called back. It was horrible, having to keep leaving messages with those guys in your dorm—I could just hear them thinking, “Oh, no, it’s that pathetic hometown chick that Pierson dropped...”
ERIC
It wasn’t like that...
JANICE
But you know what the worst thing was? Do you remember that stupid song about the telephone? It was playing every time I turned the radio on that fall.
(she sings, a little hoarse)
“Okay, so no one’s answering...so I’ll just wait a little longer, longer...” I couldn’t get away from that fucking song.
JANICE blinks angrily, fighting tears.
ERIC
I never liked Electric Light Orchestra, anyway. Brent really hated ’em. Said they’d gone downhill after Roy Wood left the group.
JANICE
Boys. You can talk about guitar solos, but anything else just paralyzes you, doesn’t it?
ERIC
Look, for years there wasn’t a fucking day that went by when I didn’t think about how things went so wrong—with you and me, that night... everything. Over and over. Thinking about how if I’d only done this thing different or that thing different...
JANICE
(after a pause)
What are we going to do, Eric? I’m frightened.
ERIC shakes his head, then moves closer to her and puts his arm around her. She relaxes into his chest.
ERIC
I have no idea at all. I’m scared shitless myself. But this feels good. It’s the first thing that’s felt that way for a while.
(a beat)
I haven’t really been able to make it work with anyone. Scared I never will. Sometimes it feels like I’m getting paid back for being a shit to you, back then.
JANICE lifts her face to look at him. She has a tear on her cheek. ERIC gently wipes it away with his finger. After a moment, he touches her cheek again, letting his hand stay. She leans forward and they kiss. What starts out careful and tentative begins to turn passionate—JANICE is crying as they kiss, almost climbing onto his lap. Then she pulls away.
JANICE
No. No, it’s not right.
ERIC
If you want...
JANICE
After all these years, I don’t know what I want. But you don’t know me any more, Eric. I’m not the same person, and neither are you. We can’t just fall into bed. We’d be...I don’t know, fucking our past, not each other.
ERIC
Seems like it’s our past that’s fucking us. In more ways than one.
JANICE slowly moves back against his chest.
JANICE
You’re still pretty funny, you know? Too bad it’s true.
(after a moment)
I was so scared.
ERIC
It’s been a weird day all around.
JANICE
No! Back then. That night. I was acting cool because I hated you guys treating me like a wimpy girl, but I didn’t really want to take that stuff...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT.—PIERSON HOUSE, 1976—NIGHT CLOSE ON: BRENT’S PALM
YOUNG BRENT is shaking a little bit of something out of a pill bottle onto the cotton wadding in his hand. As we pull back, we see that everyone is sitting in a circle on the living room floor, except TOPHER who is lying on the couch with his feet up.
YOUNG BRENT
Four-way windowpane. Decks are cleared. Ready to beam up, Mr. Spock.
KIMMY
(nervously)
I thought acid came in, like, a sugar cube.
YOUNG BRENT
That was in the old days. This is the latest and greatest. Come on, you don’t know who your friends really are until you trip with them— right, Erky?
YOUNG ERIC (singing)
“Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer wiener/ that is what I’d truly like to be-ee-ee/ ’cause if I was an Oscar Mayer wiener...”
YOUNG BRENT
Five hits. Kimmy, put a record on so we don’t have to listen to fucking Pierson.
YOUNG ERIC
(finishing)
“Everyone would be in love with me!”
YOUNG JANICE
You wish.
KIMMY
What should I put on?
YOUNG BRENT
I don’t know. You got anything decent, Pierson? You got Yes? Fragile would be pretty bitchin’.
KIMMY
Here’s a Yes album, I think. It’s hard to read the writing.
As she’s putting it on, TOPHER swings his legs down from the couch back and sits looking over the others as the acoustic intro of “And You and I” begins. JANICE and KIMMY are both clearly nervous.
YOUNG JANICE
They’re so tiny! How long is this going to last?
YOUNG BRENT
A while. I wish I could have got Stringer to get me this stuff earlier—it’s amazing to go, like, to the park. The grass looks alive.
YOUNG ERIC
The grass is alive.
YOUNG BRENT
You know what I mean.
(to Kimmy)
But wait ’til you see the stars. They look just... far out.
YOUNG ERIC
They are far out.
Everyone laughs, even BRENT.
YOUNG BRENT
(in a bad Brooklyn accent)
Quit bustin’ my balls, Pierson.
(holds out the acid; normal voice:)
Okay, boys and girls. Come and get it!
TOPHER
Slow down, Zenger. I wanna show you guys something.
YOUNG BRENT
Fuck, Holland, this shit doesn’t even come on for an hour. Let’s just take it and then you can show us.
TOPHER
(enjoying his mystery)
No, you’re definitely gonna wanta see this first.
There’s a pause: TOPHER’s clearly waiting to be asked.
YOUNG ERIC
Okay, what is it?
TOPHER extends his hand, in a fist, palmside down, then turns it over and uncurls his fingers to reveal five shiny BLACK PILLS.
YOUNG BRENT
What the fuck are those?
TOPHER
The. Fucking. Best. High. Ever.
YOUNG BRENT
Looks like speed, man. Black beauties.
TOPHER
Oh, no, my little Bent Zengerdenger. This is shit you’ve never seen. Ain’t nobody ever seen this. This...is Black Sunshine.
YOUNG ERIC
Topher, what exactly the hell are you talking about?
TOPHER slides from the couch onto the floor, takes a theatrical swig from the rum bottle, enjoying everyone’s attention. Just to piss them off, he takes an elaborate time lighting a cigarette, too.
YOUNG BRENT
Come on. Jesus!
YOUNG JANICE
Ooh, the mystery man.
TOPHER
Okay, you know the lab? The place my old man works?
YOU
NG BRENT
Where you have a job pushing a broom on Saturday mornings?
TOPHER
(unfazed)
Yeah. That lab. Well, Castillo the fuckin’ head janitor had to go home because he got sick—he was, like, green—and he left me the keys to lock up. Man, normally he’d rather leave me alone with his fuckin’ daughter than even let me touch ’em, but he was in bad shape, pukin’ his lungs out all over the restroom...
YOUNG ERIC
You have a gift for storytelling, amigo.
TOPHER
I do, don’t I? So anyway, I thought it might be a good time to check out the drug refrigerator, the one that’s always locked with this big old fuckin’ lock? Just in case they had some like pharmaceutical quality coke lying around, or some shit like that.
KIMMY
Topher! You could go to jail.
TOPHER
Not unless I was stupid enough to get caught. So I’m checking it out, and they’ve got a little glass jar of these babies in the back, in some kind of a plastic envelope, with all these yellow warning stickers. The name was fucked up—Dee-oh-noxy-somefucking or other—but right there on the label it says, “hallucinogen.” You know what that means, right, Pierson? ’Cause you’re so smart and shit in English?
YOUNG ERIC
You stole some drugs you don’t know anything about, except they said “hallucinogen”? You’re crazy, Topher.
TOPHER
(suddenly angry)
Don’t fucking talk to me like you’re my dad or something, Pierson. I’m not stupid. I had the keys, remember, like to the files and stuff? I went and looked in the folders, checked it out. It’s an experimental drug they’re working on for some government project, and it’s basically just like acid, except cleaner, ’cause there’s a couple of different electrons or some chemistry shit like that.
YOUNG BRENT
Fuckin A. Experimental acid? For the government? What kind of shit is that?
YOUNG ERIC
And you just walked off with ’em? Like they’re not going to notice.
TOPHER
Cool out, man. I found some other pills that looked just like ’em—some kinda water-retention shit. So if they give ’em out to somebody for an experiment they won’t get high, they’ll just get...whatever. Bloated.
(cackles)
And the scientist guys’ll just say it’s like “a nonstandard reaction to the medication.” I hear my dad talk about this stuff.
(brightly)
So, whaddaya say? Let’s get high!
YOUNG JANICE
(incredulous)
Huh? You don’t think we’re going to take those, do you?
KIMMY
I think maybe I should go home.
YOUNG BRENT
No! No, don’t, Kimmy. It’s cool. We’re just going to take acid—Topher’s only playing around.
TOPHER
I ain’t fuckin’ playin’ around, Zenger. This is fuckin’ straight up. What, are you all pussies? No offense, ladies.
YOUNG ERIC
Just cool out, Topher. It was pretty amazing you did that, but we’re not going to take something no one’s ever heard about. What is this “Black Sunshine” shit, anyway? They give their drugs names like that?
TOPHER
I made it up. Pretty bitchin’, huh? I made a copy of Castillo’s key too. If this shit is half as good as I think it is, I’m gonna creep half the next batch and sell it for ten bucks a hit. Send some to Ozzy and the boys and get a backstage pass forever. Come on, Pierson—it’ll be far fucking out!
ERIC shakes his head grimly. BRENT has already begun giving out his WINDOWPANE ACID to the girls.
YOUNG BRENT
Just forget it, Holland. Come on, you’ll blow the mood. We’re just getting to the good part of this song.
BRENT puts his own portion on his tongue, then hands the rest to ERIC; as ERIC takes his, the girls look at each other.
YOUNG JANICE
We’re just going to take half.
They break one hit of acid in half and each take part, KIMMY having trouble swallowing. ERIC turns and offers the last squares of WINDOWPANE on his fingertip to TOPHER.
TOPHER
I can’t fuckin’ believe you guys. The last night of summer. Fuckin’ lightweights! What have you got to lose, Erky? You ain’t even staying around this asshole town.
He holds the five black pills in his hands and stares at them, then stares at ERIC’s proffered acid. BRENT has his eyes closed, swaying to the music— one hand is against KIMMY’s leg, which she’s trying to ignore. TOPHER looks them all over, then abruptly THROWS the five pills up in the air.
CLOSE ON: BLACK PILLS, TUMBLING
As they come down, TOPHER lets them fall into his mouth like candy. It’s hard to tell whether they all make it in—at least one bounces away—but from the way TOPHER holds his mouth closed, he’s clearly got some.
YOUNG ERIC
(genuinely startled)
Fuck, man, what are you doing...?
YOUNG JANICE
Topher? You’re joking, right? Spit them out!
TOPHER swallows elaborately, then grins.
TOPHER
Party time...!
DISSOLVE TO:
INT.—JANICE’S HOUSE—MIDNIGHT
ADULT ERIC and ADULT JANICE have fallen asleep on the couch, curled together. Shadows are moving across their faces—it’s windy outside. JANICE is twitching. ERIC is murmuring in his sleep, small, unintelligible sounds of fear.
INT.—BRENT’S HOUSE—SAME TIME
ADULT BRENT is lying face down on the rug with the bottle of rum tipped over beside him, wind moaning in the chimney. At first we think he might be dead, but as we move closer we see the sixth BULLET is still gripped in his fingertips.
INT.—CONVALESCENT HOSPITAL—SAME TIME TOPHER’S POV:
We are looking down a long hospital corridor, from TOPHER’S POV—it’s his odd SHADOW we see on the wall beside us. The wind is loud now, wailing. As the shadow passes across the open doors of the patients’ rooms, we hear some of them cry out loudly in nightmares. We see others flail in their beds. The shadow passes the nursing station where the DUTY NURSE is sleeping as though she’s been poleaxed; as the shadow crosses her she flinches and whimpers. A few more steps and our POV reaches the hospital’s front doors, which FLY OPEN so hard the glass shatters. The sound of the wind is a ROAR now. POV pauses for a moment, looking out on the dark and the trees.
We are now behind the dark humanoid SHAPE, which moves out the doors, out of our view. The doors swing back, as if the force that held them open has released them. A few more shards of glass tinkle. The winds are still fierce.
Our viewpoint turns, moving back down the hall much faster than we came the other way, past the sleeping nurse, past a few patients wandering in the hall, lost and weeping, to TOPHER’s room.
On the bed is the hardened shell of TOPHER’S DISCARDED SKIN, a horrible relic, clearly empty now, lying cracked open, broken into several pieces on the white sheets.
SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
INT.—JANICE’S HOUSE—MORNING CLOSE ON ADULT ERIC’S FACE:
He’s sleeping, still fully dressed on the couch. JANICE comes into the room in a bathrobe, toweling her hair. She stands over him, a look of troubled fondness on her face, then lays her hand on his cheek for a long moment before sliding it down to his shoulder and gently shaking him.
JANICE
Wake up, Rip Van Winkle. The power’s off. I used most of the not-very-hot water on a quick shower, so you have a choice—a cup of lukewarm water to wash with, or a cup of lukewarm water to make instant coffee with.
ERIC
(groaning)
An embarrassment of riches. Jesus, give me the coffee, please.
(a beat)
It was nice. Holding you last night.
JANICE
Oh, shit! It’s Saturday, isn’t it? I have to call the kids about when they’re coming in so I can pick them u
p. Where’s my watch?
(she examines it)
After ten. Damn.
ERIC
When are they due back?
JANICE
Tomorrow. School starts on Monday.
(she picks up the phone)
Oh, damn, damn, damn, the phone’s out too. I knew I should have gotten a cell phone.
ERIC
Use mine. Shit, dead battery. Okay, we’ll drive into town. Maybe stop somewhere and get some actually hot coffee, hmmm?
JANICE
(a sudden thought)
Eric, how can I let them come back to...to this stuff? To their mother having some kind of breakdown, complete with screaming daytime nightmares?
ERIC
I think the parenting magazines always say, “Tell them the truth.”
(a beat)
But speaking as a journalist, I doubt the writers have ever had this particular problem to deal with.
JANICE
Speaking as non-journalist and parent...thanks a lot.
CUT TO:
INT./EXT.—DRIVING THROUGH TOWN—MORNING
The storm damage is pretty extensive—trees down in the road, some power poles and phone poles tipped over. Many stores have plywood or plastic sheeting in place of windows and people are sweeping up the sidewalks. There’s no power anywhere, including the traffic lights. ERIC stops at an intersection where a COP is directing traffic.
ERIC
Hey, officer, do you know if any of the pay phones are working?
COP
Not right around here. Besides the wind, we must have had a little electrical storm or something— there’s a lot of stuff on the fritz besides just phone lines. Screwing up our radios, too. And some of the power poles actually caught fire.
JANICE and ERIC for the first time look at each other, a dawning idea that something is not completely ordinary here. ERIC pulls out of the line of cars so he can continue talking to the officer.
ERIC
So...so where would the nearest working phones be?
COP
You’d practically have to get to the county line, I think, other side of the hills. PacBell’s got crews out though. They should have the service on in a couple of hours. Power might take a little longer...
CUT TO:
INT./EXT.—DRIVING—MINUTES LATER
There are repair crews out along the road. ERIC and JANICE are behind an ambulance and firetruck, which turn down a side road.