Dreamwalker

Logline: "A man's relationship with his wife deteriorates throughout an unwaking series of dreams. Concurrently, a detective investigates the murky case of a comatose suicide victim. The two stories merge as the detective uncovers a breathtakingly simple motive for murder and the man discovers the truth regarding his wife."

This script took more time to plan than any of my other projects, simply because first and foremost it is a mystery. It is a deeply characterized whodunit, a whydunit, a howdunit. I was naturally forced to remove about half the script in order to present a suitable preview, since I do not want to give so many details that I ruin the story for those who wish to view the full version.

"Dreamwalker" features a fantasy tinge, in that I attempt to portray one way in which so-called "normal" people can communicate with comatose patients. This attempt may well be scientifically unverifiable, but it makes fascinating fiction.

DREAMWALKER by Kyle Patrick Johnson Represented by: Canton Literary Management (CLM) Contact: Eric Canton (866) 429-3118 ECanton@Prodigy.net www.CantonLiteraryManagement.com Registered with: Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. Registration #1321463 2. FADE IN: INT. UNKNOWN - DAY (SEPIA) Wide eyes. Eyes of surprise. In an intelligent face. Attached to an athletic male body in a button-down shirt. ADAM HEALEY (33), the kind of charming guy who gives you all of his attention for a moment before forgetting you completely. A clean-cut guy you’d love for your daughter to meet, but you’d never remember his name. Two hands planted on his chest. Small hands, female hands. A ring on the left hand’s marriage finger. The hands push Adam. Adam falls backwards. EXT. HANSEN BUILDING - SCHNEIDER STREET - DAY (SEPIA) Adam falls through the air, his shocked eyes register little more than “Why me?” He plummets towards a geese-packed, poop-green sidewalk. The Canadian geese waddle out of his way. The ground comes closer, closer, behind his head... Adam never looks down... The moment of impact... WHAM... FADE TO BLACK. TITLE SEQUENCE EXT. HANSEN BUILDING - SCHNEIDER STREET - DAY (B&W) Adam levitates, as though standing on a glass floor, rises up over the small parkway trees. A bright sun, prominent. 3. There are no cars in the street below him. Instead: WOMEN. Hundreds of women, as far as the eye can see. Tall, short, beautiful, plain, motherly, all reach out to him. He floats over the crowd, his discerning eyes dart from face to face, he tries to choose. The task is too much for him, and he sighs. Then, far off, at the end of the street, he sees... A woman rises out of the feminine melee, float over their heads. She is IANA (30), dressed as a ballerina, complete with tutu and ballet slippers. Adam approaches her as she spirals upwards, ever upwards, fascinated by her delicate pirouettes, her strong legs striding against the wind. He flies up to her and grasps her hands, halts her twisting climb. She looks him in the face for the first time. They are hundreds of feet above the city. Neither notices. ADAM I know you. IANA Of course you do. ADAM It’ll come to me. Everything always does. Iana rolls her eyes, spins higher into the clouds. Adam zooms up to meet her. Iana does a splitz. Adam is impressed. IANA Are you from around here? ADAM No, I just flew in. IANA I need you, Adam. ADAM That’s what I do for a living, I help people. 4. IANA Take me away from here. Iana snuggles in to Adam, wraps her arms around his trunk, begging eyes. Adam lifts her legs across his right arm, in the pose of a newlywed groom carrying his bride across a threshold. Iana closes her eyes, waits for ecstasy. They soar higher, deep into the clouds. ADAM You’re mine. Iana’s eyes pop open, alert. Excuse me? IANA Adam bends down for a kiss. Iana turns her head at the last second. Adam gets her cheek instead of her mouth. Iana struggles to get out of his arms, he holds her tight. ADAM I worship you. Iana slips out of his arms, bounces away through the air like a deflating balloon. Adam floats away from her. He flails, struggles to get to her side, but his legs and arms seem coated in thick dream-goo. ADAM I don’t understand, I don’t understand. We are so perfect for each other. Iana twirls back to him with pirouettes, stops an inch from his face. She rotates, a vertical circle, hangs upside down. They kiss. Iana smiles at him, pushes him in the chest playfully. She drifts a few feet away from him, flips, spins like an ice skater, hands above her head, faster and faster. She stops suddenly, faces him. 5. IANA I’ve never felt more free. ADAM Why can’t you kiss like normal people? Iana looks at a thin wristwatch, doesn’t hear him. IANA Sorry, what? ADAM I said, why can’t you be normal? IANA Listen, it’s 6:16. (beat) Don’t you know what time that is? No. It’s time. Okay. ADAM IANA ADAM Adam strains to fly away, but Iana does not follow. Adam beckons. ADAM Come on, Iana! Iana merely floats in place. She crosses her arms, stares with melancholy. ADAM Iana, are you all right? Is it something I said? Are you coming? Iana’s eyes flick quickly, sees something just beyond Adam’s left shoulder. Adam, with foreboding, twists around to see... A jet airplane roars towards him, too close to avoid, fills his sky. Its wing strikes Adam full in the chest. 6. Breathless, Adam plummets towards the ground, out of control. Iana has vanished. He tries to gasp her name, can't make a sound. A feeling of inevitability washes over him. Beneath him, the ground rushes up at him as he falls face down. A serene Canadian goose flies below him. It poops. He falls past it, faster than the poop, slams through it, the poop stains his shirt. He tries to wipe it as he plummets. Adam flips over, face up, tries to get a glimpse of Iana. Iana? She’s gone. Behind Adam, the ground rushes up to meet him, ever closer, ever closer, almost at impact.... Adam’s face frozen in terror.... The ground is fifteen feet away, ten feet, five feet, here it comes... THERE IT IS.... INT. APARTMENT - BEDROOM - MORNING (B&W) Adam wakes, startled, sits, suddenly upright in a twin bed. Breathes hard, pulse racing. Looks at his alarm clock: 6:16 AM. He breathes in and out, deep breaths, slow it down. Adam glances down, sees a sleeping woman under the sheet, crammed next to him. Iana. Adam fingers his own left hand, touches a wedding ring. He leans across the prone body of Iana and looks at her left hand. He sees a wedding ring there. Adam climbs out of bed, crosses the room to a small nightstand on Iana’s side of the bed. Her purse is perched on the table next to a small lamp. ADAM 7. Adam pulls items out of Iana’s purse, looks at them, places them on the nightstand: lipstick, compact, comb, keys, innumerable women’s beauty products. He finds her wallet, buried at the bottom of the purse. He opens it, pulls out her California driver’s license. Iana’s picture smiles, faded and awkward like all license photos. Her name: “Iana Wayde Healey”. Adam squints at the license. He looks back at Iana, scratches his chin. He replaces everything in the purse. He walks into the... HALLWAY Of the simple one-bedroom apartment. Pokes his head around a corner into the empty... KITCHENETTE AND LIVING ROOM He looks over the rooms thoroughly, as though seeing them for the first time. He walks out the main door. EXT. MINYON STREET - DAY (B&W) Adam strolls into the street that fronts his building. Complete desertion. No cars, no people, no birds: just silent trees, buildings, lonely streetlights. Adam turns 360, slowly, aghast, gets scared. A honk. Adam looks up. A lone Canadian goose flies overhead. Green goose poop splatters down on his shoulder. The goose disappears. Eerie silence. Scraping at his soiled shirt, Adam looks up at his apartment, and is truly terrified by... IANA glaring evilly down from a window above. 8. ADAM steps backwards involuntarily, as though struck by an uppercut. His left foot finds only air: an open manhole. He topples backwards and disappears down the hole, which of course is bottomless. Adam’s face turns from panic to resignation and dismay as he fades into the deep... INT. APARTMENT - BEDROOM - MORNING (B&W) Adam starts, suddenly upright in the twin bed, flies up into a sitting position. He breathes hard, pulse races. He looks at his alarm clock: 6:16 AM. Adam looks down at his dress clothes, the same as before. He clutches at them, tries to rip them off. He looks around, uncertain whether to be afraid, confused, angry. ADAM What the hell is happening? He looks down at Iana, sleeping next to him. ADAM (to Iana) What the hell is happening? She continues sleeping. Adam touches her arm. Nothing. He shakes her shoulder. Nothing. He shakes her harder. Nothing. Nothing. He puts both hands on her and rocks her, almost pushing her off the bed. Nothing. Adam decides on surprise. He yells suddenly. ADAM IANA! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME? Iana continues to sleep. No response. Adam closes his eyes and forcefully rolls out of bed, smashes onto the floor. He opens his eyes, hopes to see something different. He hangs his head. ADAM Is this a dream? Am I going crazy? Is everyone else crazy? 9. A thought strikes him. He dives across the bed, looking in Iana’s mouth, scrabbling across her nightstand, not finding. ADAM Thank God. No drugs. (beat) Damn it. What am I even thinking? He puts his hand to his head, blinks. The room disappears from around him, as if sucked up into the sky by a sudden vortex. The world rushes by. He falls through oceans, through mountains, through space... Falls... EXT. BASKETBALL COURTS - DAY (SEPIA) A nice part of town. Where trees actually surround the court. Shade and greenery. The blacktop free of cracks. HIGH-SCHOOL ADAM (18), shirtless, dribbles the ball past a bevy of PLAYERS his own age. High-School Adam is cocky, and for a reason: he’s a prodigy. His moves on the court are the stuff that pros dream of. PLAYER #1 Hey, Adam, slow down, let the rest of us play a bit. ADAM Man, if you want to go shopping with girls, go ahead. If you want man time, get me the ball and quit whining. Adam dazzles everyone, revels in his own prowess. Not the best way to make friends. PLAYER #1 and PLAYER #2 exchange evil glances. Player #2 sticks out his leg as Adam runs toward him, Player #1 uses his body to guide Adam towards the trap. Adam takes a pass from PLAYER #3, soars over the outstretched leg, twists with effortless ease, makes the basket. Player #1 and Player #2 are only madder. Adam gathers up the ball. 10. ADAM Eleven-oh. Wanna go again? Adam’s eye is caught by a vision of a GIRL beyond the chainlink fence. Girl is slender, athletic, a tantalizing miniskirt. Player #1 notices. PLAYER #1 That’s jail-bait, Adam. Iana Wayde. She’s only fifteen. Go for it. ADAM Iana Wayde, huh? She go to our school? PLAYER #3 She’s fifteen, man. Adam tosses the ball to Player #2. ADAM What’s the use of being a stud? Adam jogs to the fence, walks alongside Iana. Iana, used to her own good looks, is nonetheless starry-eyed at the older jock coming after her. Hi, Iana. ADAM IANA Put a shirt on. I only talk to strangers who wear shirts. ADAM Then I better not be a stranger. IANA Can’t get stranger than you. ADAM Adam Healey. There’s prom next month. Iana stops walking. An older boy just asked her to prom. She wants to squeal and flail her arms. She suppresses the urge. IANA It’ll take you that long to clean up. They’ve reached the end of the block. Iana keeps going, crosses the street. Adam, head turned, slams into the fence. 11. Adam smiles, shakes it off, runs back on court. Takes the ball back from Player #2. PLAYER #3 Dude, don’t jeopardize that scholarship. You better not be thinking-ADAM Who’s thinking? Adam dodges, plants a foot, about to go around Player #2 with a beautiful fakeout... Player #1 leg whips him. Crunch. Adam’s knee implodes. He collapses in agony. INT. POLICE STATION - DAY (COLOR) KURT CATHCART (40s), a Rottweiler of a plain clothes cop, walks amongst the desks and cubicles, peeks over shoulders and into paperwork. Carries a small paper cubby with four coffee cups. Cathcart ducks his head in a corner office. Murph? CATHCART CHIEF DETECTIVE MESSINEO (50s), mustached Adonis, looks up from his paperwork. MESSINEO On time as always, Cathcart. Cathcart holds out the cubby. Messineo takes a steaming cup. CATHCART Good weekend? MESSINEO Like all the others. Divorced life is one big round of doing your own goddamn chores. Cathcart laughs a polite laugh. Nods a polite goodbye. CATHCART Later, Chief. 12. Messineo, head down, waves a goodbye. Cathcart pulls his head out of the office, blows out a breath as if to say: “Well, that chore’s done for the day.” Cathcart approaches a conspicuously neat desk. Sits down in his comfortable swivel chair, leans back with a grateful sigh. He drops the cubby on his desk. Only two cups are steaming. Cathcart picks up the cool cup. Sips. His upper lip turns purple. CATHCART Jays. Come on over. Two other plain-clothes cops pop from their seats, rush over to Cathcart’s desk. They are: JEAN (30s), nailbiting stress addict, and JOE (40s), plump paternal figure. JOE Morning, Kurt. Which one’s mine? CATHCART They’re all the same. Jean grabs her coffee first, nearly swallows the styrofoam. JEAN I need it, I need it. Thanks. Joe picks up his coffees leisurely, nods a thanks. Jean peers at Cathcart’s face. JEAN What’re you drinking, Kurt? You holding out on us? What? CATHCART Joe points to Cathcart’s purple lip. JOE Hair of the dog, huh? JEAN I’m a cat person. CATHCART I hate cats. JOE My kids want a horse. 13. Jean puts down her emptied cup, exhales gratefully. JEAN So, what’re you drinking, Kurt? CATHCART Purple grape juice. JEAN Fallen off the coffee wagon? CATHCART Antioxidants. My wife decided that coffee’s a nasty filthy habit. JOE Well, you’ll save your paycheck if you kick it. CATHCART Not if I keep buying for you. Joe salutes Cathcart with his coffee cup. JEAN Isn’t coffee supposed to be good for you? CATHCART Sure, ’cept when I’m coming down from the caffeine. JOE What’d you guys see on the docket this morning? CATHCART Same old stuff. JEAN I was checking through back files last night, and found something. JOE Jean’s gonna burst if she doesn’t get her daily stress quota. JEAN (as only friends can) Shut up, Joe. CATHCART What’d you find, Jean? 14. JEAN Failed suicide on Schneider Street. Fella’s a doc, chiropractor, in a coma at General. His secretary filed some complaint about no follow-up on the case, she’s worried about filing papers for unemployment. But I gotta stand in Narc for the day. Jean gives Cathcart a hopeful look. He smiles. CATHCART I’ll check out the hospital. You wanna come, Joe? Joe wags his head: “you overachiever”, he thinks. Melodramatically, Joe and Jean wave their hands goodbye as Cathcart puts his badge and handgun in his pockets. CATHCART I get all the fun to myself. As Cathcart disappears, Joe turns to Jean. JOE I hate hospitals. They smell. Joe sits down, feet up, flaps open a newspaper. The rest of this screenplay is unavailable for preview. Please contact the author for the full script.