Sweet Dreams

This script is a foray into a new type of genre for me, but I hesitate to give too much away. We'll let the story speak for itself. Enjoy!

SWEET DREAMS by Kyle Patrick Johnson Represented by: Canton Literary Management (CLM) Contact: Eric Canton (866) 429-3118 ECanton@Prodigy.net www.CantonLiteraryManagement.com FADE IN: EXT. WOODS - NIGHT A heavy sedan parked in low grass. A front door magnet sign: “Redemptor Omnis Church.” Just beyond, a roaring campfire shoots sparks to the sky. AGNES PARKER (70s), perched on a log like a gnome, knees by her ears, tosses the last bite of a hot dog into her mouth. PARKER Marshmallows, anyone? COLE (9), nods, furious up-and-down head pumps. The third person at the fire, ESTHER TAYLOR (70s), rumples Cole’s hair. She waddles to the car, blue hair shining. TAYLOR I’ll get them, Mrs. Parker. PARKER If there is one thing Pastor does well, it’s stock marshmallows for our youth mini-trips. Taylor hauls a half-ton bag of marshmallows from the trunk. PARKER Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. COLE Gee, I bet the other kids wish they coulda come. This is great. Taylor smiles. She heaves the bag to Cole. He tears into the bag, skewers several marshmallows with a long, sharp stick. Holds the white puffs over the flames. COLE Do you know any stories? PARKER Stories? Why, I’m a walking library, Cole. I could tell you stories all night long... but I’m sure you want to sleep sometime. Taylor smiles. 2. COLE No, no. Tell me. PARKER How about Creation, boy? You know that story? COLE (disappointed) Yeah. Cole examines his marshmallows. Not done yet. PARKER Do you? Were you there for it? Huh? COLE PARKER I was there. COLE You’re not that old. Parker and Taylor sit on the far side of the fire, unblinking faces surrounded by flames, stare at Cole. PARKER In the beginning was the dark. And the dark was the funhouse of the Employer. We call the Employer by many names now. The whole universe was asleep in him, for in the dark there was no need for wakefulness. Cole’s mouth drops open, the marshmallows forgotten. PARKER In fact, no creature in the universe even had eyes. There was no need to see, for the Employer was our light and our joy. He would visit us in our dreams, you know, and tickle our fancies with his wit and his gaiety. Oh, yes, he is really something once you have a relationship with him. Cole’s marshmallows catch on fire. Unnoticed. PARKER And the Employer was undisturbed. 3. Until... TAYLOR PARKER Give me time, Mrs. Taylor. I want to give the boy a sense of the peace we felt. Cole’s eyes dart back and forth between them, uncertain. COLE You’re not that old. PARKER In perpetual sleep, there the Employer would mold us to his will, and the universe was in harmony under him. Until the Other appeared from some unbalanced cosmos beyond. The Other. TAYLOR Taylor spits into the flames. PARKER The Other brought evil, terrible things to us. Shape, flesh, blood, excrement, all some damnable plan to absorb the Employer’s power. TAYLOR And the light, Mrs. Parker. PARKER Yes, Mrs. Taylor. That which keeps us from our sleep. We hate the light. For without sleep, there are no dreams. Without dreams, the Employer has no gain. Now, we even forget our dreams when we are awakened by the light. COLE You mean God? Taylor and Parker look at each other, back at Cole. PARKER Light is evil. With a woosh, the campfire extinguishes completely. Total and utter darkness. 4. Parker flicks a flashlight on. It shines into Cole’s eyes, a distance of mere inches. He squints. COLE How’d you... where’d that... TAYLOR He is not listening, Mrs. Parker. PARKER Boy, pay attention. Taylor claps her hands near his ear. He winces. PARKER It is in your dreams that you will find fulfillment and peace. When you surrender yourself in slumber, then the Employer can make something useful out of you. You want to be useful, yes? COLE Yes... I wanna go home. PARKER Your home is in the Employer’s bosom, boy. Taylor creeps behind Cole, ties his hands together in a sudden, quick gesture. COLE Help! Help! Parker stuffs marshmallows into his mouth, stops his screams. Cole’s cheeks bulge as Parker, relentless, shoves them in one after another, no respite, impossible numbers. Cole gags. PARKER When you go to sleep tonight, you will be nine years old, nine months old, nine days old. With no moon. TAYLOR Light is evil, Mrs. Parker. PARKER (cackle) The Employer will have no trouble attending the boy’s dreams this night, no trouble at all. 5. Cole’s eyes, wide with fear. The flashlight falls, lights a crazy angle on the ground. PARKER Can you lift him, Mrs. Taylor? TAYLOR If you take his head, Mrs. Parker. Parker and Taylor carry Cole to the car. Cole looks up at Parker, her head upside down to his view, lit from the grounded flashlight, ghoulish. PARKER Your offering will make the Employer very pleased with us, boy, so, when you meet him, best manners, please. COLE (muffled) Mom... Dad... Cole wriggles, but Parker clenches his head with vise-like fingers. PARKER They won’t miss you. We will see to that. You will have no more desires for family, nor for sport, nor church, nor school, nor any of the activities which you have been deluded into thinking were good. The Employer comes, and he will teach you the way of righteousness. Taylor opens the trunk. TAYLOR That he will, Mrs. Parker. Parker and Taylor toss Cole into the car. PARKER Sweet dreams, Cole. Taylor smiles as Parker closes the trunk. FADE OUT.