SUN MOON STARS RAIN (audiobook script)

Meltdown

PART FIVE -SUN MOON STARS RAIN-MELTDOWN

EXT. NIGHT SKY

A full moon shines brightly in the night sky.

INT. QUONSET HUT - MORNING

Maggie is lying on the floor of the hut, an insect buzzes her face and wakes her. Derek is not there. Maggie gets up and exits the hut.

EXT. QUONSET HUT -MORNING

Maggie looks around the base area and doesn't see Derek. She looks back to the trail and sees Derek's back. He's looking back at the trail from where he came. Maggie walks over to him.

MAGGIE: See something?

Derek says nothing and continues to look at the trail.

MAGGIE: They're not coming are they?

Derek turns and walks past her toward the beach. Maggie follows, talking as she walks.

MAGGIE: They're not coming are they, Derek?

Derek stops at the beach and gazes out to the sea. Maggie stops by his side.

MAGGIE: They're not coming are they, Derek?

Derek is silent, showing the first signs of doubt.

MAGGIE: Answer me!

DEREK: I don't know.

MAGGIE: He doesn't know...yesterday you were  the CEO of the largest corporation in the world, just waiting till your people get here while you played with one of Daddy's radios. Today...you...don't...know.

Derek walks a little further down the beach.

MAGGIE: Oh yeah, maybe they're over there! (points the opposite direction) Or over there! We could have walked to Coro by now. Why did I listen to you?Why did I trust you? You don't know what you're doing! You're an IDIOT!

Derek walks further down the beach. Maggie follows, dogging him.

MAGGIE: You never REALLY cared about anybody in your entire life. Oh, you think you do. You probably send roses to your secretary, but not because you like her. So she won't quit. Because without her you'd be lost. I'll bet you buy your VPs dinner so you can stay inside their heads trying to buy their loyalty. You keep them going by pulling their strings. WHY? So it makes you money. Anything that benefits you. You don't really care about people, you FEED on them. When was the last time you shook their hands? Patted them on the back? Asked about their wives? Know what they do on the weekends? Do they have kids? What are their names? Do you know? DO YOU !?

There is a long pause. He knows she's right and says nothing.

MAGGIE: I didn't think so.

She turns and walks away a few steps down the beach, stops and picks up a small lizard next to her foot and walks back to him. Angrily, she shoves it close to his face.

MAGGIE: Here! This is your world now!

He looks startled and is frowning.

MAGGIE: Give him a place to live. Feed him. Water him. Make sure he has everything he needs to grow big and strong!

A moment.

MAGGIE:(continuing) Because someday... you might have to eat him.

He watches as she walks off down the beach, not turning to look back.

DEREK:(shouting) How would you know?!

Maggie stops dead in her tracks, surprised and turns toward him.

DEREK:I mean, did you ever go to work one day, and when you leave everything is in place. You just kissed your wife goodbye, your son gives you a hug and says "I love you, Daddy" and you know that he does. You can see it in his eyes. And your wife gives you a kiss and...and you know she'll be there for you when you get home. Everything's perfect. And you get a call at the office. You need to get home right away. There's been an accident. And you get home and you find out that your wife and son went swimming. And she fell asleep by the pool. And while she was asleep, your son decided he wanted to dive into the pool like he'd seen his Daddy do. Only he couldn't make it back...in time. And he...

Derek takes a few steps, starts to pace. He turns toward the open ocean.

DEREK:(continuing)then it's just the two of you. Your wife and you and there's this...space. And that space can't ever be filled back up. So your wife decides that instead of eating her breakfast, she'll start drinking her breakfast. And then drinking her lunch. And her dinner. And then one night after drinking her dinner, she decides to drive home. And she does. But she drives home on the wrong side of a divided highway. And the police tell you that there were no skid marks. She never even tried to stop. She just kept going.

A long moment.

DEREK:The truck just couldn't...get out of the way.

Maggie's attitude changes.

MONTAGE: Derek walking around the base area alone, soul-searching. He looks out to the ocean. He sits in a rusted jeep. He crouches on the wing of an old plane, then lies back looking up at the clouds in the sky.