The Chase By Blake Johnson Revisions by Jesse Johnson

2010 Blake Johnson AnimiVirtus Productions

blakejohnson.vfx@gmail.com www.animivirtus.com

EXT. - STREET - DAY Summer day. MAX walks out of a store labeled Havenview. He smiles and waves as JOHN parts ways, a scruffy, friendly older man, wearing a flannel button-down and jeans. JOHN Its gonna be alright, buddy. MAX Thanks for stopping by. I wouldnt have made it outta there without you. A van careens around the corner, side door open, and TWO MEN inside grab Max and pull him in. The door slams shut and the van zooms through John as he vanishes. INT. - VAN MAX What was that!? MAX whips around, afraid, shocked. MAX Who are you!? Whats going on!? No

The men wear black masks, white suits, blank name tags. faces. Nobody speaks. One man sits with a clipboard and a pen, watching and writing.

Another man draws a circle on Maxs arm with a marker, a dot in its center. What!? MAX Whats going on!?

They hold him down. One man sticks a syringe into the circle and draws blood. Max freaks. He kicks at the men, screams, kicks the syringe out of the mans hand and jumps at the door. He opens the door and leaps into the street. The van drives on, one man looks out, then closes the door.

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EXT. - STREET MAX sits on the street, a few people around look on, alarmed. Max jumps up and runs into an alley. EXT. - PARKING LOT - LATE AFTERNOON MAX sneaks up to his car, unlocks it and gets in. squeals out of his spot and leaves the lot. INT. - CAR Max pops a few PEZ candies, dials a number on his phone. Johns voicemail plays. MAX Hey, call me when you get this. MAX drives along the highway, trying to drown his frown with hair-metal guitar squeals and drum rolls. He winces and clutches his chest. EXT. - HIGHWAY - EVENING MAX drives past a sign: Welcome to Lawrence, MA and turns into a motel. The sign is broken: Havenview M----l. He gets out of his car and walks straight into the office. INT. - MOTEL OFFICE MAX walks in downing more PEZ, hides the dispenser. The SLEAZEBAG at the counter looks up from his "Cars, Guns n Babes" mag. MAX I need a room. CLERK (surprised) Really? Max eyes the Clerks nametag: Hello, my name is Nick :). MAX (slightly confused) Yes, Nick, Im tired. Been wandering.. He

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CLERK (amused) Alright. 14B. Max clutches his chest, winces. The clerk hands him a key.

CLERK Down the hall, third on the left. Max walks down the hall, unlocks the door. INT. - MOTEL HALLWAY MAX dials a number on his cell phone, the three-tone error message plays, Max frowns, then Johns voicemail. MAX (small sad smile) Never fucken answered(stops himself) Hey, its Max. Im at the hotel, call me - let me know youre OK. He hangs up and opens the door to the roomINT. - MOTEL ROOM Dirty ass room. Black corners, spiderwebs on the ceiling fan, dust everywhere but around the bed and a path to the bathroom. Theres a coin-operated bed-vibrator. Its torn label spells -o-matic. Max shudders. MAX ...sonofabitch. He closes and locks the door, winces more. He sighs at a Havenview brochure on his bedside table and his silent phone in his hand. Resolute, he downs the last of his PEZ. He loosens his tie, walks to the TV and turns it on. He puts his empty PEZ dispenser on the bedside table next to the brochure, drops a coin in the bed-vibrator, goes to the bed and lays down, closes his eyes and rubs his face. He grins slightly as the bed jiggles. The TV mumbles in the background. He lays there for a moment, drifting, clutching his chest.

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INT. - HOSPITAL HALLWAY Two DOCTORS walk toward a doorway, looking in at a very sickly MAX on the bed, wired and tubed up the wazoo. DOCTOR 1 (bewildered) ...sometimes comatose, sometimes wide awake and fighting... (pause) Escaped from an ambulance earlier. DOCTOR 2 (incredulous) And checked himself back in? INT. - MOTEL ROOM MAX is motionless. The bed stops vibrating. The TV switches to bars and tone. The door bursts open. INT. - HOSPITAL ROOM Maxs eyes dart open to a massive syringe withdrawing from his chest. His vitals spike on the Pulse-o-matic monitor. The doctors rush in, followed by nurses, all wearing surgical masks. The light paints shadows on their faces. INT. - MOTEL ROOM The white-coated, black-masked MEN run in. Max opens his eyes, crams himself up against the wall behind him. MAX What do you want? people!? INT. - HOSPITAL ROOM Max fights, kicks and pulls against restraints tightened around his limbs. Name tags flurry around him, a much cleaner Nick settles beside him with a clipboard. Max flatlines again. DOCTOR 1 Adrenaline! Who are you

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NICK Again!? INT. - MOTEL ROOM One man takes a syringe full of green-yellow liquid, injects it into the dot in Maxs arm. Max starts screaming. The TVs still on. INT. - HOSPITAL ROOM MAX tries to scream but is too sedated, his vitals intensify. Nurses restrain him, but his heart pops, a red-purple blotch forms on his chest and hes still. His vitals are one continuous tone. A photo of John sits on his side table, captioned Friend & Father: 1940-2008. An empty pill bottle labeled One per day. sits beside it.