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DEATH IN THE EVENING

(A Realistic Dream)

By Bill ArnoldPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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FADE IN:

EXT. BIMINY BAHAMAS - SUNSET

Simply beautiful. Somewhere near the Alice Town Resort, a unique two story home rests on the beach.

INT. OCEAN FRONT HOME - NIGHT

JOE PENDLETON, 40, looks younger. Handsome. Great shape. He sits at a table, typing on an electric typewriter. We see a 357 Magnum gun and one shiny bullet.

A Moleskine Small Black Notebook, and a Vodka Tonic, the only other writing tools he needs, rest on the table as well.

Giant photographs and paintings decorate the walls.

They include: Hemingway. Muhammed Ali. A painting of an older man playing a Baby Grand Piano. A painting of a beautiful older woman. One last giant photo of JOE PENDLETON playing poker.

JOE PENDLETON continues to pound away, rapidly on the keyboard, and then rips the paper out of the typewriter. He scans his work, shakes his head and then crumples it up into a ball and tosses it across the room.

The hardwood floor is covered with paper and a growing mountain of paper balls fills the far corner.

He stands up. Walks to the kitchen and mixes another Vodka.

The ocean breeze pours in through the open windows. He takes it in, sips his drink, closes his eyes, and...

EXT. A BOAT - SOMEWHERE IN THE OCEAN - NIGHT

The moon provides a silhouette of two men and one woman.

One man has a gun and FIRES! The blast knocks the woman overboard. The other man screams out while charging the man with the smoking gun.

The gun flies out as the other man pummels him with punches. Finally, he drops the killer to the floor of the boat. He picks up the killer's 357, and blows the assassin away. As he turns... is it Joe Pendelton?

A sickening view in the water as sharks surround and tear into the lifeless woman... and then...

INT. OCEAN FRONT HOME - NIGHT

JOE PENDELTON opens his eyes. A few tears glossed over. He finishes off his drink, and pours another stiff one. The bottle’s just about empty, but there’s quite an inventory of Vodka and Tonic in the bar area.

Back to the typewriter. He loads a new clean sheet of paper, and once again attacks the keys, writing furiously.

VOICE-OVER:

“That’s me, Joe Pendleton. I’m not sure what I’m doing. Trying to write a novel, or short story, or maybe a suicide note.

A week ago I won $20,000 and a beautiful woman, Maria, in a Poker Game in Miami, with a Colombian Drug Lord.

My "Royal Flush" beat his "Four Aces", but after I cashed out my chips, well... you know what happend.

It was "Love at first sight"... I mean...I was lost in her eyes, and had to save her from a bad man. Unfortunately, that didn't last long.

After I shot that son of a bitch, I got my $20,000 back, but I've been devastated and haunted by the death of Maria... The beautiful, mysterious woman that loved me for an evening, and then met her demise."

Every night, at Midnight, I mix a final drink. Place a single bullet into the chamber of the 357. That’s the deal I made with God. I would continue writing, and if he wanted me to not kill myself, well... he had an 83% chance of keeping me alive.

Don’t worry, I’m 7 for 7. Seven nights in a row, I’ve played this game of roulette, and seven nights in a row, I’ve squeezed the trigger, and simply heard the clicking sound of the guns hammer, connecting... metal on metal."

Joe finishes his drink. Opens the cylinder. Places a single, shiny bullet into the chamber, spins the cylinder and closes it. He places the gun to his head, squeezes the trigger, and then, there’s an EXPLOSION! Joe stands up, holding the back of his head, as blood surrounds his fingers. The room starts to spin, and Joe collapses.

EXT. BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - DAY

A small cottage in the mountains. Snow Flurries dance in the sky, on a cold, cold, morning. We ZOOM in and finally we are inside:

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

JOE PENDLETON WAKES UP!!!!!!!!!!!

IT WAS ALL A DREAM!!!!!!!!!!!

Joe walks out to the kitchen and pours a hot cup of coffee, THROWS another log onto the still lit fire, in the fireplace, sits down at his desk, quickly opens his Moleskine- small, black notebook, and frantically writes down everything from his dream!

OUT OF FOCUS on the corner of Joe's desk, is a BOOK. CLOSE-UP and FOCUS on the COVER... The book is TITLED: "Don't Blow Yourself Away!" (Just because you have writers-block)

Joe finishes jotting down his dream. Sips his coffee, and smiles.

VOICE-OVER:

I knew I had a potential best seller!...An Action/Suspense/Wild/Dynamic Adventure... and the story will be told while Joe Pendleton is dying on the floor... FLASH... I just thought of a Happy Ending!

The Beautiful, Sexy, Mysterious Woman that Joe won in a Poker Game in Miami, was NOT shot and eaten by a bunch of Sharks in a frenzy...NO... That was her twin sister!

Maria, is STILL ALIVE... and finds Joe in the morning.

The BULLET had luckily skimmed off the side of his head, and the fall to the floor knocked him out!

Maria kisses Joe on the lips. He wakes up.

They live happily ever after!

fact or fiction
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About the Creator

Bill Arnold

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