Maniac on the Loose
Page 4
MAX: (Flipping Alex onto his back again)
Do you understand now? Have I made my point!? Now shut up!
Alex quickly suppresses his yell down to subtle grunts and groans.
Max walks away from him and turns his attention to Melissa.
MAX: She’s a nice piece of meat.
(To Alex)
I bet you’re pretty pissed at me for ruining your date.
Alex lets out a groan, still reeling from the broken thumb.
MAX: I bet you were hoping to get a nice piece of ass today, weren’t you?
ALEX: No. My intentions were respectable. I would never...
MAX: What did I just get done saying to you?
ALEX: You asked me a question!
MAX: It was rhetorical! Now shut up!
He turns his attention back to Melissa.
MAX : I bet you would have put out for him today wouldn’t you? I bet you’re a little slut, aren’t you?
Alex quietly works at the duct tape around his wrists as Max leans in on Melissa and slowly runs the knife blade down the side of her face.
MAX: Are you pure?
MELISSA: Please, don’t hurt me…
MAX: Answer me! Are you pure?
MELISSA: What?
MAX: ARE YOU PURE?
MELISSA: Uh, what?
MAX: DAMMIT! Son of a bitch!
(He slams his fist down into the mattress)
You’d better stop answering my questions with questions, now for the last time, are you pure?
Tears stream down her face as she speaks.
MELISSA: I’m sorry, I…I don’t know what you mean.
MAX: It’s a simple question that requires a simple answer. I’m going to ask you one more time. If you don’t give me a yes or no, I am gonna hack your head clean off.
(Pause)
Sexually…are you pure!?
MELISSA: (Sobbing, but answering firmly)
No.
MAX: Nooooo! Well, there’s a shock!
He roughly rolls Melissa over onto her back and looks her up and down.
MAX: Mmmm, yeah. Look at this little slut box.
He gets on the bed and moves his face very close to hers.
MAX: I bet you like it don’t you? I bet you like it hard!
She spits in his face.
Max snarls and wipes the dripping saliva off of his face with his hand. He looks at it and then licks it. He eerily smiles at her, gets closer and puts the knife to her throat.
MAX: Do you want to die? Do you? Because I want to kill you. I really do. Just give me a reason. C’mon, give me no choice.
Max moves his face in on hers and very slowly licks the entire side of her face. As he licks, she winces and lets out a groan.
MAX: Now tell me you don’t like that.
She says nothing. She simply sobs.
MAX: See, you love it and you know it you filthy, little whore.
Max starts to slowly slide his hand up Melissa’s thigh and around her breast and then down to her crotch.
MAX: I bet a lot of guys have been inside here haven’t they? How easy is it to become a member of this club? Tell me. How many different guys have been in here?
MELISSA: Please, don’t. Please just let me go. I promise I won’t say anything.
MAX: How many?
MELISSA: (Sobbing)
Please, please don’t hurt me. Please.
MAX: (Explodes)
YOU’D BETTER ANSWER ME!
(He grabs her and starts to shake her)
Answer me! Answer me! How many? HOW MANY?
MELISSA: Three! Three. Please stop! Please.
Max gets off of her and lets her go.
MAX: Three? Is that what you said? Three?
MELISSA: Yes, yes, three.
MAX: Yeah right. Three. I meant in your entire life, not just last night!
MELISSA: It’s three. Only three, I swear! I was married twice and had a boyfriend I was engaged to in between then. Please…it’s the truth.
MAX: That is the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard in my entire life! Three.
(To Alex)
Do you believe that bullshit? Three?
ALEX: I believe every word this young lady is saying…
MAX: You would, idiot.
MELISSA: Please, just let us go. We won’t say anything.
MAX: Shut up tramp!
(He smiles)
That’s exactly what you are, isn’t it? A tramp! I bet you have a tramp stamp don’t you?
Melissa doesn’t respond.
MAX: (Furious)
Don’t you? ANSWER ME!
MELISSA: No! I don’t know even know what that means!
MAX: A tramp stamp. The stamp of a tramp.
MELISSA: I don’t know what you mean! I really don’t, I’m sorry!
MAX: Oh c’mon! It’s a tattoo that skanky little whores put right above their ass to show the world what a dirty little tramp they are. A tramp stamp! You have one don’t you?
Melissa doesn’t answer. She just sobs.
MAX: Well, let’s just find out why don’t we?
Max flips Melissa onto your stomach and pulls her shirt up and pants slightly down, enough to reveal a tattoo on her lower back.
MAX: I knew it! You lying little whore! Three! Three my ass!
MELISSA: Please! I wasn’t lying! I swear!
ALEX: Why don’t you just leave her alone! She said she isn’t lying! Stop it! Leave her alone!
Max glares at Alex for speaking.
MAX: Well listen to this. Prince charming coming to the rescue. Man, you must need to get laid real bad, if you’re risking your life to impress this little whore!
ALEX: I’m not trying to impress anyone! Enough is enough! You leave her alone! Do you hear me?!
MAX: (A little surprised at Alex’s bravery)
What did you say?
ALEX: (Firm)
I said, leave her alone!
Max’s eyes are burning as he shakes with anger looking at Alex.
MAX: You want to suffer?
ALEX: She didn’t do anything to you! All she did was come here to go out on a date with me! She doesn’t deserve this!
MAX: Okay Mister tough guy! You want to defy me? Go right ahead. You just cost this little floozy here, a finger!
MELISSA: NO! NOOOO!
MAX: It’s not my fault. He won’t shut up!
ALEX: Please! Don’t, don’t! I won’t say anything else, I promise!
Max smiles, steps back to the dresser and picks up a pair of hand held limb pruners. He brandishes them and clicks the razor jaws open and shut several times.
MELISSA: NO! PLEASE!
ALEX: Don’t! I won’t say anything else! I promise I won’t
Max gets on top of Melissa, holds her hands up and puts her little finger in between the blades.
MELISSA: NO! NOOOOOO!
ALEX: No, don’t please don’t!
Max squeezes the blades together causing a loud crunch, which causes Melissa to erupt in screams.
ALEX: You sick bastard!
MAX: You want her to lose another one?
ALEX:
No! Don’t please…
MAX: Then SHUT UP!
ALEX: Okay, okay.
Max tosses Melissa’s digit over his shoulder. He looks at Melissa’s blood that has trickled down his hand and licks it off.
Melissa’s screaming has turned into a quieter sobbing.
Max flips her over onto her back and eyes her intently. His evil grin reappears.
MAX: Mmmm. She looks good.
(To Alex)
I want some of that. And what I want, I get.
Max pulls off his outer shirt revealing a tan t-shirt and begins to undo his belt, but freezes when he hears a cellular phone ringing in the attached bathroom.
He looks at Alex suspiciously, refastens his belt and walks to the bathroom door.
MAX: I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere.
Max enters the bathr
oom and shuts the door behind him.
A cell phone sits on the bathroom sink. Max looks at it with an odd curiosity as the ring continues to chirp away. He finally picks it up and holds it to his ear.
MAX: Hello?
CHAPTER 9
FRIDAY
Afternoon
Dr. Grimm enters his office, shuts the door and rests his head on his arm against the wall.
DR. CLARK: Lose something?
Dr. Grimm spins around to see Dr. Clark sitting at his desk jiggling Dr. Grimm’s car keys.
DR. GRIMM: Gordon. What the hell are you doing in my office?
Dr. Clark’s beady eyes glisten as a smug smile comes across his face.
DR. CLARK: I like this office. Always have. It suits me, don’t you think?
DR. GRIMM: You’re supposed to be at the Dawson Springs facility.
Dr. Clark disregards Dr. Grimm and picks up a framed photo of an attractive woman and young girl.
DR. CLARK: Such a lovely family you had Dr. Grimm. Such a lovely wife. I hear she remarried.
Dr. Grimm takes the picture from Dr. Clark and looks at it.
DR. GRIMM: I heard the same thing.
DR. CLARK: Was it worth it, Franklin? Choosing this job over your wife and kids?
DR. GRIMM: What do you want, Gordon?
DR. CLARK: An escaped mental patient. Sounds so sinister! And reports all over the news. You must be at your wits end.
Dr. Grimm picks up a glass of water from his desk and takes a big swig.
DR. GRIMM: I’m fine.
DR. CLARK: Look on the bright side…
DR. GRIMM: (Still staring at the picture)
What bright side?
DR. CLARK: They don’t know who the escaped mental patient is. Apparently nobody does, but we’re all going to find out sooner or later you know. My money’s on sooner.
DR. GRIMM: Thank you so much for your concern, Dr. Clark but…I have everything under control.
DR. CLARK: Doesn’t seem like it. The escape took place how long ago? Two days? And you still haven’t made a formal announcement. What are you waiting on Dr. Grimm? What’s the delay?
Dr. Grimm doesn’t respond and visibly begins to stew.
DR. CLARK: (It dawns on him)
Wait…I get it. You sent that psychopath Ski Mask out to catch him, didn’t you?
You want to cover the whole thing up! You expect Ski Mask to apprehend him and bring him back and then you can say the entire thing was a huge misunderstanding.
Dr. Clark pauses to think.
DR. GRIMM: That’s enough of this, Dr. Clark.
DR. CLARK: Has Ski Mask caught him yet? Apparently not, it has been two days.
DR. GRIMM: Shut up.
DR. CLARK: Not working out quite how you planned, is it, Dr. Grimm? Well, you send a psychopath to catch a psychopath, what do you expect to happen?
Dr. Grimm’s temper bubbles over and he explodes.
DR. GRIMM: Ski Mask will do his job!
DR. CLARK: (Smiles with satisfaction)
So it is true!
DR. GRIMM: (Realizing his misstep)
I never said that!
DR. CLARK: And you expect Ski Mask to pull off this assignment?
DR. GRIMM: I’m through discussing this!
DR. CLARK: Ski Mask is just as crazy as any patient housed in this facility…
DR. GRIMM: He’s the best head of security I’ve ever known, by far! By far!
DR. CLARK: He’s deranged! The man wears a Ski Mask all the time for God’s sake! No one has ever seen him without it on except for you! Hell, I don’t even know his real name!
DR. GRIMM: Do you want to know his real name, Gordon? Is that it? Do you want to know his name? If you do, why don’t you walk up to him and rip that ski mask off his face, look into his psychopathic eyes and demand to know his name! Why don’t you do that?
Dr. Clark is visibly frightened just the thought of that.
DR. GRIMM: Because you’re afraid of him, that’s why.
Dr. Clark doesn’t dispute this fact.
DR. GRIMM: He hides is identity to protect himself from patients who might hold a grudge.
DR. CLARK: And why would patients hold a grudge? It wouldn’t be because of the abuse he puts them through, would it? Do you know how many patients have lodged complaints with me against his brutality?
DR. GRIMM: I’m through talking about Ski Mask! I’m through talking to you altogether! Now for the last time, get out of my office!
DR. CLARK: But you haven’t given me a chance to answer your question yet.
DR. GRIMM: What question?
DR. CLARK: Earlier, you asked me what I wanted.
DR. GRIMM: Okay.
DR. CLARK: I want your resignation.
DR. GRIMM: Who the hell are you to ask for my resignation? That’s it. We’re done.
DR. CLARK: We haven’t finished our discussion.
DR. GRIMM: Yes we have. I don’t need a shark circling me in my own building when I have plenty of them outside.
(Pause)
Gordon. You are fired.
DR. CLARK: You think the sharks are circling now? Imagine the feeding frenzy when they find out that the escaped patient is none other than the infamous serial killer, John Bromley.
Dr. Grimm’s eyes widen.
DR. GRIMM: How do you know it’s John Bromley.
DR. CLARK: Because if word got out that John Bromley escaped while you were in charge, it would cost you your job.
DR. GRIMM: I never told you the identity of the escaped patient.
A sadistic smile appears on Dr. Clark’s face.
DR. GRIMM: You son of a bitch. It was you! You let him out!
Dr. Clark’s smile gets bigger.
DR. GRIMM: I knew it! I knew in my mind this had to be an inside job. There was no way something like this could get by Ski Mask.
DR. CLARK: Fortunately, Ski Mask isn’t here twenty four hours a day. Funny how quiet things are around here before the first shift arrives.
DR. GRIMM: This will ruin me!
DR. CLARK: I know.
DR. GRIMM: Why? Why would you do this to me? I brought you up through the ranks! It’s because of me and me alone that you hold as high of a position as you do. You are a shoo-in to take over once I retire…
Dr. Clark rises.
DR. CLARK: And when will that be? In the next five years? Ten years? Twenty years? Ever? I will not spend the rest of my life waiting for you to retire! The future is now! It’s time for a change! It’s my time, Dr. Grimm.
DR. GRIMM: Gordon. Please. Don’t do this. We can work something out. I’ll give you anything you want…
DR. CLARK: I want your job.
DR. GRIMM: Dr. Clark…anything but that.
DR. CLARK: Sorry Dr. Grimm. Resign immediately on your own terms, or I’ll let the media in on who it is that’s running around out there. And I’ll tell them know about your wish to cover the whole thing up.
(Pause)
Then I’ll stand back and watch them lynch you.
DR. GRIMM: (Desperately)
I’ll tell them it was you behind the whole thing.
Dr. Clark moves his face closer to Dr. Grimm’s.
DR. CLARK: Prove it!
Dr. Clark walks past Dr. Grimm.
Dr. Grimm looks down at the picture of his ex-wife and daughter and quickly undoes his tie.
DR. GRIMM: This job means everything to me!
As Dr. Clark begins walking toward the office door, Dr. Grimm pulls off his neck tie, rushes quickly behind him, wraps the neck tie around Dr. Clark’s neck and begins to strangle him.
Dr. Clark struggles, first flailing away at the tie, trying to loosen it with his fingers enough to gasp for air, but is unsuccessful. He reaches up and begins slapping at Dr. Grimm who tries to defend this tactic by shaking him roughly from side to side. The constant weight shifting has them slam hard into the side of the desk where Dr. Clark begins to struggle and convulse.
His le
gs kick up onto the desk. As he kicks away in an attempt to free himself he roughly kicks off several objects on the desk, including the picture of Dr. Grimm’s ex-wife and daughter.