THE SIGNAL by Alexander Ruggie

ACT I INT. JOHN AND BETHS HOUSE - NIGHT A man kneels on the floor. Another man holds a gun to the head of the kneeling man. KNEELING MAN Either way, youll be stuck here. Forever. A GUNSHOT rings out. EXT. DIVE BAR - NIGHT Patrons meander out of the bar at closing time. INT. DIVE BAR - CONTINUOUS The bartender takes down a banner that announces Happy Birthday for fraternal twin brothers MAX and JOHN who are celebrating their 35th. Both brothers are of good stock, but John is mentally handicapped. Max is his reluctant caretaker. FRANK is Maxs lifelong friend inebriated and hanging off the end of the bar. Montage of Max and Frank drinking many rounds together as John swats interminably at a pinata all night. SARAH, Maxs wife comes into the bar and up to Max. SARAH You ready? I dont wanna come back later when youre all wasted. Im good. MAX

Sarah raises and eyebrow. You sure? SARAH

Max grunts without looking at her. (unsure) SARAH

Okay.

Sarah leaves and Frank turns to Max shaking his head.

2. FRANK Man. Youve got it lucky my friend. Max leans into the bar and plays with a full shot glass. He notices his high school baseball ring on his shot drinking hand. POV - Max plays with his high school baseball ring a bit. MAX Right. Im overflowing with luck. Ive got a decent job. A loving wife. Blah blah blah. FRANK You know what I mean. MAX Yeah...I know what you mean. I could've been swinging at fast balls in the majors, but instead I get to watch my genius brother swing and miss an empty pinata...forever. Frank looks over to John at the end of the bar swinging at the pinata, missing it again and again. FRANK Hes been at that all night. Max is indifferent, and doesnt even turn to see John. MAX Keeps him busy. There isnt even any candy in it...But hell never know. Frank shakes his head. BETH walks into the bar. Beth is a thirty something brunette bombshell. Every guy in this dinky town wishes they could be with her. Max is no different. MAX Your sisters here. Frank turns around to see Beth, then turns back to Max. FRANK Dude, do me a favor and dont hit on her. Why not? MAX

3. FRANK Because she doesnt like you. And it irritates her. And then I have to deal with that...And youre married. Maxs eyes roll and he makes a gagging face. Ugh. I know. MAX

Beth is right behind Frank now. Ready Frank? BETH

MAX Hey Beth. Can I buy you drink? BETH Bars closed. And I wouldnt want a drink from you anyway. Because youre a dirt bag. Max takes a deep breath. MAX One day well be together Beth. Youll see. Beth rolls her eyes and tugs at Franks shirt. FRANK Alright man. Im outta here. You sure youre good to drive? Im fine. MAX

FRANK Really? Im drunker than you are and its your birthday. You sure everything is okay? Max looks over to John as he eyes up the pinata for a shot. MAX Im fine. Ill talk to you tomorrow. FRANK Alright buddy. Happy birthday. Frank looks over to John and shouts. FRANK Hey happy birthday John.

4. John beams at Frank with a huge smile and juvenile tonality. JOHN Ha. Thanks Frank. Happy birthday to you too Frank. Frank smiles and looks to Max. Max shakes his head and drinks his shot. INT. TRUCK CAB - NIGHT - LATER Max is driving and listening to the radio. John is passed out in the passengers seat holding the pinata. Maxs eyes are starting to close as he begins to pass out too. The truck veers slightly. Max catches himself only to pass out again a few seconds later. As soon as his eyes close the truck veers again and hits a tree. The brothers are thrown about the truck. When it comes to rest, Max is unconscious, and John is now awake but crammed and seemingly stuck in the dashboard. JOHN Max! Max!? Max wake up. (yelling now) Max wake up. Wake up Max. Max is motionless. The radio is still on, but there is a faint strange noise slowly building in tempo and volume. At first John doesnt hear it as he struggles to get free. The noise of the errant radio signal grows now. Finally John can hear it. The tempo and volume build. John stops struggling and is suddenly calmed by it. As John and the signal synch, his mentally handicapped demeanor evaporates and he becomes normal again for the briefest of moments. ACT II EXT. TRUCK CAB - DAY Max is still draped over the steering wheel from the accident the night before. His eyes open to the rising sunlight. POV - Max looks down to see his bloody hands against the steering wheel. As hes looking at his hands the ring vanishes, then reappears and shifts in between.

5. Max shakes his head in total confusion. He looks over to the passengers seat for John. No one is there. Max wipes his eyes. He checks his hand for the ring again. He finds it and nods to himself before exiting the truck. EXT. TRUCK ACCIDENT SITE - CONTINUOUS Max walks to the front to assess the damage. Great. MAX

Max looks around and finally sees John sitting near the road. He walks up to John and taps him on the head. Johns eyes open and he looks up to Max with true clarity. Hello John. JOHN

Max squints, startled at Johns new demeanor. MAX Uh. Hey buddy. Howd you get out of the truck by yourself? John smiles coyly. JOHN I dont know. I just got out I guess. Are you ready to walk home now John? Id fix the car, but the radiator has a tree in it. Max steps back. John? MAX

John smiles, and raises an eyebrow. INT. MAXS HOUSE - KITCHEN - LATER John follows Max as he walks through the door first. As soon as Max sees Beth he realizes that hes not in his house anymore as he expected. BETH Can you see it? POV - Max twirls in confusion to reveal John swinging the door closed behind him. When Max turns again Beth is laughing at his confusion. He turns again and sees Frank laughing at him. He turns again to reveal Sarah cackling at him.

6. POV - Turning again he finally reveals John doing the same. He spins and spins to the heads of everyone laughing at him. Upon his final spin John smashes the pinata on Maxs face which transitions into black. JOHN (In an audio echo) Wheres the candy? INT. MAXS HOUSE - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS Max wakes up to Sarah patting his cheeks to wake him up on the kitchen floor. SARAH Can you see it? Max sits up a bit and opens his eyes completely. MAX Where am I? Wheres John? Sarah looks confused now. SARAH Can you see it now? Max squints in total confusion. He shakes his head at Sarah and stands up now. MAX But I just...Beth...Frank and you... Max looks at his hands and sees the ring. POV - Max looks at his hands and sees the ring disappear in front of his eyes. Max is clueless and dives into paranoia. He jogs around the house in a chaotic frenzy. He stops in the kitchen with Sarah standing there motionless pointing. When Max follows her arm he sees shes pointing at the pinata. Ive gotta go. MAX

Without any more explanation Max jets out the front door. Max pushes it open to a flood of white light. INT. JOHN AND BETHS HOUSE - LATER White light gets shut out as John closes the door behind Max. John puts his hand on Maxs shoulder.

7. JOHN Hi John. Are you okay? Max turns around and pushes Johns hand off his shoulder. MAX Stop calling me John. JOHN But its your name. No. Its not. MAX

JOHN Calm down. Calm down. Do you know where you are? MAX Of course I know where I am. Im...Im... JOHN What year is this? Its... MAX

Max takes a step back and shakes his head at John. John looks at him with reassuring eyes. JOHN No. No. Its okay. Look. Let me help you. Its going to be okay. Ill explain everything. Max is hesitant, but ultimately lets John calm him as they walk down the hallway. JOHN See a while back there was an accident. MAX What kind of accident? John smiles. JOHN You know I almost envy being you. I remember a story about this shaman who went on a vision quest. And while he searched for answers in the world around him, he lost his sense of self. No name. No identity. No memory. Nothing.

8. He said that it was the most extreme side of life hed ever lived, because there, amid true darkness he simply did not exist. He fell into an endless loop that he couldnt get out of until he got to the bottom of the abyss. And it was only then that he found what hed been looking for all along. He realized that hed been asking the wrong question. The real questions wasnt in the world around him. It was inside him. The real question he needed to ask himself...was who am I? Johns face straightens slightly. JOHN Once he realized that, he was truly free. Max rolls his eyes at John. MAX What are you talking about? JOHN Im about to show you. John opens the door to a closet and throws some things about. He knocks around a leather satchel that reveals a small revolver that only Max notices when it hits the carpet. John keeps fishing for something, and finally brings out...the ring. Here. JOHN

MAX My ring! Why do you have this? JOHN Its my ring. I got it back in high school remember? Max squints and leers at John. My ring? MAX

JOHN No John. My ring. Here, look. John hands the ring to Max. Max sees that Johns name is engraved on the inside band. He shakes his head as his eyes go wide with intensity.

9. MAX I know who I am. JOHN Right. Right. (vacillating) But do you? John grabs the ring back from Max who holds on to it. Max grabs back at the ring and it slips to the ground. They both dive for it. A slight struggle ensues. John gets the ring, but when they both stand up the gun is missing from the satchel. JOHN Ask yourself this...How am I talking to you right now? I dont know. MAX

John leans up against the wall catching his breath. JOHN John. You used to be kinda...slow. You werent always slow. It happened when we were kids. MAX No that was you. John nods, but continues his story. JOHN Anyway, a while back you and I got into a car accident. I was driving and you smashed into the windshield pretty hard and passed out. When you woke up you were normal. Kinda like you are now. But, you claimed you heard some sort of signal on the radio and it made you superhuman. You said you could see the future and read minds, and implant thoughts and dreams. Basically you went a bit crazy. And every once in a while you think that youre me. Weird huh? Not a bad trade off though I guess right?. Max looks disgusted at the thought, then huffs. MAX I. Am not. You. Max sneers at John and snatches the ring from his hand. John makes no effort to get it back from Max.

10. He gleams as Max bolts out the front door into a wall of white light again. EXT. BASEBALL DIAMOND - DAY White light of the sun evaporates as we tilt down to Max and John who are both young, and brotherly. They toss a ball back and forth until a young Beth comes up from O.S. and approaches Max. Hey John. BETH

The two smile at each other before Beths eyes shift a bit over and into fear. POV - Max turns from talking to Beth as her eyes divert ever so slightly just in time to see a baseball crush his face. An echo of the signal penetrates the stillness. Begin fading into black from an overhead shot of young Max with Beth kneeling over him. BETH Oh my god. John? John? Can you hear me? (Echo) Can you hear me John? Fade out. INT. HOSPITAL BED - NIGHT Fade into an overhead shot of Max with breathing tubes sticking out of his face. JOHN (Returning echo from Beth) Can you hear me John? Can you see it now? POV - Max opens his eyes. John waves his hand in front of Maxs face. There is a ring on his hand. It disappears and reappears while John waves back and forth. JOHN I know this is hard. But its the only way. You must choose. POV - John goes O.S. And rustles around a bit. JOHN I brought you something that might help you this time.

11. POV - John then holds up the pinata. Max breathes heavily seeing it and his eyes start to flutter rolling back into his head. Max sees the white light in the hospital bed cubby and it envelopes him. The signal echoes.

ACT III INT. DIVE BAR - NIGHT The bartender takes down half of a Happy Birthday sign for John and Max. John sits at the bar with Frank hanging drunk off the end of it. JOHN Yeah...I know what you mean. I could've been swinging at fast balls in the majors, but instead I get to watch my genius brother swing and miss an empty pinata...forever. Max swings and misses the pinata over and over again. Frank looks over to Max and shouts. FRANK Hey happy birthday John. Max looks over to Frank with a huge smile and juvenile tonality. MAX Ha. Thanks Frank. Happy birthday to you too Frank. Frank smiles and looks to John. John shakes his head and drinks his shot. Later man. FRANK

John nods. Frank leaves. John looks at Max swatting at the pinata. He gets off the bar and fetches him. JOHN Cmon genius. Lets go home. John grabs the pinata and walks out with Max following.

12. INT. TRUCK CAB - NIGHT - LATER John is falling asleep at the wheel. He turns on the radio and it plays the same song as last time. Again John nods off while driving. Max is asleep in the passengers seat. The truck veers. Crash. EXT. TRUCK ACCIDENT SITE - CONTINUOUS Both brothers are unconscious in their seats. MAX John! John!? John wake up. (Yelling now) John wake up. Wake up John. John is motionless. The radio is still on. Starting faintly the signal begins to build in intensity. Max stops struggling and listens to the signal now. Finally there is no sound but the signal. Max twitches slightly and his face crinkles. His eyes open wide as he and the signal become one. Max shakes his head as if thats all it took to be normal again. He unbuckles himself from his seat belt and pulls himself away from the dashboard. The signal still pounds in his head. He exits the truck and looks at John unconscious in the drivers seat. Johns arm dangles with the ring on his finger. MAX No. I...dont believe it. I dont believe it. Max stares at the ring intently and then closes his eyes. MAX (To himself) I dont believe it... Max puts his hand to his face and covers his eyes. INT. JOHN AND BETHS HOUSE - NIGHT Max has his hand to his face. MAX I dont believe it... Maxs other hand is holding the gun that he took from the satchel earlier. The gun is pointed at Johns head. JOHN You dont you believe what?

13. Max takes his hand away from his face. He sees what hes doing and at first he is shocked, but then he quickly becomes relieved. He exhales deeply. Myself. MAX

A tear runs down Maxs cheek. MAX I dont believe in myself. Not with you here....I hate you because Im not you. And I always have. I envied you before I hit you in the head with that baseball, and Ive hated everyday since. Max juts the gun further into Johns forehead. JOHN Can you see it now? Through my eyes? MAX I never wanted it to be like this. (beat) I just...I just always wanted to be you. John looks up to Max with absolute clarity. Max loses another tear. JOHN I know. Ive always known. Max squints. Who are you? MAX

JOHN Ah, but thats not the right question. If you ever want to get out, the question you need to ask yourself...is, who am I? Max drops another tear as he shakes his head. MAX I know who I am. I know youre doing this to me somehow. Somehow, youre doing all of this. JOHN Maybe. Then again maybe you are. Maybe its all in your head. Or all in mine. Either way, youll be stuck here. Forever.

14. Max hugs John. MAX No John. We both will. John looks confused. Max, still hugging John brings the gun back up to the side of his head with Johns directly in the bullets path. MAX John. I need you to understand...I see things very clearly. Max takes a deep breath. POV - Max takes a deep breath as he pulls the trigger. Gunshot. White light. The signal echoes. INT. HOSPITAL BED - LATER Someone is laying in bed with tubes coming out of his mouth. He opens his eyes.

THE END